Soda Pop

Chapter 68- The Gunshot

"Are you sure you are okay with leaving prom?" Brett asks me.

"Yeah, prom is boring anyway," I sigh. Partially true. The violinist was kicking some butt, but I'm pretty sure I would rather leave.

"Okay then, let's get going. It's only a little while longer until the DEA office closes."

Brett figured it out, he figured the whole thing out. We have evidence proving Marcus to be guilty. We can't take it to the police, they will just try and rivert us back to the DEA. Which is, sadly, the only place we can go. We can't keep quiet, or Marcus will torture us until the day we die.
We high tail it to the office, driving as fast as possible to beat the closing time of 8 pm. It's 7:48 now.

By the time we park and head towards the door, the clock shows 7:54. Luckily they haven't closed early.

"Hi, we need to speak to Mr. Luxembourg. Immediately."

"I apologize, he isn't seeing anyone at this time. Try again on Monday, we open at 7 am," The secretary says.

"This is extremely urgent. We need to speak to him. Now," Brett growls.

"Speak to me about what?" Agent Luxembourg says.

"Sir, we need to speak immediately."

"Sorry, kiddos, I don't want anything from you unless you are turning yourselves in. Now good night. Please escort these two out."

"We know you lied," I speak for the first time since we have arrived.

"What?" Agent Luxembourg says.

"You heard me, Liar," I don't want to push it, but I am going to have to in order to catch his attention.

"Get out of here!" He yells.

"No. We can prove Marcus is guilty We can also prove that you tampered with evidence. Anf that is a federal crime. We are not leaving until you place Marcus into jail, where he belongs," I say, standing my ground.

"I don't know what evidence you think you may have, but clearly you are mistaken," Agent Luxembourg sets his papers down, and motions for the secretary to leave.

"Oh really? Think you are so smart? We have the voice recording of Marcus confessing," Brett snaps.

The agents facial expression changes for a split second. It was long enough for me to recognize his look of confusion.

"I don't know what you are talking about, you are just children," He laughs unsteadily.

"Well, when you deleted the voice recording from my phone, your dinosaur self didn't realize there is a such thing as a cloud. Where pictures, apps, songs, and voice recordings get saved a second time," Brett smirks.

I think back to the agent and his dinosaur flip phone. Of course he wouldn't know there was a cloud. He wouldn't even know what a touchscreen is if it hit him in the face.

"That's proposterous!" He cries.

Exactly our point.

"Wanna hear it again?" I smirk. I press play on the phone and Marcus' words fill the empty air.

Agent Lux is suspiciously silent.

"Put Marcus in prison where he belongs," Brett demands.

"Well, you think you are so smart." He slowly claps, "Well too bad you don't even know the whole story."

"Want to fill us in? Or did Marcus just pay you to make sure he got away with it?" I clench my teeth.

"Actually, yes he did. Very nice, young lady. I am impressed. You figured it out. Gold star for you!" He gives a stern glare, filled with evil and hate.

Wait, Marcus paid him to keep quiet? This means we had no chance all along. From the very start, we already had a ticket to prison. Meanwhile, Marcus is a whole lot smarter than we made him out to be. He thought of almost everything. Almost.

I look at Brett who looks just as confused as I do, then I spot Brett's hand behind his back. The call screen on, and 911 on the other line. So there is hope after all. Now we just have to give them a clue about where we are, and what's going on.

"So as the DEA, no one ever suspected you? Not your employees, or even the police force? I mean, you have been assisting in running a high school drug operation," I glare.

Agent, or should I say henchman, laughs to himself, "Oh, sweetheart, it was so much more than just high school level. We were beginning to target colleges, public high schools, and even quite a complicated matter, but to put it in words you can actually understand- Marcus payed me money to keep the police from catching him. No one would suspect the head of the DEA to be involved in a drug dealership, so it worked out. Another thing? He also payed me to make sure you two ended up, we'll how can I say this nicely? Oh, yes, dead."

My heart drops to my stomach, and my blood begins to boil.

He pulls a gun from behind his sportcoat, pointing it at us.

"Woah!" I put my hands up.

I look over at Brett who is doing the same thing.

"GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR," He snarls.

"Woah, put down the weapon and we can figure this out," I say, my voice shaking as the man points his loaded weapon straight at me. My heart is racing, I can hear my pulse in my ears. Yet, I remain strangely calms

"No one is here, I switch the schedule on the night shift so all the security guards leave, and it's just me here. I have control over everything. Cameras, weapons, and anything else you two little rats might try and pull. I thought it all out," Luxembourg says. If that's even his real name.

My throat begins to feel closed off, and the air in my lungs becomes heavy. I suddenly can't breathe, and can't move. I move my eyes over to Brett, who has obeyed the order and is down on the ground, but I can see his cell phone sticking out from underneath him.

"I SAID GET DOWN," He yells, pointing the gun at Brett now. I can't move, however. I am paralyzed in my spot.

"Casey." Brett whispers, "Case, do what he says."

But I remain glued in place. Like a petrified tree at a national park.

"You know, sweetheart," His voice is bittersweet poison.  "I don't have to kill you, a coma will work as well. At least that's what the boss man said. And what the boss man says, goes."

What if this is the end? Is it?

"I AM WARNING YOU! GET DOWN ON THE FLOOR OR I WILL SHOOT YOUR BOYFRIEND HERE, FIRST. YOU HAVE UNTIL THE COUNT OF THREE!"

"Casey? Casey please," Brett cries, and I can hear his voice trembling.

"ONE!"

I can't let him shoot us. I can't die. Brett can't...

"TWO, MAYBE I WILL SHOOT YOU FIRST. GET THE ANNOYING PEST OUT OF THE WAY FIRST," The veins on his forehead popping out.

What else can I do? I have a loaded weapon pointed at me. I can feel my hands trembling, and my whole body is numb. Yet, my head is suddenly clear.

"THREE."

At first I thought he wasn't going to actually do it, but my poor judgement has never felt so wrong.

The bullet pierces my flesh, and a searing pain erupts throughout my body. I feel myself fall to the ground, a red stain slowly growing, feasting on the flesh of my life. As it soaks through my clothing, I feel my eyes get heavy, and pretty soon its difficult to keep them open. The pain envelops me, and I hear Brett calling my name. The world fades begins to slowly fade, and all I can see is darkness, until there is a yell, and I use all my remaining strength to open my eyes just long enough to see Agent Luxembourg fall to the ground.

After that, I'm gone.