Dance Moms Bodyguard (12) A Killing Performance

Chapter 12 : Last Act

Kendall drove into an alley, made a U-turn and get ready to head for the police station. Waiting for the traffic to turn green, she heard an unmistakable cocking sound.

Inches to her left was a gun, held by a man reaching over the steering wheel. He took the phone from the dashboard and smashed it on the road.

"Hey! That's..." Kendall wanted to protest, then remembered it was not her phone. She quickly shoved the radio into her pocket.

The man went around the car and got in the passenger seat, resting his gun at his abdomen, its barrel pointing at Kendall.

"Where are my men?"

"In... in the woods..." Kendall stuttered at the gun.

"You're going to take me to them right now."

"But that's so far away! It took me half-an-hour just to get here..." Kendall looked out at a road sign. "...on Columbus."

"Did you call the police?"

"No! Of course not!" technically I called my Mom, who happened to be sitting next to the FBI...

The man has doubt in his eyes, regretting that he smashed the phone too soon and now couldn't check the calling list.

Holding down the TALK button this whole time, Kendall knew the Detective was listening. She raced in her mind, buying time, trying to lead the man into revealing a location. Again she thought of how her friends would handle it, one that was good at negotiations, or manipulating.

"Why are you here?" she spoke in JoJo's tone.

The man blinked.

"Why are you away from your team? You have already lost two men, shouldn't you stay by your hostage, where the money is?"

"I saw the car and I followed you."

"Then shouldn't you take me back to them? Instead of go searching for your lost friends?"

Seeing the man hesitated, Kendall knew her acting delivers. She turned and looked into his eyes.

"The more chips you have the better?" she quoted his boss. "But the less to share it even better, isn't that why your boss sent you to look for me? Or your lost friends?"

"I came myself!"

"But your boss approved it. Chances are he's moving the money as we speak. If you don't go back now they might just leave without you." Kendall leaned forward, widened her eyes like JoJo, grinning with her teeth. "Or worse, turn you in!"

The man began to sweat, his eyes puzzling, then after a moment of deep thoughts, he raised his gun to Kendall's face.

"I'm not going to ask again! Take me to where you dropped my men. I can shoot you right here!"

Kendall panicked looking down the barrel of the revolver, her heart pounding so hard she wanted to vomit, feeling that at any moment she would break down and cry.

No! She told herself. Cameras are rolling! Audience is watching! You're on air and the whole nation is watching you! You want to be an actress? This is your CENTER STAGE!!

She fought hard to swallow down whatever was coming from her stomach, shut her eyes and gathered her thoughts, placing herself in JoJo's role.

"In broad daylight?" she opened her eyes again, looking confident as ever. "People will hear the shot and call the police. Do you really want that?"

"By time they get here I'll be far gone."

"You won't have time, because you're still here, but your boss is taking the hostages away this very second."

"I'm going to ask you one last time. Where did you put my men?" he placed the end of the barrel to her forehead.

Kendall took several deep breaths, locking her eyes on the man about to shoot her, kept telling herself the camera is still rolling.

"I took them into the woods... then I ran them over... with this very car. Just - like - this!" then Kendall snapped her fingers.

The sound was barely audible, almost like a clicking sound. The man thought he heard it wrong, until he learned where it was coming from.

The sound he heard came from a Beretta M9, standard firearm issued by the Pittsburgh Police Department. Detective Kelly, along with her three other officers, surrounded the car at gun points.

An officer opened the driver side door and yanked Kendall to safety, when other policemen cuffed the man on the ground.

Broke out of her character, Kendall dropped to her hands and knees, vomiting violently for the second time in a day.

"Are you all right, Kendall?" Kelly holstered her gun.

"Oh My God! I was sure I was going to die!"