Ashley, white-faced and paralyzed with fear, did not react with the speed necessary to take advantage of the diversion Cooper had created. Her sister’s terrified glances darted from the door, to the duo wielding guns, and back to Cooper.
“GO NOW!” Cooper bellowed angrily and Ashley started finally moving toward the exit and hopefully, to safety.
But Alek recovered quickly. She turned her shoulders in order to point the gun at Ashley, but even as she pivoted, Cooper was flinging the clock, calendar, and binder at the female assailant’s face. Instinctively, Alek raised her arms to fend off the assault of office supplies and, with Edward preoccupied by wiping blood away from his eyes, Ashley was able to make it to the doorway.
That was as far as she got, however, before Cooper ran out of things to throw. All of the action had taken place in a matter of seconds, and those precious measures of time had not been sufficient to allow Ashley to escape. Alek raised her gun and as Cooper yelled, “NO!” her heart rent by fear for her sister, Edward moved.
In a flash, the arm holding the motorcycle helmet pulled back and then rammed into Alek’s gun hand with enough force to knock the weapon loose. But not before it discharged.
The gun went off with a roar. Ashley screamed. Cooper lunged forward, straining to see if her sister was hurt, but Alek’s body obscured her view. The finance manager recovered quickly and leapt for her gun, which had come to rest at the base of one of the file cabinets.
Her arm stretched forth to wrap around the grip, but Cooper launched herself upon her enemy as though she was a running back diving into the end zone. She and Alek grabbed the gun simultaneously and the two women began to wrestle for control of the pistol.
Cooper was stunned by the other woman’s strength. Alek pulled at the gun and tried to roll away from Cooper, but as she shifted her weight to her left shoulder, Cooper followed the movement exactly, her fingers closing over Alek’s as two pairs of arms pointed in the direction of the door. The combined pressure of their fingers released the gun’s hammer.
The report of the shot stunned the two women for several seconds, but Alek recovered first, and, taking advantage of Cooper’s hesitation, broke free with the weapon in her hand.
“FREEZE!” a deep voice barked from the doorway.
Alek and Cooper both turned. Rich Johnson stood in the threshold, wearing a Kevlar vest and a ferocious glare. “Put the gun down, Aleksandra Ivanovich. It’s over.”
Cooper’s gaze traveled from the policeman to the supine figure on the floor. Edward lay with his face turned toward the ceiling. His skin was glistening with sweat and his breathing was labored. As Cooper rose to her knees, she looked at the carpet and cried, “No!”
Blood was seeping from beneath Edward’s body, forming a dark, crimson stain in the gray carpet.
“Drop it now or I shoot!” Rich repeated, easing into the room and lifting the gun so that it was parallel with Alek’s chest.
Alek locked eyes with the officer and smiled. “You cannot win.” The gun fell with a muffled thud on the carpet. “My lawyers won’t let you hold me.”
Cooper watched just long enough to witness the policeman kick the gun out of Alek’s reach. He pinned her against the wall and fastened a pair of handcuffs on her wrists using adept movements, reciting her rights in an even, professional tone. Alek began to writhe in anger, her shoulders and arms twisting as though she had the strength to escape her bonds. When it was clear that she couldn’t get free, she began to mock Rich Johnson by listing all the charges her brother had escaped in the past, extolling the craftiness of her family’s legal team, and cataloguing the deficiencies of Richmond’s police force. Her voice rose as she spoke, until she was spitting and hissing like a feral cat.
Officer Johnson did not speak a word beyond the Miranda. He gently pushed Alek into the hallway and only then focused his attention on Edward.
“Looks like the bullet went through his lung,” he said as he listened to Edward’s rasping. “He’s losing too much blood. Put pressure on the wound while I call for help.”
Cooper shed her coat and scarf. She gently lifted Edward’s shoulder from the floor, though her emotions were in turmoil. How long has he known the Ivanovich siblings? Did he work for them before he