Private Howell - Phan

Chapter 10

“Hey!” cried a feminine voice. “What are you doing?! Get off of me!”

The hood fell backwards to finally expose a familiar face. “Hey!” Dan yelled with shock, “It's you!” It was the girl he had met on the first day of his stay in the flat. “Alicia?”

“Dan?”

He pinned her arms down over her blonde hair on the floor.

“What are you doing?!”

“You're under arrest for the selling of drugs.”

“Like hell I am! You have no proof!”

“I have all the proof I need. You and your tattoo are all caught on video. You framed Phil Lester because you thought no one would expect him, giving the info to my base to have him investigated.”

“Yes, Dan. Well played. I sold the drugs to a friend. So what? You gonna bring me in now or what? I'll go easy.”

Dan reached for the cuffs on his belt. As he lifted a hand off of her, she punched him clean in the nose, enabling her freedom. She scuttled across the floor into the lift, frantically forcing it closed. Dan ran up the stairs instead – from years of experience, he knew where she was going.

On the ninth floor, Dan was right on time for the lift to arrive. She rammed into him, making him flinch. Dan ran after her, but she was small and quick. But then she stopped running. He pulled out his gun and aimed at her feet. “I can do this the easy way or the hard way. What's it gonna be?”

She turned her head back to smile at him before slamming her unexpectedly powerful body into the door by her side – apartment 12.

Dan ran into the broken door and searched around until he heard a scream.

“Ahh! No! Get off of me! Go away!”

It was Phil's voice. “Phil?!”

He didn't respond. Alicia walked out of his room with him under her arms, clamping his neck. Dan took aim at her. He was an ace marksman, and could easily shoot her without harming Phil, like he'd done hundreds of times before with many other citizens. But this time he couldn't shoot. It wasn't another civilian that was on the line, this was Phil.

“Dan,” Phil wheezed. “Help....”

“What's the problem, Dan? Why don't you shoot me?” she taunted. “I know where you're from. You're from the SACM agency. I've been watching you since the day you came into the building. The new handsome guy, constantly hanging around with him,” she said, squeezing Phil harder and making him gag.

“Let him go!” Dan yelled.

“How would it feel if I took away everything you ever loved? Everything you were allowed to love? I know what they do to you at that agency. I know because I was one of you! Abandoned by my parents, yes? I couldn't take it, so when I was sent out on a private mission, I left and never came back.”

“You abandoned your duties? How could you do that?!”

“It was payback for all they took away from me. I got into the drug-rush and never turned back. But you, Dan, you fell in love! Worst drug of all! Don't think I don't know; you spend as much time with this one as possible. And don't think I haven't seen the way you hold your chest and smile when you leave him. You love him! Now, I'm not getting arrested. You turn me in or shoot me, and I'll kill him. I could snap his scrawny neck just for laughs!”

“Don't you dare hurt him,” Dan warned. Phil was having a hard time breathing and was quickly turning blue. “Let him go and I wont hurt you. Or arrest you.”

“Drop it.”

He set his gun on the floor.

Alicia opened her arms and dropped Phil to the ground. On his knees, he began coughing and gasping for air. Dan rushed to him.

“Oh how cute,” she awed sarcastically, picking up the gun. “It's too bad neither of you will live much longer.”

Dan's mind shut down. Never once had he given up or failed a mission. And he certainly wouldn't start now, not with Phil's life in danger like this. He kicked Alicia's legs over, tripping her to the ground and tackling her like before. When he had gotten his hands on her arms, Dan turned back. “Phil, get out my phone and ring the commander.”

Phil reached into Dan's back pocket and pulled out his phone, doing as told.

“I didn't train for 15 years to be defeated by a coward,” Dan said strongly, leaning in to be sure Alicia heard him.

Phil went into the contacts and found him instantly. He held the phone to Dan's ear while Dan held down the struggling criminal. “Alicia,” he said as the phone rang. “You are under arrest for the selling of drugs, resisting arrest, attempted homicide, and abandoning your duties as a SACM member.”