Chapter 6
1123 Words
Chapter Six
AN UNEXPECTED ALLY
At night, Greyfall was a maze of shadow and neon. Larris cut his headlights and drove several blocks without them, navigating alleys and side streets with the confidence of a man who had memorized every inch of the city.
Teresa clutched the edge of her seat. Where are we going?
To someone who owes me more favors than he likes to admit.
Ten minutes later, Larris parked behind an unmarked warehouse. The inside smelled of motor oil and old secrets. A man in a grease stained shirt looked up from a workbench.
Let me guess, he muttered. You’re in trouble again.
Larris smirked. You love it, Leon.
Leon grunted. I tolerate you. Who's the girl?
Larris said, "is Teresa. And someone is trying to kill her.
Leon stared at her for a long moment. Then nodded once. Figures Larris finally meets someone during a job and she brings him nothing but problems.
Leon, Teresa aid gently, do you know who the Ghost is?
His expression tightened. Nobody knows who the Ghost is. That's why they're the Ghost. But I do know one thing, they only show up when someone is sitting on information worth killing for.
Larris leaned forward. We need intel. Fast.
Leon gestured to a dusty computer terminal. Then you’ll want to see this.
He typed quickly and brought up multiple surveillance clips.
The masked figure.
Their car.
Their movements.
Teresa heart was racing. How do you have all this?
Leon shrugged. I keep my ears open, my eyes too. This city talks if you listen.
Then he played a clip that turned Teresa cold.
Standing at a prison gate, just hours before Jerry Desmond was transferred, a different masked figure stood near the fence.
Who is that? Larris muttered.
Leon zoomed in.
The same white mask.
It wasn’t a threat, Teresa whispered. It was a warning.
Teresa eyes hardened. We have to go to these coordinates.
Leon looked alarmed. You’re walking into a trap.
We don’t have a choice, Teresa said. Her voice surprised even her steady now, determined. This ends tonight.
Leon stared at her with newfound respect.
You’re a brave one,he muttered. Then he pulled open a drawer and brought out a small metallic device. If you’re going, take this. It shuts down electronics within ten meters. Might save your life.
Larris accepted it. Thank you.
Leon called after them as they left the warehouse.
You two be careful. The Ghost doesn’t make threats, they make graves.
THE COORDINATES
The coordinates took them towards the old industrial district, a forsaken part of Greyfall, where buildings and factories rotted like abandoned skeletons.
Larris parked two blocks away.
Stay behind me, he ordered.
I’m tired of hiding, Teresa said quietly.
I know, he said, but I’m not losing you.
They went through a side door into a building that was rusted. The inside was suffocatingly dark.
Then, A distant voice echoed.
Cold.
Sharp.
Amplified by a speaker.
Welcome, Teresa.
Larris raised his gun, scanning the shadows.
You came as instructed, the voice went on. Wise. But unfortunate.
One lone spotlight flickered on, shining down on a raised platform.
And there-strapped to a metal chair, bruised, gagged-
Was Teresa’s father.
Her scream tore from her throat before she realized she'd made a sound.
Papa!
Larris instinctively reached for her arm, halting her before she could surge forward. Wait, Look around first.
She forced herself to focus.
Movement
Dozens of figures stepped into view.
All were wearing a white half-mask.
A chill sprinted down her spine.
Show yourself! Larris shouted.
And then, one of them, taller than the others, with a commanding posture, stepped forward.
The Ghost.
The leader wore a full white mask, instead of half. Just two black slits for the eyes.
Teresa, the Ghost said, you have something that belongs to me.
Teresa trembled. What do you want?
The files. The ones your grandfather secured twenty years ago. His research. His patents. His offshore accounts. You will give them to me now.
My grandfather built that company to help people, Teresa snapped. Not for criminals.
The Ghost's head tilted. "Your refusal saddens me.
Then they snapped their fingers.
Two masked guards dragged her father forward.
Larris raised his gun immediately. Let him go!
You are in no position to negotiate, said the Ghost. But you, Teresa you may choose.
Her knees weakened. Choose what?
Your life, said the Ghost, or your father's.
Her father shook his head violently, trying to speak through the gag.
Urgently, Larris whispered, Don’t listen to them there’s always another way.
Closer yet, the Ghost stepped. You have ten seconds.
Everything seemed to come crashing around her.
Her father’s terrified eyes.
Larris quiet desperation.
Her own heartbeat shattering.
This is my fault.
I brought him into this. I brought Larris into this.
Her fingers hovered near the USB drive around her neck, the digital access key to her grandfather's vault.
She closed her eyes.
Suddenly she remembered something.
Desmond's voice.
The contract.
The lies.
The fear.
The running.
She was done running.
When she opened her eyes, they were steadier than they had ever been.
Larris she whispered, now.
Larris slammed Leon's device to the ground.
A piercing EMP pulsed from it—lights flickered, radios crackled, electronic weapons powered down, and in a split second the Ghost's mask glitched, revealing—
A woman.
Teresa barely saw the eyes sharp, brown and striking.
Then the lights completely died.
Chaos exploded.
Larris grabbed Teresa arm and yanked her down behind a metal crate just as gunfire erupted from the far side.
Her father's muffled cries echoed.
Cover me! Larris shouted, sprinting through the dark.
Kade NO!
But he was gone, already, a shadow moving through the chaos.
Teresa crawled towards her father, heart hammering.
A masked guard lunged towards her.
She grasped a metal pipe and swung with every ounce of fear in her body.
It connected with a sickening thud.
The guard collapsed.
She cut him free and her father sobbed through the gag. Papa, I’m here. I’m here.
More shots fired, someone screamed.
Larris she shouted.
Then, The lights flickered back on.
Larris stood in the middle of the floor, blood on his forehead, one knee down but still fighting.
The Ghost stood behind him, pressing a gun against his back.
Enough, the Ghost said sharply. Give me the files or he dies.
Teresa froze.
Her father seized her arm. “And said , don’t do it.
But Larris silently shook his head.
Teresa he whispered, don’t you dare.
She stepped forward.
She felt like her heart was tearing in half.
You want the files? she said.
The Ghost tipped her chin slightly, curiosity piqued. Finally willing to cooperate?
- Writer
