the hell would I kill the only bargaining chip I have? Don’t get me wrong… I will kill her if you don’t cooperate.”
“I’m not going to cooperate with you on anything,” Alex said.
“I think you might when you hear me out.” He paused here, tapping the barrel of the gun against the side of Amanda’s head. “Look, Alex… I’m not stupid. I’ve watched you beat Larry to death and then saw how you and your friend handled my latest two scrubs like it was nothing. And I’ll be man enough to admit that you’ve kicked my ass, too. So quite frankly, I’m done trying to be beat you physically. I know when I’ve met my match.”
Marco’s words didn’t sway Alex in the least. He stood his ground, not daring to move an inch just yet. He held both guns steady, pushing past the throbbing pain from the broken fingers in his left hand.
He locked eyes with Amanda, trying to gauge her demeanor. The look of helplessness in her eyes tore into Alex, and seeing her like that made him more vulnerable than he cared for. Hesitantly, he lowered his guns.
“What do you want, then?” He asked Marco.
“Good boy,” he said. “You and I have been through the ringer the last few days, haven’t we? It’s good to know that after all of that, we can negotiate like gentlemen.”
Amanda squirmed in the seat a bit. A tear trickled down from the corner of her left eye as she looked pleasingly to Alex.
“Well,” Alex said, “you know what I want. I want you to release Amanda and let her out of here alive.”
“I assumed as much. And of course, that’s the easiest part of this bargain.”
“So name your terms, then.”
Marco smiled a huge grin that Alex badly wanted to smash in with his fist. “First, you’re going to drop your guns. If you don’t do that, there’s not going to be any negotiations. You have three seconds to do it, or I’ll blow out the back of her head.”
“Do it, and I’ll fire my guns directly afterwards. And we both know I’m faster than you.”
“That you are. But I don’t care. I’m willing to risk it because what I have to ask of you is big. Without it, I don’t really have much of a career left.”
Alex knew that Marco was almost insane and wouldn’t bluff about such a thing. Still, releasing the guns was madness.
“One,” Marco said. “Two…,”
“Fine,” Alex spat, and threw down the guns.
“No,” Amanda wept.
“There,” Marco said. “That wasn’t so hard, was it? It’s almost as if you don’t trust me or something.”
“I don’t trust y—,” Alex said, but he stopped as she saw Marco turn the gun away from Amanda and directly towards him. Marco tilted the gun down and fired.
Alex’s right leg was filled with fire. A pain like he had never experienced raced up his leg and coiled in the pit of his stomach like a venomous snake. Alex yelled out in pain, reaching down to clutch at his knee. The bastard had put a bullet just above his knee. The pain was immeasurable, and despite that, Alex found himself lunging towards Marco.
He fell on his face though, and his knee slammed into the floor. He yelled again and pounded the ground in frustration.
“That’s for killing Larry,” Marco said. He slid the gun into a holster that was apparently hidden away behind his waist and then looked almost lovingly at Amanda. He looked back to Alex as he drew back his hand.
“And this is for killing those two thugs,” he said. “They cost me three hundred bucks each.”
He then slapped Amanda hard across the face—so hard that her chair toppled over and she went crashing to the ground with a scream.
Alex screamed her name, and when he saw the pain on her face and felt the absolute uselessness swim through him, he knew without a doubt that he loved her. He’d let Marco shoot him again and again if it meant that Amanda could go free.
But Marco didn’t have
“I’m not going to cooperate with you on anything,” Alex said.
“I think you might when you hear me out.” He paused here, tapping the barrel of the gun against the side of Amanda’s head. “Look, Alex… I’m not stupid. I’ve watched you beat Larry to death and then saw how you and your friend handled my latest two scrubs like it was nothing. And I’ll be man enough to admit that you’ve kicked my ass, too. So quite frankly, I’m done trying to be beat you physically. I know when I’ve met my match.”
Marco’s words didn’t sway Alex in the least. He stood his ground, not daring to move an inch just yet. He held both guns steady, pushing past the throbbing pain from the broken fingers in his left hand.
He locked eyes with Amanda, trying to gauge her demeanor. The look of helplessness in her eyes tore into Alex, and seeing her like that made him more vulnerable than he cared for. Hesitantly, he lowered his guns.
“What do you want, then?” He asked Marco.
“Good boy,” he said. “You and I have been through the ringer the last few days, haven’t we? It’s good to know that after all of that, we can negotiate like gentlemen.”
Amanda squirmed in the seat a bit. A tear trickled down from the corner of her left eye as she looked pleasingly to Alex.
“Well,” Alex said, “you know what I want. I want you to release Amanda and let her out of here alive.”
“I assumed as much. And of course, that’s the easiest part of this bargain.”
“So name your terms, then.”
Marco smiled a huge grin that Alex badly wanted to smash in with his fist. “First, you’re going to drop your guns. If you don’t do that, there’s not going to be any negotiations. You have three seconds to do it, or I’ll blow out the back of her head.”
“Do it, and I’ll fire my guns directly afterwards. And we both know I’m faster than you.”
“That you are. But I don’t care. I’m willing to risk it because what I have to ask of you is big. Without it, I don’t really have much of a career left.”
Alex knew that Marco was almost insane and wouldn’t bluff about such a thing. Still, releasing the guns was madness.
“One,” Marco said. “Two…,”
“Fine,” Alex spat, and threw down the guns.
“No,” Amanda wept.
“There,” Marco said. “That wasn’t so hard, was it? It’s almost as if you don’t trust me or something.”
“I don’t trust y—,” Alex said, but he stopped as she saw Marco turn the gun away from Amanda and directly towards him. Marco tilted the gun down and fired.
Alex’s right leg was filled with fire. A pain like he had never experienced raced up his leg and coiled in the pit of his stomach like a venomous snake. Alex yelled out in pain, reaching down to clutch at his knee. The bastard had put a bullet just above his knee. The pain was immeasurable, and despite that, Alex found himself lunging towards Marco.
He fell on his face though, and his knee slammed into the floor. He yelled again and pounded the ground in frustration.
“That’s for killing Larry,” Marco said. He slid the gun into a holster that was apparently hidden away behind his waist and then looked almost lovingly at Amanda. He looked back to Alex as he drew back his hand.
“And this is for killing those two thugs,” he said. “They cost me three hundred bucks each.”
He then slapped Amanda hard across the face—so hard that her chair toppled over and she went crashing to the ground with a scream.
Alex screamed her name, and when he saw the pain on her face and felt the absolute uselessness swim through him, he knew without a doubt that he loved her. He’d let Marco shoot him again and again if it meant that Amanda could go free.
But Marco didn’t have
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