The Cage by Ethan Cross Read Free Book Online Page B

away. “Fine. But if anyone else gets hurt, I swear . . .” He restrained himself, but let the threat hang in the air.
    Kendrick stepped away and reached up as if to straighten his tie. He apparently had forgotten that he was dressed in sweats and not his usual attire, and his hand brushed awkwardly at his collar and then fell to his side. He issued a heavy sigh, and David saw the man’s anger deflate. “David, listen. I’m not a monster. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, either, but the situation here is much more dire than you realize. If my research doesn’t show dramatic results within the next month, the board is going to shut down the entire hospital.”
    “What? Why the hell would they do that?”
    “It all boils down to money. The funding just isn’t there any longer. In 1981, there were over thirty mental institutions within the state. Only six remain today. Sixteen have closed down since 1991. If we don’t succeed here, we’re all out of our jobs. And a big portion of these patients will be out on the street. Many of them will end up homeless, in jail, or worse.”
    “But what about the new wing and all the renovations?”
    Kendrick’s head twisted slowly from side to side. The fluorescent lighting reflected a glistening sheen of tears forming within the doctor’s eyes. “A last-ditch effort to prove ourselves. But make no mistake, the money’s gone. We’re a month away from closing our doors. My grandfather was a groundskeeper at this hospital, David. My father worked here as a counselor. I grew up in these halls. This place has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Everything comes to an end, but I can’t help feeling that I failed this place and all these people. This happened on my watch. But if we can find a way to control this situation, we may still have a chance.”
    David ran a hand over his hair and stared at Kendrick for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Then the door to the security office swung open, and Banks leaned out. “We found him.”
    “Where?”
    “We spotted him ducking into a supply closet in Ward C, Hallway 4. He’s wearing a guard’s uniform. We might have missed him earlier because of that, but this was definitely Ackerman.”
    “Good work.” David snatched the radio from his belt. “Johnson, what’s your status?”
    The radio crackled to life in response. “We’re grabbing weapons from the armory. We found four orderlies willing to help along the way.”
    David made a mental calculation of Johnson’s position. It would be much faster to send Johnson and his group to Ackerman’s location than to try and go himself. “Okay, Johnson. Ackerman just ducked into a supply closet in Ward C, Hallway 4. Head over there and secure him. Consider him armed and extremely dangerous. He’s already killed one of our men, so don’t hesitate. You get a shot, you take it. If you can safely capture him using the Tasers, then do it. But don’t take any chances. You’re authorized to use deadly force. We’ll be monitoring him from the security room and will let you know if he changes position.”
    “Understood. We’re on our way.”
    He returned the radio to his belt and glanced at Kendrick. The facility’s director wore a smug grin.
    “What did I tell you?” Kendrick said. “We have the situation well in hand.”
    David glared at Kendrick but said nothing. He didn’t want to waste his breath with a response, but he knew that Ackerman wasn’t going down without a fight.

A bare bulb with a dangling pull chain lit the meager space, but it was more than enough light for Ackerman to make his preparations. He needed an ad-equate distraction in order to ensure a clean escape, and he knew fire to be one of the most chaos-inducing forces on earth.
    Fire had always fascinated him, even as a young boy. His father had burned him on numerous occasions during his many experiments and tests, but the damage to his body had not instilled a fear of fire. Instead, it