Let's wrap it up! I hope everyone liked where our story took us. It's been fun writing for you all again and I plan to continue with other ideas. Thanks for all your comments and ratings. I really appreciate them. Enjoy!
"Missy, please put the gun down," Elliot pleaded with his ex-wife as calmly as he could. "You know I didn't steal any money from you. It was split between us just like all the other assets we had."
"Bullshit!" Missy screamed at him and waved the gun at him. "I worked my ass off for that money! You didn't even know about it until your fucking lawyer poked her nose where it didn't belong! Don't worry, I took care of her before I came here!"
"What did you do, Missy?" Elliot asked her, suddenly struck with fear at her murderous disclosure.
"The same thing that's going to happen to you if you don't give me that money now!" she revealed.
"Missy," Elliot tried to reason with her as he thought of a way to get Yvonne and himself out of the predicament, "you know I don't have the money here. How is killing me and Yvonne going to help anything? You know you won't get away with it."
"It'll make me five million dollars richer," she answered. "A person can disappear with that kind of money. Now where is it?!"
Elliot's dog Maxx trotted into the living room and began to growl at the raving Missy. "Oh, shut up, you flea-bitten fuck!" she shouted at the canine. "I always hated that dog. I think I'll kill him first so you can watch!" She pointed the gun at Maxx's wide furry body. Before she could pull the trigger, Maxx turned his attention from her and started barking at the back door of the home. Missy turned her attention to the rear of the house, and it was then that Elliot made his move.
Lunging toward her, Elliot tried to wrestle the gun from Missy's hand. His strength had not fully come back from the attack the previous week and he felt his power drain quickly, but he kept his grip on the barrel. Missy yanked her hand back to try to break Elliot's grip and the pistol fired two shots. Yvonne screamed as the gun went off then saw a flash from behind Elliot's ex-wife. Missy fell to the floor writhing in pain then Yvonne watched as Cari placed a swift kick to the side of the would-be killer's head, knocking her unconscious.
Elliot ran to the other side of the room and secured the gun before Missy could revive. "Yvonne, call the police!" he yelled as he handed her his phone. He then looked at Cari, who was still poised to strike, her body posed in a fighting position.
Elliot exhaled then addressed his redheaded girlfriend as Yvonne spoke to the authorities on his cellphone. "Cari? Where did you come from? How did you know we needed help?"
++++++++++
Thirty Minutes Prior
Cari had just started her first break at Polarity and was walking to the cafeteria for her second cup of coffee that morning. She had not slept well the night before, even though she had snuggled up to Elliot's warmth. She knew he wasn't sweating the confrontation with jane that morning, but she worried for him. As if a harbinger had made its way into the office, she spied Jane coming toward her, a handful of paper towels mopping the skin showing from her half unbuttoned linen shirt. Jane grabbed Cari's arm when she reached her vicinity then pulled her into a conference room.
"I want the rest of the money!" Jane ordered. Thumbing her mobile device on, she opened her photo app and showed Cari the picture Elliot had snapped of himself and Jane, who was shown covered in Elliot's milky emissions.
"The bet was for everyone not in the top three to win their money back," Cari corrected her, still somewhat taken aback by the digital photo. "Why do you think you should get the rest?"
"Because no one else will be able to claim any more of it," Jane revealed. "Elliot just quit."
"Quit?!" Cari repeated. "Why would he quit? He loved working here. Unless you made him."
"I wouldn't question it too much," Jane warned her. "I know all about your little arrangement with him and Yvonne. I'd hate to pull out the moral turpitude clause in the policy book. It's vague but I think I could make it stick. Now, the money, please."
Cari looked at Jane for a few seconds then reached into her pocket and pulled out five one-hundred-dollar bills. "Take it," she said flatly. "It's over and I'm glad. Where's Elliot now?"
"He left," Jane said as she stuffed the bills into her pants pocket. "Probably putting it to that little Latina hussy as we speak. You'll want to watch out for that one."
"Yeah, sure," Cari said, dismissing her boss' statement. "I'm taking the rest of the day off. Enjoy your winnings." She hurried out of the room and back to her work area to punch out for the day and get her jacket and keys. She ran out of the building and through the parking lot to her car. She wasn't sure why she was in a rush; she just knew that she needed to be with Elliot at that moment and that she had to hurry to him.
When she pulled up to Elliot's house, she noticed a car parked in front of the condominium. Normally there weren't any cars parked on the street as all the homes had ample driveways. Her sixth sense pricked her inner ears even more than before and she decided not to park in Elliot's driveway, opting instead to pull in front of the unknown vehicle. She stealthily made her way out of the car and through the frosty front yard. Nearing the front window, Cari saw a woman standing in his living room through the gap in the curtains. She didn't know who the woman was, but she knew what she was holding in her hand: a black automatic pistol.
