Chapter 4 - The Extraction
Elias Thorne didn't flinch at the guns pointed at him. “While you two are playing detective, Arthur’s fixers are heading to the north side foster facility. They aren't going to silence Lucas. They’re going to erase him.”
“How do you know that?” Jenkins asked, lowering her weapon a fraction.
“Because I monitor their communications. I’ve been hunting them for a decade.” Elias holstered his weapon. “You can arrest me and let the boy die, or you can get in your car and let me show you a shortcut.”
Instincts screaming, Jenkins made the call. They jumped back into the cruiser, Elias giving directions from the backseat. He knew the backroads of Oakridge better than the cops did.
“The network is vast,” Elias explained as Cho pushed the cruiser to eighty miles an hour on the dark country roads. “They target vulnerable kids. Kids no one will miss. When Lucas’s parents died in that 'accident' last year, Arthur took custody. It was the perfect setup. But Lucas was smart. He hid. He called you.”
They arrived at the foster facility—a grim brick building surrounded by a chain-link fence. The front gate was cut. A black van was idling near the side entrance.
“They’re inside,” Elias said, his eyes going cold. He didn't wait for the deputies. He kicked the car door open and sprinted toward the building, drawing his weapon.
Jenkins and Cho followed, entering through the busted side door. The hallway was dark, the security cameras smashed. They heard a woman scream from the second floor.
Elias moved like a shadow. They found two men in tactical gear kicking in the door to Lucas’s temporary room. The foster mother was on the ground, bleeding from a head wound.
“Hey!” Cho yelled.
The mercenaries spun around, raising submachine guns. But Elias was faster. He fired three suppressed shots with terrifying precision. Both men dropped to the floor, incapacitated but alive.
Elias kicked their weapons away and walked into the room. Lucas was huddled in the corner, clutching his wooden train, trembling violently.
Elias dropped to one knee, his scarred face softening. “It’s okay, kid. The monster isn't coming through this door.” He looked back at Jenkins. “We have to take him. Now. If he stays in the system, they will find him again.”
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Jenkins looked at Cho. Taking a child from state custody was a felony. But leaving him meant death.
“Grab his things,” Jenkins ordered. “We’re going entirely off the grid.”
