The Killing Bind

Chapter 31: The Final Face-off

Andrew Beckett hated the place he was in, but still, he came willingly. The beach house was beautiful. It was just like how he remembered. Beside it was a public library that he had visited so much as a kid along with his brother. He had read novels and books about acting. He remembered everything so clearly. Nothing being left out. He tried to push those memories out and tried to fill everything with hatred and anger against his brother.

He walked along the brick path that was built on the sand. Memories flooded him with every step and with every good memory came a memory of hatred. The wind blew against his clothes and hair. A crab climbed over his shoe. Beckett stopped for a moment letting the crustacean safely cross. He didn't feel like he was at the top of the food chain. No matter how much he climbs, there will always be someone or something higher and more powerful.

He entered the public library and saw an old lady sitting at the front table. He nodded to her. He knew who this old woman was, but he didn't say anything because she didn't look like she was in a state of remembering something that went years back. He walked past the smaller bookshelves and entered the section with taller and a wider range of selection of books. He picked one randomly and flipped through the pages. He saw a mark on one of the pages. A smiley face and a sad face. He had drawn the smiley and Jack had drawn the sad face. His hands hovered over the mark but didn't settle on it. He closed the book and that's when he heard it.

A gun cocked.

Andrew turned around slowly and cautiously to see the old lady that was at the reception pointing a Fitz Colt revolver at his chest. Andrew raised his arms above his head, showing that he was not armed, even though he had his Beretta M9 holstered on his hips. He hadn't expected the woman to be a part of his father's gang.

"Who are you?" The woman spoke in a hoarse and shaky voice. If her voice was like that, he knew she wouldn't be a good shot. Andrew relaxed but was cautious to not show sudden movement

Andrew slowly bought his hands down. The old woman's eyes followed him as he did. He took the gun out of his holster held it loosely. He put it on the floor and kicked it towards her. The woman had tensed as he had taken his gun out. She began shaking. Andrew took that as his cue and quickly lunged forward, taking the gun out of her hand and removed all the bullets. This was done in three seconds. He dropped the weapon on the ground, landing with a clank

The woman fell on the floor and cried in pain. He cursed himself for hurting her, but he knew that if she had shot, she would either miss or hit him by luck. He wasn't going to take those chances. He winced like he was the one who had fell. He cocked his head apologetically.

"I'm sorry mam, but you had a gun pointed at me." Andrew Beckett grabbed his Beretta from the floor and pocketed the handgun, then sprinted and reached the front door of the library only to find out that it was closed.

Andrew pushed the door with his shoulder but didn't prevail in breaking it open. He looked around for something that could break the class, but the only thing there were chairs and tables. He didn't see a fire extinguisher anywhere. Andrew picked up a chair and raised it above his head and started to put all the force behind his throw. The only thing being, he didn't throw it. A shot was fired as he was about to throw the chair. Andrew had instinctively ducked and covered himself with the chair. The bullet hit one of the chair's legs, causing it to break off. Andrew quickly dropped the chair and somersaulted to a nearby table for cover just as he took his Beretta out of his pocket.

Jack Miller, his brother was the shooter. He had been here the whole time or he came in a few moments after Andrew had entered, Andrew Beckett wasn't sure. Andrew checked his ammo and pulled the slide, locking the bullet in the gun. He kept his hand on the trigger firmly whenever he may have to shoot. He wasn't going to shoot now. He only had 15 rounds as it was a standard mag. He had to know if there were gang members outside waiting for him.