S8E09:
Third Person POV
"How did Warren get a gun?" Bailey asked.
He shook his head, "I don't know, I don't care. I have it it's just. . . I'm not sure when to use it."
"You can't." she said almost hysterically as she scooted closer to him on the couch and grabbed his shoulder. Now he looked confused as his dark brows wrinkled in the middle. Bailey took a few deep breaths to calm her hysterics as she explained, "You can't take all of them out with one handgun and any move you'd make would give yourself away. If Estes finds out you have a gun he might actually kill you this time. He's been threatening it enough."
"I can make a difference Bailey –"
"Estes knows that. He knows how vital you are to Altura. He knows what an asset you are, how good you shoot. That's why he keeps threatening your life. He knows George won't risk you."
"George isn't going to risk anyone. You know that. She's going to try and save everyone, it's who she is."
"We both know the reality is Estes won't let that happen. Eventually George is going to have to make the tough choices."
He took a deep breath again, "Which is why we might have to take it into our own hands. . . well. . . " he held up his one hand and his antler prosthetic.
She gave a heartless chuckle and turned away looking back at the scribbled on napkin. "There has to be a way to figure out that code."
Determined, she put her brain to work, she knew somehow she could crack that code. It might drive her crazy but she wasn't about to give up until she'd exhausted each cell in her brain. If she just kept at it maybe something would come to her.
"You're not listening." Tommy muttered and leaned back against the couch again. "There is nothing in my past with Murphy that can help us. No codename. No person. No group that is seven letters."
What meant the most to Murphy in the world? At one point it was Lucy. Maybe even now, Bailey knew from her own time as a parent that losing a child would be the worst thing in the world. It was the one thing she felt she'd never recover from, if TJ or Charlie weren't in her life anymore. . .she'd never get over that. No matter how heroically they'd died.
Then, like having a bucket of cold water dumped on you, something in her head clicked.
"Lucy." She muttered and Tommy brought his hand to his face and rubbed his closed eyes.
"That's four letters." He pointed out obviously.
She grabbed his thigh and he lifted his head, first looking at her hand on his leg then up at her, "But Lucinda isn't."
His eyes widened pulling off a shocked expression that only 10K could manage.
"It's perfect." She went on, "She is the only thing Murphy ever cared about other than himself and it's perfect, it's genius. No one would think of Lucinda, the answer is hiding in plain sight. That has to be it."
Tommy nodded and turned away from her looking at his lap. She could see something in his green eyes and a knot formed in her stomach.
"What are you planning?" she asked nervous about the answer.
Tommy took a deep breath and looked up at her, "I love you –"
"Don't." she warned him, "Don't try and start pouring your heart out like you think we're not going to live."
He chuckled with a small smile that made little lines crinkle at the corners of his eyes adorably, "You're brave. You're frustrating, you complicate my life. . .but you make every moment worth living. And I love you for it. You make me laugh, you're strong, you're my heart. I know how empty my life is without you in it. And. . . and once Kaya opens the door and Estes gets the code things are going to start moving fast. And I need you to run –"
"Tommy –"
"Run. Like the kids are screaming for you. Like their lives are in your hands because they are. They need their mother."
"What about you?" she asked fighting back the tears that wanted to sting her eyes.
He grabbed her hand, "If I'm alive I'll get out and get back to you. You're my wife, the mother of my children, my partner. You're the love of my life."
She took a deep ragged breath and leaned in and kissed him. He kissed back, both of them wanting this contact since this whole mess started. It got deeper and deeper with each passing second. His hand wove into her hair and she rested one hand on the side of his neck while the other cupped his jaw.
When they pulled away she made sure she spoke first, "I can't leave you here."
"Bailey, I'm not going to argue with you."
"Tommy –"
"No!"
She paused, he never raised his voice at her, only in desperate situations would he ever yell at her. He took a deep breath, looking at his lap as he tried to calm down, he wanted to reassure her, he wanted to calm her down. If she wasn't calm she wouldn't be thinking clearly and that could cost her her life.
