Posting all the last 3 chapters at one go. We hope it will not disappoint anyone though…
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Chapter 24:
"Shoot any of them and I'll give you the most painful death you can get," The voice was hard and even.
All eyes turned to the doorway, wondering who the newcomer was. A young man stepped into the room, pointing an automatic pistol at Shane's chest. Neither Joe nor Callie had seen him before. Joe looked at him and judged him to be about twenty-five.
"Jack!" gasped Katie, recognizing her older brother instantly. With his jet black hair and deep blue eyes, Jack Ryan Jr. was an image of what the former President Jack Ryan Senior had looked like twenty-something years ago.
The young man did not acknowledge his sister, though he did briefly glance at her pale face. He took another step into the room, his eyes and Glock fixing on Shane.
Shane shot him a look of disgust. He, too, had recognized the young Jack. Jack Ryan Junior was the man who shot his father two years ago. There was no way he could forget that.
"Junior Ryan," his voice was filled with contempt. His hand shook a little. Deep down inside, he knew better than to challenge this guy. There was no way he could get his hands on all his victims now, not with Jack pointing that thing at his heart. He knew that Jack was a sharp shooter; the most he could do was to try a shot at Joe, and he would be a goner.
And Joe wasn't even the one he wanted, though he had no problems killing him if he had to…
"The name's Jack," the young Jack corrected him. "And don't try. Unless you want a life of hell," he warned.
Ryan Jr. was not exactly a murderer. He never did kill people for fun or for money, but when circumstances warranted them, he made no reservations about it either. To put it simply, he could kill someone and live with it, if they deserved them. But of course, he wasn't stupid. He would either do it smart, or not do it at all.
"You're not going to jail today," Jack thought, tightening his finger on the trigger as he leveled his gun on Shane. Since Shane had a pistol in his hands too, it gave him perfectly good reason to shoot. A man with a gun in the same room is an immediate and lethal threat. And Jack knew he could get away with this – call it self-defense, or whatever.
There was just one problem. He didn't want his sister watching this…
Suddenly, and without warning, Shane switched the aim of his gun from Joe to Jack. A bad mistake. Joe, leaping at the chance, moved swiftly. He grabbed Shane's wrist and dragged him backwards, forcing his arm into an awkward angle that pointed towards the window. His other hand came down with a forceful blow onto Shane's neck, causing Shane to release his grip on the gun. As the gun clattered onto the floor, Joe hurriedly made a swipe at it with his foot, sending it to the far corner of the room.
What the…? Jack cursed, clearly flustered. Whatever did he do that for? Well, he could understand why Joe disarmed the guy, of course, though he didn't like it one bit. Joe's quick actions had just wrecked his chance of lodging a bullet in his opponent's heart.
He wasn't ready to lower his Glock though. Miller had to die. If he didn't die today, he would be after their family again when he gets out of prison later. He lifted his gun again, ready to pull the trigger at the next sign of struggle.
"No, don't," came a voice, and a hand landed on Jack's shoulder. "Let the police handle it." Looking towards his right, Jack saw Fenton Hardy next to him and scowled. The private investigator had come into the room silently with Ryan Sr. and Chief Collig, along with Con Riley, as well as a few other plainclothesmen.
Chief Collig tapped Jack's arm, a signal that the young man should put away his gun. "We'll have him behind bars in no time," he said, gesturing to where Con Riley and the rest of the police officers had surrounded the young criminal. Jack Junior scowled at the police chief, and lowered his gun reluctantly.
"Frank!" Joe rushed over to his brother. Callie, who had managed to untie Frank's wrists, and had, now, his hand linked in hers, scooted away hurriedly to make way for the frantic younger Hardy. As Joe dropped onto his knees, he reached for Frank's neck, searching for a pulse. Finding a weak one, he sighed in relief. The older teen's breathing was labored, his face as white as a sheet. "Frank, hang on," Joe murmured softly, easing his brother's head onto his lap. Fenton Hardy shot his younger son a reprimanding look. He would have a lot to say to this son of his later. How dare he come after Frank without first telling him? And without backup too! Why, he could have been killed!
"The paramedics are outside," Jack Jr. told him, slicing through his sister's bonds with a knife of his own. "Hush, Kate." He gathered the girl in his arms, as she clung to him, sobbing. "You're safe now. Mom's outside too, with the paramedics."
Joe slid an arm beneath Frank, and held his brother tenderly as Fenton Hardy carefully cut off the ropes around his older son's feet, before the paramedics moved him onto a stretcher.
Ryan Sr. walked over to where Shane was being handcuffed by Con Riley. "I should have shot his father years ago when I had the chance," he muttered. If only he had, Shane would not have existed to create havoc on his family.
But he hadn't. Jack Ryan Sr. had pulled his gun out from Sean Miller's mouth, and allowed him to be arrested, and he had regretted it ever since. Though Sean Miller was arrested and sentenced to capital punishment, he escaped and fled the country two days later while he was transported to Baltimore City Jail. The ULA had staged a massive attack, killing most of the police officers on the job that day. After that, the convict had disappeared, returning to the United States only twenty years later, long after Ryan retired from presidency. And he had been keeping his eye on the Ryan family since, until Jack Junior shot him through the heart when he attacked their home in Maryland…
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p/s: Note that in Patriot Games, Miller's career with the ULA ended with his arrest. Nothing was being said about him after that. We added his escape, and his return for the purpose of this story.