Chapter 26: Following Her Emotions

How much time has passed? Twenty minutes? Thirty? Forty-five? How did she lose track of time like this? But how could she not, given her situation? Her father's killer is holding his friend hostage and demanding her as ransom. Her lover has cuffed her, bidding her farewell with an "I love you" as if anticipating his death in this maneuver, while she sits here, far from the action. No! She won’t stay here for another moment.

Maya raised her right hand, looking at the handcuffs. There were two possible ways to free herself. The first option: unlock or break the cuffs. This was a failed option since she had nothing around to use for unlocking or breaking them. The second option: remove the iron bar of the window that one side of the cuffs was wrapped around. But this too was a failed option—she had tried with all her strength to dislodge the bar, but to no avail.

What now? Should she give up? Oh, if only she had kept the knife, she would have been free by now. But what could she have done? Alex would have broken her arm if she hadn’t let go of the kni— She suddenly stopped thinking and looked at her bound hand, a new idea forming in her mind. Yes, that’s it: break it! Break her right hand—or rather, break the bone in her wrist beneath her thumb. That would allow her hand to slip out of the cuffs easily. It was a successful method; she remembered a criminal once using it to escape his cuffs when she was with the homicide unit. But it was a big risk. Besides the excruciating pain she would feel, there was a high chance the break could worsen and never heal, even with a cast. No! She couldn’t think about the future when her friends were in danger at this very moment. It didn’t matter if the bone never healed; what use was a healthy hand without Alexander?

She clasped her left hand around her right and pressed her left thumb against the bone she intended to break in her wrist. She paused. She squeezed her eyes shut—not out of fear of the pain or the potential for an unhealed injury, but because she knew she’d lose the advantage of her right hand in the fight. True, she could shoot with her left hand, but not with the same precision and skill as with her right. She hoped this wouldn’t become a critical flaw in the field. Taking a slow, deep breath, she pressed down with her thumb as hard as she could. A high-pitched cry of pain burst from her lips.

She stood at the base of the dark stairwell in the building Madov was using, gripping her weapon in her left hand and wrapping the belt of her coat around her right hand in an attempt to stabilize the broken bone and ease the overwhelming pain. Where should she go now? Should she search the ground floor? Or head upstairs? Where could they be? And why was everything so quiet? Had Madov already finished them off? No! She couldn’t let herself think that way. She would start on the ground floor. After all, she might get trapped upstairs and be unable to escape.

She walked slowly down a long corridor. She saw two men on the ground, seemingly dead. Great, that was a promising sign. She continued cautiously until she spotted the legs of a man stretched out near the doorway of an open room. She stopped, unsure if anyone else was in that room and whether the man was dead or not. Entering the room would be a significant risk, but once again, her father's saying echoed in her mind: life is meaningless without risk. She pressed herself against the wall and moved quietly until she reached the door. Then, with a swift motion, she peeked into the room, her gun raised.

There was no one in the room; it was completely empty. She aimed her gun downward at the man with the outstretched legs, only to discover it was Bernard. She gasped as she knelt beside him quickly. He was groaning weakly, barely conscious. She looked at his hand, covered in blood, which he was using to press against a wound. Gently, she moved his hand away and lifted his shirt to find blood covering his torso. She couldn’t pinpoint the wound, so she carefully felt along his body until she located a bullet hole just below his ribcage. She groaned, but this time in relief—the location of the bullet indicated it hadn’t hit any vital organs. She lifted her blood-soaked hand to his face and gently patted his cheek, whispering, "Bernard! Wake up! Come on! You’re okay; don’t give up and fall asleep. Look at me!" He didn’t respond, so her gentle pats turned into strong, trembling slaps. She wouldn’t lose him.

Bernard groaned loudly, his eyes slowly opening to a blurred image of Maya with her tear-filled green eyes. He mumbled something hard to understand: "I knew you’d come. I told him you were stubborn."

She smiled at him, swallowing the lump in her throat, and said in a choked voice, "You’ll be stubborn with your injury too. You’ll be fine; just stay with me."

He spoke weakly, "Go to him! Leave me! He said he’d be back soon, but it seems Madov caught him."

Bernard was right; Alexander could be in danger. But she couldn’t leave Bernard alone. He needed the bleeding stopped and to be kept conscious, and she also didn’t— She heard movement behind her. Her hand flew to her gun as she spun around, aiming at a large man who was reaching for his weapon. Maya shouted, "Stop! Raise your hands! Get on your knees!" The man looked at her, raising his hands above his head before sinking to his knees.

