Chapter 2 - The Weapon in the Storm
Deputy Briggs advanced through the mud, his tactical boots splashing water into the blinding glare of the cruisers' headlights.
"Sheriff, get back from the vehicle right now!" the younger deputy yelled over the roaring thunder.
"Briggs, stand down!" Miller roared back, though his voice lacked its usual commanding thunder.
The rain poured over Miller's face, blending with the sudden tears welling in the corners of his hard eyes.
"She took the child from the Vance estate, Sheriff!" Briggs shouted, his Glock steady, his finger twitching near the trigger.
"Dr.
Vance called the station house directly not fifteen minutes ago claiming a rogue nurse kidnapped the baby!" Briggs added.
"Put the weapon away, Luke, or I swear to God I will put you in the mud myself," Miller commanded, stepping directly between the barrel and me.
I stood frozen against the back bumper, my hands raised high while the storm whipped soaked strands of hair across my eyes.
"Listen to me, Sheriff Miller!" I shouted over the howling wind.
"That incubator has less than fifty minutes of internal battery life remaining!
"If that heater cuts out in this freezing weather, her core temperature will drop, and she will go into cardiac arrest!
Miller looked at the tiny child in the acrylic chamber, watching her chest rise and fall beneath the clear oxygen mask.
He reached a trembling, calloused finger into the rubber access port on the side of the incubator.
The infant stirred, her microscopic fingers curling tightly around the lawman's wet knuckle.
A violent shudder passed through the old Sheriff's massive frame.
"My daughter Julianne died four months ago giving birth to this baby," Miller whispered, his eyes locked on the infant.
"At least, that is what Dr.
Vance swore to me on her death certificate.
"He told me Clara had passed away with her due to severe respiratory failure.
"Julianne did not die of natural complications, Sheriff," I told him, looking directly into his grief-stricken eyes.
"And she didn't lose this baby four months ago either.
"Clara was born alive twenty-eight hours ago in a private surgical suite at Blackwood Medical Center.
Deputy Briggs shifted his weight, his face darkening with a frantic, dangerous desperation.
"Don't listen to this criminal's lies, Marcus!" Briggs barked, raising his weapon higher.
"Vance is the most respected man in this county, and you know he wouldn't lie about your own daughter!
"Why are you so eager to protect Conrad Vance, Luke?" Miller asked, his eyes narrowing into cold slits as he turned slowly toward his subordinate.
"I'm protecting the department from a kidnapping lawsuit, Sheriff," Briggs stammered, stepping back into the shadow of the cruiser.
"You're protecting a man who has half the county council in his pocket," Miller countered, stepping closer to Briggs.
"Lower that firearm right now, Deputy.
"That is an order from your superior officer.
Briggs swallowed hard, his jaw clenching as he slowly lowered the muzzle toward the wet gravel.
"Get back in your cruiser and turn around," Miller ordered in a voice as cold as ice.
"You tell nobody about this stop, do you understand me?
"Nobody.
Briggs stared at Miller with hidden malice, nodded once, and climbed back inside the patrol car.
As the cruiser backed away into the storm, Miller turned back toward me, the hardened shell of the town sheriff completely shattered.
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"Who are you really, Maya Sterling?" he asked, his voice shaking with raw desperation.
"I am the woman your daughter begged to save her child before Conrad Vance could destroy them both," I answered.
