Chapter 6 - THE SETUP AT THE ABANDONED WAREHOUSEThe air inside the shipping container turned instantly to ice. Sofia looked at Rich in absolute shock. The very microchip she had put in her beloved dog for safety years ago had been replaced by Dmitry's corrupt veterinarian to serve as a beacon.
"We have to move! Now!" Elena yelled, grabbing a tactical shotgun from the wall rack and racking the slide.
"There's nowhere to go!" Sofia cried out as the sound of heavy boots approached the metal walls outside.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Bullets tore through the thin corrugated steel of the container, sending sparks flying through the air. Elena shoved Sofia and Rich behind a heavy steel workbench, returning fire through the narrow ventilation slits.
"Listen to me!" Elena shouted over the deafening gunfire. "There’s a hatch under the floorboards that leads to the storm drain below the harbor docks. You and the dog go! I'll hold them off!"
"I'm not leaving you!" Sofia screamed.
"If he catches you, he gets the money and we both die!" Elena roared, pulling open a heavy iron grate in the floor. "Go! Run to the North Pier Pierhouse! I have a contact there with a boat. Go!"
Sofia didn't have time to argue. She pushed Rich into the dark, damp hole and scrambled down after him into the rushing black waters of the drainage system just as the shipping container door was blown completely off its hinges above them.
The sound of screams, gunfire, and collapsing metal echoed through the tunnel behind them as Sofia and Rich waded through chest-deep water in total darkness.
For twenty agonizing minutes, Sofia ran through the pitch-black tunnels, guided only by Rich’s relentless, forward momentum. The dog never hesitated, barking softly to guide her around sharp corners and deep drops until they finally burst out into the cool, salty night air of the North Pier.
Exhausted, soaked in foul water, and shivering uncontrollably, Sofia collapsed onto the wooden planks of the pier. Rich stood over her, hyperventilating, his body trembling from exhaustion.
"We... we made it, Rich," Sofia sobbed, pulling the dog close to her chest. "We made it..."
"Did you really think you could run from me, Sofia?"
A cold, smooth voice spoke from the shadows of the boathouse.
Sofia froze.
Out from the gloom walked Dmitry. He wasn't even breathless. His suit was immaculate, his gun raised, pointing directly at her head.
Beside him stood the local Chief of Police—the very man supposed to protect the city.
"You see, Sofia," Dmitry said, strolling toward her with relaxed, arrogant steps. "You were always too trusting. Just like your father. He trusted me when I managed his overseas accounts before he had his 'unfortunate heart attack,' and you trusted me when I swept you off your feet."
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Sofia’s eyes widened with pure, unadulterated horror. "My... my father? You killed my father?!"
"He was getting suspicious of the missing funds," Dmitry sneered, raising the gun until the barrel was just inches from her eyes. "So I sped up his timeline. And now, I'm going to speed up yours."
