Free Coming of Age by Ciana Stone Page B

and she quickly replaced its lens with the telephoto. The SWAT officer was ordering the man to step away from the van. The man yelled something back but Max couldn’t make out what it was.
     
    The SWAT officer gave the order again. Max thought for sure the man would comply. Instead, the van exploded. Max literally jumped, his heart hammering fast in his chest.
     
    Half of the courthouse was gone, fire and debris raining down everywhere. It was like a scene from a movie, cool and exciting when viewed on the movie screen but horrible and terrifying when viewed for real.
     
    Max grabbed Livi to pull her down behind the car but she shook him off. “I have to get this!”
     
    “Livi!” He made a grab for her but she scooted by him, still shooting. “Livi!”
     
    He caught up with her at almost the same moment a police officer spotted her and yelled at them to get out of there. Livi paid no attention to the officer; she was headed closer to the explosion.
     
    “Hey! Get those people out of there!” A voice yelled, followed by. “Get that camera.”
     
    That did it. Max grabbed Livi from behind, around the waist and whirled her around, shoving her in front of him. “Go!” He yelled. “Go!”
     
    This time she did. They ran like the devil was chasing them and didn’t stop until they reached her car. Max started the engine, threw it in gear, and stomped the accelerator. It wasn’t until they were a few miles down the highway that either of them spoke.
     
    “Can you believe that?” He looked over at her.
     
    She shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense. The courthouse is deserted this time of night. So it couldn’t be terrorists. And I don’t remember hearing about any protests.”
     
    “A man just killed himself!” Max yelled.
     
    “I know!” She yelled back at him.
     
    “And it doesn’t bother you that we just saw a guy blown to bits?”
     
    She went silent and didn’t speak for the rest of the ride except to tell him to go to the studio. When Max parked in front of the studio she got and preceded him to the door. She went straight to the darkroom
     
    Max followed her and stood in the dark, listening to her work and breath. Her breath was fast like someone recovering from a long run. He wondered if she was feeling as uncomfortable as he. He wasn’t afraid, wasn’t sick, but he couldn’t get the images out of his mind.
     
    When she turned on a light, he blinked and looked at her. Tears were streaming down her face. “Are you okay?”
     
    She nodded, then shook her head, then waved him back when he took as step toward her. “Just give me a minute, okay?”
     
    Max made no further move toward her. He simply watched as she processed the film and hung it up to dry. Then he followed her out of the darkroom. She went to her office and stopped in the middle of the room, just standing there.
     
    “Livi?”
     
    She turned to look at him. “Please don’t hate me for this.”
     
    “I could never hate you”
     
    “I’m going to sell those photos, Max.”
     
    “And?”
     
    “And I’m going to profit off some poor smuck blowing himself up.”
     
    He had not thought of it that way and found it surprising that she did. “Isn’t that what the news is?”
     
    She barked a laugh. “I guess so. I need to make some calls.”
     
    “Then make them.”
     
    Within an hour, there was someone at the door of the studio from the largest newspaper in the Charlotte area. Max stayed out of the way as Livi talked with the man. When the man left, he had the negatives and Livi had a signed contract.
     
    “So?” Max asked as she turned from the door.
     
    She held out the contract. Max took it. He read the amount she was going to be paid and looked at her in surprise. “Wow.”
     
    “Yeah. You know what that means.”
     
    “What?”
     
    “No pizza!” She flung herself at him in excitement.
     
    Max caught her, putting his hands beneath her rear to support her as she jumped up and wrapped