Chapter 9 - The Final Stand
I didn't dive under a bench. I didn't think about my own safety for a single millisecond. The moment the word gun left the guard's mouth, my mind flashed to Emily, sitting in that back room with only one police officer to protect her.
I sprinted out of the courtroom, pushing past fleeing lawyers and terrified clerks. The hallway was a maze of smoke from a pulled fire alarm, the red emergency lights spinning in rhythmic patterns.
"Emily!" I roared, my voice bouncing off the marble walls.
I reached the secure wing just in time to see a heavy wooden door splinter inward. Jason stood there, his back to me, holding a black pistol. Inside the room, Officer Miller lay unconscious on the floor, having taken a brutal blow to the head. Emily was backed into the corner, trapped behind a desk, her eyes wide with a terror that no child should ever experience twice.
"Time to go home, Emily," Jason growled, raising the weapon.
"Jason!" I screamed.
He spun around, but he wasn't fast enough. The raw, unfiltered adrenaline of a father protecting his child turned me into something unstoppable. I tackled him at full speed, my shoulder driving straight into his ribs. We crashed into the marble floor, the gun skidding away across the polished stone.
Jason snarled, his fingers clawing at my face, striking my jaw with a heavy fist. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, but I didn't care. I grabbed his collar, smashing his head against the floor once, twice, until his eyes went unfocused.
"You... will... never... touch... her... again!" I yelled with every strike.
He went limp beneath me. I stood up, gasping for breath, my chest heaving. I didn't look down at his unconscious body. I turned instantly toward the corner of the room.
Emily was standing there, her hands shaking, tears streaming down her face. But she wasn't looking at the cage anymore. She was looking at me.
May you like
"Daddy," she whispered.
I fell to my knees, opening my arms, and she flew into them, burying her face into my chest. The sirens outside were loud, the police were rushing down the hallway, but inside that room, the dark had finally been broken.
