Chapter 6 - The Basement Cell
I raised my arm to shield my eyes from the blinding glare of the heavy tactical flashlight.
Dr. Vance walked slowly down the wooden basement stairs, holding a suppressed handgun aimed directly at my chest.
Maris followed closely behind him, looking absolutely furious that her carefully crafted illusion was broken.
"Put the box down and kick it away, Gideon," Dr. Vance ordered, his voice echoing coldly in the damp cellar.
I had no choice but to comply, sliding the metal lockbox across the concrete floor toward them.
"You are both going to burn for what you have done to those innocent men," I spat fiercely.
Maris laughed, a shrill and wicked sound that made my skin crawl with pure disgust.
"You were so desperately lonely, Gideon, it made you the absolute easiest mark I have ever played," she mocked.
Dr. Vance pulled a fresh syringe from his tailored suit jacket, removing the plastic cap with his teeth.
"This is a massive dose of synthetic fentanyl from the hospital pharmacy," the corrupt surgeon explained clinically.
"We are going to inject you, leave a tragic suicide note on your phone, and collect the three million dollars."
Maris stepped forward with a roll of heavy duct tape to bind my wrists to a structural support column.
I knew that if they managed to restrain me, I was a completely dead man.
I waited until Maris was within arm's reach, her guard slightly lowered due to her arrogant confidence.
I kicked violently forward, shattering her kneecap with the heavy steel toe of my work boot.
Maris screamed in absolute agony, collapsing onto the cold concrete floor in a writhing pile.
Dr. Vance panicked and fired a suppressed shot that grazed my left shoulder, burning like hot iron.
I lunged forward through the searing pain and tackled the older man directly into the heavy water heater.
The gun skittered away into the dark corners of the basement as we engaged in a brutal, desperate struggle.
I used my combat medic training to deliver a devastating elbow strike directly to his jaw.
Dr. Vance slumped unconscious to the floor, leaving me completely alone in the silent, bloody basement.
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I grabbed the metal lockbox and turned toward the stairs, desperate to get back to my daughter.
The heavy wooden door at the top of the stairs suddenly slammed shut, and the deadbolt clicked loudly into place.
