Chapter 4 - The Shipping Yard
Julian stepped out of the sports car into the freezing, torrential rain.
He grabbed a heavy metal tire iron from the trunk, the cold steel grounding his racing thoughts.
He moved silently between the massive, rusted shipping containers, listening for any sign of life.
The storm drowned out almost every sound, but then he heard a muffled scream echoing from the warehouse.
He crept toward the decaying building and peered through a shattered windowpane.
Inside the dark, cavernous space, a single overhead light bulb illuminated a terrifying scene.
Elena was tied to a wooden chair in the center of the room.
Marcus was pacing back and forth in front of her, holding a suppressed tactical pistol.
"Your husband is causing a lot of problems tonight, Elena," Marcus sneered.
"I told you what would happen if you ever tried to contact him again."
Elena held her head high, her eyes blazing with a fierce maternal defiance.
"He will find you, and he will destroy you," she spat.
Julian felt a surge of pride and desperate love for the woman he had severely underestimated.
He knew he could not simply charge into the room against a highly trained, armed mercenary.
He noticed an ancient, heavy electrical breaker box mounted on the brick wall just outside the window.
He raised the tire iron and smashed it violently into the metal box.
A massive shower of blue sparks erupted, and the single light bulb inside the warehouse shattered.
The entire building was instantly plunged into absolute, pitch-black darkness.
Julian climbed through the broken window, using the sounds of Marcus's panicked footsteps to track him.
"Who is there?" Marcus shouted blindly into the void.
Julian did not answer.
He swung the heavy tire iron with every ounce of his strength, connecting brutally with Marcus's knee.
The mercenary screamed in agony and collapsed to the concrete floor, his gun clattering away into the dark.
Julian rushed to the center of the room and quickly untied the thick ropes binding Elena to the chair.
She threw her arms around his neck, sobbing uncontrollably into his soaked tuxedo.
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"We have to leave right now," Julian whispered, pulling her gently to her feet.
Suddenly, the massive metal doors of the warehouse ground open, revealing headlights from three more arriving vehicles.
