“There’s a tile in the floor with a heavy-duty lock on it. I saw her open it once when they needed to redo some wiring down there for the servers. It’s filled in with gravel, but a person can get in there and crawl through, if you don’t mind getting dirty. It comes out at the foot of those old stairs.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Elyxandre said. Her finger followed the path she’d laid out as she reviewed their plan with revisions based on the information from Ryker. “We’ll go in teams of six, so each pair will need to grab some officers to complete their groups. We’ll enter through the loading dock. Dax and Westin will sweep through the north side of the building, Cruz and Hayden will sweep from the south, TJ, Quint, and I will sweep through the center core. Quickly clear the rooms and meet us at the backstage entrance, which is the farthest point on the opposite end of the building. When we get there, I’ll go into the tunnel, use it to get up into the catwalk, then the attic, and try to defuse the situation, while TJ and Quint approach from other angles.
“The firefighters and their search teams in the preserve are already up two channels on the radio from the first responders, so we’ll go up four, just in case he’s listening in. Quint, have someone monitoring both of us, the firefighters, and the rest of the first responders.”
“Already on it.”
“Ryker said he’s armed. I don’t have to tell you, but I feel like I need to anyway. With teen shooters, assume that they’re acting irrationally. They might seem cool on the outside, but if pressed into a corner, they panic. Do not try to reason with him.Agree with everything he says, no matter how irrational it might be. We need to get him to believe we’re on his side. Do not fire at him unless fired upon first, and even then, aim for an arm or leg, not center mass or a head shot unless it absolutely can’t be helped. I’d love to restrict us to stun guns, but we all know that might not be possible.”
Everyone proceeded to check their weapons and vests. Elyxandre took a moment to confer with TJ. “I want you to take your long gun. When we get to the theatre, head to the lobby. In the far east corner, there’s a door that goes up to the old lighting booth. The area should be pretty much empty, but it has a huge open window space. No glass. You’ll be able to see into the theatre space.”
“Got it.”
“How good are you with that rifle?”
Sober-faced, he replied, “I won’t miss.”
THE SHOWDOWN
LUCAS
Makinghimself as small as possible, he crouched down in the shadows of the shelving. If ever he needed the universe to give him a break, it was now.
Glancing down, he realized that his dark jeans and black sport coat would work in his favor, but his white dress shirt would not. As quickly and quietly as he could, he turned up the lapels of the jacket, folding them over to cover the stark whiteness. He also unbuttoned his sleeve cuffs, rolled them twice, and made sure they weren’t sticking out under his jacket. It wasn’t perfect. If Judah took his time and used his flashlight, he was screwed. Having to rely on the teen being erratic seemed like cheating, but he already knew the boy was unraveling. His tossing things aside that got in his way, his loud, heaving breaths, and his verbal threats were enough to let him know that Judah was beyond acting rationally.
Oddly enough, that should have been a comfort. If he were acting without thinking, he wouldn’t be searching as thoroughly as he should be. Unfortunately, it also meant that if he came upon Lucas in this state, he might shoot first instead ofconsidering his actions. The time for consideration was long over. As soon as the boy picked up a gun, he was already headed down a path he was very unlikely to return from.
Lucas worked at evening out his breathing, making every effort not to make a sound or move. Despite being filled with theatre props, the space was constructed out of concrete cinder blocks. Everything echoed, even the tiniest of sounds. Crouched as he was, his body was a small target, but eventually, his knees would begin to ache. He’d slip or move, and Judah would hear him. With only one exit door, as long as Judah kept himself in front of the door, there was no way to escape.
Straining to pinpoint Judah’s location, he realized that the silence was almost absolute, like he imagined it would be if he were entirely alone out in the wild. Not only did he not hear Judah stomping around, threatening and cursing, but he realized that with the door open, he didn’t hear any bells ringing, signifying the end of classes or the warnings for the after-school bells. That meant it was after the school day, and the halls would be emptier than usual.
Since it was the Monday after homecoming, many of the coaches had given kids the day off from practice, and there were no games scheduled. There might be some community activities going on, but he thought they were all down at the other end of the school. That was both good and bad. Good because fewer individuals would be impacted if Judah decided to begin shooting. Bad because fewer people, possibly no one, would know they were there, and he needed help.
Utter quiet. Did that mean Judah had given up? Did he go downstairs and pursue Ryker and Kennedy? Was Lucas locked up by himself now, or had the boy fled and left the door open? Or was he lying in wait, hoping to trick Lucas into coming out from his hiding spot?
He knew he couldn’t stay still forever. While Ryker and Kennedy getting out of here was good, who knew how long it would be before they could find help. Would people listen to them? He liked to think that at least the police station would send someone out to look for him and Judah, but would they find him in time before the boy lost control and shot him or himself? It could be a long time before someone physically found them. If he wanted a chance at survival, he needed to move. Find another place to hide. Get himself out of the building. Something.
Oh-so-quietly, he stood up, then froze in place. Again, he listened. Not a sound. Shouldn’t there be the hum of an air-conditioning unit or something? It felt unnatural. Gently, he took a single step forward, making sure to lift his foot completely off the ground, then set it down so carefully that even he didn’t hear the movement. After pausing, he took another step.
A split-second, slight rasping sound came from nearby, like something dragging against something else. Did he make that noise, his pants or sleeve coming into contact with something? Was it Judah moving? Was it his imagination? Because he had to admit, his brain was running wild with all kinds of thoughts right now.
Was Judah still here?
Did Kennedy and Ryker get to safety unhurt?
Did anyone hear the shots Judah had fired minutes ago? Minutes that already felt like hours.
Was Ezra out of the line of fire and home, safe?
Was Elyxandre aware he was missing? Was she worried?
If he didn’t get out of this alive, would she and Ezra grieve? He knew his son would be hurt, but he was resilient. He’d come back from the pain. The question was, would Elyxandre? She’d been hit with so much, especially in the last week, that heworried. He wanted to be there to support her through it, but what if he were part of the reason she needed support?
He couldn’t let that happen. Was it egotistical to think she needed him? Yes, it was. But right now, it was what was motivating him to make things happen rather than just sitting there and cowering, hoping that someone would find him in time while he waited for Judah to make a move.
No. No more thinkingwouldhe get out of this. It waswhenhe got out of this. He refused to accept any other option.Whenhe got out of this, he wasn’t wasting any more time with her. And he would get out of this.
Yes, he wanted to see his son again, watch him as he made his way through life—graduate high school, then college, meet a girl and get married, raise a family.
