Chapter 2: The Extraction
Rain hammered against the black SUV, turning the city's skyline into blurred streaks of neon and glass.
Inside the vehicle, the silence felt heavier than the chaos they had left behind.
Leo sat quietly in the back seat.
His miniature gray tuxedo was wrinkled now, and his bow tie hung loose around his neck.
Resting in his lap was a small tablet.
Its screen displayed a single photograph—
his late father smiling warmly into the camera.
Vance kept both hands on the steering wheel.
His eyes never stopped scanning the mirrors.
Every lane.
Every intersection.
Every shadow.
"Are they following us, Mr. Vance?"
Leo's voice barely rose above the sound of the rain.
"Yes."
Vance answered without hesitation.
He had never believed in comforting the boy with lies.
"Nannies sugarcoat reality."
"I don't."
Richard needs you under his control."
"Without you, he can't touch the trust."
Leo lowered his eyes.
"I don't want to go back."
"You won't."
Vance shifted gears as the SUV disappeared down the ramp into an underground parking structure.
The tires gave a soft squeal against the wet concrete before the vehicle disappeared into darkness.
A moment later, the headlights shut off.
The engine went silent.
For several seconds...
there was nothing.
Then a massive steel door slowly slid open from the shadows.
Behind it waited a heavily fortified safehouse.
Hidden.
Secure.
Prepared.
Vance opened his door.
May you like
"Time to get to work."
He drew his sidearm, checked the chamber with practiced efficiency, and stepped into the darkness.