"Stop!" a voice called from the doorway.

She looked toward the door to see another man standing there, aiming his gun at Frederick’s head as he stood beside him, bound. The man said, "Drop your weapon, or I’ll kill Frederick." Then he called to the large man, "Stand up and come here, Adam."

Adam began to rise, but Maya ordered sharply, "Don’t move." Then she turned to the man beside Frederick and arrogantly said, "Listen, there’s something you should know: Frederick, the man you’re threatening to kill, is the one who killed my father. So I wouldn’t mind at all if you shot him. Now, if you care about the life of your friend Adam, drop your weapon immediately."

The man hesitated, glancing anxiously at his companion. Maya knew she had him. She shouted, "Drop it now!"

The man let go of Frederick and bent down to place his gun on the ground, but he never had the chance to straighten up. Maya shot him in the head, followed by another shot to Adam’s heart, as she coldly declared, "There’s no place for Madov’s scum in this world."

She heard Frederick say nonchalantly, "If he had looked into your eyes, he would have known you were going to kill them."

She turned to him and replied, "Glad to see you’re okay, though I doubt you really are. Trust me, I’d love to check on you, but I’m busy saving your foolish nephew. Now, take one of their shirts and press it against Bernard’s wound, and keep him conscio—"

Frederick interrupted in annoyance, "You really don’t mean to teach me how to care for an injured man."

A hint of a smile played on her lips as she said, "Alright, search them for a phone and call the police and an ambulance. Be careful, and—"

Frederick shouted, "Stop instructing me and go to Alex!"

She smiled at him as she rushed away.

Upstairs, in near-total darkness, two meters away from a large room, she saw Alexander standing stiffly as he faced Madov. Judging by their expressions, Maya knew Alex had fallen into Madov’s trap. Suddenly, without realizing it, a man emerged from the room and looked her way. He tried to aim at her or shout, but Maya didn’t give him the chance. She fired a bullet straight into his forehead.

The gunshot caught the attention of those inside the room, and Madov shouted, "Who’s there? Jack, what happened?"

Maya didn’t respond, prompting him to demand sharply, "Come out, or I’ll kill Alexander. Jack, speak!"

Maya sighed in frustration. Madov had always been clever. She then said loudly, "I’m afraid Jack can’t answer you." She slowly walked into the room, continuing with a sarcastic tone, "I decorated his forehead with a bullet, just like I did with Sam. I hope you don’t mind."

Madov clenched his teeth, then smiled, saying, "What a delightful surprise. Instead of killing three, four will die. Well, your friend is already dead," he added. "You, Alexander, and Frederick, all on the same day—that’s more than I expected. Let’s wait until my men bring Frederick here first."

Maya glanced around. There were four men lying dead on the floor. It seemed Alex had taken care of them. Great work. She also noticed a man at the far end of the room aiming a rifle at Alex, who hadn’t turned to look at her at all. She returned her gaze to Madov and remarked with feigned surprise, "Your men! Don’t you realize I’ve killed them all? I’ve freed Frederick, and as for our fourth friend, his name is Bernard, and I’m happy to report that he’s perfectly fine. Unfortunately, he won’t be dying.

“One last thing: Frederick called the police.”

Madov’s tongue froze, and his eyes bulged as he stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face. Maya lifted her head to him and coldly said, “How disgraceful! You know, my mother’s slap was stronger than yours.”

He was about to hit her again when he stopped, hearing Alex chuckle softly. His veins bulged in anger as he hissed, “So, you two are enjoying this, are you, lovebirds? Let’s make it even more fun, then. Now, you wretch, you will kill your lover, or my man will. I’d rather you do it; dying at the hands of his enemies is the ultimate humiliation.”

Maya kept staring at him, and he shouted, “Point your gun at him now!”

Maya didn’t move, so he turned to his man and ordered, “Then kill him.”

“Wait,” Maya said, raising her gun toward Alex’s head.

Madov laughed. “That’s better. Now, go ahead and kill him. And don’t bother trying anything; whatever you plan won’t work, because my man will shoot Alexander in the head the moment you fire your shot. If you try to kill me, Alex dies instantly.”

