Rescue

Logan's POV:

I stare at the worn-out wooden door in front of me, its edges cracked and rusted. The birds circled in the air, breaking the silence of this desolate landscape. Rosche's rail yard was closed down in 2013 due to a construction flaw, which resulted in several injuries and deaths. Since then, no one has bothered to rebuild the site, and it is now the main area where some unlicensed activities take place.

Tightly gripping my suitcase, I took a step back and kicked the door repeatedly until it finally gave way, landing with a loud thud on the ground. As I stepped on the fallen door and entered the house, dust particles flew all around me. The narrow passage was dark, with an obnoxious odor and burned cigarettes littering the filthy floor.

Before someone came into view, I heard footsteps echoing through the crumbling walls. The person appeared surprised to see me, and he checked his phone before looking at me for a second as if confirming something.

"Confirm, Sir. It is he." The man spoke through the earpiece in his left ear. Herbert must have foreseen that it would be me.

The man raised his revolver and motioned for me to raise my hands. I kept the suitcase on the floor and raised my hands in surrender. He ran his other hand through my upper abdomen, front and back, and at my belt region while holding the pistol in one hand. I smirked inwardly as I realized what he was up to. This man has the appearance of a hulk, but as I suspected, he has nothing inside his head. My confidence grew a little more when the guy didn't even bother to look outside the house for any signs of suspicion. Okay, if the guys inside are as stupid as he is, this will be over soon. But I don't think Herb will be.

The man then motioned for me to proceed and led me to a hallway where I saw Herbert sitting on an old chair, holding his phone in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. The room was large and dark, with only the evening sunlight filtering in through the creaks of all the worn-out windows. The entire structure appeared to be a shambles, ready to fall apart at any moment. In the corner of the room, there was a medium-sized sofa with a television in front of it. My gaze darts around the room, hoping to catch a glimpse of Karolia. I glared at Herb, who stood up and walked across the room to where I was standing.

"I knew you hated waiting, but I didn't expect to see you this quickly, Logan." I could tell he was annoyed by my presence. I'm sure I surprised him by finding his hideout so quickly. Two guys (one of whom I had first noticed) stood a few feet away from us, their hands crossed behind their backs. But I was aware that they were holding a pistol, ready to fire if I made a mistake.

"Where is she?" I snapped. I wanted to see her just once to make sure I wasn't late. I hope they haven't touched her, because if they have, I'm going to lose it.

"Watson, take a deep breath. "I know you want to see her," Herb smirked evilly as he pushed his hands into his pocket.

"I delivered the documents to you. Now let her go," I yell at him.

"I see what you did. I can't believe all it took for me to capture her was for you to hand it directly into my hands." He approached his gaze drawn to the suitcase in my left hand.

"Show her, and then we'll be able to close the deal like real men." I took a step forward, daring him to oppose me. He got the message that I wouldn't hand over the documents unless he brought her in.

I noticed him motioning for one of his men to approach, and I watched with interest as Herbert whispered something into that man's ear. The man then dashed into the open door in the opposite corner of the room. I stood there with alert shoulders, carefully watching Herb's movements. For some reason, he seemed unfazed by the situation. I knew Herb was a calm and patient man who likes to get things done in a sneaky way.

"I'm not going to ask how you found the place, but Watson, I admire your intelligence. I knew I shouldn't underestimate you. I'm glad you're on board with this. Logan, if we all work together, we can get 2 billion. I just wanted to let you know that the offer is still valid." He said

The thumping sound of footsteps on the shaky ground caused me to turn to look eagerly at the open door. I notice Karolia's bare legs, which have come to a halt at her knees. Her entire body, up to her neck, blended into the darkness of the room from which she emerged, leaving only her face visible. My gaze was drawn to her face, where I noticed her tear-streaked red eyes. Her eyes were wide and filled with fear. My hands urged me to run past all these men in order to hold her soft face in my hands and comfort her. I noticed her left cheek is red, with a faint finger imprint visible on her milky white skin. I clenched my teeth in rage.

"How dare you hit her?" In a rage, I yell at him.

"Bitch couldn't keep her mouth shut," she said. I clenched my fist and was about to lunge for Herb when the guy guiding Lia from behind pushed her forward by her back and she stumbled forward, revealing her full form in the light. My eyes widened as I saw what she had on her body, and my blood began to boil with rage and fear.

"What the f*** is going on here, Herbert?" I yelled at him, who was standing near Lia with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Calm down, Logan. You showed up unannounced and didn't give me time to prepare. So this is simply my way of ensuring collateral. But you don't have to be concerned about anything." Herb defends himself by raising his hand.

