Chapter 7 - THE MYSTERIOUS ALLY
Maria didn't hesitate for a single second.
She sprinted toward the open car door, carrying the screaming girl in her arms.
She threw herself into the back seat and slammed the heavy door shut.
The second guard recovered his stance and raised his rifle toward the SUV’s tires.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
Bullets slammed into the reinforced metal body of the SUV, leaving deep dents but failing to penetrate.
The driver slammed the gear into reverse, tire smoke filling the basement air.
The SUV backed up rapidly, turned on a dime, and accelerated hard toward the exit ramp.
Ethan slammed open the emergency exit door at the bottom of the stairwell just in time to see the SUV burst out of the garage entrance.
He watched in shock as the heavy black vehicle sped into the rainy night streets.
The second guard turned around and spotted Ethan standing near the exit door.
“Target spotted!” the guard shouted into his shoulder radio.
Ethan ducked behind a large concrete pillar just as a spray of bullets chipped the wall beside his head.
Concrete dust filled the air, blinding Ethan’s vision.
He was trapped, unarmed, and outnumbered.
Suddenly, the guard’s radio crackled with static.
Eleanor’s voice came through loud and clear over the speaker:
“Do not kill him!” she screamed through the static.
“He has the key on his person!”
“Bring him to me alive!”
The guard lowered his weapon slightly, pulling a pair of heavy steel handcuffs from his tactical belt.
“You heard the lady, Mr. Vance,” the guard said, stepping slowly around the pillar.
“Make this easy on yourself.”
Ethan looked down at his feet and spotted a heavy iron wrench lying next to a utility toolbox.
He snatched the iron wrench off the floor and held it tight behind his back.
As the guard rounded the corner, Ethan swung the iron tool with every ounce of power left in his body.
CRACK!
The wrench struck the guard’s tactical helmet with a metallic crunch.
The man stumbled backward, dazed, and dropped his weapon.
Ethan drove his knee hard into the guard’s abdomen, knocking him to the floor.
He grabbed the guard’s discarded pistol from the ground and pointed it straight at his head.
“Keys!” Ethan panted, his chest heaving violently.
“Give me your vehicle keys!”
The dazed guard reached into his vest pocket and threw a remote key fob onto the concrete.
Ethan snatched the fob, grabbed the guard’s radio, and ran toward a dark sedan parked in the corner.
He unlocked the doors with the remote, jumped into the driver’s seat, and slammed the starter button.
The engine roared to life.
Ethan slammed his foot onto the accelerator, crashing through the exit barrier gate and storming into the dark city streets.
Rain lashed against his windshield as he navigated through the heavy midnight traffic.
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his father’s brass key and the yellowed parchment note.
He looked at the handwritten words once more under the dim dashboard lights.
“She was planted in your life from the very beginning.”
Ethan’s phone suddenly rang on the passenger seat.
It was an unknown, encrypted caller ID.
Ethan hit the speakerphone button, his hands gripping the steering wheel tight.
“Who is this?” Ethan demanded.
A deep, unfamiliar voice responded over the speaker:
May you like
“If you want to see your daughter alive, Ethan, you need to drive to the docks immediately.”
“And you better bring the key.”
