“Yeah, so?”
“Brothers?”
“Two.”
“They good guys?”
“Yeah, I’d say so.”
“So you don’t hate all men.”
She glanced down at the explosives.
“What are your dad and brothers going to say when they see you on the TV like this? Wired up like a terrorist—“
“I’m not a terrorist.”
“Hate to say it, Julie, but it looks like it and those guys up there…” I nodded at a circling helicopter, “are going to view it like that if you take one step closer to the courthouse. One step closer means with that amount of dynamite the blast will infiltrate the building.” I paused. “What if a shard of glass kills the judge?”
“If he was going to let Riley off…good.”
“But what if he wasn’t going to let him walk? What if he was going to send him down?”
Uncertainty bloomed in her eyes. She was already pale but whitened a little more.
I glanced over my shoulder at Balko. He was only ten steps behind me, weapon poised, sun glinting off his shades.
I was glad he had my back.
But I didn’t want him to shoot Julie.
“You know what I think,” I said.
“What?” Her shaking had picked up, the hand holding the detonator jiggling in the air.
“I think you’ve made your point. I think the entire state, no make that entire country, knows how angry you are. How angryallthese women are, myself included. I think it’s time to call in the bomb squad and get that off you.”
“No, no. I’ll press it. Don’t let them…” Tears were rolling down her face as she raised her hand higher.
“You really want your father and brothers to watch you die on live TV?” I took a step closer and held out my hand. “That will break their hearts.”
“I can’t…be responsible…for their…hearts.”
“But you are, don’t you see? They love you and with love comes great responsibility.” I took another step.
“Freya,” Balko said. “No more.”
I ignored him. I took another pace. There were only ten feet between us now.
“Back the fuck up, Sweeny,” the chief said in my ear.
“You don’t want to die, Julie, neither do I.”
She was quiet apart from a hiccupping sob.
“And there’s a simple solution—we get the good guys in to take this off you.”
“I could just run, in there.” She nodded at the entrance. “It would only take me a few seconds, and then I could take them all out.”