Destroyed

Chapter 16: Seeing Through A Trick

I saw the Bill's back straighten, as if he wasn't afraid. "Look," Harold began. "I-" Just then, I saw Bill pulled out a gun from his pocket and shot Harold in the chest. He was appalled by the bullet, but then stared off in space.

I didn't checked his pulse, because I knew he was already dead. "Nice aim, right?" Bill guessed. I stared at Harold's corpse then back at Bill. "Yeah," I sneered. "For a terrorist."

Bill let out an annoyed sigh then turned his head towards me. "Was bombing a museum your idea?" I asked. "Or was it your dad's, Zach?" The man let out another sigh then scratched his head. "The explosions all over Washington was a part of my plan," he began. "But Harold thought of a different route."

Wait, so Harold worked alongside Zach? I wondered. "Did you know that he was the one who placed three bombs in the first place?" Zach continued. "I told him to leave one of them in the exhibit, another in the hallway-"

"And the last one in the exit," I finished. Zach nodded as he rose up from his seat, clutching the handle of the gun in his right hand. "What I want to know is how did you guess that I was a terrorist?"

I gave him a deadpan look. "That's easy," I continued. "My parents wrote a case journal about you." Zach tilted his head in confusion. "You know," I teased. "The one where you bombed an abandoned hospital building in San Francisco?"

"I remembered reading that you never took your pills, you were possessive of my mother, and you tried to put a bullet in her head." Zach flickered his angry blue eyes at me. "I don't believe it," he murmured. "Cole married Luke?!"

"Technically, it's Ben now." I corrected. Zach picked up a half-full coffee mug then threw at the wall, shattering it completely. It left a residue of brown liquid and bits of glass dripping on the floor.

"Cole married Luke?!" Zach shrieked. "Yeah," I groaned angrily. "You said that  about a minute ago!" He pointed his gun at me then told me to shut up.

"W-what is your name?" he cried. "Tell me!" I raised my hands above me in response.  "Cleo," I answered. "My name is Cleo Willow Hamilton." He stared at me for a very long time then took a couple of deep breaths.

"Cole couldn't marry Luke," Zach said in disbelief. "Luke didn't love her the way I did." "You're wrong!" a familiar voice cried. All of a sudden, Mom came in the Security Room. She wore a long sleeved black shirt, skinny black jeans, and wore combat boots.

A bulletproof vest wrapped around her chest. She held her Chiappa Rhino revolver in her hands and had her long dark hair tied into a ponytail.

In an instant, Zach grabbed my arm and pulled my to his chest. He pressed the nozzle against my temple then gripped my wrists tightly. "Don't move!" he shrieked. Mom immediately obeyed, but she didn't drop her gun.

"Zach," she began. "I thought you were dead." Zach sniffed then lowered his finger against the trigger. "Please don't kill Cleo," Mom begged. "She is my daughter!" Zach shook his head furiously.

"She needs to pay!" he asked. Just then, a nozzle of a gun pressed against Zach's head. As it turns out, it was Uncle Seth, wearing the same outfit as Mom. "Drop the gun, freak!" Uncle Seth screamed. "You have nowhere to run, your bombs have been diffused, and....you have nowhere to run."

Zach gave him a confused look. "You already said that," he reminded. "Shut up," Uncle Seth barked. "I know." I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small bottle of pepper spray.

It is a risky move, but I need to get out of his grasp. "Cole.." Zach began. "Why did you marry Luke?" I saw the corners of my mother's frown sagged. "His name is Ben, now." Mom recalled. "I married him, because he is the most strangest, but loving man in the world."

"You love me!" Zach shrieked. He tightened the gun handle in his hand. "I remember seventeen years ago...you told me you loved me!" "Cole only did it because she didn't trust you," a familiar voice sighed.

I watched as Dad coming inside the Security Room and held Mom's hand. Seems like my family went out shopping for bulletproof vests and menacing dark clothes.

"Luke?" Zach murmured. "Let go of her hand!" Dad gave him a hard glare. "She is my wife," he replied. "And the girl you are holding at gunpoint is my daughter."

All of a sudden, I felt my lip trembling. "Cleo," Dad said calmly. "Are you okay?" I nodded very slowly. "We're here to rescue you from this deranged pychopath," Uncle Seth explained. Zach turned his head in order to glare at him.

"I can hear you, Stupid." Zach snorted. "Zach," Mom began. "Don't do this. She's precious to us." He gave it some thought then nodded very slowly. "Fine," he insisted. "But first, I want all of you to lower your guns, especially the Orangutan."

Uncle Seth stifled at his insult and was about to pull the trigger until Dad stopped him. "Seth!" he shouted. "Lower your gun!" Uncle Seth gritted his teeth, but dropped his gun.

Mom and Dad did the same. Swallowing a gulp, Mom took a careful step forward. "We all dropped our guns, Zach." Mom said. "Please, release my Cleo."

While they were talking, I noticed something very strange. The gun is a little bit lighter than I had thought. The ammo is gone, maybe Zach unloaded his gun. Seriously, Cleo? another thought cried. Since when did you see him unload his gun?  I shook my head in frustration. Of course, Uncle Seth was close to Zach.

So, that means the gun is empty! Now's my chance! 

"I'm sorry," Zach whispered. "I have to do this." He pulled the trigger with his finger, but he didn't see the bullet in my head. He didn't see the fear in my eyes. That's because I sprayed the bottle into his eyes and knocked him out with a solid punch. The force sended him to the ground, causing him to moan in pain.

A relieved laugh came out of my father. "That's my girl," he giggled. All of a sudden, Uncle Seth walked up to an conscious Zach then kicked him square in the crotch. "Oomph!" he cried. "That's for calling me an Orangutan!" Uncle Seth snapped.

Mom, Dad, and I just stared at him. "What?" he cried. "I've been wanting to do that for years!" Mom wanted to say something, but my father interrupted her. "Let's go, Cole." he sighed. "You too, Seth and Cleo." Uncle Seth and I followed my parents out of the museum.

For the first time, I had felt happy to see the anxious news reporters, the ambulance, and the police officers circling around the building. I am glad to be free.