Chapter 5: Safehouse Compromised
Ten miles outside the city limits, Jack kicked open the rusted door of an abandoned auto repair shop. The rain was relentless, drumming a deafening beat against the corrugated tin roof.
He set Lily down on a dusty workbench, immediately pulling a heavy canvas tarp over the cracked windows to kill any light emission. He clicked on a small red-lens tactical flashlight, holding it in his mouth as he opened his field med-kit.
"You're doing great, kiddo," Jack mumbled around the flashlight. He used an antiseptic wipe to gently clean the blood from her face. Lily winced, clutching the teddy bear tightly.
"Why do they want me, Uncle Jack?" she asked, her voice small, echoing in the cavernous, empty garage.
"Your dad was a very smart man, Lily. He built something important. And he made sure that only you could open the door to it." Jack bandaged her head swiftly. "That woman... Victoria. She wants what your dad built."
"She's a monster," Lily whispered.
"I know. But monsters bleed just like the rest of us."
Suddenly, a faint, high-pitched ping caught Jack's attention. He froze. His training kicked in, his senses expanding to the edges of the room. He looked down at Lily. Then, he looked at the teddy bear in her arms.
He gently took the bear from her. Running his thumbs along the thick seam of the stuffed animal's back, he felt a hard, unnatural lump just beneath the synthetic fur.
A tracker.
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Before he could pull his combat knife to extract it, the reinforced steel door of the garage buckled inward with a deafening metallic screech. A heavily armored SUV had just rammed it.
Red laser sights instantly cut through the dusty darkness, painting the walls. They had been found.
