Chapter 7 - The Desperate Ploy
Mark stood surrounded by his heavily armed mercenaries, looking incredibly pleased with himself.
Ryan pulled Chloe and the children behind him, ready to fight barehanded if he had to.
"You really thought you could just walk into my primary headquarters?" Mark mocked them.
"Let the children go, Mark, this is strictly between you and me," Ryan demanded fiercely.
Mark shook his head, a cold and calculating look passing over his sharp features.
"Mia is worth fifty million dollars to a private buyer in Europe, I am not letting her go anywhere," Mark stated.
He gestured to his guards, who immediately moved forward with heavy steel handcuffs.
"Take them to the medical holding cells on the top floor," Mark ordered.
The guards roughly grabbed Ryan and Chloe, securing their wrists tightly behind their backs.
They were shoved into a large freight elevator, rapidly ascending to the highest floor of the facility.
The holding cell was a sterile, white room with reinforced glass walls and a heavy magnetic door.
Leo and Mia huddled in the corner, holding hands and crying softly.
Ryan paced the room like a caged animal, testing the strength of the thick glass.
"There has to be a way out of here," Ryan muttered, his mind racing for any possible solution.
Chloe walked over to him and turned her back, pressing her bound hands against his.
"Take the hairpin from my back pocket and pick the lock on these cuffs," she whispered very quietly.
Ryan managed to grab the small piece of metal with his fingertips.
He twisted his hands awkwardly, manipulating the pin inside the keyhole of his own restraints.
After three agonizing minutes, the cuffs finally clicked open and fell to the floor.
He quickly unlocked Chloe's handcuffs, rubbing his sore wrists to restore the blood flow.
"We need a distraction to get past the guards outside," Ryan noted, looking at the security camera in the corner.
Chloe smiled and walked over to the exposed electrical panel near the sink.
She ripped the heavy wires out of the wall and crossed them directly over the metal plumbing.
A massive shower of sparks erupted, instantly short-circuiting the entire floor's power grid.
The lights went completely dark, and the magnetic lock on their cell door disengaged with a loud click.
They burst out of the room just as the backup emergency lights flickered to life.
Ryan punched the nearest guard in the jaw, knocking him unconscious and stealing his assault rifle.
They sprinted down the hallway, but Mark was already waiting for them at the end of the corridor.
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He was holding a heavy remote detonator, his thumb resting dangerously close to the red button.
"The entire building is rigged with explosives, Ryan, do not take another step!" Mark screamed.