Cari's blood ran cold when she saw the firearm in the mystery woman's hand and deduced that it was pointed at either Elliot or Yvonne, possibly both. Cari ducked under the sill and crawled across the lawn until she was out of eyeshot from the window. She could hear shouting from home and knew that time was short. She ran to the back of the home and put her key in the lock. When the tumbler turned it gave a sharp click. She heard Maxx begin to bark and hurried inside, knowing the dog's vocalizations would give her away. She took two steps inside then heard a scream followed by two shots then another scream. Cari froze in her tracks for a split second then ran though the dining room and kitchen to the front of the house.
When she entered the large room, she saw Elliot and the would-be shooter wrestling for control of the gun. Instinct took over and she went into fight mode. Cari crouched slightly then sent a quick jab to the woman's midsection. She heard the wind rush out of the woman then Cari spun on one heel and delivered a high kick that caught the blonde in her left temple. The gun went skittering and Elliot jumped on it as the woman fell to the floor in a heap. Cari walked calmly to the woman, who was struggling to get off the floor, and gave one more swift kick to her head, knocking the assailant cold.
++++++++++
Present
"Cari? Where did you come from? How did you know we needed help" Elliot said after exhaling sharply.
"I... I don't know..." she answered slightly dazed from the confrontation. "Are you both OK?"
"I think so," Elliot said as he checked himself over then rushed to Yvonne, who was still on the phone speaking to the emergency dispatch operator in a mix of English and Spanish and made sure she was unharmed as well. Yvonne disconnected the call with the authorities then clutched on to Elliot in a death grip.
"You're OK," he said softly to Yvonne, who cried and trembled in his embrace. "We're all OK." He saw Cari standing over Missy, hands still balled into fists and ready to strike. Missy began to stir slightly, and Elliot watched her eyes flutter open. He released Yvonne with the arm holding the gun then pointed the pistol at his ex-wife.
"I should fucking kill you for what you've done here today," he said lowly to her as he aimed the gun at her forehead.
"Do it then..." she replied groggily. "I'd rather be dead than have to see your face in court, you thief..."
Elliot released Yvonne completely and walked closer to Missy, still sprawled on the floor. His hand gripped the pistol tightly and his index finger slipped on to the trigger. Cari saw his eyes go wide with rage and she moved to intervene.
"Elliot," she pleaded with him, "don't do this. She'll get hers." She looked at Missy then spoke in her direction. "She's going to go to jail for a long time for what she's done today. But don't make this worse for any of us. We can't live without you..."
Elliot's finger twitched once on the trigger and Cari waited for the gun's sharp report and the mess that would be Missy's brains to splatter on the carpet. After what seemed like an eternity but was only five seconds, Elliot inhaled deeply then let his breath out slowly while taking his finger off the firing device. He stopped pointing the gun at his ex-wife's head then set the firearm on the ledge near the door.
"If she moves," he said to Cari," give her another shot to her head. Make sure she doesn't get up again."
"Damn straight," was all that Cari replied then tensed to strike again.
In the distance, the trio heard sirens wailing and two minutes later saw five police cruisers pull up outside the house. Three of the officers were armed with automatic weapons and trained their barrels on the front door. Elliot peeked out of the front window then went to the door. He opened it and let it swing wide then stepped onto the porch with his hands up.
"Officers," he announced, "the person you want is inside the home. She's wearing a pink pantsuit and is laying on the floor. There are two other women inside: one a tall redhead, the other a shorter Hispanic woman. Both helped me subdue the woman. They'll come out now. The gun is on the ledge to the right of the door." Concluding, he gingerly dropped to his knees on the porch and waited for the police to restrain him.
The police did just that then waited for the two women Elliot described to exit the house. Both Cari and Yvonne were put in handcuffs by two officers while the rest rushed into the house and secured the gun while restraining Missy. The officers questioned everyone and deduced that Missy was the assailant. Elliot, Cari, and Yvonne were all released, and Missy was hauled to one of the cars to be incarcerated.
"She also admitted to assaulting my lawyer," Elliot added to his statement. "You may want to check his home and office." He gave the police the information they needed then the officers loaded Missy into the car for her trip to the county jail.
After the officers left, it was just Elliot, Cari and Yvonne left at home. All three went inside and saw that the police had taken the gun and the spent bullet casings from the living room floor. Elliot noticed the two holes in the far wall where the bullets had struck during the struggle and began to weep as he sat on the floor. Both women rushed to him and consoled him.
"These could have killed either one of you," he said shakily as his tears flowed.