"Don't worry about me." He began looking back up at her.
She scoffed. "That's not possible, not anymore."
The corner of his mouth turned up at her comment and he looked her in the eye, "When Addy and I were in West Park, when we were still Rita's prisoners, there was a fire. A kid was trapped inside and the building was on the verge of collapse."
He saw her eyes widen and knew part of her already knew where his story was going.
"I didn't really think about it. I just broke free of the guard holding me and ran in. I started looking for that kid, thinking about his parents, thinking about TJ, about how I'd feel if it were my kid in that nightmare and I was helpless to do anything."
She gave him a small smile, "Cockroach."
He shook his head a bit, "Bailey, I got stuck. And I wasn't going to make it out on my own." He saw her small smile drop and her expression became horrified, "My leg fell through the floor, I couldn't get free, the smoke was choking me and I could barely see. I had no chance of surviving that. . . then I felt something, someone, grab my leg and push me up and I was able to crawl away from the hole and get back on my feet."
Her mouth opened and shut a few times while she tried to come up with something to say, "What. . . why didn't you ever tell me?"
"I was going to. But then I got back and you were so concerned because I was all cut up and bruised. Then Charlie was born and everything became even more hectic and. . . and I didn't want to put anything else on your shoulders. I didn't want to give you anything else to worry about."
"So why are you telling me now?"
He shrugged, "You're the religious one, I thought. . . maybe you'd get something out of that story that might help make all this now make sense."
Bailey was silent for a minute while she played with the fringe of her cardigan, "Maybe it was your Guardian Angel."
"Bailey I never grew up with all that church stuff." He said and shrugged again as she looked at him, "Would I even have one?"
"Tommy we all have one, no matter what a person might or might not believe."
"So do you think ours will get us out of here safely?"
She gave a deep sigh and leaned back against the couch cushions, "I hope so. For not only our sake but TJ and Charlie's. It's them I'd be worrying about if we didn't make it."
"Because we'd be dead?"
She nodded, "They'd be left behind and we'd. . . well I hope we'd be with our families, my brothers, my parents, your Mom and Pa. Remember when you asked me how I connected with my faith?"
He nodded remembering her telling him about her first family funeral.
"I didn't know how much of all that Bible stuff was true. All I knew was if I wanted to go to that nice place and be with my family and the people I loved for all eternity then I had to stop making excuses and start following the rules. Like everything in life you have to work hard at it. But I figured the reward would be worth it, it is eternity after all." They both gave soft chuckles, "And the more I paid attention the more I saw how blessed I was in my life. And now I'm even more fortunate because of you and TJ and Charlotte."
There was a moment of silence where he rested his hand on her knee and rubbed her kneecap with his thumb, "Can I ask you something?"
She dropped the fringe in her hand and looked up at him and nodded, "Do you think God would let the devil take all that away from you after you tried so hard for so long to stay on the right path?"
She shook her head, "No."
He smirked, "So. . . does that make you feel better?"
She paused then looked at him with a quirked eyebrow, "Did you just use reverse psychology on me?"
He shrugged, still smiling, "Either that or I used your own words against you."
She chuckled, "I do feel a little better, thanks."
"Don't thank me, it was your words."
Now she smirked, "Don't thank you?" she asked leaving over bringing her face closer to him.
He grinned catching on, "Well, maybe thank me a little."
She chuckled and he leaned in too but before their lips met they heard the doorknob rattle and they both looked at the door as Tommy pulled at the bottom of his shirt making sure the gun was covered and they sat up.
"Keep it down in here!" the goon demanded and Tommy stood up. Bailey flipped the napkin over and discreetly stuffed it under one of the pillows as she was concealed behind his body. "What were you two talking about?"
10K glared at him, "Maybe about how your boss is going to ditch you with the rest of us once he gets what he wants."
The gunman stepped into the room further and was only a few inches from Tommy's face as he returned the glare. It reminded Bailey of when Tommy and Sketchy had the same face off by the riverbank of the Mississippi. Neither one spoke for a minute, they only sized the other one up. Then the gunman chuckled.
