Free Deep Down (Sam Stone Book 1) by Janean Worth

within his grasp slightly for emphasis.  “Where will they go if they sneak out under the tarps?  The lift cannot be operated without the operator, can it?  There’s the matter of the operator’s key, isn’t’ there?  A key that none of the visitors have!  They’ll have to come back, and in the mean time, they’ll wander around and blow off some steam.   When they come back, they’ll be more willing to listen to reason.  There’s no reason to kill anyone else.”
    Jenny bit her lip, clenching her fingers on the arms of her chair in order to stop herself from leaping up and rushing to Stone’s side as the other security guards advanced upon him.  She knew her presence beside him, in the line of fire, would be a distraction for him.  And at that moment, she didn’t want to split his focus.  At that moment, he needed every advantage that he could get.  He was making perfect sense, but the two guards still held their guns pointed at him, ready to fire.
    Stone angled the guard’s body in front of his own, shielding his torso somewhat from the two guards in front of him, making it harder to hit him with a bullet without going through their comrade first. 
    “Holster your weapons, and think about this,” Stone said, staring down the guards, his tone of voice as hard as his expression.  “I’m currently no threat to you.  I am not pointing a weapon at you.  I’m simply preventing this man from killing other innocent visitors.”
    “Let him go, and then we’ll holster our weapons,” one of the guards said.
    “Fine,” Stone said, his tone still as hard as his name.  “But I’m not returning his weapon.  He’s too willing to kill the innocent.”
    “You’re not keeping it,” the second guard said, his tone belligerent.
    “No, I’m giving it to my friend Gilbert here.  But, I’m afraid I am keeping the ammo,” Stone said.  “The weapon will be a threat to no one that way.  He’ll have the gun and I’ll have the bullets. Without both, the weapon will not function.  And, the gun will be out of the hands of this lunatic, who’s obviously had so little weapons training that he doesn’t deserve to be carrying a sidearm.”
    There was a tense silence while the two guards contemplated his proposition.  Jenny was sure that they would reject Stone’s solution.  There was no reason for them to allow Gilbert to keep the weapon. No reason to allow anyone other than themselves to be armed.
    Finally, the first guard heaved an explosive sigh and lowered his gun. 
    “He’s right, Stan,” the guard said to his fellow.  “Harry should never have shot at those people.  They were no threat.”
    Stan shook his head.  “The CDC said to keep everyone contained and make sure that they didn’t leave.  They were leaving. So he had to do something, John.”
    John sighed again and holstered his gun. “He didn’t have to shoot.  This man is right.  There’s no way for them to leave the mine without the operator’s key.”
    Stan eyed Stone, gun still drawn, his expression grim.  “This guy’s got no right to grab a security officer.”
    Gilbert stood up suddenly, “He’s got every right.  He saw a man shooting innocent people, and he stepped in. That’s his right. That’s everyone’s right.  Except no one but Stone had the courage to step in front of a loaded gun to do it .”
    Stan frowned, and Jenny could see that the man realized that he had no argument against Gilbert’s unfailing logic.
    “Fine,” Stan said, reluctantly holstering his gun.  “But you two just stay out of our way.  You’re not security here tonight.  We are.  And we’ve got a job to do.  With orders from the CDC. And you’re not keeping the gun.”
    “From what I heard, you were hired to be backup security for a celebrity appearance.  A celebrity that never showed up, I might add.  If you ask me, that means your job is over.  You’re not in the employ of the CDC. You were hired by the museum.