Steps moved closer. She was bringing him into the laundry. Arthur readied himself.
“It’s in here.” Gretchen stepped through the doorway and spun, reaching for the door.
Arthur exploded into action as Kurt barged into the room. He grabbed Kurt’s hand, thrusting it down and towards the door as a shot exploded, piercing the wooden door, splinters flying everywhere. Gretchen shrieked, but Arthur’s full focus was on the threat.
He slammed the gun and hand against what remained of the door and Kurt grunted, letting go of the weapon. Arthur followed up with an elbow to Kurt’s face. Behind Kurt, Sam and Brandon raced into the room, guns raised.
A sickening crunch as his elbow met Kurt’s nose and blood spurted everywhere.
Then a tearing pain below his knee as Kurt kicked his prosthesis, and it ripped from his leg. Arthur clung to the door frame, his balance gone.
Fuck.
“Arthur, here.” Gretchen thrust his prosthetic leg at him, and he grabbed it and swung, hitting Kurt square across the head.
Kurt slumped to the ground and Sam and Brandon covered him.
Arthur regained his balance, panting. Gretchen was curled on the floor, holding her side, her fingers red.
Blood.
Horror filled him and he lowered himself to the ground, shuffling over to her. “Are you hurt?”
She hissed as he touched her side. “Wood splinter caught me.”
“Medic!”
Brandon was instantly by his side, first aid kit with him. Arthur moved Gretchen’s hands so he could get a better look. The splinter was still embedded in her, a good three centimetres long. “We need to get you to the hospital.”
She shook her head. “It’s not deep. We need to find Jordan and Cody.”
“I’ll patch you,” Brandon said, cutting off Arthur’s argument.
The fly screen door slammed and Darcy called, “Dot and Nhiari are here.”
Good. They had to keep moving. Arthur attached his leg as Brandon withdrew the splinter and applied pressure to the wound.
“What the hell is going on?” A short woman with black hair and a commanding presence strode into the room, her blue uniform identifying her as an officer, the three bars on her shoulders denoting her as sergeant. Behind her stood an indigenous woman in uniform, with two bars denoting her as a senior constable. Dot and Nhiari.
Arthur got to his feet. “Kurt kidnapped Jordan, Cody and Gretchen.”
Kurt held a hand to his head and wiped the blood from his nose with the bottom of his shirt while Sam trained his gun on him.
“His gun is in the laundry.”
Dot moved towards Arthur, and he got out of the way so she could enter the small room. She gasped when she saw Gretchen. “Were you shot?”
“Ricochet,” Brandon answered. “She’ll be fine. Gun’s over there.”
Dot took gloves out of her pocket and put them on before picking up the gun. “Do you have a licence for this?” she asked Kurt.
“What do you think?”
Dot placed the gun in an evidence bag while Nhiari got out her handcuffs. “You’re under arrest for kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon.” She read him his rights, as Arthur pulled Gretchen to her feet and held her close, needing to know she was really all right.
She squeezed him and then pushed him away. “We need to find Jordan.”
“We will.” Kurt shouldn’t know they had contact with Lee. He pulled her away from Kurt and towards Matt. He lowered his voice. “Have you called Georgie?”
