Chapter 11

The concussion grenade fired from the robot had shattered the main window, and the blue-white light from the tactical helicopter filled the room. Arnie sat behind his barricade, desperately calling his brother’s name but never receiving an answer.

He nervously rubbed the shaft of his rifle, took a deep breath, and aimed his sights out the window. He fired several rounds at anything that resembled a target. His haphazard shots ricocheted off the asphalt. He slid the lever to automatic, firing several short bursts. Multiple brass casings gave off a pinging sound as they bounced off the floor and each other. The Charlie Team’s Humvee absorbed quite a few rounds.

Team Charlie returned fire with a defined strategy. Every spent round would have to be accounted for, and they were careful not to shoot beyond the main room. The repeated thwack, crack, and snap sounds filled the room from bullets penetrating the plaster wallboard and behind Arnie. Bullets entered and splintered wood and clunked off metal.

Arnie paused to reload another 30-round magazine, then re-aimed his M-16. What he didn’t know was that one member of the Response Team had him in her scope’s sight glass. All she needed were one to two square inches of the target.

The sudden pain was excruciating as a bullet from Zulu’s Remington 700 PSS, a Police Sharp Shooter rifle, shattered his right shoulder. The impact spun him around, and he hid from sight. He looked at his shirt, which was growing red from his wound, and began crying. Arnie’s arm went numb and useless. He feared the worst for Chuck and triggered the C-4 in the hostage’s room. Nothing happened. The previous explosion had disarmed the explosives in the hostage room.

He leaned against the barricade, taking the remaining remote control trigger in his left hand. He put the duffel bag of money on his lap and zipped it open. He cried hopelessly, touching the bundles of bills, then stared blankly at the money and cried out his brother’s name one last time. With a squeeze of the trigger control, he was gone in a split second.

Team Alpha and Charlie took cover as the front center of the building disintegrated in a sudden flash of fire and smoke. A mushroom-shaped black cloud billowed skyward into the darkness as debris rained down like chunks of hail, covering the parking lot in metal, cinderblocks, vinyl siding, glass, and other materials.

Then pieces of paper began to float and flutter down from the concussion wave and light breeze. 500,000 dollars in 100-dollar bills were falling like large flakes of snow. Several fires were started by the mighty blast.

The pilot of the TV station’s helicopter instinctively banked hard to the right and withdrew to avoid any flying debris that might damage the bird and cause it to crash. Air Tactical One and Two also made immediate retreats to avoid flying shrapnel from the powerful explosion. A few moments later, they returned to their previous positions. The invisible wake from their propeller wash now stirred the dust in circular, horizontal swirls.

“Get us closer!” Gerard urged the news helicopter pilot.

Claudia!” Kim screamed, seeing the sudden, enormous blast on TV. She buried her head against Tracy’s breast and began to cry.

“Claudia!” Tracy cried too at the unknown fate of their long-time lover. The other women looked on in disbelief at the explosion and wept against each other.

Julia and Erin shrieked in fright, losing their balance as the floor under them vibrated and cracked from the explosion. More ceiling tiles fell around them, and the metal door was blown off its frame, taking several cinderblocks with it. Dan instinctively tried to cover as many of them as he could with his body.

“That blast was even bigger than the first!” Julia nervously shouted.

The lower floors were a disaster as pieces of metal and concrete continued to fall. Charlie Team’s robot was buried as the front of three floors fell on it. Pieces of the building continued to fall as a slight breeze swept the dust cloud away. Frayed electrical wires dangled, discharging errant sparks.

“Sitrep, Sitrep!” Lieutenant Matthews urgently shouted into his radio. Detective Armstrong, watching from a video screen in the command post, buried her head in her hands and anxiously listened to the radio. Her husband, Tom, was the team leader for Charlie.

The team’s Humvees had absorbed the blast wave and deflected debris away from the team members.

“Alpha and Charlie are intact; there are no severe injuries!” He was told a moment later. Lieutenant Matthews gave a hesitant sigh of relief, and Beth smiled nervously, wiping away her tears.

“Bravo, take the lead into the building. Expect to find more C-4!” He warned. “Charlie, look for the hostages, and Alpha clear the remaining floors and be careful, all of you!” The teams covered each other at the door as, one by one, they entered.

“C-4 over the west entrance neutralized, continuing up the stairs to the second floor,” the lieutenant heard in a calm voice.

