This Cat Has Claws

33: Finished

I heard a thud near us and then footsteps. They stopped right behind us. I turned my head a quickly as I could and I did not like what I saw. Mack was standing behind Landon with a disgusting smile on his face. I wasn't sure if he knew who Landon was, but he must have since he spent who knows how long surveilling me. I pushed JayJay as far away from Mack as I could and tried to make it to Landon in time. Landon hadn't even noticed anything until I turned around. I saw confusion rush across his face before he was hit with the realization that there was trouble, and that trouble was right behind him. His eyes never left mine as he began to fall to the floor. My eyes followed Mack with malice.

"Landon!" I screamed as I caught his head. His eyes were slowly closing and blood was pouring out of his abdomen. I couldn't tell where exactly he had been shot because of all the blood and the bullet proof vest he was wearing. It must have been somewhere under his armpit since that was a vulnerable and uncovered area.

I quickly set him down and looked back at JayJay. He was getting up and brushing off his butt and then he looked at me. I nodded and shot up and after Mack. I knew he was trying to get under my skin, and I'll admit it was working, but he wasn't prepared for what I could do once I was really pissed. Mack liked to think he knew everything about me, but I'm pretty laid back and don't get seriously angry easily. When I do, I lose my shit.

I passed by Mom and Dad on my pursuit of Mack and they shot me a worried glance. They had heard the gunshot and me shouting for Landon, so I knew they understood the situation. Mom and Dad had already dealt with everyone else, so I only had to focus on destroying Mack..

I followed him through the lounge room and finally we stopped in the interrogation room. Mack's smile faltered a little when he finally turned to face me. He had been thinking this had been a fun game of chase, but I had not. My mission right now was to end him.

"You little fuck," I said angrily. "You shouldn't have done that. I hope you're ready, this is what you wanted."

"Oh sweetie, I know you think you can kill, me, but you can't. I've already gotten inside your head, and that poor boy, Landon was it? He's going to die from blood loss at this rate," Mack taunted me.

It felt like he didn't see the gun I held in my hands. I knew he couldn't see the one I had hidden under my shirt tucked into the back of my pants. I raised the gun and pointed it at him. Mack just chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

"I could kill you right now," I said sternly.

"I'd like to see you try," Mack replied.

That meant he had something up his sleeve. I looked around the room as inconspicuously as possible. There wasn't a whole lot they could do to this room in two hours, and from the looks of it, nothing had changed. I looked back at Mack. He had one hand on a gun that was now pointed at me, and his other hands was hidden behind his back. Either there was a bomb in this room, or in the warehouse, or some sort of gas would come pouring out of the vents. Those were my guesses as to why Mack was so confident even though we both knew I'd bet a head shot if I pulled the trigger.

I lowered the gun and shot at Mack anyway. The gun was aimed so it wouldn't actually hit him as long as he moved to the side a little. He did move. Mack stepped closer to me and I shot again. We repeated this process until I was out of bullets and Mack was standing two feet away from me.

Mack lunged at me, still keeping his one hand hidden behind his back so I couldn't see whether or not he really had a button to press. I spun to the side and caught a glance at his hand. It was empty. That meant Mack was bluffing. I hid the smile on my face and continued to act like I didn't know what was in his hidden hand. Mack spun around so we were facing each other again.

"I'd think carefully about your next move. You're out of bullets, so what more can you do but be killed by me?" Mack taunted.

All I did was give him a little sarcastic smile. This time, I lunged at Mack with my fists out. I stepped forward two steps and then punched. Mack easily dodged and swung his free fist at me in retaliation. We kept at this for a few minutes, each of us throwing lousy punches at the other, knowing full well that we'd never land any. This game wasn't completely pointless. I was trying to tire this old man out. He had to be reaching fifty sometime soon, so he was going to wear out faster than I was. And I wanted to figure out what his defense and offense styles were. They weren't bad, but they could be better.

I threw one last punch with actual effort to hide my smile. My fist connected with Mack's jaw and he stumbled backwards. I was smiling because I knew for sure that I could win. I had been pretty sure I'd win this battle in the end, but Mack had proven he couldn't be taken lightly, so I needed more time one on one to make sure I was right. And what do you know, I was right.

"That wasn't very nice, sweetie," Mack said and rubbed his jaw. "I thought I told you to be careful."

"Mack, I know you don't have anything in your hand. It's over. You're done," I said confidently.

"Sweetie, I never had anything in my hand, but that was the point. I don't need anything but my hand itself."

After a second, Mack brought his hidden hand into view and we waited. I felt a little bit of panic arise in my head, but I pushed it aside. Mist started seeping in through the air vents in the room. Mack smiled at me. He was going to kill himself along with me. Or at least that's what he thought. I ran to the door to see if it was locked. It was. Mack laughed and I turned around to face him.

"We're dying together here. This was my last resort after uo escaped, but I figured you would eventually, so I was prepared. Like I said, I know you inside and out," Mack said cheerfully.

"I know you think that," I said, "But you don't."

I grabbed the small gun behind my back and raised it in Mack's direction. His smile fell and he looked very displeased. I don't know if it was out of desperation or a small amount of hope that he'd make it in time, but Mack ran towards me to grab the gun. Before he could make it a full step closer to me, I aimed and fired. Mack's now lifeless body hit the ground. I held my breath and turned towards the door. I fired the gun a second time at the doorknob and pushed the door open. Whatever that gas was had gotten into my system a little bit, and as I ran I could feel myself slumping down before I fell completely as I made it back to the warehouse.