A/N: A shout out to Jennifer Baratta! You are very kind. Thank you so much. I'm so glad you are enjoying the story.
Chapter 21
"Supergirl!" Sophie was glad to see the hero as she landed next to the Crow officer outside Josh Brandt's mom's house. The Crows had the house surrounded. There was no way that the distraught man would get out without someone knowing about it.
"Sophie, I heard we had some trouble here," Kara gave her a slight smile.
"Josh Brandt has a gun to his mom's head and keeps threatening to harm anyone who comes near. I have no idea why our former chemistry equipment warehouse manager is willing to go this far unless…" Sophie gave her a look.
"You think he knows what the plan is for that Fear Toxin Batwoman told me about," Kara said.
"Exactly so. I have headquarters trying to figure out what they could be waiting for in case this goes south," Sophie explained. Right now, the two women were letting the negotiator try and talk Josh down through the megaphone. Josh had refused to answer the landline inside his mother's home. He'd even had his mother throw the phone outside via the front door. Their cell phones were chucked out of a living room window. When the Crows tried to deliver a phone to them, Josh shot off a few rounds, so megaphone it was.
"How long are they going to try this before your SWAT team tries to make entry?" Supergirl asked.
"There is always a clock on these things but right now, my negotiator is trying to just get him to give some concessions. I know you're quick, but you think you could enter the house and stop a speeding bullet almost at the same time?" The Crow wondered.
"What kind of weapons does he have in there?" Kara wanted to know.
"He's been waving around a nine-millimeter, but his deceased father had a shotgun registered in his name so it's possible he has that too," Sophie explained. Kara quickly used her X-ray vision and was able to confirm Sophie's suspicion.
"He has a box of shotgun shells and a shot gun on the coffee table," the blonde frowned.
"Ok so what are your thoughts?" The Crow gave her a look.
"Our best bet is for me to grab him before he can pull the trigger. If I go for his mom, he might try and kill himself. Who called it in?" Kara had a thought.
"The neighbors," Sophie pointed to the house on the right of the Brandt's house before continuing, "they hadn't seen Josh in months and when he suddenly pulled up outside his mom's place. His mom, Jean Brandt, was happy to see him but when the neighbors heard yelling and screaming, they called it in," she said.
"So, they worried that she was getting hurt. The neighbors automatically went there," Kara was surprised.
"Seems Josh has anger problems and he owes a lot of money to his bookie," Sophie shook her head.
"So, our good citizens had a reason to go four alarm fire when they heard the yelling. Let me talk to the negotiator," Supergirl smiled and headed over to the man on the megaphone.
"You think you can talk him down?" He asked without introducing himself.
"No, that's your job. I want you to keep dong that job. Keep him distracted out front and I'll make entry through the rear. I can tackle him before he fires that weapon and we can figure out how we got here today," Kara promised.
"Yes ma'am," he gave her a wink and tried a different tack with his attempts to reach out to Josh. Kara silently slipped around the back of the house. The SWAT team let her pass by and pointed out a door that she could use for entry. The unearthly strong woman grabbed the screen door hinges and broke them, allowing her to remove the door silently. Next, she moved to the storm door, again breaking the hinges, and removing the door silently. Creeping into the house, she used her X-ray vision, she spotted her objective. The front door opened into the living room. To the right of the door was the kitchen, the dining room was located at the end of the kitchen through a doorway. From the dining room was a wall at the back of the living room creating a hallway down to the bedrooms. There was a second entrance into the living room near the bathroom.
Jean Brandt was stuck in her recliner, completely freaked out. She didn't understand why her son was doing this. She was afraid that today would be her last day. What she did not expect was what happened next.
Supergirl burst through the wall that separated the living room and the hall. She flew straight at Josh. The man had no time to react as she removed the gun from his hand before grabbing him by the shirt.
"Hi Josh. The nice folks outside and I need to have a chat with you," Kara told him. It was then that she heard the SWAT team enter the home through the door that she had come in by.
"Fellas, would you escort him down to Crow Headquarters?" Supergirl asked.
"Yes ma'am," the team leader smirked before his comrades took Josh from her and secured him and the crime scene. He radioed the team out front that they were clear. Kara then turned her attention to Jean.
"Are you ok Miss Jean?" The blonde wanted to know. The woman only managed a nod. Kara could hear her heartbeat going at what seemed like ninety miles an hour.
"I need you to take a deep breath. We need to slow your heart down. I'm going to make sure that the medics take a look at you, ok?" Kara wondered. Jean nodded and she took a few deep breaths, her heart rate slowed. Kara helped her up from the recliner and led her out the front door.
To Be Continued…