"Maybe you've forgotten your place."
"Maybe you've forgotten that we have a history with Estes." Tommy responded, "Didn't you ever wonder why he was on his own when you found him? It's because he stabbed his last partners in the back."
That seemed to make the henchman hesitate. If these guys were following Estes then Bailey would bet they weren't too bright. But this guy was smart enough to know that what Tommy just said made sense. Bailey lifted her hand and pressed it to Tommy's back trying to silently warn him not to take it too far.
Her movement seemed to catch the goon's eye and he smirked, "You've got a very pretty lady. If I were you I'd keep your mouth shut so nothing happens to her."
Tommy's reaction was fast, he was so close to the lackey that by the time he raised his fist there was no time to respond. The man's head snapped to the side with the collision of Tommy's fist and 10K quickly punched him again making him fall to the ground. But he wouldn't go down easy and he grabbed Tommy's shirt dragging him down to the floor too.
"Pillow!" Tommy shouted as he and the gunman tousled, each one trying to get the upper hand on the other. Bailey's mind was in sync with his and she grabbed the pillow just as Tommy was thrown off the man. He grabbed his automatic but Bailey ran from behind him, pulled him back by the collar and stuffed the pillow over his face making the back of his skull collide with the floor. Tommy took the gun he had on him and straddled the man as he brought the weapon to the pillow and pulled the trigger. The pillow helped disguise and muffle the sound of the shot being fired and the man stopped fighting back instantly. Bailey's heart was racing and Tommy's chest heaved with the deep breaths he was taking.
"Good job." He said through his panting as he looked away from the pillow that was slowly absorbing the blood to look at her.
She swallowed thickly, "You too."
He looked towards the door then back at her, "Come on, let's go."
They quickly moved to the door but when Tommy pulled it open another one of Estes' men blocked their way. He quickly removed his black mask and pushed them back into the room. "What the hell do you two think you're doing?" The Man asked.
Doc POV
"Okay, so we know the leader is Estes." George recited all the facts that they knew when he returned to the perimeter line, "We know he wants the case Murphy stashed in the basement. We know that the only cure for the zombie virus is inside but you need a seven digit code to open it and if you punch in the wrong code the case destroys the contents."
"And we know Murphy doesn't remember the code since he got wacked on the head and needed surgery." Doc added.
"We need a better plan to get those people out before they're used as human shields and riddled with bullets in a shootout." Rita spoke up.
"Most of them won't be, probably only one or two." Warren said as she paced behind the bench where CZ sat with his head in his hands after failing Kaya and giving up the information they had for nothing. "The rest are going to be a distraction when Estes blows up the lobby with his C4."
They all watched her pace back and forth before she stopped pacing and turned to them resting her hands on her hips. Her edginess from earlier was gone and she was in full Lieutenant Warren mode now.
"There's plenty in there, on every wall, every pillar, enough to leave the first floor looking like a war zone."
"To cover his tracks when they take off." George said shaking her head, "Bastard."
Rita had her arms crossed but said nothing. They all knew they needed a plan but they were running out of ideas. And running out of time.
Third Person POV
The Man looked around them to the body on the floor where a red puddle was pooling under the pillow. "Impressive."
"Thanks." Tommy said shortly and Bailey grabbed his hand and pulled him back from the Man hoping it would help keep him from punching him like he'd done to the gunman. Bailey knew it wouldn't work out for him this time, Tommy would probably break the only hand he had left. The Man looked from the dead body back up at them. He didn't seem concerned or remotely threatened by Tommy's tense posture and glaring eyes. And ignored him entirely when he spoke, looking around him instead to where Bailey was standing.
"You both need to get out of here while you can."
"That's the idea –" Tommy began but she cut him off.
"We can't." Tommy turned to her confused as she looked at the Man who seemed to expect that answer from her.
"If we vanish Estes will eventually find out. And he's going to be mad enough." She turned and glanced at the dead man on the ground before looking back at the pair, "When he realizes he's missing letters in his alphabet."
