AJ couldn't believe how out of the way Jason was bringing this chase on. It was a good forty minutes out of Berlin before he finally found them turning up a dirt road in the middle of a rural area, surrounded by farms. The police had arrived to apprehend Jason at the hotel just before he awoke. AJ shuddered at the way Jason had taken over the situation so violently, whipping about, grabbing the gun of a cop right out of his holster and gunning him down in such a fluid motion that all of the onlookers had been left speechless. The next thing they all knew there were seven squad cars, one of which carried AJ, flying down the autobahn and into the middle of no where Germany, rushing to catch up to the cop-killing right hand man of the Masquerade Murderer.
On the dirt road, they'd thought they'd caught up with Jason when he'd had to stop for two other cars blocking the road way, but he'd quickly stopped and ran like a bat out of hell, advancing quite a ways before the Guardia had even gotten out of their vehicles, bolting into a large, dilapidated looking barn in the distance. "This must be the headquarters," commented one of the policemen AJ had ridden with. They all stopped their vehicles and got out, arming themselves. AJ watched, mesmerized as the cops flowed around the cars, running towards the barn and fanning out, ducking down behind brush and fence posts, preparing for the coming stand off. He was stunned.
"Come on, man," called one of the younger cops, "Don't stand there, come with me." AJ followed dazedly as the rookie led the way to a post behind an old feeding trough and ducked down. They laid on their stomachs in the dust and waited, the cop aiming his gun towards the door of the barn. AJ panted and watched, wide eyed and senses tingling. He still felt as though at any moment he'd shake his mind clear and realize he was sitting on his sofa in front of a high definition TV set in his living room.
A bull horn squealed as it turned on, then a loud, rough voice cackled through it. "Come out with your hands up... This is the Berlin Guardia... Drop your firearms and come out with your hands where we can see them!" There was a long pause, all the officers waited tensely for something to happen. Then the captain repeated his command. "Come out with your hands up! Drop your firearms and come out of the barn with your hands in the air!"
The barn door opened and all the cops shifted, their guns trained on the door, and they waited, squinting at their anticipated targets. AJ felt his throat seize as Agent Bryant stepped out of the barn first, held back by the thick arm of Fat Freddy, a face he recognized from the docks the year before, and Jason. Freddy had Bryant held tight against his chest, his arm around the agent's neck to keep him from going anywhere, and as an added insurance that Bryant would stay put, Freddy held his gun to his temple. Bryant's arms were forward, palms up, for the Guardia to see that they were empty. He looked terrified and completely resigned to his fate all at once, and that scared AJ almost as much as the fact that he was being restrained so well by Freddy to begin with.
"We're here to negotiate out a little agreement with you," called Freddy, nodding at the police that surrounded the building. "I'm quite aware that you all have quite out numbered myself and my friend here, and I admit that I've got no way out of this. Except for one thing. I have your precious agent right here, and I've got the other one just inside the barn." AJ felt his stomach quench. Nick was captive. "Now, here's what my proposal is. Jason and I are going to go out the back way of this barn, and hop a ride in a getaway car, and you'll never hear from us again. In return, I will release to you this agent, and leave the other agent in the barn where you can find him." Jason smirked. AJ's stomach quenched harder... why was he smirking? What was funny about what Freddy had just said about leaving Nick where they could find him? ...Was Nick okay? "So how about it, boys," called Freddy with a chuckle, "Do we have ourselves a deal?"
"We don't negotiate with cold blooded killers," the captain responded solemnly, "You will surrender or you will be gunned down."
"And how, captain, do you plan to gun us down?" laughed Freddy loudly, he nodded his head at Bryant, "I've got a shield here, haven't I?"
The captain of the Guardia glanced about at his troops nervously. He bent down and started whispering to a couple guys, trying to figure out how to handle this. Could anyone sneak around to the back of the barn, he wondered, surprise the offenders from that angle and get the two agents out of the barn before there could be any backlash? What were their options?
Suddenly Agent Bryant shouted out, "Don't listen to them!" he yelled, "Don't listen to them!!" Freddy's jaw dropped opened and he squeezed Bryant's neck tighter, trying to make him stop talking. "They've killed him!" Bryant cried, his face crumbling, "They killed him! They fucking killed him! I've failed you all! Shoot this killer down! Don't think of me!" Freddy kneed Bryant sharply in the lower back, making his legs give from beneath him and choking him on Freddy's thick arm. "TAKE THESE GUYS OUT! TAKE'EM OUT!" Bryant hollered.
The captain motioned for the officers to take aim. AJ's eyes widened. They were going to follow Agent Bryant's commands?? Was that even legal?? "READY," the captain shouted.
Freddy twisted his body for Bryant to block him, edging back towards the door to act as a second shield, and Jason ducked back inside the barn.
Nick raised the gun just as Jason stepped inside. Jason looked up, blinking in surprise. Nick fired one shot, missed slightly, and hit Jason in the hand. "Get out of my way," Nick stated as Jason fell to one side, nursing the wound the bullet inflicted. Nick raised the gun a second time as Freddy backed into the door.
"Freddy! Your back!" Jason yelled. Fat Freddy began to turn around, pulling Bryant with him.
"AIM," shouted the Guardia captain. The officers all took aim.
Nick fired. The boom of the gun, and the whistle of the bullet all seemed to happen in slow motion to Nick. It was as though the instant in time was shrouded by a heavy silence that hung in the air. Fat Freddy's face paled and his jaw dropped and a curse flowed over his lips as his initial reaction was to release his grip on Agent Bryant and turn to block himself with his own arms, ducking to one side as he did so. Bryant flew through the air, falling to the ground with a bang as the bullet flew into Fat Freddy's shoulder, right at the base of his neck. Nick shot a second time, and a third, then a forth, hitting his arm, other shoulder and bicep. Fat Freddy stumbled backwards, out of the barn, and into the opened air in front of it.
"HOLD YOUR FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!" the captain shouted in surprise as Freddy fell to his knees, facing the officers and clutched his shoulders with both hands, yelling out in pain. "ARREST HIM," he yelled, "GO GO GO MOVE IN! MOVE IN!" The officers spilled forth from their posts. Several rushing to Fat Freddy, while quite a few of them, including AJ and the rookie he'd holed it out with, ran into the barn where Nick was kneeling beside Agent Bryant.
Nick leaned close as the noise broke forth. "Are you aiight, dawg?" he asked, his voice concerned. He looked down at Bryant.
Bryant looked up at Nick as he pushed himself up to his elbows, "I thought you were dead," he gasped, "Again," he added, remembering the year before.
Nick laughed, "I told you I was gonna save the day, you didn't believe me?"
"You scared the shit out of me," Bryant answered.
"NICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" AJ exploded into the barn and threw his arms around Nick's neck in a celebratory hug, "You did it! You fucking did it! You saved the goddam day, you're fucking insane, dude, you're insane!"
Nick laughed and smiled up at AJ, "I told you I could do it, I told you!"
"You did tell me!" AJ laughed back, "Holy shit, that was incredible!"
"I KNOW!" Nick yelled.
Bryant laughed, shaking his head, "It was incredible, it was beyond incredible, agent."
Nick beamed proudly, "I did it!! I did it!" He looked around at the officers flooding the barn and the palest of sunlight sneaking in through the cracks in the roof, throwing slanted rays across the floor. Nick laughed and his eyes sparkled, and he whispered with pride, "I did it."
Saving the Day for Blondes 2: The Amazing Story of How Nick Apprehended The Infamous Masquerade Murderer Without ANY Caffeine In His Body! by Pengi
