Five Days in Summer

rope.
    “Police!” Amy called into the cabin.
    Sam’s body jerked at the sound of her voice.
    She climbed down the ladder with her gun cocked. She could hear Snow rattling down behind her.
    “Where are you, Bell? Come out! It’s over.”
    She didn’t hear anything, just the sound of Snow’s footsteps moving slowly in her direction. He shouldn’t have been following her; he was supposed to fan out in the opposite direction. She could see it was a small cabin but there were a few places Bell might be hiding.
    “Al, check behind the galley.” She felt his hesitation, his unwillingness to heed an order from the likes of her. “Please, just do it.”

Chapter 34
    From inside the hollow bench, crouched down next to a loop of hose, David listened as the footsteps pounded above on deck. It was hot in here, and dark, and the hose took up too much room, forcing him over to one side. He listened to the boat’s hatch creak open and a voice, two voices talking. Then he heard the woman’s voice say, “Police!” and he felt like crying.
    It wasn’t Dr. Bell, or any other bad guy; it was someone come to save them.
    David started to push open the top of the bench. His eyes had to adjust to the murky light but it was better than the solid darkness of hiding inside. He could see the police through his inch-high opening. One of the cops ran right up to Mom but the other one just stood there. Something looked wrong. David kept still and quiet and watched.
    The lady detective he’d met at Grandma’s house and again at the police station — he remembered her name was Amy something — was leaning over Mom. David held his breath. He was so close to them he could have touched Amy’s long hair as it fell over Mom’s shoulder. Amy had two fingers around Mom’s wrist, taking her pulse. Amy’s eyes looked worried.She seemed so relieved to have found Mom, like she would have cried if she hadn’t been a cop. David wanted to cry too. He wanted to get out of the cramped dark bench and help Amy untie Sam.
    Sam’s head kept crashing on the floor and he kept making that sound. Amy moved over to him and looked right into his eyes and used her flat palm to wipe tears and sweat off his cheeks. She was wiping his face with one hand and pulling at the knot behind his back with her other hand.
    Then David saw the other cop come right up behind her. A second ago David had heard her tell him to go check something, just do it. She’d sounded annoyed, but he hadn’t budged; he’d just stood there, staring at her back. Now he started walking in her direction, quietly, like he didn’t want her to hear him coming.
    But she did hear him and she turned around.
    “Al, I told you—”
    Al was holding his gun by the barrel and he swung the handle down at Amy. She lifted her arm up to protect her face but it was too late. The butt end of Al’s gun crashed against the side of her head and she pitched sideways, hard, against the bench David was hiding in. She fell right on top of her gun and lay there, still. His fingers ached, holding the top of the bench up just so, without moving it at all. If he moved it, Al might see.
    Sammie started bucking against the floor harder than ever. Al stepped around Sammie and hunched over Amy and took another jab at her head with the butt of his gun. Al was breathing real hard now and sweating like rain; he was grinding his teeth and his eyes were slits. He was so close David could have spit on him. David could see the moles and hairs sprouting out of the back of the man’s neck.
    David understood. He understood everything. It was now or never.
    His free hand reached out for the hose. There was no way not to make a sound. In one big movement he slammed the top of the bench up against the wall, hooked his other arm through the wreath of hose and brought it down hard on the back of Al’s neck. Al fell forward under the weight of the hose, right over Amy. His gun went skidding along the floor and landed right next to Mom. Al grunted and pushed himself back up. The hose slid off his back and now the man was standing, looking right at David, who stood in front of him and didn’t stop to think about what came next.
    Harmonious ki. Blend with your attacker. But Sensei had always finished by telling them if they were in real trouble to fight back hard. Just fight.
    Al lunged at David and reached out to grab his neck and almost got him but he was too fast; David stepped out of reach. He slid forward and