Chapter 4 - The Veteran
The sound of Clyde groaning through the radio frequency made my blood turn to absolute ice.
Clyde was a good man who had survived two grueling tours in Vietnam, only to be tortured in his own hometown.
"Where do you have him, Dominic?" I demanded into the microphone.
Dominic just laughed, a cruel, echoing sound that filled the empty cabin of the patrol car.
"You have twenty minutes to find us before I toss this old fool off a roof," Dominic taunted.
The radio connection abruptly clicked dead.
I threw the microphone onto the dashboard and climbed into the driver's seat.
I slammed the cruiser into gear and tore out of the muddy quarry at sixty miles an hour.
I mentally mapped the entire town, frantically analyzing every possible location Dominic would use.
Dominic was extremely arrogant and theatrical, which meant he would not hide in a basement.
He wanted a high roof, and the tallest point in town was the abandoned grain silo near the train tracks.
I pushed the heavy police cruiser to its absolute mechanical limits, sliding dangerously around wet corners.
I killed the headlights entirely as I approached the rusted, towering structure in the pitch black.
Two more of Dominic's corrupt deputies were standing guard at the base of the rusted metal staircase.
I did not bother parking the car quietly.
I aimed the cruiser directly at the staircase and wedged the gas pedal down with my heavy boot.
I rolled out of the moving vehicle at thirty miles an hour, tucking my shoulder to absorb the brutal impact.
The heavy cruiser slammed violently into the staircase, crushing the metal supports and sending the deputies flying into the dirt.
I sprinted through the dust and wreckage, climbing the remaining intact stairs two at a time.
I kicked open the roof access door, stepping out into the howling wind.
Dominic was standing near the ledge, holding a battered, bleeding Clyde by the collar of his jacket.
"You are surprisingly fast for a retired mechanic," Dominic mocked, pointing his gun directly at Clyde's head.
"Let him go, Dominic," I said, my voice completely devoid of fear.
"You wanted me, so here I am."
Dominic smiled a sinister smile and slowly lowered his weapon.
"I never wanted you, Logan."
"I just needed your fingerprints to access the naval armory."
Before I could process his words, Clyde looked at me with deep sorrow in his swollen eyes.
May you like
"I am so sorry, Logan," Clyde whispered weakly.
Clyde suddenly reached into his own coat, pulled out a military-grade flashbang grenade, and pulled the pin.
