Chapter 4 - The Hostage
“Nobody move!” Vanessa shouted.
The string quartet musicians screamed and dove behind the grand piano.
The emergency lights flickered on, casting eerie red shadows across the officers' club.
I drew my concealed weapon from my thigh holster in one fluid motion.
But Vanessa was faster.
She had grabbed Patricia and pulled her into a tight chokehold.
Vanessa held a small, suppressed pistol directly against my mother-in-law’s temple.
“Let her go, Vanessa,” I ordered, keeping my sights trained strictly on the spy's head.
“Lower your weapon, Agent Walker, or I will paint this beautiful floor with her brains,” Vanessa threatened.
Patricia was trembling violently, tears streaming down her carefully makeup-covered face.
“Grace, please, do not let her kill me!” Patricia begged hysterically.
“An hour ago, you wanted me out of your life forever,” I reminded her coldly.
“Please, I was wrong about you!” she cried.
“Put the gun down, Grace,” Ethan pleaded from his knees, his hands still cuffed behind his back.
I ignored my pathetic husband and focused entirely on Vanessa's breathing.
“You cannot escape this base, Vanessa,” I stated calmly.
“Every gate is locked down, and heavily armed tactical teams are currently surrounding this building.”
Vanessa backed slowly toward the kitchen doors, dragging a sobbing Patricia with her.
“I do not need to escape the base, I just need to get to the extraction point,” Vanessa replied.
I took a slow, calculated step forward.
“There is no extraction point,” I bluffed.
“Viper is already in federal custody.”
Vanessa's eyes widened for a fraction of a second.
That micro-expression of doubt was all I needed to confirm she was working with a local team.
“You are lying,” she hissed.
“Test me,” I challenged, taking another step closer.
Vanessa’s grip on Patricia tightened, her finger twitching dangerously on the trigger.
“If Viper is captured, then the secondary protocol has already been activated,” Vanessa smiled wickedly.
General Sterling raised his hands to calm the situation.
“What is the secondary protocol?” the general demanded.
May you like
Vanessa looked at her watch and laughed.
“It means this officers' club is going to be completely vaporized in exactly four minutes.”
