Million Reasons

Chapter Sixty Three: Fight Song

Erin Lindsey to Maggie O'Neill: I wish you could see this right now. We have Tazer re-certification and Ruzek has just dropped like a sack of bricks.

Al Olinsky to Maggie O'Neill: Hey kid, just left a voicemail. You wanted to grab lunch later on?

Jay Halstead to Maggie O'Neill: Got Ruzek being tazed on video, remind me to show you later.

Kayla Sharpe to Sean Roman: You know how much I love the sub place. I'll meet you there at 1pm.

Antonio Dawson: The hit on Fulton Labs is a go for tonight.

Hank Voight: We'll be in place. Take care.

Hank Voight: The lab is on board, but it's too late to switch out the drugs. Narcotics is gonna wait in the shadows.

Simon Fisher: I will smooth things over with Guthrie. Anything else?

Hank Voight: They can tail the crew, ID the stash house and sit tight until we know Antonio's okay and we give them a green light.

Simon Fisher: That's generous of you giving them the bust.

Hank Voight: Right now the drugs aren't my concern. Finding Manning and ensuring Antonio's safety is.

Hank Voight: You and Jay are on guard duty tonight at Fulton Labs.

Al Olinsky: Antonio doing ok?

Hank Voight: So far, so good but be prepared to pull him out if we need to.

Getting into the building had been easy, easier than Maggie had thought it would be under the circumstances. The hard part had been keeping quiet and locating something that she could use as a weapon, even now scuffed piece of metal scaffolding felt heavy in her hands as she surveyed the carnage in front of her. Three people were down, the original perp, an African American guy with a gun shot to his stomach and her partner Sean Roman. It took everything she had not to rush over to him, already she could see the vivid red blood marring his hand as he lay on side unresponsive. Instead she crept towards him, taking a moment to poke the perp with the pole and acknowledging the fact that he was clearly out cold.

She dropped into a crouch beside her partner, setting down the pipe behind her.

"Sean." Maggie called out his name, her voice trembling as her gaze lingered on his bloody hand, his jacket shielding the rest of his torso from her view. "Sean are you hit?"

Roman moaned, the noise low like a growl as Maggie used the jacket for leverage in order to get him onto his back so she could survey the damage. He was fighting her now, his movements slack and weak as he tried to put his right palm up towards his head.

"Stop." she told him her voice firm as he grunted once more, his azure eyes dull as they flickered open. "Stop fighting me for a minute."

He was disorientated but he seemed to recognize her voice even if it was only for a moment so she could check him over to ensure there were no bullet wounds on his person. Next she turned her attention to the thick, dark blood that was seeping down the right side of his face.

"You've been hit in the head." Maggie said gently, her cobalt eyes meeting his for the first time since she had entered the room. She clasped his hand lightly drawing it away from the injury so she could take a better look. There was so much blood, it was matted in his dark blond hair and running in rivets down his face.

He groaned again, trying to roll onto his side causing Maggie to press her dainty hands down on his shoulders to prevent him from moving.

"Stop." she said, her tone more forceful this time as she met his azure eyes once more. "Look it's me and I am trying to help you but you need to listen to me."

She could tell that his adrenaline was kicking in, his fight or flight response was working overtime and he wanted out of this place as much as she did. They didn't know how many people were in this building or who could come running, both of them were unarmed so their first priority had to be getting the hell out of here and back to their Squad Car.

"We're gonna get you out of here." she told him, lifting up his left arm and tucking her shoulder under it. "But you are going to have to help me because you weigh a ton."

"Not fat." he mumbled, his legs kicking out, his boots trying to get some traction as he fought against the disorientation, trying to get some sort of control over his limbs.

"Just hold on to my jacket." Maggie uttered as his fingers slipped off the material, causing him to fall back flat on the floor.

Maggie's ears pricked up a slight noise behind her, it sounded like fabric rustling across concrete. She turned to glance over her shoulder seeing their captor crawling on his stomach towards the metal pipe she had placed behind her. It was almost in his grasp, his fingertips were literally inches away. If he got hold of that pipe they were both dead, she had no doubt in her mind about that.

She lunged for the pipe, her dainty hands enclosing on it at the same time as their perp's. She held onto it with all of her might as he tried to yank it from her grasp. The cold metal was digging into her palms, cutting into the tender skin as he managed to climb to his feet in order to get more leverage against her. She used the momentum to match him, allowing his shift in weight to propel her into a standing position as they grappled for control. It was an even tussle, the determination on his ragged features matched hers as they snarled, fighting for the only weapon between them.

To her surprise their attacker dropped to the ground, sweeping the pipe to his right taking Maggie along with it. She hit the ground hard, the agony of the fall shooting along her spine as she clashed with the concrete refusing to relinquish control of the pipe. He was on top of her now, he had all the power and his eyes glinted dangerously as he forced his weight down upon the pipe pressing it against her throat.

Her oxygen supply was cut off completely, her hands tried to lift the bar away from her shoulders but their attacker was too strong. It was taking every ounce of Maggie's physical strength to make sure he didn't crush her windpipe. The pressure was immense, it pressed down under her chin leaving her rasping for air, the bite of the icy metal searing into her soft skin. She tossed her head from side to side, struggling to find some reprieve and found herself staring at her own utility belt sitting only a few feet away, gun glistening in it's holster. If she managed to get to it she would have control of the situation, she'd be able to get Sean and herself out of here.

The panic in her chest was raising up like a tidal wave, she could feel it's cool fingers beginning to take hold before she shoved it back down allowing her training to once more take over. She managed to raise her knee, jamming it between the two of them and striking out with enough force to throw the perp off of her. He hit the floor with a grunt, the metal pipe clattering as it rolled out of eye line.

Maggie wasted no time, she sprung to her knees, ignoring the burning ache in her throat before diving for the gun on her belt. Their attacker's hands enclosed on the bottom of her Kevlar vest, hurling her backwards along the concrete floor until they were on par. They scrambled for the belt, he managed to get his hands on the holster before she did making her heart sink. She clutched onto him as he rose to his feet, taking her along with him, his fingers fumbling as he struggled to unclasp the holster. She snatched at it, her right hand grasping the grip before their captor jabbed his elbow directly into her face.

She hit the ground once more, yelping in anguish at the pain lancing through her face. She rolled onto her side, her left leg sweeping up and kicking him directly in the face causing him to careen into several boxes of baby formula as she once more dived for the belt.

The gun was gone.

The adrenaline pursed through her veins as she searched for it frantically only to find herself faced once more staring down the barrel of it as their captor rose to his feet, holding the weapon in both hands as he sneered the words.

"Don't move."