Chapter 8 - The Decoy
I stared in absolute shock at the figure strapped tightly to the gleaming surgical table.
It was Evelyn, thrashing wildly against the heavy leather restraints binding her wrists and ankles.
Arthur looked over at me with a twisted, manic smile as I slowly climbed to my feet.
He explained that he never actually intended to return the pharmaceutical company to his treacherous ex-wife.
He had realized that Evelyn's genetic profile was a much closer match for the preliminary organ harvesting process.
Arthur had used her greed to lure me into the trap, and then he immediately turned the tables on her.
"I always tie up my loose ends, Mr. Carter, and you are officially the last one remaining," Arthur declared.
He pressed a button on a remote control, and the heavy doors of the operating theater slid open.
Six elite corporate mercenaries marched into the room with laser-sighted rifles aimed directly at my chest.
I was completely outgunned, bleeding heavily from my shoulder, and holding a shotgun with only two shells left.
I dropped my weapon onto the sterile floor and slowly raised my hands in a gesture of total surrender.
Arthur laughed triumphantly and ordered his men to secure me to the secondary surgical table.
As the guards moved forward, I locked eyes with Evelyn, who was weeping tears of pure terror and regret.
I subtly nodded my head toward the massive, high-pressure medical oxygen lines running along the ceiling.
I knew that the air in this room was incredibly sterile and highly enriched with flammable gases.
When the lead guard grabbed my arm, I violently yanked the hidden flare gun I had stolen from Evelyn's SUV out of my pocket.
I aimed the flare gun directly at the central oxygen manifold above Arthur's head and pulled the trigger.
The bright red flare struck the pressurized metal pipes, causing a massive, blinding explosion of fire and sparks.
The concussive blast knocked the mercenaries entirely off their feet and shattered the expensive surgical lights above us.
I used the chaotic distraction to dive across the room and retrieve my fallen tactical shotgun.
I fired a specialized beanbag round directly into the chest of the closest guard, incapacitating him instantly.
I scrambled over to Evelyn and used a surgical scalpel to slice through her heavy leather restraints.
She gasped for air and thanked me, promising to lead me to the highly secure vault where the children were truly hidden.
We ran out of the burning operating theater just as Arthur recovered from the blast, screaming furiously for his guards to kill us.
Evelyn punched a security code into an armored elevator, and we rapidly descended toward the sub-basement vaults.
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The elevator doors chimed and opened, revealing the five children huddled together inside a dark, concrete cell.
But standing directly in front of the cell door was the corrupt police captain, holding little Leo with a gun pressed to the boy's head.
