Chapter 1 - The Parking Lot
I called 911 the second I heard her.
A little girl, maybe two years old, was locked in a car with no parent in sight, the sun already climbing on that side of the glass.
I tried the door myself while I was still on the phone with dispatch.
It was locked, wouldn't budge, three tries and absolutely nothing.
Her mother came running less than a minute later, and I thought that was where it ended for me.
Get her out, hand her back, walk away.
It wasn't.
Not for her, and certainly not for me either.
The woman frantically jammed her key into the lock, tears streaming down her bruised face.
She pulled the little girl into her arms, completely ignoring my presence as she scanned the parking lot with wide, terrified eyes.
Before I could ask if she was okay, a black SUV screeched to a halt right behind us, blocking her car.
Two massive men wearing cheap suits stepped out, their hands resting menacingly on holstered weapons at their hips.
They didn't look like any police officers I had ever seen.
The mother looked at me, her eyes filled with a desperate, soul-crushing panic.
She shoved the crying toddler directly into my arms.
She whispered that I needed to run and never look back.
I stood there frozen as one of the men grabbed her by her hair and dragged her toward the SUV.
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The second man pulled out a suppressed pistol and pointed it directly at my chest.
He smiled as his finger tightened on the trigger.
