Chapter 8 - The Breach
"Don't do it, Reed," Captain Miller warned, her hand instantly going to her sidearm.
The two master-at-arms immediately drew their service weapons, aiming directly at Reed's chest. "Hands where we can see them! On your knees, Chief! Right now!"
Reed's eyes darted between the drawn pistols, the Admiral, and me. The pressure cooker of his career ending, prison looming, and total disgrace in front of the very recruits he had terrorized finally shattered whatever sanity he had left.
Instead of dropping to his knees, Reed lunged.
He didn't go for his holster. He knew he'd be gunned down before he could clear leather. Instead, he went for me—attempting to grab my throat and drag me down into a human-shield scenario.
He forgot what I had told him ninety seconds earlier.
*You drop your right shoulder.*
As he lunged, his right shoulder dipped. His weight pitched forward onto that compromised left knee.
I didn't try to block him with brute force. I pivoted hard on my right foot, swinging my body out of his path. As his momentum carried him past me, I hooked my left forearm around the back of his neck and used his own rushing forward weight against him, slamming his forehead directly into the edge of the stainless-steel serving counter.
*CLANG.*
The impact echoed like a sledgehammer hitting sheet metal.
Reed bounced off the steel, groaning in agony, and hit the wet tile floor face-first. Blood sprayed across the slick deck.
Before he could push himself up, the two master-at-arms were on him. One slammed his knee into Reed's lower spine while the other yanked his arms behind his back, ratcheting the steel handcuffs shut until they clicked four times.
Reed screamed in pain, thrashing against the floor. "Get off me! Vance, you old bastard, I'll see you in hell!"
"Get him out of my sight," Admiral Vance ordered, not even raising his voice. "Transport him directly to the brig at Miramar. Maximum security. No visitors, no phone calls, no bail. NCIS has primary jurisdiction."
May you like
"Yes, sir!"
The Shore Patrol officers hauled Reed up by his shoulders and dragged him through the galley doors, his boots skidding through the spilled stew and broken plates.
