Page 4 of Rescuing Ally: Part 2
Rigel appears from the kitchen, holding up a bent brass lamp. “Improvised weapon. The base is cracked. Someone got a hit in.”
“They fought hard.” Blake kneels beside a shattered lamp.
And lost.
Rage hits like a freight train.
I force it back.
Not now. Focus.
“Calling it in.” Ethan pulls out his phone. “Mitzy, we need footage. Now.”
“Of what?” Mitzy’s voice crackles through, confused.
“Jenna’s apartment.”
“What am I looking for?”
“Security breach. Multiple assailants. Multiple…” His voice catches. “Multiple hostages taken.”
A sharp intake of breath across the line. Then steel replaces shock. “On it. Pulling feeds. Getting you everything from the last four hours.”
Wine glasses. A half-finished movie is paused on the TV. A stuffed bunny sits under the table.
Zephyr’s.
God no. Not the kids.
I move toward Jenna’s bedroom, mind parsing the layout, the angles, the tactics. The closet door is ajar. The faint red glow of the panic room lock is lit.
“Someone’s inside,” I call. “Panic room’s sealed.”
“It’s Gabe. The rest of the Charlie team is with me.” Gabe presses the intercom hidden in the closet. “Open up.”
No response.
“It’s Hank.” I lean in. “You’re safe now. They’re gone.”
“Gabe? Hank? Is it really you?” A soft voice sounds from the other side of the door.
“Yes.”
A beat. Then a soft click. The door hisses open.
Sophia stands tall, pale but alert, a sidearm steady in her grip. Behind her, Violet holds Zephyr and Luke, their eyes wide with terror.
They’re safe.
The only ones.
And that’s when it slams home—hard and brutal.
Everyone else is gone.
The panic cracks inside me, molten and vicious, but I hold the line.
“Sophia,” I say tightly, “what happened? We need to know everything.”
