Chapter 9 - The Race Against Time
The young officer hesitated for only a second before pulling a heavy ring of keys from his belt.
"I am going to lose my badge for this," he muttered as he unlocked the heavy iron door.
"You just saved five lives," I told him, rushing out of the cell alongside Davis.
We sprinted out the back exit of the precinct and jumped into Davis’s beat-up sedan.
The tires squealed as he slammed on the gas, racing toward the abandoned railyard on the edge of town.
I called Vance, the private investigator, and told him to meet us there with any backup he could find.
Every second felt like an hour as we dodged morning traffic, running three red lights in the process.
If Evelyn crossed the state border, her syndicate connections would make her completely untouchable.
We finally crashed through the rusted chain-link fence of the railyard, kicking up a massive cloud of dirt.
Through the dust, I spotted the sleek black SUV parked beneath the towering, rusted water structure.
The scarred man was standing outside, aggressively loading heavy duffel bags into the back seat.
I didn't wait for Davis to stop the car.
I threw the passenger door open and rolled onto the dirt, ignoring the sharp rocks tearing through my clothes.
I sprinted toward the SUV with a blinding rage fueling my every step.
The scarred man reached for a weapon in his jacket, but I tackled him straight into the side of the vehicle.
We hit the ground hard, but I didn't stop moving.
I scrambled up and smashed my elbow into the driver's side window, shattering the glass completely.
Evelyn shrieked from the passenger seat, dropping a stack of freshly signed banking documents.
I unlocked the back doors, pulling them open to find four terrified children huddled together on the floorboards.
"Where is the baby?" I screamed at Evelyn.
Before she could answer, multiple police cruisers and Vance's truck surrounded the area, sirens blaring.
Officers swarmed the vehicle, dragging Evelyn and the scarred man out in handcuffs.
I frantically searched the trunk, tossing duffel bags and spare tires aside.
There, hidden beneath a pile of heavy winter coats, was the baby girl, barely breathing in the stifling heat.
I scooped her up into my arms, tears streaming down my face as she let out a soft, fragile cry.
We had them all.
May you like
But as I held her close, I noticed something missing from her tiny wrist.
Her silver medical alert bracelet, the one she needed for her severe heart condition, was gone.
