The abandoned warehouse was silent.
Dark.
Cold.
A perfect place for violence.
Sally raised her hand.
"Positions."
Delta Team crouched near the back entrance.
Bravo Team covered the surrounding exits.
Alpha Team spread out with weapons ready.
Lina was in the SUV behind them—
shaking, breath shallow, eyes glued to the building.
Her fingers hovered over her phone.
"Please let him be alive…" she whispered.
Jack lifted his head slightly,
blood dripping from his brow.
Marcus circled him like a predator.
"No reaction, Jack?"
He tapped the metal pipe on Jack's shoulder.
"Not even a flinch?"
Jack stared at the floor, eyes empty.
Marcus sneered.
"You Blackwells break easily after all."
He raised the pipe—
And the warehouse doors exploded inward.
BOOM!
Smoke.
Flashlight beams.
Boots thundering across the concrete.
"GO! GO! MOVE!"
Marcus turned sharply.
"What the—?"
Sally stormed through the broken entrance,
gun drawn, eyes blazing with fury.
"STEP AWAY FROM HIM, MARCUS!"
Marcus grinned slowly.
"Well, well… the princess arrives."
Sally aimed her gun directly at his head.
"I'm not here to negotiate."
Marcus chuckled.
"That's adorable. You think this ends with you walking him out of here?"
He snapped his fingers.
Armed men emerged from the shadows.
Delta Team fired first.
Gunshots cracked like thunder.
Lina, hearing the shots from the SUV, covered her mouth.
"No… please no…"
She ducked down, trembling, waiting for a chance—
any chance—
to call the police without alerting Marcus's men.
Two guards from Alpha Team blocked the boy.
"Stay back!"
"No!" he shouted, shoving past them.
"I'm getting to him—move!"
"Kid, it's not safe—"
"I DON'T CARE!"
He sprinted through the chaos—
past the falling debris,
past the screams,
past the bullets hitting metal.
He rushed behind a pile of crates and slipped through a narrow gap.
He saw him.
Jack.
Tied.
Bleeding.
Barely conscious.
Not moving.
His breath caught painfully in his throat.
"J… Jack…?"
Jack didn't lift his head.
The boy ran to him, dropping to his knees.
"Oh my God… Jack—Jack—can you hear me?"
Jack blinked slowly.
Barely.
The boy's hands shook violently as he struggled with the ropes.
"Hold on—please hold on—don't die—"
Jack's lips parted.
His voice was barely audible.
"…You… came?"
The boy's eyes filled with tears.
"Of course I came! You idiot—of course—!"
Jack's head fell forward again.
His body was cold.
Too cold.
The gunfire dimmed for a moment.
Just a moment.
Enough time.
Lina grabbed her phone, crawled out of the SUV, and hid behind the tires.
She dialed emergency services with shaking fingers.
"Hello? H-Help! There's a kidnapping—shots fired—please send officers to—"
Gunfire erupted again.
She ducked lower, heart hammering.
"Please hurry," she whispered.
Sally fired a shot that grazed Marcus's arm.
He winced but laughed.
"You're stubborn, Sal."
Sally stepped forward, furious.
"You touched my brother," she hissed.
"You tortured him.
And you think you're walking away alive?"
Marcus smirked.
"I think you're too late."
He lunged toward a detonator on a nearby table.
Sally shot the table first—
the bullets sending the device flying across the floor.
Marcus cursed.
Sally kicked him hard in the chest, slamming him into the wall.
He stumbled, blood on his lips.
"You're going to regret that," he spat.
"No."
Sally aimed her gun between his eyes.
"You are."
He tried to run.
A bullet from Delta Team hit his leg—
he fell forward, screaming.
Sally walked toward him slowly, expression unreadable.
"You're finished, Marcus."
He glared up at her.
"Even if you save him…
he'll never be the same."
Sally's eyes hardened.
"That's not your decision."
She handcuffed him herself.
Finally, the last knot loosened.
Jack collapsed into the boy's arms.
His body was limp.
Heavy.
Weak.
The boy held his face with shaking hands.
"Jack… hey—hey—stay with me. Do you hear me?"
Jack's lips parted.
"…You… shouldn't have come…" he whispered.
The boy shook his head violently.
"Shut up—shut up, Jack—don't say that. We're taking you home."
Jack's eyes fluttered.
"…I thought… this was my punishment."
The boy's breath broke.
He hugged Jack tightly, tears falling on Jack's bruised shoulder.
"No, Jack… please… you don't deserve this—
not anymore."
Jack's eyes softened for the first time that night.
"…Thank you," he whispered, almost inaudible.
He slipped into unconsciousness.
The boy screamed:
"SALLY! I FOUND HIM!"
Sally ran toward them instantly.
"Get him out—we need medics—NOW!"
Delta Team rushed in.
The boy refused to let go of Jack's hand.
"I've got you," he whispered.
"I'm not leaving you."
And for once—
Jack didn't fear the dark.
Because someone came for him.