Maya took a deep breath. This was indeed a crisis. Killing Madov was out of the question because, as he said, his lackey would kill Alexander. She also couldn’t shoot the man aiming at Alex; she needed speed to shift her gun from Alexander to the man and fire accurately. Her left hand wasn’t capable of that, and even if it were, she wasn’t sure it could kill him with a single shot at that speed… She heard Madov yell, “Come on, knock him down!”

Yes! Knock him down. That’s what she needed to do—make Alex drop to the ground to avoid the bullet, which was aimed at his head, and then make her move. With a steady voice, she said, “I’ll kill him,” and in a flash, she lowered her gun to his leg and fired. Alex screamed, collapsing to the floor. The other man fired, but his bullet missed Alex, who was already on the ground. Maya then shot the man before he could fire a second round, and he fell dead.

It was over now, but where was Madov? She turned around but didn’t see him; she only heard the sound of his running footsteps. She looked at Alex, who was in pain, and said with satisfaction, “Get up and follow us. Don’t miss out on the thrill.” Then she ran after Madov.

“Madov!”

Maya’s shout made him stop and turn to her cautiously. He muttered in frustration, “Damn, you’re fast.”

Maya pointed her gun at him. “Chasing fools like you made me fast. But I have to ask, what were you thinking, coming up to the rooftop? Planning to fly away?”

He replied firmly, “Go ahead! Kill me!”

Maya sneered. “Oh, believe me, I will. You should close your eyes—it’ll hurt less.”

A moment passed, then another, and more moments, but Maya didn’t fire. She just kept staring at him without blinking or looking away. Finally, she lifted her gun upward and raised her bandaged right hand in a gesture of surrender, saying in an odd tone, “I’ve changed my mind. I won’t kill you.”

Madov gaped at her in disbelief, so she continued with a faint smile, “Killing you would mean my loss, and victory for the revenge that consumed me. I don’t want that. Do you know how revenge has turned my life into hell? Do you know how many people I love have been hurt or suffered because of my quest for revenge? Do you know how much I’ve lost because of it?” She then added with determination, “Now, I’m killing this revenge, and I’m handing you over to the law to be judged for your crimes.”

Madov spoke, “You know I’ll escape from prison.”

Maya replied simply, “Then I’ll catch you again.”

After a moment of silence, Madov said, “In truth, you won’t be able to do that. I’m just an innocent businessman in the eyes of the law. I’ve always been careful.”

Maya heard Alex’s cold voice from behind Madov, “Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case.”

Madov responded, “If you’re talking about Frederick’s kidnapping, a skilled lawyer can get me off, and at worst, I’ll be out on bail.”

Alex smiled calmly. “I’m not talking about Frederick’s kidnapping; I’m talking about the shipment of drugs you received yesterday.”

Madov gasped in shock as Alex continued, “Yes, I was there. With the help of a talented photographer, I took pictures of you and recorded videos of you receiving the goods. I was sure you’d be there; old habits die hard. You still love being present when the merchandise is delivered.”

Madov snarled, “How did you find out?”

Alex answered frankly, “The same day Maya killed dear Sam, your men were careless enough to discuss the shipment in the street. You should teach them to be more discreet next time.” Then he added mockingly, “Oh, I forgot, you no longer have any men. We killed them all.”

Madov shouted, “I’ll kill you for this!”

Alex replied innocently, “Sorry if I upset you, but I couldn’t let Van’s sacrifice go in vain.”

Maya couldn’t stop herself from glancing at Alex. He was sitting, leaning against the door, looking exhausted. She smiled at him gently, then turned back to Madov, just as he drew a gun from his jacket and aimed it at Alex, muttering, “You’re going to die, you bastard.”

Without telling him to stop, without warning Alex, without even a moment’s hesitation, Maya raised her gun toward Madov and fired five shots in quick succession. She watched as he collapsed face-first, lifeless, turning into a corpse. She stared at the prone body and coolly said, “Sorry, but I don’t tolerate someone being called a bastard.”

Alex’s cheerful voice broke her focus as he said, “Five shots, huh? You know, the first thing I’m going to do when I get back to work is file a report to have your gun taken away. Honestly, you’re a danger to society with that thing.”

Maya walked over to him and softly replied, “I still have one bullet left, so shut up before I blow your head off.”

Just then, they heard the sound of police and ambulance sirens in the distance. Alex laughed and said, “As usual, they only show up after the battle’s over.” He raised his hand toward her and whispered, “Help me up.” Maya lovingly reached out and took his hand.