Lawrence held up the remote. "So which will it be, Mr. Johnson: Option One or Option Two?"
Shane could see the indecision in Steve's eye. He was working through the different options, but there really was no choice. The truth was Shane knew that Lawrence had no intention of making it any choice; he would release the toxin at the school because he had to show his weapon off to his potential buyers. Shane just hoped Steve had the same realization.
Right now, it's all about buying time. Maybe we can stall long enough for someone to call in the cavalry.
"Mr. Johnson, I'm waiting," Lawrence said. "I can be a patient man, but please don't push my limits."
Steve glared at Lawrence and then looked back at Shane. "This isn't right, dude," he said, his voice low.
With a slight nod in Steve's direction, Shane thought, No, it's not right, but it just is. "You're not making a choice, Steve. It's not a real choice. . . . They're just kids."
Steve turned back to Lawrence. "Put me in there instead of Donovan. Let him go. Then you can have me like you should have had all along."
That caused Lawrence to laugh. "How magnanimous, Mr. Johnson. What a noble gesture from the insignificant lab rat." He turned to Shane. "And what do you think, Captain? Should I accept the trade?"
Shane already knew his response would be pointless, so he just stayed silent as Lawrence turned back to Steve.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Johnson, but as noble as your offer is, I must decline. You see, you fail to understand why Captain Donovan was selected for this great honor. It has nothing to do with his actions concerning you. No. . . . Captain Donovan's fate was sealed well before he ever set foot in Egypt." Lawrence glanced at Shane. "Would you care to explain, Captain, or should I?"
As he saw the true madness in Lawrence's eyes, Shane remembered Kim telling him that Lawrence did not think the way other people thought. He truly was a sociopath. Shane could only stare at the man and shake his head in disbelief. "Do you really think your father would want innocent children murdered in his name?"
"You killed him," Lawrence snarled. For the first time, he showed signs of losing his composure. His face began to turn red. "You and Jack Devereaux and Bo Brady. All of you. You came to my father's house and you killed him!"
Shane shook his head. Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw Steve start to bend over and reach down, like he was trying to get something from his shoe, and it dawned on Shane that Steve must be armed. Shane felt his heart begin to race. Maybe there was some hope. Maybe they had a chance. Maybe he had a chance. My only chance. He needed to keep Lawrence's attention.
"You're wrong, Lawrence," Shane said. "Your father died because he discovered what you did and he was repulsed. He died trying to undo the damage you did. Hurting more people in his name is not what Leopold would have wanted."
"You lie!" Lawrence shrieked. He raised the gun and, for an instant, Shane thought he was going to fire at the gas chamber, but Lawrence spun suddenly, catching Steve in a crouch. "Don't move or I'll kill you right now."
Steve froze. Shane could see that he had not managed to reach his gun.
"Stand up," Lawrence ordered.
Unable to do anything else, Steve followed the order.
"Very sneaky," Lawrence said. He did not look at Shane, but he added, "Almost an effective ruse, Captain. You and Mr. Johnson might have succeeded with a lesser adversary, but you never fail to underestimate me." With the gun still trained on Steve, Lawrence gave another order. "Remove your boots - without using your hands."
Scowling, Steve kicked at his left boot with his right one until it came free. Then he used his stockinged foot to remove the right boot, which came off and fell sideways to the floor. As it hit, Shane saw a glint of gray metal slide out of the boot.
"Very ingenious," Lawrence said. He motioned to the gun. "Kick it away."
Obviously frustrated that the distraction had failed, Steve kicked the gun, which slid across the floor and came to rest only a few feet from the outer wall of Shane's plexiglass prison. He looked down and realized it was his M9; Steve must have taken it from Shane's desk. It lay there, almost taunting him.
"So what now, Alamain," Steve said. "You going to shoot me?"
Shane looked up from the gun lying on the ground and back at Steve, who was staring down the barrel of Lawrence's pistol. Steve did not seem afraid. He looked like he was almost daring Lawrence to fire.
"Come on, Larry," Steve taunted. "Let's end this now."
Lawrence chuckled. "You would like that, Mr. Johnson, wouldn't you? It would be, what you would call, an 'easy out,' wouldn't it? No hard choices. But I am not letting you off so easy. I've already given you the options. Select 'Option One' and Captain Donovan gets to live, but all those parents will have to bury their children. Select 'Option Two' and we will get to watch as Captain Donovan suffers an excruciatingly painful death before our very eyes."
Steve looked at Shane and their eyes met once again. This time, Shane could see the resignation in Steve's face. He suspected that expression mirrored his own. The decision had been made.
Shane closed his eyes. He pictured Kim on Halloween, the night she had told him about what had happened with Cal. He remembered how he had forced her to confront her true fear - that he would leave her - and how he had promised he would stay with her. He should never have made that promise. And once he had. . . . He tried to stop himself from regretting his decision to come after Lawrence. He could not focus on regrets now. Shane just hoped Kim would forgive him someday.
Opening his eyes again, Shane looked at Steve. They both knew there was no more hope. Steve stared back for a moment, then broke eye contact and looked down at the floor before he gave his almost inaudible answer.
"Two."
Lawrence smiled triumphantly. "The choice is made." He held the remote control box and pressed the button on the right.
Almost immediately, Shane heard a series of whirring sounds above him as the vents sealed tight. Those were followed by a brief silence and a sharp click. Shane's heartbeat pounded in his ears and then he heard it - a soft hissing sound that filled the chamber.
"Isn't it wonderful," Lawrence said, a broad smile across his face. "Father, your death has been avenged."
Shane took a deep breath and fought against his rising fear. If this was how he was going to die, he would face death like a man. Shane looked again at Steve, who was still looking down at the ground.
Shane could feel the gas. It had an acrid, stale smell and it scratched at his throat when he spoke. "Steve," he called out, wondering how long it would be before the gas robbed him of the ability to speak. "Steve!" Shane repeated when Steve did not look up.
That did the trick and his friend raised his head, revealing a fury in his eye that Shane had never seen before. He glared at Shane.
The gas was growing thicker in the chamber and it caused Shane to fight for some air before he could speak again. When he finally managed, he said, "It's okay. You didn't make this choice." Shane knew Steve would feel responsible, but he needed to know he was not to blame. Shane felt his hands starting to burn, as he began to feel the effects of the toxin. "Tell Kim . . . and my kids-"
"Oh how dramatic," Lawrence said, his tone mocking. "The dying man's last request."
Shane's throat was burning. A gray film was clouding his vision and his entire body felt heavy. His mind ran through the images he had seen and the reports he had heard. Weakness, blurry vision. . . . Soon he would be unable to talk at all. This is it, he thought. My last chance to tell them that I love them. Shane fought against the poison and forced his eyes open so he could see Steve again. "Tell them," Shane begged. "Steve. . . please tell. . . ."
"Dammit, Donovan," Steve growled. "Would you just shut the hell up? I'm not going to tell them a damn thing. You will." He spun toward Lawrence. "Sorry, Larry. You forgot about Option Three."