Chapter 9 - The Crossfire
"Drop your weapons immediately!" a voice boomed loudly through a massive police megaphone.
Dozens of heavily armed SWAT officers stepped out from behind the rusted shipping containers.
They completely surrounded our small group, their laser sights dancing violently across our chests.
Police Commissioner Vance walked confidently to the front of the tactical line, smiling cruelly.
"I truly appreciate you bringing all the dangerous criminals to one convenient location, Dante," Vance mocked.
Dante did not lower his weapon, his body shielding me completely from the police line.
"You are a corrupt, pathetic coward, Vance," Dante shouted back fearlessly.
"And you are going to die in a terrible shootout resisting arrest," Vance replied with a wicked grin.
Vance raised his hand slowly to give his men the final order to execute us.
"Take cover!" Dante roared, shoving me violently behind a solid steel container.
Deafening gunfire completely erupted across the shipping yard, tearing the cold night air to shreds.
Bullets sparked wildly against the thick metal, raining sharp shrapnel down upon our heads.
I peeked around the corner and saw Chloe frozen in absolute terror, still holding Elara in the open.
"Chloe, run!" I screamed desperately over the roaring sounds of the heavy weapons.
Chloe looked at me, then looked deeply at the terrified little girl clinging to her leg.
For the first time in her entirely selfish life, my sister made a truly selfless decision.
She scooped Elara into her arms and sprinted desperately toward our safe cover.
A SWAT officer tracked her movement and fired a deadly, three-round burst from his rifle.
Chloe violently threw Elara forward into my waiting arms just as the bullets struck her back.
She collapsed heavily onto the wet concrete, gasping painfully for air as a dark pool of blood formed beneath her.
"No!" I screamed, pulling Elara securely behind the thick steel wall.
Dante stepped out forcefully, firing his weapon with terrifying, lethal precision.
He dropped three heavily armed officers in seconds, forcing the rest to violently retreat behind their vehicles.
I crawled desperately over to my bleeding sister, pressing my shaking hands against her terrible wounds.
May you like
Chloe offered me a weak, bloody smile and pressed a small digital voice recorder into my palm.
"I recorded Vance's entire confession," she whispered softly before her eyes closed permanently.
