Brad Meltzer - Dead Even

Jared followed her instructions and tottered to his feet. His legs felt like they were stuffed with rubber bands, and as the pain set in, the smell of his own blood made him nauseous.

“You’ll be okay,” Sara said. “Take my hand.” Dropping to her stomach, she extended her arm down to Jared. The ground was vibrating from the motion of the oncoming train, and as the noise got louder, the nearby rats scattered.

Jared reached up and grabbed his wife’s hand. But before she could pull him up, Sara saw Jared staring over her shoulder. Someone was behind her. She turned around and looked up.

Rafferty pointed his gun at her. With a cold look in his eyes, he glared at Jared. “Let go of her.”

“Don’t do this,” Sara begged.

Rafferty didn’t answer. He could see the bright lights of the train as it emerged from the tunnel. “Say hi to Sara’s parents for me.”

The train was only seconds away. This was Jared’s last chance to climb out. He didn’t care, though. He wasn’t going to put her at risk. Letting go of Sara’s hand, Jared pulled away from his wife.

“ What’re you doing? ” Sara yelled, her voice barely audible above the train.

“ He’ll kill you! ” Jared shouted back.

“ I don’t care! ” Sara screamed, still holding out her arm. “ Get back here! ”

The train was right there. As Jared searched the space below the platform, Sara knew he wasn’t going to make it. They were out of time. It was impossible to hear anything but the shrieking of the train’s wheels against the rusted tracks, but that didn’t stop Sara from shouting one last “I love you” to her husband.

“ Jared! ” she pleaded. “ Jaaaared! ” At the last possible moment, Sara pulled her arm up and rolled away from the edge. And as he watched the train swallow Jared, Rafferty stepped back and smiled.

Claire ran for the doors when the train stopped. “Let’s go!” she shouted at Rafferty.

“No.”

“What are you talking about? Let’s get out of here!”

“Not until I see his body.”

“Not until you… Oscar, this is our chance! Let’s go!”

“Forget the train. This is more important.”

“Stop being so obsessed with them! We can-”

“Go if you want, but I’m staying. I’m not risking any more loose ends.”

As the train doors chimed to close, Claire hesitantly returned to Rafferty. “We’ll leave as soon as you check it out, right?” she said.

Without responding, Rafferty approached the edge of the platform as the train pulled out of the station. Leaning over and examining the tracks, all he saw was the blood from Jared’s shoulder wound. Maybe the train had pushed him to the other side of the – But before Rafferty could complete his thought, he saw Sara charging at him.

“ You killed him! ” she screamed. When she smashed into Rafferty, he dropped his gun and, caught off balance by the impact, went flying over the edge of the platform. But as he fell, he managed to catch hold of Sara’s jacket. Before either of them knew what was happening, they had plummeted to the tracks. Rafferty hit first, and Sara landed on top of him. Sara, wild with rage, was the first one up. As Rafferty struggled to rise, Sara grabbed him by his hair and rammed her knee into his face. “ You psychotic piece of shit! ” she screamed. “ Who the hell do you think you are? ”

Rafferty’s answer came in the form of a single backhanded punch that hit Sara in the side of the face and sent her straight to the ground. Raising his hand to strike her again, Rafferty didn’t see Jared’s fist until it was too late. “Don’t. Touch. My. Wife!” Jared growled as his knuckles crashed into Rafferty’s jaw. Sara retraced her husband’s steps to the narrow crawl space that had saved his life. Created by the pedestrian ledge that extended from the platform over the edge of the tracks, the tiny gap was just deep enough to protect her husband.

Using his good arm, Jared hit Rafferty in the stomach. And again in the face. And again in the stomach. For every restless hour, for every frustrated moment, for every ounce of fear he and Sara had suffered, Jared was determined to pay Rafferty back. Eventually, he grabbed Rafferty by the collar of his shirt and stared at his beaten face. Then a single gunshot sounded. Jared slumped to the floor.

Sara saw blood pouring from her husband’s back. She wheeled around. Claire was standing on the platform and holding Rafferty’s gun.

“ Jared! ” Sara screamed, rushing to his side.

“Oscar, are you okay?” Claire asked.

Rafferty nodded, struggling to catch his breath. He reached up and reclaimed his gun from Claire.

“Jared, speak to me!” Sara cried. “Please speak to me!”

Jared didn’t say a word. But as Sara hunched over him, she caught a glimpse of the leather ankle holster that Barrow had given her husband. Carefully, she reached down, hoping to get her hands on the small pistol.

“ Nobody move! ” a police officer yelled as he raced down the platform. He pointed his gun at Rafferty. Guff followed behind the officer.

Rafferty pointed his gun at Jared and Sara. Claire picked up Sara’s gun and did the same. “Let us out of here now, or I’ll kill them both!” Rafferty shouted from the tracks. “I swear!”

“I don’t negotiate,” the officer said. He aimed his gun at Rafferty and inched his way farther down the platform. “And you’re in no position to make demands.”

“Oh, no?” Rafferty asked. “Between you and your sidekick, you have one gun. We have two. If you try and shoot one of us, the other’s going to kill the happy couple. I’d say that’s a damn good position.”

Looking down at Sara and Jared, Guff saw that Sara was hiding the small pistol right below Jared’s shoulder. “Don’t listen to him,” Guff said.

“I’m not joking,” Rafferty warned.

“You do what you want,” Guff said confidently. “But if you try to hurt them, he’s going to blow both your heads off. He’s going to start with her and end with you.”

Unnerved, but refusing to budge, Claire kept her gun pointed at Sara and Jared.

Guff turned to the officer. “Can you make the shot?”

“I’ll make it,” the officer said.

“I’m warning you – don’t fuck with me,” Rafferty said. “You have three seconds to decide. One…”

Nobody moved.

“Two…”

Still nothing.

“Thr-”

“ Her gun’s empty! ” Sara shouted.

“What?” Claire asked.

“It’s empty. I emptied it before I left the office.”

“She’s lying,” Rafferty said.

“No, I’m not,” Sara insisted. “They wouldn’t let me take it out until I emptied it.”

Claire looked down at her gun. Her hands were trembling.

“Claire, fire it at me,” Sara said. “There’s nothing in there.”

“Don’t believe her, Claire!” Rafferty shouted. “She’s a liar!”

But as the tears rolled down Claire’s cheeks, she lowered her gun. Guff grinned at Rafferty. “Now what was that you were saying about one gun versus two?”

Rafferty kept his gun pointed at Sara, while the officer kept his gun pointed at Rafferty. “I’m not going to jail,” Rafferty said.

“Actually, you are,” Guff said. “The only thing you have to decide is whether you’re going to be riding there in a cop car or an ambulance.”

“That’s not true,” Rafferty said. “I’ll hire the best lawyers in the city.”

Sara knew he was right. He’d hire the best money could buy. And with the fingerprint gloves, they’d have plenty to work with. She looked down at Jared, who was still bleeding in her lap. No, she told herself. She couldn’t let Rafferty walk.