She knew that man hadn't been the only henchman Estes' had lost, the Man had to get his mask and black outfit from somewhere. And if they took his men down one by one in the halls Estes would get wise to that plan soon enough, he wasn't an idiot and treating him like one would cost people their lives.
Before any of them could plan further they heard footsteps coming down the hall and the Man pulled his mask back on before grabbing Tommy by the collar of his shirt and Bailey by her arm and resumed his act of 'goon D'.
"What the hell is taking so long?" Estes asked coming around the corner as the Man shoved Tommy and Bailey against the wall face first pinning them. Estes looked at them suspiciously before peeking into the room where the door was still open. He didn't seem too mournful of the man lying there in a pool of his own blood and instead turned to them with a raised eyebrow in question.
"That's a bullet to the head." He said before ordering, "Search him."
The Man let go of Bailey who remained where she was. If she tried to run Estes would only shoot her. Tommy was still pressed to the wall as the Man patted him down and eventually uncovered the gun in the waistband of his pants. Bailey knew the chances of keeping it were slim. If the Man ignored it and Estes found the gun on Tommy later he'd question why his own henchman had missed it and the Man's cover would be blown.
He passed the weapon to Estes who put it in his own belt then looked up at Tommy with a smile that made Bailey's blood run cold. "Well this is great timing Thomas. We were in need of more entertainment. Bring them both."
The Man dragged them both back down the hall following Estes' lead until they reached the lobby. When they arrived Estes took the opportunity to be melodramatic and theatrical.
"Well some of us have been busy bees." He announced making everyone in the room turn to their arrival. The Man threw Bailey to the side where Mariah caught her and helped steady her, keeping her hand on Bailey's shoulder while Estes had the Man push Tommy into the center of the room with him. "Triggerfinger here is living up to his name and by some miracle took a gun off my man and shot him in the head with it."
The atmosphere in the room changed as some people swallowed nervously, some tensed up and others began to whimper hoping that what they were hearing wouldn't end with them getting shot. Tommy glared at Estes but Bailey could see cracks in his mask. Tommy was afraid, he stepped too far, he'd crossed too big a line and after all the empty threats Estes' had used for entertainment this could very well be the moment he delivered on his word to shoot Tommy. Bailey wanted to be near him, to hold his hand so if he did die in the next second it wouldn't be standing all alone. But Mariah's fingers dug into her shoulder and held her back. Estes looked around the room seeming to become more joyful at the uneasiness of the people around him.
"Now what to do with you?" Estes went on looking back at Tommy, "I shot Addy for the alarm going off. I shot Kaya for Eric's snide comments. I almost shot Warren but she was too quick. So in the spirit of keeping things fair. . ."
He lifted his gun and fired twice at Tommy's chest.
Doc POV
"Citizen Z." George called as she walked over to him and he rested his elbows on his knees as he looked up at her, "I need you to go find Hastings now that she's done with Murphy."
"She was heading to triage last I saw her." Doc added.
George nodded, "Make sure she's there and has whatever assistants or volunteers she will need. We know we're going to have wounded."
"Doc." Warren turned to him, "Can you go to the mess hall? They keep bizkits there and we'll need them for anyone who might turn Talker tonight –"
They heard two shots go off and all turned to the sealed off building.
"Someone's getting trigger happy in there!" he shouted stopping at the perimeter line as if it would give him a better view and he could tell who just got pumped full of lead.
Third Person POV
"Ah." Finn groaned as he rolled on the floor holding his chest. 10K was still standing looking down at the guy who'd taken two bullets for him. Estes rolled his eyes and turned away from the surprise victim, taking a few steps away.
"Talkers always get in the way." He whined as Tommy got over his shock and knelt down by Finn who had managed to get to his hands and knees while the bleeding slowed.
Tommy opened his mouth to say something but Finn cut him off, "I'm fine. Feels weird but I'm fine, there's no pain."