The gigantic blast had punctured a hole in the cracked wall. “We have got to get out of here before the rest of the building comes down on us!” Dan urgently cried. Wincing in pain, he hauled the broken metal door out of the way and peered into the hallway. A few feet to his left, he could see outside, and the floor leading to the east exit door was gone. He returned to the women, preparing to lead them out.

Claudia placed her cuffed wrists over Dan’s neck. “I saw him shoot you! You should be dead! I thought he had killed you!” She cried, hugging him close to her breasts. He hugged her, his chest on fire, then took her hands from around his neck.

“I didn’t care what the police said to me; I was determined to get to you. Detective Armstrong made a suggestion to me.” Dan unbuttoned his shirt. “She had me put on her husband’s police bulletproof vest!”

“The things you do for me!” She gazed in thankful amazement at the black garment that had saved her husband’s life. Claudia touched a round indent on his chest, and a deformed bullet fell to the floor. Over the right breast, ‘Armstrong, ‘ was emblazoned in gold stitching. Dan held out his shirt and poked two fingers through the holes.

“How did you ever come up with the idea for this costume?” She asked, feeling the material of his shirt through her fingers. “I could walk right past you and not even know it was you.” Claudia observed his tattered clothing, hair, and beard.

“It was Tracy’s idea.”

“Who, my Tracy?”

“Yes, she’s here, and so are Kim and Brooke, along with Tessa, Tina, Susan, Paula, Karen, Emma, Rita, Stacey, and Morgan. We’ve all been looking for you, all of you!” He looked at the others.

“This is the Tampa Police, Claudia Davenport; are you in here?” They heard loudly.

“Yes, yes, we’re in here!”

“Stay where you are!” The team made their way down the cluttered hallway, making sure every room was clear. Locked doors were broken open. The building continued to creak and groan as if it were dying. Pieces still broke free, falling off from the blast.

The group huddled together, able to see the shine of flashlights growing brighter. “Everyone put up your hands; do not move when we enter!”

“Yes, we understand!” Claudia replied. She raised her hands, as did the others. A moment later, a police officer crouched in the doorway, his flash-lighted weapon moving from one to the other. More flashlights shone in, and weapons were pointed. The red dots of several lasers marked what would be the entry point of a fatal bullet.

“How many men were there?”

“Only two,” she answered. “The one named Chuck is on the floor by the bed. He’s dead.”

“Is this all the women?”

“There are four of us.”

“Who is he?” The rifle’s red dot pinpointed Dan’s heart. Several more police entered the room, and it grew brighter with more artificial light.

Claudia moved in front of him, the dot now between her breasts. “Don’t shoot, he’s my husband! He helped rescue us.”

Charlie’s team leader went to the figure on the floor, examining him with his LED flashlight and feeling his neck for a pulse. His eyes never blinked, staring straight ahead. “Someone sure did a number on this guy! Who killed him?” He asked, shining his light on them. He noticed all the women wore the same grey-coloured short nightie.

“I did!” Dan confessed.

“And I did too!” Claudia added, standing by his side and taking his hand.

“And so did I!” Allison supported them, stepping between them and taking their hands in hers.

“Me too!” Julia said, standing beside Claudia.

“And the same with me!” Erin added, taking Julia’s hand.

“I’m sort of getting the picture,” the sergeant offered, looking once more at Chuck’s battered and bloody body.

“Command, we have one suspect down and deceased. All four women are alive and accounted for, and we also have one unauthorized male civilian.”

“The unauthorized male would be the husband of one of the victims,” the lieutenant confirmed.

Charlie’s team leader came to Dan, noticing the black vest. He swept his shirt aside, noticing the name ‘Armstrong,’ “That’s my vest! Where did you get it?”

“Your wife suggested that if I was so stupid and so determined to go after my wife, I should at least have some protection. She made me put on your bulletproof vest. And let me tell you, I sure am glad I did. But I can tell you, my chest and ribs sure hurt.”

“My wife is here? I hate it when she shows up when I’m working. It makes me worry about her. You’ll probably have some heavy bruising from the bullets hitting you,” Officer Armstrong remarked.

“May I suggest you see your wife before you return to the station?” He didn’t want to spill the news that he was about to become a father.

