Rescue
1308 Words
"Get in the car. Now."
Ethan's voice left no room for argument.
I grabbed Maya's arm and dragged her out of the apartment. Ethan was already at the curb, engine running, door open. We slid into the backseat as he peeled out onto the street.
"What's going on?" Maya whispered, voice shaking.
"Uncle Marco called me," Ethan said, eyes on the road. "He has your mom, Olivia."
My blood went cold.
"When? Where?"
"Ten minutes ago. He said if we don't meet him at the old Park Industries warehouse in Pier 17 in 30 minutes, he'll… he didn't finish."
I closed my eyes. Mom was 62. She had high blood pressure. She couldn't handle this.
"Why you?" I asked. "Why not me?"
"Because he wants both of us there," Ethan said. "He thinks if he has us, he controls the Meridian Project. If we don't show, he kills your mom and leaks everything."
Maya gripped my hand. "I'm so sorry, Olivia. I didn't know he'd go this far."
I didn't answer. Anger was easier than fear right now.
Ethan glanced at me in the rearview mirror. "We're not going in blind. I called security. They're meeting us two blocks out. Off the record."
"Off the record?" I said.
"My father can't know I involved company resources without board approval," he said. "If we fail, I'm fired. If we succeed, I explain later."
That was the most reckless thing he'd ever done.
I trusted him for it.
---
Pier 17. 11:47 PM.
The old Park Industries warehouse was abandoned five years ago after a fire. No lights. No cameras. Perfect for a k********g.
Ethan killed the engine a block away.
"Plan," he said. "We go in together. You keep Marco talking. I disable the power from the back. Security moves in when the lights go out."
"And if he shoots first?" I asked.
"Then we run," he said simply. "Don't be a hero, Olivia."
I almost laughed. He was telling me that.
Maya stayed in the car. "If I'm not back in 15 minutes, call the police," I told her. She nodded, tears in her eyes.
We moved in through the side entrance. The door was unlocked.
Inside, it smelled like smoke and rust.
"Hello, niece," a voice echoed.
Uncle Marco stepped out from the shadows. 58, gaunt, scar across his cheek. He looked older than I remembered. In his hand was a g*n. At his feet, tied to a chair, was Mom.
"Mom!" I rushed forward.
"Stop!" Marco c****d the g*n. "One more step and she's dead."
I froze.
Ethan stepped in front of me.
"Let her go, Marco. This ends now."
Marco laughed. "Look at you, Park. Always playing the hero. Your father destroyed my life. He sent me to prison for that accident. Eight years. Eight years I lost."
"That accident was your fault," I said, voice shaking. "You were drunk."
"And you were the reason we were on that road!" he shouted. "If you hadn't called your dad to pick you up from that party, he'd still be alive!"
The guilt hit me like a truck. I'd told myself for years it wasn't my fault. Hearing it out loud made it real again.
"Marco, stop," Ethan said. "This isn't about Olivia. It's about you. You want revenge, take it on me."
Marco's eyes flickered to Ethan.
"Oh, I am. You're the one who stood in my way for the Meridian Project. You and her."
He turned the g*n on me.
"So I'm going to make you watch her die. Then I'll kill you."
Time slowed.
Ethan moved.
He tackled me to the ground as the g*n went off.
The shot echoed.
---
Pain.
Not in me.
Ethan grunted under me. I pushed off him and saw blood spreading across his shoulder.
"Ethan!"
"I'm fine," he gritted out. "Lights."
Right. The plan.
I scrambled to the power box on the wall and slammed the switch down.
Darkness.
Shouts.
Gunfire.
Footsteps.
Security moved in.
When the emergency lights flickered on 20 seconds later, Marco was on the ground, handcuffed, bleeding from a graze on his arm. Mom was unharmed, crying and trying to reach me.
I ran to her and held her.
"I'm okay, Mom. I'm okay."
Then I turned back to Ethan.
He was sitting against the wall, shirt torn, hand pressed to his shoulder. Blood between his fingers.
"You're not fine," I said, kneeling next to him.
"I told you not to be a hero," he said, managing a weak smile.
"Shut up," I said, and pressed my jacket against the wound. "Stay with me, Park."
Paramedics arrived 5 minutes later. They took Ethan out on a stretcher, conscious but pale.
I rode with him to the hospital.
---
2:14 AM. Hospital waiting room.
Mom was with Maya in the lobby, calling my dad's brother to tell him what happened. I sat outside the OR, staring at the closed doors.
CEO Park walked in.
He took one look at me and said, "What happened?"
I told him everything. Uncle Marco. The blackmail. The k********g.
When I finished, he was silent for a long time.
Then he said, "You saved my son's life. Again."
"He saved mine first," I said quietly.
CEO Park nodded. "The board will hear about this. But Olivia… you're off the investigation. You're suspended from the project for 48 hours. Rest."
I opened my mouth to argue.
"Rest," he repeated. "That's an order."
He left.
The OR doors opened.
The doctor walked out.
"He's stable," she said. "Bullet missed the artery. He'll be fine. He'll need rest for two weeks."
Relief hit me so hard my knees buckled.
I sat down on the floor and cried.
---
6:00 AM.
Ethan was awake when I got to his room.
"You look terrible," he said.
"You look worse," I replied.
He tried to sit up. I pushed him back down.
"Doctor said no moving."
"Doctor's not my boss," he said.
I sat on the edge of his bed.
"Marco confessed. He's going back to prison. For a long time."
Ethan nodded.
"Good."
Silence fell between us. Not awkward. Comfortable.
"Why did you tackle me?" I asked finally.
"Because you're an i***t," he said. "And because I wasn't going to let you die."
My throat tightened.
"Same."
He looked at me. Really looked at me.
"Olivia… about what I said. About not trusting you."
"You were right not to," I said. "I didn't trust you either."
"But now?" he asked.
I thought about the last 48 hours. The files. The blackmail. The warehouse.
About how he'd put himself between me and a g*n.
"Now I trust you," I said.
He smiled. It was small, but real.
"Good. Because I trust you too."
The door opened.
CEO Park walked in, followed by two board members.
"Good," CEO Park said. "You're both awake."
I stood up quickly.
"Sir, I—"
"You're reinstated," he said. "Effective immediately. And you're both getting a promotion."
Ethan and I stared at him.
"Head of Development," CEO Park said. "Joint position. You've proven you can work together. Better than anyone else could."
I looked at Ethan. He looked at me.
We both said at the same time:
"What?"
CEO Park smiled for the first time since I met him.
"Congratulations. Try not to get shot again."
He left.
I turned to Ethan.
"Joint Head of Development?"
He groaned.
"You're kidding me."
I grinned.
"Looks like we're stuck with each other, Park."
He sighed.
"Looks like it, Rivera."
Then his phone buzzed.
He glanced at it, and his face went white.
"What is it?" I asked.
He showed me the screen.
Unknown Number: You think it's over?
This was just the beginning.
Attached was a photo.
Me. Mom. Maya.
Taken this morning, outside the hospital.
We weren't alone.
Someone was still watching.
- Writer
