"Who are you?" Mason asked with a sneer.
In reply, Jack stepped up to Mason and punched him in the face.
"Ah! I think you broke my nose!" Mason screeched, hunching over in pain. "Do you have any idea how much my face is worth?"
"I'd say it's worth a few good laughs," Jack said, walking towards Cora.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to take these ladies off your hands."
Mason laughed. "Is that so? Are you going to tie them together and drag them out of here?"
"No, I brought help."
Mason glanced at the door and then back at Jack. "You're lying."
"Maybe, but how much are you willing to gamble? There's plenty more I could do to mess up your face."
Cora watched as they stared at one another. Now that she saw them together, she realized how superior Jack was. He was taller and more muscular. And while Mason had a handsome face, his features seemed weak compared to Jack's. And there was the fact that Mason had turned out to be a slimy dirtbag. That lessened his appeal considerably.
Their standoff was interrupted by Doctor Glasser rushing into the room with a gun.
"Don't move!" He shouted, his hands shaking as he aimed the gun at Jack.
"Are you sure you want to shoot me, Doctor Barlow?" Jack said evenly. "I don't think you want to add homicide to your long list of criminal offenses."
The doctor blanched. "How do you know that? How do you know my name?"
"We did our research," Jack replied, taking a step forward. "With an extremely talented hacker, it didn't take long to discover that Steven Glasser was in fact Robert Barlow, who had a history of selling military secrets and running cons with his nephew, Mason Barlow."
"You couldn't possibly have evidence on me," Mason said haughtily.
"On the contrary, the Ladies Biscuit Club of Brenton is quite irate about the handsome young caterer that took off with the profits from their spring bazaar."
Mason reddened and took a swing at Jack, which he dodged easily. Mason's forward momentum caused him to stumble into the table Meredith was lying on. She jerked awake and looked around. Her eyes settled on Jack.
"Oh yeah. That beard is hot," she said groggily, then fell back unconscious on the table.
They all stared at Meredith for a moment, and then Jack made a lunge for the gun in Doctor Barlow's hand. He grabbed the doctor's arm, but the older man spun out of his grip and Jack fell to the floor next to Cora. He pulled himself up by grabbing the side of her table, and Cora flinched as she felt something cold against her wrist. She glanced down and saw Jack quickly cutting the strap holding her arm, then he pressed the knife into her hand before he ran at Doctor Barlow again. Mason tripped him and Jack fell to the floor again, but he swung his leg around to knock Mason off of his feet. Cora used the commotion to cut through the straps on her tail, but soon everyone was on their feet again.
"Would you shoot him already!" Mason yelled at his uncle.
"Go ahead," Jack said. "But the police will be here soon."
"Even if that's true, the dissections will only take a few minutes and then we can get out of here."
Jack's face filled with rage. "Dissections?" He exclaimed. "You guys are barbaric!"
"Oh please," Doctor Barlow scoffed. "They're only half human."
Jacked growled and charged at the doctor, lowering his shoulder into the older man's midsection and sending him flying into the wall. The gun clattered to the floor and Mason dove for it before Jack had a chance to get it.
"Ha!" Mason exclaimed, standing at the foot of Cora's operating table and aiming the gun at Jack. "You'll find I'm not as hesitant to shoot as my uncle."
Cora flicked her tail. Jack caught her eye and chuckled. "I would be careful, Mason. You're standing in a very dangerous place."
Mason turned around just in time for Cora to slap him in the face with her tail.
"Argh!" Mason screamed, stumbling backwards. "Would you people leave my face alone!"
"You're right," Jack remarked. "We wouldn't want you to look bad for your mug shot."
As if on cue, the door flew open and Slightly rushed in, followed by a dozen armed officers. Mason dropped the gun and Doctor Barlow put his hands up. The officers handcuffed the pair and led them out of the room, and Mason whined the whole way. Cora couldn't help but think of how pathetic Mason had turned out to be. How could she have been so stupid?
An officer who seemed to be in charge turned to Jack. "Good work, Baker," he said, slapping him heartily on the shoulder. "You know you've got a job if you ever decide to come back."
"I'll let you know if I change my mind," he replied.
The officer nodded and followed the others out.
"That was close," Slightly said, blowing out a breath. "I'm glad we got here in time."
"Me too." Jack said.
"But Tink sending that evidence straight to the station's database really sped up the process. Thanks for the tip."
Jack shrugged. "When you work with the police, you learn all sorts of shortcuts." Jack walked to the table in the front of the room and picked up the small camera from Mason's crutch. "This will need to be destroyed," he said, handing it to Slightly. "And do you think you could take a look around and collect any other information they might have gathered on these girls?"
"Sure," Slightly responded. He glanced at Cora and gave Jack a meaningful look, then left the room.
Jack sighed and turned to face Cora. Her breath caught in her throat for a minute as she took in the sight of him. She wished that it hadn't taken being kidnapped and almost killed by a psychopath for her to realize just how incredible he was. He approached her and picked up the knife she had left on her operating table. He easily cut through the rest of her straps, but then he winced and stepped back apologetically.
"I'm sorry, I should have asked first," he said, looking a bit sheepish.
Cora quirked an eyebrow and quickly sat up. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him to her until her lips were on his. After a few seconds she pulled away and smiled.
"I'm sorry, I should have asked first," she said playfully.
Jack's hazel eyes were gleaming as he looked at her. "Believe me, there's no need." Then he sat down on the table and pulled her into his lap, tail and all, and kissed her until all of the horrors of the past few hours faded away.