Chapter 35: The Hostage
Adam watched frozen in horror from behind the corner of the wall. The two bodies of the mother and her young daughter lay motionless on the cold floor of the corridor.
His mind was a blank slate a canvas of pure unprocessed shock. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t move. He had tried to save the mother only to watch the daughter die.
He had tried to intervene only to watch them both be slaughtered. He had failed. Twice. In the span of a few fleeting seconds he had failed completely. The professional ruthlessness of these men was something he had not been prepared for. They were a different breed from the thugs and corrupt cops he had faced before. They were a different level of threat entirely. Their actions were precise efficient and devoid of any human emotion.
Before he could even begin to formulate a plan before he could even decide what his next move should be he heard the sound of frantic footsteps pounding down the stairs.
It was Sophia.
She was running her heart filled with a desperate worry for Adam her mind a chaotic mess of confusion from her sister’s panicked shouts just moments earlier. She reached the bottom of the stairs her mind still focused on one thing finding Adam.
And then she saw it. She saw her younger sister Anastasia lying on the floor at the far end of the long corridor a small still form in a place where she should not be.
From his hiding spot behind the jutting wall Adam saw Sophia appear at the top of the stairs. A new wave of dread colder and more potent than anything he had felt before washed over him.
No no no he thought his mind screaming in a silent protest that was drowned out by the pounding of his own heart. Not her. Not now. Not like this.
Sophia didn’t see her mother’s body from her vantage point at the top of the stairs. It was obscured by the angle of the shop’s entrance. Her entire focus her entire world narrowed to the small still form of her beloved sister. She ran forward her mind refusing to accept what her eyes were seeing. She was propelled by a desperate hope that this was all a terrible mistake.
She ran directly into the line of sight of the three masked men. She ran right into the center of the kill zone.
The man at the front the one who had fired both fatal shots without a flicker of hesitation saw her. Adam could tell even from a distance that the man was smiling beneath his mask. A low cruel chuckle rumbled in his chest a sound of pure malevolent satisfaction.
"Listen up boy!" the masked man shouted. His voice echoed in the now deathly silent house. His voice was not directed at the terrified girl standing before him.