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"What's the situation?" James Wilder was speaking to the district ten captain. "Bad. Harry managed to raid our weapons room when he escaped. He took two rifles, two revolvers, and more than enough bullets. He's still got a lot more, I can guarantee that." The captain looked hot and flustered. "How about getting men up there?" "We tried, but no one can move five steps from where we are without getting shot at, and Harry is a good shot. Already four of my men have been injured. How about trying your people, they've been trained for situations like this, haven't they?" "I only have two cadets here. My officers are spread out in the different districts trying to help the Met." His frustration was evident. "How about ..." Nykki turned back to her twin. "Heard that?" she whispered softly. "I have an idea." "I'm listening," her twin replied. "We get onto that roof via the building next to it. But I'll need you to watch my back." "Nicole Storm," he hissed softly, "Have you even seen the distance between the two buildings. Look at it," Nicholas pointed, "how do you propose to leap that far? I won't allow it, it's too risky." "When have you become in charge of my life Nicholas?" Nykki asked. The softly spoken words were menacing. "And who are you to allow me to do what I have to? I'm going to get Christopher out of that situation, and no one is going to stop me." Nicholas could see the muscle ticking in her jaw that betrayed her surface calmness. He could feel the determination emanating from her, and sighed. "I'm going with you." "No!" she answered fiercely. "It'll be easier with one than two," her brother opened his mouth to protest, and she added quickly. "I'll need backup. Get into the warehouse, and go up, I'll holler if I need you. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. You've got to be careful though, I don't want anything to happen to you." She pulled on her helmet. "Take care Nykki, I'll be up there as soon as possible." He pressed a quick kiss on her helmet. She nodded once, and quickly got up, blending in with the uniformed police officers. As he watched her meander her way through the mass of police officers, his thoughts were in a jumble. On one hand he was glad that Nykki actually cared enough for Christopher to try to save him — he hoped it marked the beginning of the healing of her emotional wounds. On the other hand, he was frustrated at her total lack of concern for herself. Look out for yourself Nykki, I don't want anything to happen to you. As if she had heard those mentally spoken words, she turned and looked back at him. She raised her hand and waved, then disappeared in the never-ending stream of humanity.
"Pretty boy, you'll be my ticket out of here," Harry Cray crooned softly to his hostage, running a sharp knife along his jaw. A red line welled up and beads of blood welled up at the cut. Christopher stared back at his captor in disgust, ignoring the sight of his blood running down his captor's knife. "You'll never get away with this Cray, they'll come and get you." "And risk having me ruin your pretty face? You're kidding. You're a FBI agent, your father is Quantico's Director, the police don't have a fuching chance of getting me back to jail, and you know it." Unfortunately, he did. The Feds would do almost anything to prevent the loss of an agent, even one who was a failure. He couldn't believe how easily he had been taken from the police station. He didn't remember much of it. One moment he was helping the district officers control the rioters, the next moment he was lying on his back, trussed up like a turkey. From what he had managed to wean out of Cray, he had been knocked on the head, and taken out of the station without anybody knowing. Christopher made a mental note to speak to the district ten captain, assuming that he would be able to see him again. Cray had almost managed to leave town undetected when he was suddenly cornered by the Met. That was when Cray brought out his trump card — him. He heard that the cadets from Quantico had been brought in, along with his father and several officers. He was glad that he had managed to call his father before he had been taken, at least Nykki would be safe at the academy.
Nykki looked at the nearly twenty foot gap between the two buildings and swallowed the lump that had suddenly crept up her throat. It tasted suspiciously like fear. She pushed it to the back of her mind and concentrated on the jump. She moved back a few paces and took a deep breath. She ran towards the ledge. As her feet left the solid concrete and thread air, she looked down and saw the distance between herself and the ground. For a moment, she panicked and lost her concentration. Her foot landed shakily on the opposite ledge, but she had not known of the bad condition it was it. The stone crumbled beneath her weight and she went plunging down. She barely managed to catch hold of the remaining stone. She remained hanging over the ledge, struggling to catch her breath and watching gray stones falling and smashing into a thousand fragments onto the hard concrete ground beneath her. She eased herself onto the roof, carefully testing her grip on the stone each step of the way. Finally she was up. She peered over the ledge at the shattered bricks lying haphazardly on the ground and shuddered. She took out her service revolver and checked the cartridge, before hurrying away.
Christopher tried to move away but Cray held him tightly. The hours of being tied hand and foot had made his limbs numb, preventing him from twisting away. Jones caressed his crotch and squeezed his testes. A lump of bile rose up his throat, and he spat angrily at the man. "What are you? Some sort of a pervert?" As the words left his mouth, an elbow was rammed against his jaw, and he was knocked against the stone wall behind him, a silver blade pressed tightly against his throat. "No one calls me a pervert! Understand pretty boy?" His voice was menacing. He shook Christopher wildly. "I do what I want to you, whether you like it or not." Then, like a summer storm, his tone changed, turning persuasive. "Now, you don't want to get me angry again, do you?… Do you?" he shouted at Christopher when he didn't reply. He nodded. "Good, now we understand each other." Christopher tried to clear the stars racing dizzily in his head as Cray continued fondling him.
