Dangerous by Default

24 The Shot

The bullet pounded a large dent into the metal elevator door just as it closed. The shriek that emerged from the black-suited caterer drew a gasp from the crowd.

"You killed my daughter and you will pay!" she screamed, a long silver revolver clasped in her shaking hands. Foam flicked from the corner of her mouth as she pivoted around to face the room behind her.

"Where is he!" she screamed at no one in particular, waving the revolver from left to right as she scanned the room. "I couldn't kill the beautiful wife, but I'll be damned if I don't kill him!"

"That was hella dumb!" a girl shouted, laughing as she whipped her wet hair from the large pool of water from the plexiglass container. Her friend whispered to her to be quiet. As she rubbed her eyes dry, the sight of the caterer brandishing a pistol caused her to instinctively step back. She slipped on the edge of the wet stairs and fell backwards, bumping hard into an event photographer who had been crouching by the handrail. He went flying over the edge, grasping for one of the trapeze artists out of desperation. He grabbed hold of the woman, but she was not connected to a bungee cable. Together they both tumbled through the open air of the museum atrium to the staircase three stories below.

Caine was standing in the hallway of the gallery.

"Hello there," he said. His voice was calm and delicate. He was walking towards the gunman slowly. She clumsily raised the pistol, her hand seeming to vibrate with emotion.

This was not a raging bull. Humans are far more dangerous, unpredictable. But he could see the fear in her eyes, and he knew that he had to calm her down. More people would get hurt if he didn't.

"You killed my daughter and now I'm going to kill you!" she shrieked.

He began to breathe deeply in and out, centering his focus on her as he inched towards her.

"How did your daughter die?" he asked.

"How did she die?! She was reenacting one of your stupid stunts. Thought she was invincible." The woman was crying now. "But she wasn't. She didn't survive. Shot herself in the arm. Thought she could be clever like you."

"I'm not clever." Caine said as he crept slowly closer. He was only a couple of feet now. His hands were clasped together in front of his body, and he started to raise them. "Please, let me have this back." he said in a friendly tone. "Old thing's not very useful with a rusty, empty chamber."

"Hah! You're right! You aren't clever at all. You're stupid. I swapped the old rusty for this fully loaded decoy! How's THIS for danger art." The woman pulled the trigger.

As soon as the bullet released from the revolver's chamber, a second gunshot boomed out. Caine's reflexes told him to crouch, and he was just in time to watch the caterer drop to the floor in a heap of fury and blood. Flicking his eyes between the sea of legs that surrounded him, he soon discovered just how dangerous his art could really be. An endless stream of flowing, gushing water covered the floor, carrying diluted swirls of crimson with it. The bullet meant for Caine must have been wide by a foot, piercing a hole in the side of one of the plexiglass containers, but only after traveling straight through the ribcage of the Head Curator. The sight of her crumpled form made Caine's heart beat in his stomach. His jaw clenched tightly like a bear trap. He was petrified for only a short moment before the room around him exploded with movement.

Frantic bodies rushed in every direction, circling the fallen like schools of fish. Voices screamed for an ambulance. They called out for the curator, and for an elderly man who'd fallen on the bed of syringes. Caine slowly backed himself against the nearest wall, trying to make sense of what was happening around him. To his surprise, the group of onlookers that surrounded the caterer parted in a sudden flash. He watched mutely as Janus approached the lifeless body, holstering the glock she held in her hand as she crouched by the shooter.

You only feel danger when you're safe, He mused in disbelief. Guess we should be grateful Janus was here, after all. The danger is over.

As he would soon find out, it was just beginning.