He stayed on the ground catching his breath and Bailey silently thanked God above for Talkers. Estes' attention changed quicker than a hormonal pregnant woman's mood – having been pregnant twice Bailey knew very well what that looked like – and he walked over to Kaya who was still plugging away on the touch screen.
"How much longer is that going to take?"
"I generated an algorithm to reset the internal timer. I'm tricking the door into opening early." Kaya replied before her voice dropped to a whisper, "Whoa, sometimes I'm so awesome I scare myself." Then she cleared her throat and spoke louder, "I can have the door open a full hour ahead of schedule."
Across the room from Kaya Red was tending to Addy. She seemed drunk enough that she had been out of it when Finn got shot – thank God – if she started freaking out she could have torn the stitches open, or ripped the artery again and bleed out enough that her heart would stop.
"Do you want more vodka?" Red offered, "It might help the pain."
Addy, with her eyes closed, slowly turned her head from side to side giving her answer, "No, I don't feel anything."
"Well you still have a pulse so you're not a Talker yet, just hang in there."
"You!" Estes shouted and Red looked up to see him pointing to Ray who had been alone since Kaya started her work on the panel. "Over there!"
Ray moved to where Leroy was sitting as he ordered a few more people to change their places. Finn was pushed to Mariah's side while Bailey crossed to rejoin 10K. Annie and Katie sat together and Eric was moved to help Red with Addy.
"She's getting weaker." She told him.
"We can't count on Estes releasing us when Kaya unlocks the door and she's cutting our time even shorter."
"I'm not giving up. Not on her, not on anyone." Red said adamantly getting tired of having to say it. She didn't care that she was a doctor, she didn't care that people saw her more valuable then some of the others in this room. She wouldn't go until everyone was saved.
"Well if you're not leaving your patient then we need to come up with a plan. Right now." Eric whispered under his breath urgently.
"If Estes blows up the lobby Addy doesn't stand a chance."
Eric looked around at where all the explosives where taped to the walls, "When the time comes I'm going to pick her up and run, you stay close behind me, got it?"
As they talked Estes grabbed Kaya's arm and pulled her away from the wall; she let out a cry of pain as he tugged on her bad arm and threw her down with Katie and Annie. Katie pressed something to Kaya's shoulder to catch the fresh blood while Annie rubbed her back trying to be comforting. But Kaya looked disgusted at herself for having to help Estes get what he wants. She'd been backed into a corner, once Addy told Estes she could work the security system she knew if she didn't he'd either kill her or someone else.
"I don't know if I saved us or doomed us sooner." She whispered.
"You did what you had to do." Annie told her.
"I just hope I did the right thing." She said turning to where Estes was at the panel watching the timer countdown. He seemed pleased as he turned back to the rest of the room giving a smile and a nod to his nearest lackey.
"Good news. Thanks to Kaya-in-the-Skya our little gathering is going to come to an end in a matter of minutes."
"You still need the code." 10K spoke up and Bailey's had snapped to him.
"What are you doing?" she whispered.
"Saving your life and getting you back to the kids." He replied just as softly though there was an urgency in his tone.
Estes walked over seeming stunned that 10K was so willing to speak up after almost getting shot in the chest – twice. "And let me guess, you have the code?" he asked sarcastically.
10K looked up at him, "I was one of Murphy's blends once, I know how he thinks."
Estes crossed his hands in front of him as he considered what Tommy was saying. When he decided he had nothing to lose he asked, "Well? Let's hear it."
Now Tommy paused and Bailey's heart filled with dread knowing he was up to something. He stood up slowly so he was eye to eye with Estes, "I'll give you the code, if you let Bailey walk out of here right now."
Estes' eyes turned hard like stone and Bailey knew he had reached his limit and was done playing games. He turned to one of his men, "C grab Kaya and this one and follow me."
The henchman did as he was told and pushed Kaya over to Estes who grabbed her and led her away. Then the gunman grabbed Tommy and pulled his arm before shoving him to follow. Bailey held onto his hand until he'd moved too far away and his fingers brushed hers before he fully let go. She took a deep ragged breath hoping Kaya had successfully opened the door early, otherwise she might not see her or Tommy again.
