Chapter 9
"Gun! Drop it!" the lead security guard bellowed.
The guard didn't hesitate. He pulled the trigger on his taser. The twin prongs shot across the room, but Richard, despite his age, moved with desperate speed. He twisted his body, and the electrified prongs missed his chest, embedding themselves harmlessly into the drywall behind him.
Chaos erupted in the maternity suite.
Jessica let out a blood-curdling scream and threw herself onto the floor, covering her head with her hands. Daniel, holding the crying baby tightly against his chest, turned his back to his father, curling his body into a protective shell over the infant to shield it from the imminent gunfire.
"Get away from the door!" Richard screamed, pointing the silver handgun directly at the lead guard's face. His hand was remarkably steady, his blue eyes wide with manic desperation. "I am leaving this room! Anyone who tries to stop me gets a bullet in the head!"
Maya didn't scream. Her maternal instinct, sharp and lethal, took completely over. While Richard’s attention was entirely focused on the armed guards at the door, she saw her opening.
She grabbed the heavy, metal IV pole standing next to her bed. Ignoring the pain in her battered face and her exhausted body, she hoisted the heavy metal pole into the air like a javelin.
With a fierce, guttural cry, Maya swung the heavy steel base of the pole directly at Richard’s back.
The heavy metal collided with the back of Richard’s knees with a sickening crunch. Richard cried out in shock and pain as his legs buckled out from under him. He pitched forward, his arms flailing to catch his balance.
As he fell, the silver handgun discharged.
The gunshot was deafening in the small, enclosed room. The bullet shattered the heavy glass window overlooking the city skyline, sending a shower of safety glass raining down onto the linoleum floor.
Before Richard could recover and aim the weapon again, the three security guards swarmed him. They tackled the sixty-seven-year-old patriarch to the ground, pinning his arms behind his back and violently wrestling the gun from his grip.
"I've got him! Secure the weapon!" one of the guards yelled over the ringing in everyone's ears.
The metallic click of handcuffs echoed in the room as Richard was finally subdued, his cheek pressed hard against the cold floor, his nose bleeding from the impact.
Maya dropped the IV pole, her breathing ragged and heavy. She ignored the guards and Richard completely. She walked straight over to Daniel, who was still huddled in the corner, trembling violently.
"Give him to me, Daniel," Maya said, her voice soft but entirely non-negotiable.
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Daniel looked up, tears streaming down his face. He gently handed the crying baby back to Maya.
Maya pulled her son against her chest, burying her face in the soft blue blanket, weeping with sheer, overwhelming relief as she walked back to the bassinet to reunite him with his two siblings. They were all safe. She had fought the devil, and she had won.
