Chapter 4 - The Corrupt Badge
Concrete dust exploded into the air as the sniper's bullet missed my head by an inch.
I grabbed Detective Miller by his tactical belt and dragged him behind the engine block of the cruiser.
Another heavy caliber round slammed into the concrete pillar, showering us in debris.
I scanned the upper level of the parking garage and spotted the faint glint of a sniper scope.
I did not have a rifle, so I had to use the environment to my tactical advantage.
I shot the fuel tank of a parked motorcycle across the aisle.
The gasoline poured steadily onto the concrete floor.
I fired a second round into a sparking electrical box on the nearby wall.
The sparks ignited the fuel, creating a massive wall of fire and thick black smoke.
I used the smoke as cover and sprinted up the concrete ramp with complete silence.
I flanked the sniper's position while he was distracted by the flames below.
I found a man in black tactical gear aiming his rifle through the smoke.
I snapped his arm with a swift strike and slammed his head into the pavement.
The sniper went entirely limp and dropped his expensive weapon.
I ran back down to the lower level to interrogate the corrupt detective.
Miller was lying on the ground, clutching a massive wound in his chest.
The sniper had not been aiming at me.
He had been aiming to permanently silence Miller.
Miller looked up at me with blood bubbling on his lips.
He whispered that they took Harper to the private airfield on the edge of the county.
He told me that my wife had made a deal to trade the stolen drive for her own life.
He confessed that she gave them the alarm code to our house to prove her loyalty.
She let them in so they would spare her, not knowing Violet would be home from school early.
Miller closed his eyes and took his final, rattling breath.
May you like
I stood up in the quiet garage, my heart shattering into a thousand pieces.
My own wife had invited the monsters into our home.
