Chapter 9 - The Trial of Captain Carrot
In a fraction of a second, before Elena could pull the trigger, Vincent closed the distance. His hand moved faster than the human eye could track, clamping down on the slide of Elena’s gun, wrenching it violently from her fingers with a sickening crack of her wrist.
Elena dropped to her knees, wailing in agony.
The warehouse fell dead silent, save for the patter of rain and the heavy panting of Bishop, who stood guard over Lucy's cage.
Vincent didn't look at Elena. He pulled a serrated pocketknife from his belt, dropped to his knees in front of Nora, and severed the ropes binding her wrists. The moment she was free, Nora collapsed into his arms, weeping uncontrollably as she buried her face in his neck.
""I've got you,"" Vincent whispered, his voice trembling with an emotion none of his men had ever heard from him before. He wrapped his powerful arms around her, kissing her hair, her forehead, her tear-streaked cheeks. ""You're safe. I'm sorry I let them take you. I swear to God, you'll never be touched again.""
""Lucy... get Lucy,"" Nora gasped through her sobs.
Vincent turned to the cage. He kicked the rusty padlock off with a single, thunderous blow of his steel-toed boot.
The door swung open. Lucy didn't cry. Instead, she marched out of the cage, dusted off her yellow pajamas, and walked straight over to Elena, who was weeping pathetically on the floor, clutching her broken wrist.
Lucy pointed Captain Carrot directly at Elena’s nose.
""You pushed my mommy,"" Lucy declared, her little voice ringing through the massive warehouse. ""You are the baddest girl in the whole wide world.""
Elena looked up, terrified, her gaze shifting to Vincent, who loomed behind the toddler like an avenging demon with his gun lowered at his side.
""Please, Vincent..."" Elena whimpered, begging for her life. ""Don't kill me. Please...""
Vincent looked down at Lucy, the terrifying predator completely vanishing behind the eyes of a protective father. ""What is her sentence, Lucy?""
Lucy crossed her arms, tilting her head with grave solemnity. ""No timeouts. She has to go to the police prison. Forever. And she can never have any toys or ice cream ever again.""
Frank and Mason burst through the warehouse doors with twenty armed reinforcements, taking in the scene. Frank shook his head, a wry grin breaking across his scarred face.
Vincent looked up at Frank. ""You heard the judge. Call the federal authorities. Hand over all the Vance financial records, the bribery tapes, and the surveillance footage from Marcus's office. Make sure Elena and her father spend the rest of their miserable lives in a federal penitentiary.""
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""Consider it done, Boss,"" Frank said, signaling his men to haul Elena away into the rain.
Vincent knelt down, sweeping Lucy up in his uninjured arm, and used his other arm to pull Nora tight against his side. ""Let's go home,"" he whispered.
