‘Mum, what happened to your leg?’ asked Penny, leaning to the front and looking worryingly at the cast that encased Sarah’s right leg. ‘It’s fine, baby,’ Sarah assured her with a pat on the head. ‘Please rest now and use your seatbelt. Alright, honey?’ Penny fell back on her seat and cast a similar glance at Daisy’s leg before looking out her window. ‘We will be fine, munchkin,’ Daisy said, reading her thoughts. It was always like Penny to worry about everyone else. Even after an ordeal like what they had undergone. Sarah’s eyes fell on Christopher as he drove through high-rise buildings into ..read more

The collision was decisive. And terminal. Gina felt like it was her own body that had gone through steel when she rammed into Herbert Wilcox, but she didn’t press the brakes until she felt the tires crush his body underneath the car. Then she took deep breaths to steady herself. The rush of blood to her brain felt strange even though it happened every time she took a life, but she had never done it this way. Still, she needed to be sure because he had come back from the dead before. She opened the door slowly and put one foot before another into the snow, cringing at the cold air that slapped ..read more

Chris picked up the call this time and slowly put the phone to his ear, feeling the hairs around his neck rise as he did. ‘BOO!’ he heard before the hall lights went out, and the shooting began. 6:00 a.m Christopher A loud beep woke Christopher up before his alarm could. 6:00 a.m. What could be so urgent? It was an invitation to an early dinner that evening with a group of socialites. Chief! Christopher groaned as he fell back on the bed. That man was as clingy as a bug on a carcass. He shut his eyes again to see if he could catch some sleep, but this time the smell of fresh bagels and co ..read more

12.15 a.m ‘Idiots! So everybody thought they could do as they pleased!’ the Chief cursed after he ended the call with the judge. Did they forget who he was? His eyes narrowed as he sent a quick text to Gina. He needed her here. He had to admit that she was right. The judge and his brother went rogue because they thought they owned the streets. He laughed cynically. They had forgotten who he was. New York was his hunting ground for decades before the commissioner transferred him to Rhode Island, and only a fool would undermine his authority here, and no street thug was going to get a bite of hi ..read more

Twelve hours before the drop. Judge Wilcox couldn’t believe what he saw on T.V. Did he have to take that many lives while trying to scare one man? The images from the assault on the Waldorf Astoria were gothic, and he cringed in his seat. Why didn’t Herbert listen to him? ‘Shoot to scare,’ he said aloud as if Herbert could hear him. Did he think the Chief was going to protect him if this went south? From the looks of things, things were already going to hell. Timothy had received calls from two districts, seeking emergency warrants for urgent arrests. He had to oblige, but he couldn’t afford t ..read more

It took a while, but Christopher found a decent hotel for the night because the hotels had their rooms fully booked for Christmas. Christmas, he lamented inwardly. Christmas was turning out to be a nightmare. After carrying Sarah to the room, amidst prying eyes, he settled her down on the king-size bed and called his accountant to arrange the ransom. Herbert said nothing about returning the girls. He suspected that this was to ensure that they stayed alive and his demands would grow in the future. He raked his hair with his fingers in frustration and tried to stay as calm as he could because S ..read more

Christopher 9:00pm ‘It can’t be!’ Christopher exclaimed, jumping from the barstool and making his way through the frightened crowd scrambling to safety. ‘Why not?’ Herbert replied sheepishly. Christopher looked around and saw bodies dropping lifeless around him. ‘Don’t worry about the bullets. They aren’t meant for you … yet.’ Herbert added. ‘What do you want?’ Chris asked with his free hand covering his ear. He wondered if Gina and the Chief made it out in one piece. ‘Oh, I’m just calling you to gloat,’ Herbert announced. Christopher’s heart pounded wildly against his chest. He saw the weasel ..read more

Sarah 4:30 pm Everything felt like a blur. The way the walls caved in on each other and the windows shattered on impact was so sudden that no one had time to take cover. However, they were lucky that the pillars holding the building held firm and stopped the ceiling from crashing down on them. The first instinct Sarah had was to go on top of Penny and act as a shield. Shards of glass pierced her skin, and a boulder sat on her right leg, but all she could think of Penny. The little one was still breathing but coughing and wheezing so much because of the polluted air. Sarah had to get her out of ..read more

Penny and Sarah 2:30 p.m. They were in a waiting area of some sort, with torn flyers adorning poorly painted walls and cracked windows. There was a reception area to their left where people stood, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. Penny could hear voices coming from a hall just in front of them, and she wondered why anyone would meet in a place like this. However, she was more interested in the weird-looking man scolding her mum and tried to interrupt but remembered her promise and kept quiet. ‘This is no place for a minor!’ he yelled at Sarah. ‘Both my daughters are minors,’ Sarah point ..read more

Daisy 6:00pm The key didn’t work, along with several others that she tried. She looked for the original, but Christopher hid it well like he suspected she would break into the medicine cabinet. If he only knew how strongly that bottle of Morphine was calling to her. ‘Dad!’ she uttered in desperation. She looked around for a hard object to break the glass with and shook her head vigorously when she realized how disappointed Christopher would be. She was in the hospital for a week, after Sarah’s near brush with death. During this time, Christopher had very little rest. Sometimes, he would spend ..read more