Warren POV
When CZ returned he relayed a message from Hastings saying they had everything they needed and the triage center was ready and waiting. Doc returned with the bizkit supply and with everything in place they could finally make a move. They had run out of ideas to get everyone out safely but at least now they had everything in place for damage control. If anyone got hurt they had the resources to treat them nearby. The biggest worry was the explosives Estes' had set up. When they did make their move they would have to be quick and try to end this before the C4 could be triggered.
"Alright, fill me in. What did I miss?" CZ asked after he'd told them everything Hastings had said. While he'd been gone Warren and George had made a plan with Rita, they knew the blonde woman was getting restless and neither wanted to take the chance that she'd do something impulsive and get people killed as a result.
"Our first strategy was to storm the building at 5:27, that's when the security doors automatically open." George began.
"Estes will be going after the cure and hopefully taking men with him which will leave the lobby and Tavern less guarded. The theory is we'd be cutting Estes' men off between the vault and the lobby. That way we could get to the hostages and trap Estes and the majority of his men. But there are good odds that he's going to know what our strategy is and have a back up plan for it. . ." Rita continued.
Warren picked up where she left off, "So we're going to cut the power to the building an hour before that to shake him up a little bit and make him think we are going in early."
"My men have smoke grenades." Rita added, "They're firing through the windows once we cut the power line to the building."
"What's the point of that?" Doc asked.
George answered for Rita, "The hostages will hit the deck, Estes and his men will try to flee, giving us a clearer idea of who needs help and who we have to go after."
"What if Estes' sets off the explosives?" CZ questioned.
"We're hoping he and his men are too frazzled and too occupied with getting out to set it off." He opened his mouth but she cut him off, "And yeah, that's not a lot to go on, but this is the least worst option, trust me, we've thought through every other idea. This is the best we've got."
Third Person POV
"Why isn't the door open?" Estes asked when they'd made it to the basement. Tommy recognized it as the hall where Warren and George had followed Estes and Pandora way back during the election days.
"I have to punch in a manual command on the keypad cohesive with the algorithm I used." Kaya explained.
"Do it." He ordered losing his patience. As he left her at the keypad he turned to 10K who was still being restrained by the gunman. "And if you were lying to me, I'll shoot you in the heart and sick the freshly turned Talker Tommy on Bailey and when you come out of your 'hunger rage' you can look at her corpse and see your own handiwork!" he snarled. The threat made him swallow nervously as Estes turned back to watch Kaya. He'd seen Talkers when they were freshly turned, in the seconds before they got a bizkit they were just as crazed for brains as zombies were. The idea of him being that ravenous made him shudder especially in addition to the thought of Bailey being his victim. Coming out of that blinded-by-hunger phase, his mouth dripping in blood and brain bits to see Bailey lying still in front of him, her head cracked open by his hands, blood dripping down her face. He cringed and looked at the floor knowing he'd spend the rest of his life hating himself. That is if he didn't put a gun to his temple first and blew his own brains out. Even the idea of staying strong for their kids seemed impossible, he wouldn't be able to look at TJ or Charlie again knowing he'd been the one to take their mother away.
Then there was an automatic click and C stepped forward and opened the door. Inside the other man who'd been left hours ago, B, was sitting on the floor with a silver briefcase sitting in his lap. He quickly got up and handed the prize to his boss who put his gun away for the first time in hours as he took the case in his hands. Estes looked at it like it was the Holy Grail as his mouth turned into a smile. 10K was expecting him to ask for the code but instead he turned to his men and they all headed back to the Tavern on the main floor.
When they made it there his eyes immediately sought out Bailey who was looking at him relieved. He had to remind himself that they weren't out of the woods yet and their lives were still on the line.
"Now, for your part." Estes said turning to him.