“Okay, we have to get you out of here. The building isn’t safe to be in,” Sergeant Armstrong instructed. One police officer each escorted Julia and Erin out of the room. Each officer made sure their path was free of dangerous debris for their bare feet, and the girls walked gingerly down the hallway. An officer took Allison by the arm and began to escort her to the hallway.

“No, I want to go with only him!” She returned to Dan, cuddling close to his side. “I only want you to carry me!” Allison looked up at him. He gazed into her tormented eyes and gripped her by the waist. He lifted her against his hip, and she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms tightly around his neck.

Dan’s hands became her seat as they cradled her bare ass cheeks. Her short nightie rode up above her tiny ass, and his fingertips were innocently very close to her pussy lips. He lifted her higher for a better grip, and he could feel the heat from between her legs.

“Hang onto me tight!” He instructed. Claudia grasped his bicep, and the officer escorted the trio out the doorway, down the hall, and down the stairs.

“Command, the remaining floors are clear!” The lieutenant was told. He allowed the fire department to approach the building to battle the blaze, and he ordered the ambulances to the west parking lot entrance. The blaze at the main entrance would have to be fought from a distance should errant bullets explode from the fire.

Gerard MacDonald had been giving viewers a running commentary of the drama unfolding below him. Dan’s twelve girls were on the edge of their seats, gripped in fear for their common lovers. Viewers everywhere were watching this horrific drama unfold on live television.

Julia’s family sat in front of their TV and couldn’t bear the anxiety of wondering if she was one of the hostages or even if she was dead or alive. Erin’s parents clutched each other’s hands, agonizing over the fate of their only child.

Gerard’s excited voice announced, “I now see movement at the west entrance! Members of the Response Team are exiting the building! So far, I see none of the hostages! Please, please, let there be a miracle!”

Agonizing moments of silence pass by as the chopper’s searchlights illuminate more members of the tactical teams exiting the building.

“Wait a moment!” The camera zoomed in, giving viewers a closer look. “Yes, yes, I see an officer escorting what appears to be one of the hostages out of the building! It looks to be Erin St.Clair walking under her own power! And yes, there comes another! It is Julia Bennett who disappeared last week!”

Anyone standing outside would have heard screeches and screams of joy and relief coming from the St. Clair and Bennett homes.

Seconds seem to drag ever so slowly as tears blur the eyes of Dan’s girls. The gripping drama on the screen was almost too much to bear. More time passed, with only two more police officers leaving the west entrance.

“No, no, please don’t tell me!” Kim buried her head again in Tracy’s breast at the horrible thought.

A full agonizing minute later, “I see more movement at the west entrance!” Gerard continued excitedly, “Yes, yes, I recognize our very own Claudia Davenport along with another man, and his is carrying the young girl, Allison Taylor, who vanished on her way to school last Tuesday!” The camera zoomed in closer, and the three were recognizable on TV.

Dan’s TV room erupted in high-pitched squeals and screams as the girls jumped and hugged each other upon seeing Claudia and Dan leave the building. Allison’s aunt, uncle, and grandparents whooped for joy at seeing Allison also alive!

Several police officers used their boots to kick aside debris so they could walk. Allison’s body was bouncing against his hip as Dan and Claudia hurried to the waiting ambulances. “What’s all this paper floating around?” Claudia asked as several pieces fluttered past her, “Money?”

Dan started to laugh. “It’s 500,000 dollars of your ransom!”

“I hope you can get it all back!” She looked at the fluttering confetti.

“I don’t care about the money! I have you alive and well. That’s what matters to me!”

Paramedics were attending to Julia and Erin as firemen worked to free them from their handcuffs. Dan noticed several police officers gathered around an ambulance. He saw an officer lying on a stretcher, his leg being attended to. Dan was met by a paramedic who tried to take Allison from him.

“You can let go of her now, Sir,” the paramedic said, taking Allison by the waist.

“I have!” He replied, holding his arms out from his body. “She’s clinging to me like she’s human Velcro,” he joked. Allison held on with all her remaining strength and hid her head against the hollow of his shoulder.

“I don’t want to let go!” She cried.

“It’s okay, Allison; the paramedic has to examine you then take you to the hospital,” Claudia reassured her.

