Gabi stepped out from behind the door.

She knew where to strike. The maneuver had been practiced in her mind, over and over. She raised her arm high and, in a downward arc, embedded the blunt scissors into the side of the stunned gunman’s neck.

Chapter 55

Sam Carter cracked his neck and stretched out his back as he downed the last of what must have been his fourth cup of coffee. And it wasn’t even good coffee. Edgar and Taz sat at the conference table, discussing the best way to breach the building. Carter was more worried about what Burke and Nic had learned on their little field trip. He didn’t see a breach coming any time soon. They hadn’t even provided a list of demands. He checked his watch, not that it mattered to him how long the standoff lasted. He had no one waiting at home, not since the accident.

All eyes shot open and all heads turned when one of the technicians yelled, “We have smoke and gunshots in the building.”

Carter looked to the Henderson PD officers, since it was their show. He saw Taz glance at Edgar, who nodded his head vigorously. Carter knew that Taz had the authority to order the breach if the hostages were in immediate danger, but his small deference showed a great deal of respect for the deputy chief. And to Edgar’s credit, he showed no hesitation.

Taz ran for the door, speaking into his radio as he went. “ERT is a go. Pop the doors and throw the smoke. Don’t wait for me!”

Carter started to follow, but then he realized that he wasn’t actually a field agent anymore. He supposed the youngsters could take care of this without him.

He and Edgar moved behind the row of technicians, watching the breach unfold on a series of bouncing helmet cams. It didn’t seem real to Carter, like he was merely watching one of those fraud footage dramas play out on TV. He wanted to be there, kicking in doors and making arrests. Not doing so made him feel old and worthless. He supposed that his part in this was over, and tomorrow he’d be back to the world of performance reviews and requisition forms.

He supposed it didn’t really matter. He had been out in the field all day today and still felt like he’d made very little difference. He knew that he’d done everything in his power to help those hostages, but the responsibility of any of their deaths would still fall on his shoulders like a piano from a fourth-story window.

He held his breath as he watched the SWAT officers breach on the monitors. The officers had tossed smoke grenades for cover, and a haze of black still filled the air from whatever event had led to the breach. But then he saw them, the hostages moving through the smoke toward the front door.

The officers guided the coughing and hacking former captives outside. Carter directed his gaze to the camera views of the team members still pushing forward into the building. Taz’s camera showed three guards on the floor of the lounge. The security officers had been bound and hooded. Taz and his men quickly cut them free, and the guards moved to help a remaining hostage from the couch who wore a blood-soaked eye patch and looked completely dazed and weak. The man, who Carter recognized as the GoBox manager, appeared as if he was knocking on death’s door and completely oblivious to the chaos unfolding around him.