Chapter 6 - THE SIEGE OF 14TH STREET
The heavy wooden double doors at the front of the warehouse shattered inward with a violent crash.
A heavy black SUV had rammed straight through the rotten timber, its high beams cutting through the gloom, illuminating the thick dust and diesel exhaust hanging in the air.
Two more vehicles pulled in behind it, blocking the entrance completely.
“Clara!” Elizabeth shouted over the noise, her hands covered in sterile gloves as she positioned herself at the end of the sofa. “I need you here right now! I need you to hold her legs and keep her focused! She’s fully dilated!”
I looked at the office door, then at Hannah, whose face was contorted in absolute, raw agony. She was screaming into a rolled-up towel, her knuckles white as she fought the terrifying urge to push.
“I’m right here, Hannah,” I said, rushing to her side, grabbing her hand and locking my fingers with hers. “Look at me! Don't look at the door! Look at me!”
Outside the office, footsteps echoed heavily against the concrete floor.
“Search the office rooms!” Gareth’s voice boomed through the high-ceilinged warehouse. “David said not to hurt the girl carrying the baby, but the sister and the doctor are fair game! Get them out of the way!”
Four men in dark coats, armed with heavy flashlights and tactical batons, spread out across the bay.
I looked around the small office. There was only one door in, and no window big enough for a person to climb through. We were trapped.
“Push, Hannah! Now!” Elizabeth commanded.
Hannah let out an ear-piercing scream, her body contorting as she pushed with everything she had left.
Outside, the footsteps stopped right before our door.
“In here!” a voice shouted.
The heavy brass door handle rattled violently.
“It’s locked!”
“Kick it down!”
A heavy boot slammed against the wood. The door frame cracked, dust falling from the ceiling.
SLAM.
Another kick. The lock began to give way, wood splintering around the frame.
“Push, Hannah! One more time!” Elizabeth urged, her voice steady despite the chaos breaking out outside the room. “I see the head! Push!”
Hannah screamed again—a sound of pure, unadulterated motherly instinct that tore through the noise of the boots and breaking wood. She dug her heels into the sofa cushion, her entire frame shaking with supreme effort.
CRACK.
The office door burst open.
Gareth Croft stepped over the splintered frame, a cruel, triumphant grin plastered across his face. Behind him stood two of his hired enforcers.
“End of the line, ladies,” Gareth sneered, pulling a heavy silver pistol from his belt and pointing it directly at Elizabeth. “Step away from the baby, doctor.”
Before Elizabeth could move, a tiny, piercing cry shattered the tension in the room.
Waaaaah! Waaaaah!
Dr. Elizabeth Vance caught the tiny, slick body of the newborn in a sterile green towel. She immediately clamped and cut the umbilical cord, suctioning the baby’s mouth with a blue bulb syringe.
A baby girl.
Small, wrinkled, covered in blood, but crying with loud, powerful lungs.
Gareth’s eyes lit up with sickening greed. He stepped forward, lowering his gun slightly, reaching out his gloved hands.
“Give her to me,” Gareth demanded, his voice trembling with manic excitement. “Give me the kid!”
Hannah, weak and bleeding on the sofa, reached out her trembling arms, tears spilling uncontrollably down her face.
“My baby…” Hannah choked out. “Please… don't take my baby…”
May you like
I didn't think. I didn't hesitate.
I grabbed the heavy metal IV pole that was standing beside the desk and swung it with all the strength in my body, striking Gareth straight across his face.