Allison finally relented, allowing the paramedic to take her to the next ambulance. A blanket was draped over Claudia’s shoulders as the fireman busied himself trying to remove her handcuffs. Dan winced in pain as he took off his shirt and then the bulletproof vest. Claudia gasped at the two six-inch-diameter bruises forming where the bullets struck him. Bruises that would heal were far better than the alternative.

“Oh my God, Dan, this one even broke the skin!” She lightly touched his chest as the fireman gingerly worked to free her hands. Finally, she was free of her shackles, and she immediately wrapped her arms around Dan’s neck and shoulders. She hugged him with all her weakened strength. His strong arms became a loving vice around her body.

“I never thought I’d ever get to hold you again!” He kissed her.

Finally, back in her lover’s arms, she freely wept, and Dan’s tears of relief joined hers. Claudia’s chin quivered, then she began to sob again. “Dan, they killed Wayne. Arnie made him run, and then he shot him dead.”

Dan cupped her cheeks in his hands and said, “No, no, no, he isn’t dead! Detective Armstrong told me that just before I came to you, the police decided to keep his being alive a secret so as not to endanger you and Erin. He was hit in the shoulder and head, but only time will tell if he’s suffered any brain damage.”

“He isn’t dead? Oh, thank God! I’ve got to see him!”

“We’re going to the hospital now,” Julia said, accompanied by Erin. Blankets began to warm up their battered bodies.

“Julia and Erin, this is my husband, Dan Davenport!” She beamed proudly.

Tears streamed down Julia’s cheeks. “I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank you!” She hugged him tightly. Her full breasts flattened against his chest, and she sobbed against his shoulder. He tolerated the pain in his chest from her embrace.

“Just live the best life you can! The more you live, the more those two bastards lose!”

“Thank you. I’ll always remember what you’ve done for me!” Erin cried, taking her turn to hug him.

“Do you think we’ll remain friends after this?” Julia wondered. She looked hesitantly at Dan as she continued, “Claudia, despite what we’ve been through, I have this need to be with you again.”

“I understand,” she smiled, clutching her fingers in hers. “How could we survive this ordeal and not remain friends? And I agree with Dan: the more we live our lives, the more it avenges those two monsters!” She cupped her cheek in her hand. “I’d love to be with you again as well. We’ll find the time to be together.”

Dan took his love into his arms, so grateful to have her back alive. “That was a great clue you gave me when they made your ransom video. I never expected that my depiction of the killers in my book as identical twins would actually be true. And then for you to say that Kim’s tenth birthday would be a new chapter in her life was brilliant!”

“When I was talking to Allison, I found out she had witnessed a murder, and then Julia, and also Erin. Then I realized they were the real killers from your book. They had moved from Miami to Tampa and continued their killing spree. All those innocent lives lost!”

Claudia then began to quietly laugh, saying, “You should have seen the look on Chuck’s face when he returned from meeting you with only 500,000 dollars instead of 2,000,000! Man, was he ever pissed off!”

“No, no, I won’t go with you!” Allison loudly protested. The paramedic was only doing his job, but she let out the loudest screams in protest.

“I have to be with them!” She yelled, breaking free of his gentle grasp.

Dan and Claudia were hugging when they were nudged by Allison, who was wriggling in with them, “I want to go with you, Claudia!” She pleaded, looking up at her.

“All her vitals are normal,” the paramedic reported, following her.

Claudia’s left arm encircled her, and the three hugged. Dan, this is Allison Taylor, the bravest woman I’ve ever known!”

“You’re the brave one, Claudia, the way you stood up to those two evil men!” She hugged her tight.

“Hello Allison, it’s a pleasure to meet you, but not the way I’d have liked it!” Dan smiled, and they had a gentle laugh. Dan hugged her tiny frame, and she eagerly accepted his appreciation.

“And you, definitely, are a brave young woman! You grabbed Chuck’s hand even with him holding a gun and trying to stop him. And when he was going to use his knife, you bit his arm. Allison, you saved my life. You saved our lives!” Dan said.

“I didn’t want him to hurt Claudia or you. She means so much to me, and she told me about you and what a great man you are.” Dan hugged her petite frame again.

Finally, emotion took hold of Dan, and he broke down crying into Claudia’s shoulder, saying, “I thought I’d never see you alive again! I love you so much!” Claudia’s tears joined his as they again released their pent-up feelings. Allison’s tears matched theirs, drop for drop, and she rubbed both their backs as the new trio cried with such relief.