Chapter 1
Unde malum? Whence evil? From where does evil come? I think we can safely say that evil is not something outside of us, a "devil" that delights in doing bad. No, evil lies within us humans. If you take the metaphor of the onion where you peel away the layers overlain by civilization, you may find evil lurking in the heart of us. But, what if we peel away the layers and find good in the heart of us? That is more like it. That attitude is best.
Frank has no time to ponder these questions. He is huddled down behind a concrete wall, trying to stay alive while bullets fly every which way. He looks across the stairway and sees Detective Prokop, muttering, reloading his pistol. He pulls back the slide to lock in a round in the chamber. Prokop looks at Frank. With his free hand, he motions him to stay down, out of sight. Frank has no intention of exposing himself to the lead whizzing by. He remembers how he got involved in this situation.
Detective Vitaly yells at the man with the gun inside the office.
"Give it up. You haven't a chance. You're surrounded. Backup is downstairs waiting for my signal to enter."
"You come in here and the girl gets it."
When Frank hears this, he stands up, raises his hands high and walks into the office.
"You're one dumb son of a bitch."
"Take me. Let her go."
