Autopsy of a Mind

"I… I don't want to die," Lucy said softly. Neither do the two girls in the room, I wanted to tell her. But this was not the time.

"But you will die. He knows you are of no use to him if you can't get me to do something bad," I informed her. "But you will get sentenced to life or get capital punishment if the other option happens."

She choked.

"Do you really want to play in this game of his? The answer is simple." The words were enticing. And I could see it infect her mind.

"How?" she asked. "Do you want me to tip the police about the location and leave discreetly?" she asked.

I didn't trust her to do anything of the sort. We would be dead before the police could reach. At least Jade and Gene would be dead along with Bernard, who was still outside, probably with his shotgun cocked and ready to threaten and kill.

I shook my head. "You think they will sit around and let you tip the police? They know you are on our side now. There is no way you can get out of this building."

She looked scared. Scared for her life. She knew her father enough to guess what would happen to her. It wouldn't be a slow death, she would be brutalized and then killed heinously so that not even a trace of her was left.

"Even if you do go out or call the police, they might not come. His father is the Director-General." I saw her whimper as she slumped over me. Her grip had slackened, leaving only the stinging pain.

I felt the sensations acutely, and they seemed to spur me on. I grew angrier. The silent seething propelled me to think of various ways to get out unscathed. To get these two females out without a scratch on them.

They were my responsibility, and I knew damn well they didn't deserve to be tortured because I existed.

"What should I do?" she whispered.

I turned my hand and tapped on the underside of the wrist, a motion of reassurance.

"Why don't you unlock my hands first? You have a well-trained ally on your side. I can help you keep them off. I can ensure you go out and still have all of us protected." My voice was level.

Lucy looked shocked at my proposal.

"I can't do that," she responded immediately.

"Why? I don't have a weapon. I can't hurt anyone or I will get jail time. What are you scared of?" I asked casually like I wasn't planning something devious to throw her off.

"If you listen to her," Benny began all of a sudden. He had heard the conversation long enough. "She will kill you." The statement was bold.

I sighed. "If I killed her, I would fall right into your hands, won't I? You would hold that over me for the rest of my life and use it to keep me at your side, doing as you bid. You know it would make me feel guilty…" I countered him.

This was the first time I spoke to him after acknowledging who he was.

"When did you find out it was me?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

I rolled my eyes.

"The moment I saw you," I snorted. I could feel the lock being worked on and with Lucy's body covering the view from others, there was no way they would know. "The white shirt, the calm way you looked at everyone. I remembered your face, too." I chuckled without humor. "It didn't help that you only had a busted lip and no other injuries in sight even though you struggled against them."

"Your intuition is strong!" he complimented. "But you are too evil to be on the right side of the law, aren't you? Look at you manipulating this woman into doing what you want."

I rolled my eyes. "There is a fine line between good and evil. The line being the perspective of a human. You think you aren't doing anything bad. I think you need to be chopped up in pieces."

I heard the click of the lock and pulled my hand free. I watched as she worked on the other hand.

She didn't seem to be bothered by the conversation, probably convinced by my logic. When the other hand was done, I rotated my wrist and went for Lucy's hand.

The needle I had hidden between my fingers worked as a weapon. I stabbed her at the wrist, the needle going through her hand considerably before I pulled it back.

The stack of keys in her hand fell to the ground with a thug and I reached down to grab them.

I kept my eyes on Lucy as she howled in pain. She clutched at her wrist and writhed on the floor. I had almost no time. I unlocked my legs and slowly stood up.

The gun.

The gun was what I aimed for.

I leaned down beside Lucy gingerly and yanked the hem of her shirt to see the gun. I took it into my hand and leaped up. The next person I unlocked was Gene.

"Hide right beside the door, understood?" I prompted. She nodded in panic and bolted to the edge of the door, locking herself at the corner, not doing a thing.

"You're going to pretend you are cuffed?" I asked Benny without looking at him. I heard the thudding of footsteps coming from outside and knew that Bernard had heard the screams.

I had known this would happen. I wasn't going to wait around for him to enter with a gun.

