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“How many times you have to bang this old bastard to make lieutenant?”
“Sir, Captain Feeney and I have not been intimate.”
“Lying bitch.” He swung out, backhanding her faster, harder than she’d anticipated. Off balance, she fell back into a chair. “How many times?”
“As many as it took. I lost count.”
His head bobbed rapidly. “That’s the way it works. Somebody’s always screwing somebody so they can screw somebody else over.”
“Everyone knows you’ve achieved your rank and position through your own merits.”
“You got that. You fucking-A got that.” He pawed a blue blocker out of the bag. “How do I know this isn’t poison? Here.” He shoved it into Feeney’s mouth. “Swallow it! Swallow it or I do her.” He swung the weapon toward Eve.
They were close, but not close enough for her to see if the pill had a thin yellow stripe. She waited, counting off the seconds as Feeney swallowed to see if she’d already lost the gamble.
But his eyes stayed clear. “Halloway.” As did his voice. “Everybody here wants to resolve this. You need to tell us what you want so that everybody walks out.”
“Shut up.” He sliced his weapon down Feeney’s cheek with casual violence. Then pawed another pill out of the bag, popped it in his mouth, chewed it like candy.
“Maybe those syringes are poison. Get one out, get one out.” He chewed a second pill. “We’ll have a little test.”
“Yes, sir.” She pretended to fumble a bit as she reached in the bag. “I’m sorry. I’m a little nervous.” She took out the dummy. “Do you want me to administer this, sir, or would you prefer to do it yourself?”
“You go ahead and administer it. No,” he sai
d when she started to rise. “Sit right there. Pump it into yourself. You live through that, maybe you live a little longer.”
She kept her eyes on his as she turned the syringe toward her arm, settled it, depressed the plunger.
“I followed your orders, sir. I’m sorry you’re in pain. It’s difficult to think clearly when in pain. I hope, after this medication alleviates your physical distress, we’ll be able to resolve this situation to your satisfaction.”
“You want to make captain, you’re going to have to start banging me. I’m in charge now. Get up, get up! Give me the damn syringe. These pills are useless.”
She stepped forward. There was blood in his ears now. She kept her eyes locked on his as she lifted the syringe. “This will work faster.”
She set her thumb on the depressor.
“Poison!” He screamed it, jerked away. “Poison! My head’s exploding. I’ll kill you. Kill all of you.”
She heard the rush at the door, pictured the sharpshooters taking aim. He was a cop, was all she could think as she leaped at him, deflecting his weapon an instant before the stream struck her.
She brought the syringe down on his shoulder and pumped the tranq into him.
“Hold your fire! Hold fire!” She shouted it as Halloway ran in circles around the room, screaming as he ripped at his hair. “I disarmed him. He’s unarmed.”
The door burst open. She leaped between Halloway and the lasers. “I said hold your goddamn fire.”
She whirled around. It was taking longer than five seconds. Halloway was throwing himself against the wall. Shrieking, weeping. Then his body danced, as bodies do when a stream takes them down.
Blood fountained from his nose as he pitched forward.
“Get medical in here,” Eve ordered as she rushed over to kneel beside Halloway.
She’d seen death too often to mistake it. But still she checked his pulse.
“Damn it. Damn it.” She beat a clenched fist against her knee, looked over to meet the knowledge in Feeney’s eyes. “We lost him anyway.”
Chapter 5
