Chapter 5 - The Stolen Cruiser
Detective Hayes shouted in pain and dropped the heavy handgun onto his desk.
Claire did not hesitate for a single fraction of a second.
She grabbed a heavy metal stapler and smashed it directly across the corrupt cop's temple.
Hayes groaned and collapsed backward into his leather office chair, completely unconscious.
Claire snatched the microchip from the laptop and shoved it deep into her pocket.
She grabbed Leo's hand and pulled him toward the door.
"We cannot go out the front, the entire precinct might be working for Julian," Claire whispered.
She searched Hayes's pockets and found a ring of keys with a police vehicle tag attached.
They slipped out the back door of the office and hurried down the emergency fire stairs.
The concrete stairwell echoed with their rapid, terrified footsteps.
They burst into the underground police parking garage, breathing heavily.
Claire scanned the rows of vehicles until she spotted an unmarked black police cruiser.
She pressed the unlock button on the key fob, and the cruiser's lights flashed twice.
They jumped inside, and Claire slammed her foot violently onto the gas pedal.
The cruiser tore out of the garage, breaking through the wooden security arm at the exit.
They sped onto the chaotic city streets, weaving dangerously through heavy traffic.
"Where are we going now?" Leo asked, clutching the seatbelt tightly.
"We are going to find the medical facility shown in that video," Claire determined.
She knew they had absolutely no one left to trust in this city.
The police, the politicians, and the billionaires were all controlled by Julian Sterling.
"I remember the gate of the hospital," Leo said quietly from the passenger seat.
Claire looked over at him in absolute shock.
"It had a huge iron bird on the front door," the boy added.
Claire knew exactly what he was talking about.
It was the abandoned Blackwood Asylum on the northern edge of the city.
"Hold on tight, Leo," Claire said, pressing harder on the accelerator.
Just as the car reached the highway, a loud, mechanical clicking sound echoed from the dashboard.
The digital screen on the console suddenly turned bright red.
The steering wheel locked completely in place, refusing to turn even an inch.
The doors locked automatically with a heavy, metallic clank.
A robotic voice echoed through the car's speakers.
"Remote override initiated by Sterling Industries," the car's computer announced coldly.
The vehicle began to drive itself, completely taking over the controls.
Claire tried to smash the window with her elbow, but the bulletproof glass did not even scratch.
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The cruiser turned down a dark, secluded industrial road entirely on its own.
Waiting at the end of the dead-end road was Julian Sterling himself, surrounded by a dozen armed men.
