The Waitress

15 - Hello Brother

Kaely couldn't quite comprehend what happened in the seconds that followed. Something flashed, hands struck out and suddenly Kaely was standing with her back up against a body. There was something cold pressed against the side of her head. She knew immediately that the body she was pressed against was that of Richard Campbell, and the cold thing on the side of her head was a gun. She froze up, her eyes wide.

"You brought the police?" Campbell hissed, his warm breath tickling her neck. She shivered and managed to look in front of her to see the last image she expected to see. There was McMillan and O'Connor, standing on either side of another figure; the last person that Kaely expected to be in Darwin trying to save her life.

"You promised you wouldn't tell him," Kaely hissed with a glare, her statement directed at McMillan, but the gun against her head pressed harder against her skull, forcing her mouth closed tightly. One of Campbell's arms was on Kaely, and the other was on the gun that was pressed against her head. She breathed carefully, suddenly very aware that the gun was loaded.

"I will shoot you," Jared warned, his gun pointed right at Campbell's head. Campbell only laughed.

"You'll shoot her too," he sneered, his voice loud in her ear. "I'd enjoy it if you tried."

"No one is going to die today," O'Connor growled. "No one except you. Let the girl go or I will empty this gun into your head."

"I don't think you'll want to do that," Campbell chuckled, letting go of Kaely's left arm to dig something out of his jacket pocket. The gun was still pointing into her head. She made no move to escape from it, as she flickered her eyes sideways to see what Campbell had retrieved. When she realised what it was, she felt the breath leave her lungs in an instant.

"Oh god," she breathed, feeling the air hitch in her throat. "Oh god, no."

He was holding a device, small enough to fit snugly in his hand, and his finger hovered over the top. There was a small green light flashing on the side of it in a continuous pattern that made her eyes hurt. She averted her gaze and suddenly caught onto Jared's, a look of fear taking over.

You'll be okay, he mouthed to her, nodding his head encouragingly. I promise.

And Kaely nodded quickly; she believed him. She wanted to believe so badly that she was going to be okay, so she believed him.

"You pull that trigger and I pull this one," Campbell murmured, his smile coming through his voice loud and clear. "And this wretch will die with me." He tucked the gun back into its holster at his waist and grabbed Kaely's arm, jolting her violently. She whimpered.

"You wouldn't," Jared hissed, narrowing his eyes at Campbell to find a bluff. Campbell grinned.

"You have no idea what I would do to survive," he shot back menacingly. "This? This is a minor setback. Now, here's how it's going to work: you are going to drop your guns, slide them over to me, and you're going to let me take the girl. Alive. Or I blow her head to pieces and leave you to clean up her mess."

"I don't think so," Kaely snapped, and did the first thing that came to her mind; she didn't know exactly how she was doing it, but it felt right. Her instincts took over and she wrenched her head backwards, smashing it into Campbell's face. He howled in pain, leaving Kaely time to wrench the gun from his holster amidst his confusion. She then whirled it up and pointed it right between Campbell's eyes. The clearing settled into silence and tension as the gun shook violently in her hands. She hadn't used one before.

"Stupid girl," Campbell hissed. "You won't shoot me."

Kaely then took the biggest risk of her life; she pointed the gun at the detonator in his hand she fired three times, missing the first two. The third shot struck the side of the detonator and it bursted outwards in sparks and aluminium. She braced herself.