Chapter 6 - The Abandoned Firm
The rusted iron gates of my father's old engineering firm were chained shut, but the padlock had already been broken.
Alan parked his truck a block away, hiding it behind a massive stack of rotting shipping containers.
The dense fog rolling off the river provided a perfect cover of darkness as we approached the main warehouse.
"Stay exactly behind me, and do not make a sound," Alan whispered, handing me a small, heavy flare gun from his tactical vest.
I gripped the bright orange plastic handle, my knuckles turning completely white.
We slipped through a broken side door and stepped into the cavernous, echoing interior of the abandoned building.
The air smelled intensely of decaying rust, stagnant water, and old machine oil.
At the center of the warehouse, a bright halogen work light illuminated a small, makeshift office area.
My mother was sitting at a dusty metal desk, frantically typing commands into my father's old encrypted laptop.
Chloe was tied tightly to a wooden chair beside the desk, her head slumped forward in a drug-induced sleep.
Two massive men in tactical gear stood guarding the perimeter of the light, holding automatic rifles.
"Wake her up!" my mother screamed at one of the guards.
"It is only twenty minutes until midnight, and I need her conscious to verbally confirm the voice-authentication protocol!"
One of the guards pulled a small vial of smelling salts from his pocket and cracked it beneath Chloe's nose.
Chloe gasped violently, her eyes flying open in absolute terror as she strained against the thick zip-ties binding her wrists.
"Mom? What is happening?" Chloe sobbed, her voice incredibly weak.
My mother completely ignored her distress and forcefully grabbed Chloe's jaw.
"Listen to me very carefully, you ungrateful little brat," my mother hissed, pressing a microphone toward Chloe's face.
"When the prompt appears, you are going to say your full name and authorize the transfer to my account, or I will let these men kill you."
Alan slowly raised his handgun, aiming it directly at the guard closest to my sister.
Before he could pull the trigger, the massive steel rolling doors at the front of the warehouse violently crashed open.
A speeding black SUV tore into the building, smashing directly into the metal desk and sending the laptop flying into the air.
My mother screamed and dove out of the way as the vehicle screeched to a halt.
The driver's side door kicked open, and Edric stepped out into the harsh halogen light.
He was covered in blood from the transport crash, and he was holding a stolen police shotgun.
"Did you really think you could take my retirement fund and leave me to rot in a cell, Martha?" Edric roared.
He racked the shotgun with a terrifying, metallic clack.
The two security guards immediately aimed their rifles at Edric, creating a deadly standoff.
Alan realized the distraction was our only chance.
"Faye, shoot the flare directly into the ceiling rafters on my mark," Alan commanded quietly.
I raised the heavy flare gun and aimed it toward the dry, wooden beams above the vehicles.
"Three, two, one, mark!" Alan shouted.
I pulled the trigger, and a blindingly bright ball of red fire shot into the air, instantly setting the dusty rafters ablaze.
In the ensuing chaos, Alan charged out of the shadows, firing two precise shots that instantly disarmed the security guards.
Edric swung his shotgun toward Alan, but my mother suddenly tackled Edric from behind.
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"Faye, get Chloe!" Alan yelled, diving into a brutal physical struggle with Edric on the concrete floor.
I sprinted toward the chair, grabbing a shard of broken glass from the floor to desperately cut my sister's thick zip-ties.
