thought of something happening to Bobby that would warrant a call to the police. She turned her attention to the scene unfolding on the screen in front of her. She saw Christian sidle up to the judge and plunge something into his unsuspecting fat neck. The judge put his hand to his neck and looked puzzled before falling limp into Christian’s waiting arms. Christian dragged his portly body toward a chair in the corner of the room and dropped him down onto it. She saw him pull a gun from his waistband and hold the barrel to the judge’s forehead. Then she saw light from an opening door stream in and heard Bobby’s familiar voice call out.
“Christian, stop.” He put his hands up showing he had no weapon and moved farther into the room but not any closer to Christian.
Christian swung around and aimed the gun at Bobby who instinctively went to reach for his weapon. At the last second, Bobby seemed to remember he wasn’t here for a shoot-out, but for a negotiation, and purposefully lifted his empty hands again Piper felt her heart momentarily stop as she saw the large black gun pointing at the man who might love her.
“I’m here to save your life. I need you to hear me out. Can you put the gun down for a minute and let me talk to you?” Bobby kept his hands raised and voice steady. He hadn’t had enough time to think through all his talking points, and now staring down the barrel of a gun, it seemed as though a little more preparation would have been beneficial.
“I’m not sure who you are, but there are only two people in this room whose lives are in danger, and I’m not one of them,” Christian barked, clearly rattled by Bobby’s sudden appearance.
“My name is Bobby, and I’m a cop. I’m not here to arrest you though. I’m here to help you. Lower your gun and give me a chance to explain. Please.” Christian lowered his gun slightly, but gave no indication he’d be holstering it or handing it over. Bobby continued, “I know what this man has done, who he is, and I don’t blame you for wanting to kill him. I have a plan that ensures he pays for his crimes and keeps you from spending the rest of your life in jail.” Piper was as anxious to be let in on this plan as Christian was to, perhaps quite literally, shoot it down.
“There’s no justice for a man like this other than a bullet in his brain, and even that doesn’t seem like enough,” Christian shouted, raising his gun, pointing it in the direction of the judge again.
“I know you think that, but there are dozens of other people—children—involved here and they deserve to see him pay for his crimes. They don’t want him to just disappear, his body never to be seen again. If you pull that trigger now you’ll be doing him a favor. When all of this comes out he’s going to pray for death. I have a way to make sure he’s held accountable and get you and your family a fresh start.” Bobby signaled for Christian to lower his weapon again and tried to draw his attention away from the judge.
“I’m no rat. If that’s what you’re about to propose you can stop right there. I come from a long line of people who pride themselves on loyalty.” Christian’s eyes and gun were still fixed on the judge and Bobby knew he was running out of time. The judge was still motionless, but Bobby could see he was breathing. Whatever sedative Christian had injected into the judge’s neck was certainly doing its job.
“You know when everything comes out about this guy, you won’t be called a rat, you’ll be a hero. There are certain lines you don’t cross and even your crew would agree he’s a monster. The people he’s hurt deserve to see him pay, in the public eye. All I’m asking is you hear me out.” Bobby felt the tightness in his chest fade slightly as Christian once again lowered his gun and turned toward him.
Bobby continued, “You know if I was to bring any evidence in against him, either me or the people I love would be dead before it ever came to light, and the evidence would be destroyed. You know exactly who is involved with the judge and you can give the evidence to people who you