Chapter 22 - Rescue Plan

Clear Solutions Headquarters – Midnight

The office of Clear Solutions was a different beast tonight, its usual laid-back atmosphere replaced by the suffocating weight of dread and urgency. The dim overhead lights flickered, casting long, restless shadows as Damian Walker stormed back and forth, each step heavy with frustration. His face, normally a picture of carefree charm, was hard and focused, a mask of cold determination.

"Damn it!" he growled through clenched teeth, slamming his fist against the wall. "How could we let this happen? We were right there… and they still took her."

Emilia Brooks sat in stony silence, her fingers moving swiftly across the touch screen, feeding through surveillance footage and news reports, searching for the smallest hint, the slightest clue. Her usually confident expression was tight with concentration. The anger that seethed just beneath the surface mirrored Damian's, but she held it together. She had to.

"They took her in broad daylight," Damian continued, his voice raw with fury. The image of Alice being dragged away by O.R.D.E.R. enforcers played over and over in his mind. Mark Williams' smug, golden form stood tall in the city square, spewing promises of 'justice' while the crowd turned on Alice, labeling her a criminal. The memory was a hot iron branding itself into his thoughts. "How could we let this happen?"

Emilia's icy tone cut through his anger. "Stop pacing, Damian. It's not helping. We need to be smart about this. We need a plan."

"Plan? How can we make a plan when we don't even know where the hell they've taken her?" His voice cracked, the helplessness evident as he stopped mid-step, hands on his hips. "The O.R.D.E.R. has a million facilities, any one of them could be holding her."

Emilia lifted her gaze from the screen, her dark eyes flashing with cold resolve. "We'll find her." Her words were hard, edged like steel. "Mark Williams didn't parade her capture in front of the whole city just to hide her away. He wants people to know. It's a message."

Damian's frustration boiled over. "Yeah, and now half the city thinks Alice is a damn criminal!"

"Maybe. But Williams made a mistake," Emilia said, leaning forward, her voice now a whisper of realization. "He wanted us to watch. He wanted everyone to watch. That means they didn't take her to just any facility."

Damian blinked, the gears in his mind turning as her words sank in. "You're saying… they'd take her somewhere high-profile? Somewhere close, where they could keep eyes on her?"

Emilia nodded, her confidence growing. "Think about it. The O.R.D.E.R. hides in the shadows, but this wasn't about hiding. Williams wants to make an example of her. They want people to see she's in their hands."

Suddenly, Damian's mind clicked into place, and he practically lunged at the holographic map that hovered over the table. With a swipe, he zoomed in on the area near the city square where Alice had been taken. "If that's the case, they wouldn't risk moving her far. Too many eyes on them. It has to be close."

Emilia leaned in, her fingers flying across the controls, pulling up every known O.R.D.E.R. facility in the vicinity. "We need to figure out which location is close enough, but also secure enough to hold her. They wouldn't risk taking her to a low-priority site."

Damian scanned the map, his eyes narrowing on a particular spot. "Here," he pointed, the facility popping up as a sleek, heavily fortified complex disguised as a logistics company. "The O.R.D.E.R. has been using this place for a while, right under the city's nose. It's close to the square, and it's damn near impenetrable."

Emilia's lips parted in realization. "That's it. They could have taken her there without raising too much suspicion, and it's secure enough to keep her locked down."

Damian stood up straight, his resolve hardening like iron. "Then that's where we go. We'll find a way in, and we'll get her out."

Emilia was already moving, pulling together supplies, her expression deadly serious. "I'll gather the equipment. If we're doing this, we need to move now."

Damian's usual cocky grin slid back onto his face, but this time it was laced with a dangerous edge. "We're bringing her back. And when we do, the O.R.D.E.R. will wish they'd never crossed us."

---

O.R.D.E.R. Base – Cold and Silent

Alice sat on the cold stone floor of her cell, her body bruised and aching, but her spirit was unbroken. The flickering light from a single overhead bulb cast long shadows on the walls, and the silence was thick, suffocating. Her tiger-like blue eyes stared into the distance, calculating, unyielding.

Michael Spade's twisted grin still echoed in her mind, his offer lingering in the air like poison. But she spat at the thought. She would never ally with the likes of him. Let him rot with the rest of them.

"They'll come for me," she whispered to herself, a ghost of a smile pulling at her lips. "I know they will."

She leaned her head back against the wall, her body weary but her mind razor-sharp. The O.R.D.E.R. thought they could break her, thought they could turn her into a pawn. They were wrong. If anything, this only made her resolve burn brighter. She would not be broken. And when Damian and Emilia found her—because they would find her—she'd be ready.

---

Clear Solutions – Midnight's Deadly Calm

As the city slumbered under a blanket of darkness, the Clear Solutions office was alive with tension. The table was strewn with tactical gear—grappling hooks, EMP devices, smoke bombs—everything they could muster for a mission as dangerous as this.

Damian stood over the holographic map, his finger tracing the facility's entrance points. "The main entrance is too heavily fortified. We'll be dead before we even get close. But…" He tapped on a small service tunnel on the western side of the complex. "This tunnel leads straight into the lower levels. Less security. It's our best shot."

Emilia studied the map, her mind working through the details. "I can disable the security system remotely, but we'll have to move fast. Once we're inside, we'll be on borrowed time."

Damian's eyes gleamed with mischief. "I'll create a distraction. Get their attention while you slip into the holding cells. If Alice is there, you'll get her out."

"And if she's not?" Emilia asked, her voice flat, preparing for the worst.

"We hit the next facility," Damian said with grim finality. "But she'll be there. I know it."

Emilia nodded, already strapping on her gear. "No mistakes, Damian. If the O.R.D.E.R. realizes we're coming, they'll move her somewhere we'll never find."

"We won't let it come to that," Damian said, his voice a low growl of determination. "Not after everything we've been through."

As they prepared for the mission, a heavy silence fell over them. The weight of what they were about to do pressed down, but beneath that weight was a fire—a fire born of friendship, loyalty, and the refusal to let Alice suffer at the hands of monsters.