Sandy had been moved to the clinic. Why there was a clinic on a
police station, I could only guess. The good thing about the clinic was
it had a fire exit. It was wired to an alarm, but disabling it was
incredibly easy. I had also told my man to setup a hidden camera inside
the otherwise "dark" room. Sandy was in a safe place. Especially since I
was outside, ready to barge in at the first sign of trouble.
A
while later the doctor came. But something was off. He locked the door.
It didn't make sense, Sandy was strapped to the bed. He was under
arrest, after all. There was no reason to lock the door. Unless...
And
I saw it. I saw Sandy froze upon seeing the doctor. The fool thought
Sandy was alone. I rushed in. A simple key lock wouldn't stop me, I
already had the habit of kicking doors open.
They both jumped when the door swung open with a loud thud.
"Why, hello there. Valeriy, is it?" I greeted him.
The false doctor froze.
I
deliberately leaned against the broken door frame. "Now, if you would
please take a couple steps back, and put your hands where I can see
them..."
He slowly did as I told him. I saw the bulge under his white coat. A gun. Idiot. Like that could help him.
"Look,
we already got you. Sandy here kindly helped us, you know? So, for your
own good, it would be better for you to try and hide like the rat you
are." His voice spat hatred.
I let out a good laugh. "Yeah, he told me you scared him. Poor thing was a wreck this morning."
"He sold you, Andrei."
"He told me that, you know. He's not an idiot like you, Valera."
He
turned slowly, visibly angered by the nickname. "You filthy rat, we
will tear down everything you have, 'till you have nothing left. And
then..."
"You and who else." I interrupted him. "You
think you can do this to a friend of mine, and then nothing happens? ...
Think again, Valera. You've made a big mistake by coming here alone."
"So the rat has a heart. Who would have guessed. I've always thought you vermin only had anger and guts to spill."
I smiled at him. "Well, you do have a gun. Why not try and kill me already, if you hate me so much?"
He
grinned back. Hatred mixed with cruelty. Those made up for a good mix.
If only he wasn't such an idiot, I could have offered him a job. Too bad
he'd never accept... right? "Andrei, today I'm not here for you. I'm
here after the thing you seem to care most for." He drew his gun
and pointed it at Sandy.
I laughed. Idiot. That's
exactly how you get yourself hurt. You don't stand a chance, you moron. I
got ready to act - I would only have a second or two at best.
He
got closer to Sandy. The boy was looking at me. Silently pleading for help. His teeth clenched to
avoid sobbing. His eyes betrayed him when a stray tear managed to get
out. Valera looked at him with a cruel grin as he placed the gun against his temple.
That was my clue. I thrown myself onto
him, sending us both to the floor. I quickly grabbed his hand, and
easily ripped the gun from it. I unloaded it, and threw it away. Then I
squeezed his neck, hard. It took me seconds to render him unconscious. I
quickly got up and went to check on Sandy.
He was almost laughing. "I nearly had a heart attack, you know."
"I won't let anything happen to you, Sandy. I swear."
He chuckled. "So, you did grow a heart, didn't you?"
I
looked at him, trying to appear serious, until I too burst into
laughter. "Yeah, I guess. But don't tell anybody, or they'll all come
looking for you, boy."
He laughed harder. "Well, that doesn't have to be a bad thing, that way you don't have to go looking for them!"
"There you have a point. Anyway, Sandy. How are you?"
"Told you I'm fine. Physically. Other than that, I've never been more happy to see a friend."
"Here,
let me help you." I proceeded to undo the straps that held him. "That said, I still want a doctor to see you. But it would be a
shame to let this opportunity pass, you know." I pointed at Valera with
my head.
Sandy gleefully smiled. "Yeah, I know."
