Chapter 7 - The Hostage Situation
I left my sister safely hidden with a trusted security contact and rode with Vanessa toward the docks.
The freezing rain battered the windshield as we approached the massive, rusted shipping warehouse.
The entire perimeter was heavily guarded by armed mercenaries carrying high-powered rifles.
"We cannot just walk in there through the front door," Vanessa whispered nervously.
"We aren't going through the front," I replied, grabbing a grappling hook from my tactical bag.
We scaled the wet brick wall and slipped silently through a broken skylight on the roof.
We landed softly on a metal catwalk heavily suspended above the main warehouse floor.
I peered over the railing and saw exactly five heavily armed guards patrolling the area.
In the absolute center of the room, a lone figure was tied securely to a wooden chair with a black hood over their head.
"That has to be my brother," Vanessa gasped, completely desperate to run down the stairs.
I held her back forcefully, sensing a terrifying trap.
"I will silently eliminate the guards; you stay here and provide sniper cover," I ordered.
I dropped down into the shadows and moved like a complete ghost between the massive shipping crates.
I executed brutal, silent takedowns on the first four mercenaries without making a single sound.
The fifth guard turned around just as I snapped his associate’s neck.
Before he could pull his trigger, Vanessa expertly shot him with a silenced tranquilizer dart.
The warehouse was completely secure, and the deafening silence was almost overwhelming.
I sprinted toward the chair in the center of the room to finally free the hostage.
I grabbed the rough fabric of the black hood and yanked it completely off.
My blood ran cold, and my heart completely stopped in my chest.
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It was not a human being tied to the wooden chair at all.
It was a highly complex military explosive strapped to a mannequin, and the bright red digital timer had just hit ten seconds.