"You knew?" He asked, amazed. "I work with cuffs all the time. I am thankful to you for playing along. You like to watch a show, don't you?" I went to work on Jade's hand.

She looked at me like a demon as I pressed the needle surreptitiously into her hand. I gave her an intent look.

I hoped she understood.

Benny stood up from the chair, shedding the cuffs and stretching his body. "Why didn't you say so earlier? We could have begun the game."

The door burst open but didn't crash against the wall. I turned around slowly and saw Bernard, the dilapidated old man with his gun pointed right at my head.

"You don't want to do that," I told him, waving the gun at him. "I know it's loaded and I am a better shot than you, I can tell you that," I told him loudly.

I was trapped on two sides. The door was occupied by the father while Benny stood at the center of the room. Jade was panicking as she pleaded with her eyes not to leave her.

I almost wanted to apologize to her for the pain I would cause her. I had to keep the door unoccupied and Gene protected. She was a child, one that had years to look forward to.

She had potential. She shouldn't die.

I stepped aside, positioning myself equally distant from both assailants. I didn't know if Benny had a weapon, but I wouldn't put it past him to use Bernard like a weapon. Or a shield.

Lucy was still on the floor, but her pain was going to ebb away. Her anger would pick her up off the floor.

Three against one wasn't a scenario I didn't want to be in.

I felt tears prickling in my eyes as I inspected the bullets in the gun. I cocked it.

I had six shots. That is all this revolver allowed me. Three targets. And I couldn't shoot to kill.

With the safety undone, Bernard shook. I pointed the gun at Lucy. "Come on. That's your precious daughter. The slave you like best," I hinted at him.

"You think I care?" he howled.

"Don't shoot," Benny warned. "I won't save you," he said.

Bernard's eye flashed in his direction and he nodded. He stood like a wall at the end, the gun just pointed at me.

I tested my thoughts. If I shot Benny, all bets were off. We were all dead. Bernard wouldn't have someone to look up to. He wouldn't need to listen to Benny's orders and he would kill us all.

If I shot Lucy to incapacitate her, it would enrage Bernard into coming closer to make sure he shot me well. He would shoot to kill, though, just to maim.

I could live with that.

"Do not move from the door," Benny gritted through his teeth when he understood what I was planning on doing.

I looked him in the eye as I shot at Lucy. She jerked and howled. I'd aimed for the kneecap so that she wouldn't get up. Everything was clinical at that point.

I was back to statistics and probability. What were my chances? What were their chances?

"Don't come here!" he shouted. "There is someone—" Benny couldn't finish.

Bernard trudged forward aiming for me.

"Run!" I screamed. The door burst forward and Gene sprinted out without a look back.

Good for her.

I heaved as the back of the gun made contact with my head. He chanted slurs as he pummelled my shoulder and back. In a moment of strength, I threw him off and shot him twice.

My shoulders ached at the recoil and I felt a tear spill as Bernard clutched his shoulder. Blood pooled at his stomach, soaking through his shirt.

3 bullets left. 3 assailants alive.

"Give it to me," Benny hissed. He took the gun out of Bernard's arms as he grew limp. He even administered the last kick before pointing the gun at Jade.

"You have two choices," he yelled at me as he pressed the gun to Jade's head. Tears rolled down her dirty cheeks as she looked at me helplessly. "Either you shoot to kill me or she dies."

He knew none of those options were possible for me.

This was shooting a criminal, right? This was justified, right? It wouldn't make me a monster.

I could kill him and save everyone. I could kill him and save myself.

But the nagging feeling that just killing him wouldn't satisfy me. I looked at Jade.

Do something, I wanted to tell her. But what was she to do?

I raised my gun. "Let us leave," was all I could say. "You won't kill me. And you know I won't let her die. We are at an impasse. Just let us go." I pleaded.

The years of knowledge, all down the drain because I refused to pull the trigger. I would have to kill him or there was no leaving.

The shot rang louder than I anticipated. My knee buckled as I bit my tongue. The gun smoked and it pointed at me. I didn't have to look down to know that my thigh had been shot.

I sank to the floor.

I heard the ungodly female screamed come from beside him. I didn't comprehend it. My mind went blank as I clutched the gun.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.