Chapter 8 - The Choice
Declan did not hesitate or negotiate with the traitor.
Before Rearden could pull the trigger, Declan drew his sidearm and shot him in the kneecap.
The doctor screamed in agony and collapsed onto the bloody floor.
Declan kicked the silver revolver across the room.
He grabbed Rearden by the collar and slammed him against the steel medical cabinet.
He demanded to know exactly what was in the syringe.
Rearden sobbed, confessing it was a rare, fast-acting synthetic neurotoxin.
He revealed that Gemma would suffer complete respiratory failure in less than thirty minutes.
Declan pressed the hot barrel of his gun under the doctor's chin.
He ordered him to produce the antidote immediately.
Rearden choked out that he didn't have it.
He admitted that Kieran had kept the only vial of the antidote to ensure Rearden completed the murder.
Declan realized he was completely trapped in a nightmare.
If he went to the pier to save Chloe, Gemma would die on this table.
If he stayed with Gemma, he would be powerless to stop the poison anyway.
He looked at the woman who had brought light into his violent, miserable life.
She was gasping desperately for air, her skin turning a terrible shade of gray.
Declan executed the doctor with a single shot to the head.
There was no time left for mercy or hesitation.
He scooped Gemma up in his arms, ignoring the blood staining his shirt.
He carried her out of the panic room and toward the private rooftop elevator.
He told her to hold on, promising he would get the antidote from his brother.
They reached the roof where his armored helicopter was fueled and waiting in the storm.
Declan strapped her into the passenger seat and took the controls.
He piloted the massive machine into the violent Chicago rain, heading straight for the pier.
As they approached the harbor, Declan looked down through the rain-slicked glass.
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Kieran was standing on the dock holding a glowing flare.
And he was surrounded by at least fifty heavily armed men aiming rocket launchers directly at the sky.
