XV
Andy had been out of breath long before she'd reached the floor Sam was stationed on. Yet she didn't allow herself to slow down, pushing her muscles to new bests with the help of the adrenaline that was pounding through her veins in abundance. The whole time, she couldn't help but imagine the worst scenarios: Sam dead, Sam lying in a pool of blood with O'Sullivan standing over him.
"No. I'll be there to stop it", she grunted, pushing open the door into the unpopulated hallway. Without a second look, she sprinted past the nurses' recreation room, eliciting several shouts of surprise and anger. Perhaps they'd follow her. Andy smiled grimly. If they did, they could clean up the mess after she was through with O'Sullivan. Yes, she knew that she behaving like Momma Bear, but that was part of her being. Protecting her loved ones was pure instinct. And this was about Sam of all people.
Some part of her wondered whether she'd loose her job over this disaster and whether she had just been played like a rookie. Frankie might have lied, which would result in her being the joke of the house for months. Andy wasn't sure how she'd react to the constant humiliation, but the one thing she knew with absolute certainty was that she'd never forgive herself if she let her boyfriend get hurt any further. Again she increased her speed and saw light shining out of Sam's room, which could have been normal or which might be a clue that he was not alone in there.
When she heard voices arguing within, she finally had indisputable proof that Frankie had indeed told the truth. It was O'Sullivan, come to finish what he'd started and messed up multiple times. "But not on my watch", Andy hissed with conviction. There was no time to cautiously approach, hence she chose to surprise the men. Rounding the corner as fast as her body would allow, sneakers skidding on the gray hospital floor, she threw herself at the person that was standing next to the bed.
Her momentum knocked him off his feet and catapulted them against the far wall.
Andy could feel the breath explode out of O'Sullivan's chest and satisfaction spread through her when she punched him straight on the nose. His head banged against the floor, but the criminal proved resilient and used his superior strength to grip her shoulders in an attempt to roll around. Unwilling to let herself be pinned down, Andy brought up her knee, which connected beautifully with his groin, making him swear. He retaliated with the speed of a cobra, feigning an uppercut while really aiming for her chest. Andy had been too preoccupied with protecting her face and couldn't block the series of quick punches to her ribs.
Now she was the one swearing and gasping for breath, even more so when his next blow hit her sternum. Collapsing a little, she got a glimpse of his face: red with fury, glasses lost somewhere during the struggle, but smiling at her pain. What an arrogant asshole, I'll wipe that grin right off your face, she thought and again her fist forcefully met his nose.
"Watch out!", Sam warned her and Andy barely had time to evade O'Sullivan's grasping hands. In order to keep him at distance, she gripped his carefully styled hair and pulled as hard as she could. So what if she was not fighting fair? Neither was he, intending to kill an injured man. Nope, Andy did not feel any guilt as O'Sullivan screamed. Unfortunately, he also used the momentum to seize her by the arm and pull her with him as he fell onto his back. Still furious, Andy didn't resist and instead let herself fall down on top of him and bashed her head against his. It hurt, but Andy knew it hurt O'Sullivan worse, which made it okay. The knee to the ribs should also hurt his ribs a lot more than her knee. Yes, if the groan was any indication, she'd been right.
However, the small rational part of her brain knew that she couldn't win as long as they stayed on the ground where his weight would eventually overpower her, thus Andy tried to get up. She was nearly back on her feet when she realized that O'Sullivan had anticipated that move. Suddenly her her legs were kicked out from under her and her falling body was then welcomed with a wicked elbow to the temple. Dazed, Andy was too slow to prevent him from catching her and putting his arm around her throat. Her ears were ringing and there didn't seem to be enough oxygen in the air.
Only now she fully registered Sam's voice. "Let her go. Right now!"
"Sam!" Her eyes went wide at the sight of him. He was kneeling on the ground, sweating and looking terribly exhausted. In his shaking hands, the gun, pointed at her and O'Sullivan.
There was a moment of silence, which was only interrupted by the angry beeping from the monitors. In order to get off the bed, Sam had ripped out the IV, yet there were no nurses coming to storm the castle.
The criminal with the bloody nose began to giggle. Andy thought she was hallucinating from lack of air, but even after she'd leaned into O'Sullivan and could breathe more easily, the decidedly mad sound continued.
"You… you're… actually gonna try and shoot?", O'Sullivan finally managed to ask. Andy failed to see how the situation was funny, still trying hard to dislodge the criminal's hold on her. She kept her eyes trained on Sam's face, though, both because she desperately needed to know whether he was okay and because she didn't want to look at the gun. In turn, Sam's warm brown eyes were searching her face for something. "The condition you're in, you're never gonna hit anythin'", O'Sullivan drawled while he tightened his hold on Andy.
"Well, as amusin' as this meeting was, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to go." With that, O'Sullivan tried to pull his captive and himself into a standing position, but Andy resisted and brought both of them back down to the floor. All the while, Sam looked on, waiting for some hidden signal.
The criminal was now muttering something about a stalemate, but Andy didn't really listen. She quirked an eyebrow at her boyfriend. What are you looking for? What am I supposed to do? Aren't you going to do something about this?
Her silent communication resulted in a helpless expression on Sam's face. He obviously didn't trust himself to hit O'Sullivan and not hurt her. Taking a deep breath, Andy willed herself to really look at him. Apart from the shaking and the unnatural pallor, his breathing was irregular and so fast that Andy was afraid he might loose consciousness soon. Still, Sam was Sam. Muscular, radiating a unique mix of confidence and warmth. He would never let anything bad happen to her. And with that realization, Andy relaxed into O'Sullivan's grip, closing her eyes. Shoot, Sammy, I trust you. You'd never in a thousand years hit me.
For the span of a single breath nothing happened and Andy wondered whether she'd misread her lover's body language. Then, just as she opened her eyes to inspect the situation, his finger tensed and pulled the trigger. She saw the flash of the gun, tried not to move and flinched anyways. The sound was thunderous in the small room, being reflected from the mostly bare walls. As quickly as her overloaded senses would allow, Andy pushed herself off the floor and into Sam's waiting arms.
"I missed you", he murmured into her hair and slung one arm around her shoulders. The other one was still pointing the gun at the criminal.
"Sam...", Andy started, swallowed and began again. "Thank you. I missed you too. Thanks for saving my ass." Finally, she felt whole again.
"Likewise", Sam answered tiredly and laughed. "Ouch, that hurts."
"Ribs?", Andy asked compassionately, earning a nod. She felt Sam's arm slide down to her waist and used the space to turn around and fix her eyes on the criminal. To her surprise, Sam hadn't gone for the chest or the head, instead aiming for O'Sullivan's upper thigh. Right now, the blond man was pressing both hands onto the wound and stared at them with deep hatred.
"I'll get security. And the nurses", Andy said and released herself from Sam's embrace. Halfway to the door, she was held back by O'Sullivan's giggle. "It's not over yet, you know? In the end, you'll still loose."
"What do you mean?", Andy wanted to know, stepping closer to the criminal's frame. The urge to kick him was overwhelming, but Sam was watching, so she was on good behavior. That resolve was tested soon when the cackling continued.
„You have no idea, do you? Think, idiots, why was I even able to get in here all uninvited and the like?"
"Where are the others?", Sam asked at the same time that Andy's face lost all color.
"The robbery. It was a distraction."
"Oh yeah", O'Sullivan giggled, bringing his bloody fingers up to his gleefully trembling lips, "but it was so much more than that. See, Boyden is under orders to exact a little revenge in my stead. I do wonder whether Stevie-boy will survive a bullet to the heart?"