Nykki watched the exchange with rising fury. She couldn't wait to point her gun at the bastard and watch him beg. Her heart went out to Chris who was trying his best to endure the situation — she could almost feel his revulsion. Time to get to work. The arsenal from the police station was lying unguarded on the ground. She stepped out from behind the water tank and shouted. "Drop your weapon and reach for the sky! Do it!" she yelled. She wasn't prepared for the man's reaction. As soon as he heard her voice, he dropped the knife he had been holding, raised his elbow and shoved Christopher's head into the low wall. She gave a gasp of horror as she saw his blood stain the sun-bleached gray stone, his body sliding limply onto the ground. Cray took the opportunity and leapt at her, pining her onto the ground. She crashed onto the cement ground. A blackness momentarily covered her vision. Harry's face spun dizzily around her and she struggled to clear her mind. The back of her skull throbbed with pain. The two struggled for control of her gun, and in the process, it was fired. A low groan came from the kidnapper, he had been hit. He snarled at her, and with a demon-like strength, wrenched the gun from her hands and tossed it away. He ripped off her helmet and he gripped her throat tightly, as if he were trying to kill her with just his bare hands. She thrashed about, trying desperately to free herself from his death-grip. His hands moved down to her crotch, as soon as he touched, his hand drew back as if scorched . She took his momentary distraction to throw him off and free herself. "You bitch!" he yelled unnecessarily, his rage written clearly on his face. The two stood staring at each other, each trying to control their careening emotions. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she watched Harry wipe his bleeding side. At least the stray shot hadn't been too far off its mark. She watched suspiciously as he kneeled over, gripping his stomach. He seemed to be hurt more badly than she had expected. She had been too complacent, she realized. Cray reached into his socks and pulled out another blade, this one with a long, curved and notched blade. He rushed her and forced her against the water tank. She saw the flash of silver of the blade aimed at her, and barely managed to twist away to one side before the tip met her skin. It skidded across her ribs and slanted down her side, digging deeply into flesh. She felt warm blood flow out, but if she hadn't moved, the blade would be sticking through her heart. Nykki tried to slip away from his grip but he held her easily. Her hands were pressed against her side, trying to stem the flow of blood. She felt the sticky mass seep through her fingers and grimaced. He waved the notched blade in front of her nose. "There's a notch for every person I've killed, I guess it's time to add another. You'll be the first cop I kill… will you beg?" he taunted. Frantic, she pushed Cray back as the knife began its second descent. The unnatural strength took him by surprise, he fell backwards. The two rolled across the hard floor, wrestling each other for the control of the deadly blade. Nykki had the hilt, the sharp point pointed away from her, but the man's strength was much greater. Cray gripped the blade with his bare hands and ignoring the blood streaming from his cut palm, twisted the knife around. With his free hand, he grabbed Nykki's wrist and forced the knife from her, and and slashed her thigh in the process. She bit her lip to stop from crying out, and struck out in a frenzy. Her fist caught him in the nose and pushed him away. Before he could recover she reached for the knife, and using the heavy hilt, hit him squarely in the back of his head. Harry collapsed like felled tree. She stood up slowly, wincingly. The world veered crazily as the change in orientation caused her head to start spinning. She looked at the man lying in an untidy heap at her feet, then towards her mentor against the low wall. She heard a voice calling out to her and turned. Her twin. "Nykki, are you all right?" he asked anxiously. He looked at her torn shirt and the darker stains on it. "Damn, you're hurt, let me…" She moved away when he tried to touch her. "I'll be fine, but I've got to get out of her before those people come up here." She walked to Christopher and picked up her helmet and gun where they had been flung. She quickly put it on as she didn't want him to see how much pain moving caused her. She looked at her unconscious mentor, and ran a finger across his cheek. He groaned. His eyelids fluttered but remained closed. She gently lifted his head and examined his wound. "I don't think it's bad," she said, gently brushing his hair away from the wound. "Don't say that I've been here, I'll meet you back at the academy." Her voice was distorted by the visor and totally without inflection. Nicholas saw only a reflection of himself. "But…" "No Nicholas. I'll see you at Quantico." She hurried off down the stairs. Nicholas swore creatively at his sister, then turned his attention to the two prone men. He bent over the ledge and shouted for the police officers to come up and turned his attention back to Christopher. He was coming around. "Christopher, it's Nicholas, can you hear me?" Confused blue eyes looked back at him. "I'm having a major headache," he complained. "Stay still, your head injury could be bad…" Nicholas was cut off by his mentor. "I thought…" Something tugged at the back of his mind, but the headache made it too hard to concentrate. "What?" Nicholas asked. "Never mind, I had the strangest feeling… thank you for saving my life," Christopher said gratefully. Nicholas opened his mouth to deny any part in Christopher's rescue, but he remembered that Nykki was not supposed to be in town at all. He cleared his throat. "It was nothing. Anyone in my position would do the same."
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