"I told you, I'll tell you the code if you let Bailey go. Let everyone go! You'll have what you came for and you'll have it sooner then the guards outside are expecting. That gives you the advantage you need to get away so why kill anyone when you're getting what you want?"
"Because he always intended on killing all of us anyway." Bailey spoke up and he turned to her along with everyone else in the room. "You still hate us for helping George. For helping her build a community with the Talkers. For robbing you of your position as top dog. We ruined your perfect little world and you want us to pay."
As she'd been speaking her eyes filled with tears, probably because she was right and that meant they only had minutes left to live before Estes took off and blew them all to pieces. Estes smirked at her and took a few steps closer to her. He had one hand holding the handle of the case while his free hand moved to rest on the handgun in the holster on his belt.
"Has anyone ever told you you're too clever for your own good?" he asked and Bailey looked up at him from where she sat keeping silent. 10K was just about to offer the code to get Estes' attention off Bailey when the entire place turned pitch black as the lights all died.
"They cut the power." One goon said as they all became frazzled.
"They're coming in early."
"Who has the detonator?"
In the dark no one could see their own hand in front of their face. 10K ran for where he'd seen Bailey last and wrapped his arms around her waist when he found a body he hoped was her. Eric scooped up Addy into his arms. The Man charged at Estes and knocked him off his feet sending the briefcase skidding across the floor as they began to fight. The sounds of a scuffle filled the dark as punches were thrown and rushing feet joined the noise as people tried to flee. Some screamed in fright, some cried. Glass shattered as the windows became punctured by the smoke bombs that had been launched in and started to go off making it hard to breathe and even more impossible to see. Red grabbed the back of Eric's shirt as they ran for the door looking to save Addy. Bailey was still being pulled along by Tommy as they tried to also navigate the chaos and find their own way out.
"Push the button now!" Estes' shout reached their ears as he spat out a mouthful of blood to get the words out. There was no way to tell how his fight with the Man was going but no one stopped to try and find out. It was everyone for themselves. Gunfire started, most likely from the henchmen and the sounds of people shouting and falling to the ground as stray bullets hit them made Bailey cringe. To her it felt like everything was going in slow motion. Her feet couldn't move fast enough and all she could do was hold onto Tommy's hand tighter as he pulled her along. The smoke stung her eyes and made everything so much more disorienting.
Somewhere else in the room Kaya grabbed her bloody shoulder and hid under a table, unable to figure out which direction to run in. She prayed the table would give her enough cover from the shooting and if the bombs went off. She wasn't the only one who took cover, deciding not to chance the run through the smoke and bullets; several others did the same, crouching behind the bar, the couches, anything they could find.
Eric and Red made it through the doors and outside and he laid Addy on the ground far from the building as Red crouched down to make sure none of her stitches had popped. Seeing them in need of help Doc ran toward them and started helping Red.
Inside, Bailey felt Tommy pull her arm so hard she thought he might have just dislocated it as she fell forward only for him to give her a hard shove which sent her through a window. It had been weakened by the smoke bombs and the spider web cracks gave under her weight as she fell back and rolled a few feet. She landed in broken glass and heard a loud boom that shook the ground underneath her as all the windows lit up orange despite the black paint on them. Debris followed the light and flew out of the windows along with the glass that had once been in the frames. It only took a second and by the time she was taking her next breath the light was gone and everything was left smoky and grey. Guards started rushing inside while Rita shouted to search for Estes or any survivors but her voice sounded like she was underwater in a fish tank. Bailey shook her head hearing little pings as glass fragments fell from it and she sat up on her forearms. Her heart was hammering and the adrenaline rushing through her stopped her from feeling any pain from the glass cutting into her skin. She took several deep breaths of fresh air as she looked around. Her mind tried to play back the last few seconds and make sense of what had just happened. Tommy had been pulling her behind him, then he'd tugged her so she was in front of him so he could push her. She turned to the window she'd fallen out of and in the empty window pane only saw a huge slab of what had once been the ceiling of the first floor blocking the entire rectangle. Right where Tommy had been standing when he'd shoved her.