Split Second

Kate. And then I can go on with my life. My artistic power has been completely restored now. Another new identity and Europe beckons. The possibilities are limitless, even without your mother.' He pointed his pistol at Kate.

King raised his gun too. 'Actually, Sid, I've pared down your options to one.'

'It only fires blanks,' said Morse. 'You found that out a few minutes ago.'

'Which is why I knocked Kate's gun out of her hand and picked it up when the lights went out.'

'You're bluffing.'

'Am I? My gun's on the floor. But if you try and check, I'll shoot you. Sort of like the trick you used with the elevator. And the two guns look exactly the same anyway. It'll be impossible to tell. But go on and take a peek. Then when my bullet slams into your head, you'll know you were wrong. You screwed up, Sid. On a set you never lose track of the gun props. A brilliant director like you should know that.'

Morse suddenly didn't look as confident.

King pressed his advantage. 'What's the matter, Sid? A little nervous? It doesn't take courage to shoot an unarmed man or drown old ladies in bathtubs. But now we can see how brave you really are because you're not safely behind the scenes anymore. You're the star of the show, front and center, and your audience is waiting.'

'You're a lousy actor. Your bravado is hardly convincing,' replied Morse, but there was tension in his voice.

'You're right, I'm no actor, but I don't have to be, because this isn't make-believe. The bullets are real, and at least one of us is going to die, and we won't be getting back up for an encore. I tell you what, duels make for great theater, so let's have one, Sid. Just you and me.' King put his finger on the trigger. 'On the count of three.'

His gaze bored into Morse, who was now pale, his breathing accelerated.

'Come on now, don't freak out on me. I'm just an ex-Secret Service agent. Sure, I've gunned down guys who were shooting at me, but how good can I really be? Like you said, I can't possibly be in your league.' King paused and then started to count. 'One…'

Morse's hand started to tremble and he took a step back.

King squeezed the pistol grip tightly. 'I haven't fired a gun in eight years. You remember the last time I did, right? I'm so rusty. In this light even at this close range, I can probably only hit your torso. But it'll still kill you.'

Morse's breathing accelerated even more and he took another step back.

'Two.' King's gaze never left Morse's face. 'Make sure you hit your marks, Sid, and don't forget to take a bow as you're falling to the floor with a big hole in your chest. Don't worry, though, death will be instantaneous.'

As King started to count 'Three,' Morse screamed. The lights went out, and King ducked down as the shot sailed over his head. He breathed a sigh of relief. His ruse had worked.

A minute later the woman who'd shot Michelle moved through the darkness past mounted figures on her way toward King. As soon as the lights had gone out, Tasha slipped on a pair of night-vision goggles and could see things clearly, whereas King could see nothing. She passed the fallen Michelle, then ducked in- between two of the wooden frames. King had retreated with Kate to a corner, but from here Tasha had a clean shot. The orders she had just been given were clear. Regardless of what else happened, Sean King and Kate Ramsey had to die.

Tasha took aim, smiling as she did so. Killing people, that's what she did. And now she was about to add two more to her hit list.

The slight noise behind her caused her to whirl around. The beam of light from the flashlight hit her right in the eyes, blinding her, and a far harder object followed. As the bullet slammed into Tasha's head, her homicidal career came to an abrupt end.

Michelle rose on shaky legs. She rubbed her chest where the bullet had ripped into the body armor she'd taken off Simmons. The impact had actually knocked her out. It stung like hell but she was alive. Luckily she'd come to just in time.

Using her flashlight, she found King and Kate. 'Sorry, I had a little problem, or I would've been backing you up sooner. Are you all right?'

He nodded. 'Did you see Sidney Morse?'

'Sidney, he's behind this?' King nodded. She looked puzzled. 'I thought it was Peter Morse.'

'I just recently figured it all out myself. Do you have a knife?'

She handed him one. 'I pulled it off Simmons along with this flashlight. What are you going to do?'

'Just wait for me outside the room. And take Kate with you.'

Michelle and Kate headed to the door. King made his way over to the elevator where Joan was still strung up. He checked her pulse. She was alive. He cut her down, lifted her over his shoulder and met Michelle and Kate outside.

Suddenly he put Joan down, leaned over and sucked in long breaths. The effect of his risky face-off with Morse was now hitting him.

'What's the matter?' said Michelle.

'I think I'm going to be sick,' he snapped. 'That's what.'

Kate spoke up. 'You were bluffing about the gun, weren't you? It wasn't mine. You just had blanks.'

'I was bluffing about the gun, yes,' he said between gritted teeth.

Michelle put a hand on his back. 'You'll be okay.'

'I'm too old for this macho crap.' He took a few last deep breaths and straightened up. 'Do you smell smoke?' he asked.

They ran toward the exit and were met by a horrified-looking Bruno. He pointed down the hall where the flames were already impenetrable. Another wall of flames blocked the passageway to the upper floors.

Michelle spotted a black cable on the floor. She pointed it out to King.

'Is that what I think it is?'

He examined it. When he looked up, his face was pale. 'He's wired the building with explosives.' He glanced around. 'Okay, wecan't go out and we can't go up.' He eyed the other way down the hall. 'And if I remember correctly, that goes to the basement. And there's no exit from there.'

'Wait a minute,' said Michelle. 'We can get out through the basement.'

75

They reached the lower level as smoke from the growing inferno followed them. The lights were on down here, so they could see reasonably well.

'Okay, now what?' said King as he looked at the long hallway that was blocked by debris about midway down. 'I told you there were no exits down here. We checked that out when Ritter was here.'

'No, over here,' said Michelle. She opened the door on the large dumbwaiter. 'We'll take this up to the third floor.'

'The third floor!' exclaimed Bruno angrily. 'And then what, we jump? That's brilliant, Agent Maxwell, just brilliant!'

Hands on hips, Michelle stood right in front of Bruno. 'This time you're going to do exactly what I tell you, so just shut up and get in…sir.' She pushed Bruno into the dumbwaiter and then turned to Kate.

King stepped forward. 'You go up with Bruno, then send it back down. I'll follow with Joan and Kate.'

Michelle nodded, then handed him her pistol. 'Real bullets. Just watch yourself.'

She climbed into the dumbwaiter, and she and Bruno started pulling on the ropes, propelling themselves upward.

As King tried to revive Joan, Kate slumped to the floor.

'You can just leave me. I don't want to live,' she said.