"She has nothing to do with this, so you should take her out of the bomb vest you have on her." I notice Lia's body trembling slightly as if she was afraid to move. I wasn't expecting Herbert to pull such a stunt. I notice the timer on her bomb is currently set to ten minutes and counting, and I am filled with dread at the prospect of what will happen to Lia if the timer runs out. No way, I'm not going to let this happen. No, not to her.

I become immobile on the spot, unable to devise a proper strategy. This was not something I expected, and I know that if I make one wrong move, it will be disastrous. I try to think of something and hope that I can get her out of the vest before Patrick executes the plan we discussed.

Logan, I believe you can see the timer on her vest. I need you to turn over these documents within the time frame or I will detonate the bomb. I have the controller, and one-click is all it takes to put a stop to this whole thing. So, Watson, why don't you hand over the suitcase to me?" Herb speaks while flashing the tiny remote in front of him, which he later replaces in his pant pocket. He walks straight to me, and I calculate each of his movements in my head, devising a strategy that will get us out of there safely and without endangering myself or her.

Herb opened the suitcase in the hopes of finding his documents, but when he looked inside, he was taken aback. Herbert was about to lunge at me when I arrived with an empty suitcase. That's when I bowed down to avoid his grasp. I pulled out the gun I'd hidden in my bottom socks. I quickly put him in an armlock to keep him from escaping and pointed my pistol at his head. I knew I had caught both Herb and his men off guard when the events transpired in a matter of seconds.

"Drop all your weapons," I told the men, who were stunned by the situation. When they seemed hesitant, I pressed the gun more firmly against Herb's head, and that was the end of it. They quickly drew their weapons and tossed them to the ground.

"Untie her hands," she says. They immediately complied to me because I have the advantage at the moment and can blast their master's head in a blink. I saw how surprised Lia was and didn't give myself much time to consider how I appeared in front of her. I'm sure she thinks I'm a criminal or something with a gun, but I don't care right now. All I care about is getting her out of here alive.

I could feel Herb's alertness beside me, and I noticed him reaching for his pocket. I increased my pressure on his grip, causing him to squirm, and threw him to the ground, where he lay flat.

"Not so quickly, Herb." He gets a hiss from me. I saw his men approaching me quickly, but I quickly kneeled beside Herb on my left leg and pointed my gun at his head once more. The men took the cue and returned to their original position. I search his pockets for the remote control and carefully pull it out, avoiding any kind of pressure.

"You're going to have a lot of regrets about this, Watson. Keep in mind that you are standing in my place. You're not going to make it out of here alive." I ignored his words and concentrated on the situation at hand.

"Karolia, come to my side," I said as soon as I realized we only had 5 minutes left.

I need to get going. I saw her take cautious steps, attempting not to move her body in such a way that the bomb would detonate. Herbert was yelling at his men to go get Karolia, but a firm glare from me made them stay put.

I grit my teeth and stare at Herb before pulling the trigger over his right leg once Karolia is by my side. The sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the building, followed by two people's screams. I pointed the gun at his men, who roared in response to my actions. Herb was howling in pain, clutching his leg, and Lia appeared to be passing out from the shock. A smoke bomb was dropped into the room precisely on time, and I mentally thank Pat for the precise timing. I quickly drew Lia away from the smoke-filled room, keeping an eye on the timer on her vest, which read 2 minutes. I carefully unfastened her bomb vest and hurriedly threw it back into the same room where we were.

Karolia appeared to be frozen in place, and I noticed Patrick crouched on the wall near the main door. I motion for him to back up and run out of the building. In a matter of seconds, I shake Karolia out of her stupor and drag her outside the house. I pressed the green button on the remote control as soon as we were at least fifteen feet away from the house. Everything happens in a flash as the house explodes and I shield Lia's body from the blast.

After about ten seconds, I heard a constant ringing in my ear and couldn't hear anything around me. I look down at her face and notice the blood oozing from her temple. I shake my head to regain consciousness and gradually hear Patrick running over to us and calling my name. With each passing second, his voice became clearer, and I heard him ask if I was okay. He looks at Lia and yells at me to carry her so that we can get her to the hospital as soon as possible.

"Lia," I say repeatedly, shaking her body, but my heart breaks as I stare at her lifeless body.

I'm truly sorry, love.

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A/N - The story isn't over, we repeat, the story isn't over. A lot more chapters to go and secrets to reveal. So sit tight for the next updates. Please leave your comments and opinions down below.