Chapter 3 - The Corrupt Badge
I did not think about the danger as I kicked the remaining glass out of the window frame.
I commanded Jerry to stay outside, and I dove into the burning, smoke-filled room.
The heat was suffocating, singing the hair on my arms and making my eyes water uncontrollably.
I grabbed Victor by the collar of his shirt and dragged his heavy body toward the exit.
Burning debris fell from the ceiling, narrowly missing my shoulder as we tumbled out onto the wet sidewalk.
Victor was severely burned, his breathing shallow and ragged in the cool night air.
He weakly opened his eyes, recognized my face, and grabbed my jacket with a trembling hand.
He whispered that Adrian’s men had found him and tortured him for the location of the couch.
Before he lost consciousness, he pressed a small, blood-stained brass key into my palm.
He managed to choke out the words "Union Station, locker forty-two" before his eyes rolled back in his head.
The deafening wail of police sirens suddenly echoed down the block.
Two patrol cars screeched to a halt in front of the burning building.
I stood up, ready to beg the officers for an ambulance for Victor.
The lead detective stepped out of the passenger side and the streetlights illuminated his face.
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My heart completely stopped in my chest.
It was the exact same man I had seen in Clara’s hidden photographs standing next to Adrian.
