Chapter 9 - The Glass Cage
"You think you've won, Detective?" Eleanor laughed—a dry, terrifying sound that made the hair on the back of Maya’s neck stand up. "You think a few police officers can touch me? I own the judges who will hear this case. I own the federal prosecutors who will sign the indictments. By tomorrow morning, this entire incident will be classified under national security protocols, and you will be stripped of your badge."
"Try me," Reed said, stepping onto the wet roof, his eyes locked on Eleanor's gun.
Eleanor didn't point the weapon at Reed. Slowly, deliberately, she lowered the silver barrel and aimed it directly at the brick housing behind Maya—where Lily was hiding.
"No!" Maya screamed.
Without thinking, without weighing the odds, Maya threw her body sideways, placing herself directly in the line of fire as Eleanor pulled the trigger.
BANG.
A sharp, white-hot needle of pain tore through Maya’s left shoulder. The force of the small-caliber bullet knocked her backward onto the slick, wet tar of the roof. The MP5 slipped from her fingers, sliding across the wet roof toward the edge of the helipad.
At the same instant, Detective Reed fired twice.
The heavy 9mm rounds struck Eleanor Vance in the center of her white suit jacket. She gasped, her eyes opening wide in shock as she staggered backward, her silver gun slipping from her gloved fingers.
She stumbled over the low perimeter guardrail at the edge of the roof, her arms flailing against the rain, before plunging backward into the twelve-story abyss below.
The roof descended into absolute chaos. The remaining two mercenaries dropped their weapons immediately, raising their hands as Reed’s officers swarmed them, forcing them down onto the wet tar.
Maya lay on her back, staring up at the dark, rainy sky, her breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps. The pain in her shoulder felt like a living fire, burning through her chest.
A small face appeared above her, framed by wet golden curls.
"Maya!" Lily sobbed, dropping to her knees beside her, her tiny hands pressing against the dark blood spreading across Maya’s grey hoodie. "Maya, please don't close your eyes!"
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Maya forced a small, bloody smile, reaching up with her uninjured hand to gently wipe a tear from the child's cheek.
"I'm... I'm okay, baby," Maya whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind. "We made it."
