Chapter 6 - The Setup
"Drop the weapon and get on the ground!" a voice roared through a heavy megaphone.
I tossed the wrench onto the wet pavement and slowly raised my hands above my head.
Armed officers rushed forward, slamming me roughly against the side of the shipping container.
They slapped cold steel handcuffs on my wrists and patted me down aggressively.
"What is going on?" I shouted.
"We received an anonymous tip that the prime suspect in the kidnapping of Leo Sanders was heavily armed at this location," the commanding officer sneered.
Marcus had set me up perfectly to take the fall for my own son's disappearance.
I saw two officers drag Sarah out of the gray sedan, completely ignoring her cries of pain.
"He is innocent!" Sarah screamed at the cops.
"The man who took my son is named Marcus, he set this whole thing up!"
The police ignored her, treating us like dangerous fugitives instead of desperate parents.
They shoved us into the back of a heavily armored transport van.
The metal doors slammed shut, plunging us into total darkness as the sirens began to wail.
I realized with absolute horror that Marcus had just eliminated the only people trying to save Leo.
He now had the USB drive, the money, and no witnesses to stop him.
"We failed him," Sarah sobbed, leaning her head against my shoulder in the dark van.
"No, we haven't," I whispered fiercely, my mind racing for a way out.
I twisted my wrists painfully against the tight handcuffs, trying to reach the secret pocket inside my belt.
I managed to pull out a small, hidden lockpick I always carried for construction site emergencies.
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Just as the metal cuffs clicked open and fell from my wrists, the transport van suddenly slammed on its brakes.
A deafening explosion rocked the street, flipping our heavy police van completely onto its side.
