Chapter 11
Levi's POV
I sat in the passenger seat of Erwin's car. We mainly sat in silence but the voices of other officers came through the speaker. Erwin sometimes told them to not be so loud and I couldn't agree more. I turned my head back to the window and watched the buildings rush by. I couldn't get Ellie out of my head and it was frustrating me. I needed to know if she was alright. She had done a lot for me. I just wish that she would be here with Erwin and me now, helping us get back that woman, whatever her name was. I didn't try to hard to remember; Ellie was more important. She was my partner, my mentor... I guess. I didn't want to lose her, not just yet. I couldn't lose her.
"Levi, we'll get her back."
I didn't hear him, I was too lost in thought. Everything around me was a blur. I paid not attention to it, opting to remain lost in my thoughts.
Erwin's POV
I looked over at Levi. He idn't hear what I said. I could tell that he was lost in thought, just like I was last night, and tired. I knew that he felt something other than partnership with her. I wasn't sure whether to allow it or not. Time would tell. I looked at the GPS. We were almost there. I grabbed the microphone and spoke into it.
"We're almost there. The van gets priority parking."
I heard a chorus of "yes sir" from the radio and I nodded to myself. I quickly glanced at Levi. He was still lost in thought. I leaned over slightly and poked him. I heard him grunt.
"What was that for?"
"We've arrived."
Levi looked around at his surrondings. He stopped when he saw the factory. It was a solid building. It's dark grey walls stood at perfect right angles to the ground. I noticed that the windows seemed to be closed, or they had something covering them. Either way, it was going to be dark in there. I looked at Levi again. He seemed to be checking something about the building. I found an empty parking lot and directed everyone to it. I climbed out of the car. I walked over to the van, waiting for the other officers to walk over. I gave everyofficer a floor that they had to check. Levi had the fourth floor, along with a few older officers. I directed them all to their entry points when I saw movement on a nearby roof. I realised who it was and almost smiled. Of course she came.
Levi's POV
I followed the senior officers to our entry point. We received word from Erwin asking if every officer was in position. After everyone told him their status he gave us word to go in. I followed the officers around but they all broke off from one another, heading in their own directions. I stood in confusion for a bit, because they did something that didn't come up in training. I shook my head and went straight. I walked past some windows and did a double take. There was someone on the roof. The figure was in the dark so I couldn't make out their face. I hoped that they were with us, I didn't want to die an early death. I advanced and almost lost myself a few times. I kept track of my path in my head, I was going to need it to get out. I heard voices that I didn't recognise and tried to follow the noise. That was hard. It led me to a strange room, an office. Sadly Ellie was not in there. I went straight and smelled something metallic. Blood. I looked down and saw blood drops. I looked ahead and saw more. A blood trail. I followed them and the smell got stronger. It led me to a doorway. The first thing I saw was a rather large pool of blood. The second thing I saw was Ellie and she was lying in it. I ran towards her, putting my gun in it's holster.
Ellie was covered in blood and she was pale. I felt her wrist for a pulse and I didn't feel one. I tried her neck to make sure and sighed in relief. She was still alive but barely. I grabbed my walkie-talkie.
"I have found Ellie. Repeat: I have found Ellie."
As I waited for an answer, I untied the ropes that rendered Ellie unable to move.
"Officer Ackerman, can you bring Ellie out, or do you need help?" Erwin asked.
"I'll be fine, I didn't see anyone on my way up here. If I need help, I'll call."
I received no answer but I knew that Erwin was nodding my head. I looked at Ellie again. I couldn't bring her out as she was. I found her ripped clothes and put them on, I also put my jacket on her, so that she was covered and warm. I picked her up and started making my way out. My breath came quicker as I carried her. I became worried, no one had came through the speaker about catching the sex ring. They were either out or just hiding in the building really well. I hoped that they weren't here.
"Erwin, there's been no sign of them."
"Continue the search. They wouldn't leave Ellie alone. Even if you find one."
I stopped for a quick breath by the windows I walked past earlier. By doing so, I made the worst mistake of my life. The sex ring was still in the building and they had found found me. As I had stopped, one stabbed me in the thigh. I dropped to my knees, gasping in pain, as he hadn't pulled it out. I pulled Ellie close, so that they couldn't touch her.
"Did you really think that we would let her go that easily? We have a bone to pick with her-"
"Like I care about what you think about wat you're going to do to her."
"But you should. Her mother screwed us over. Two years ago, she caught us and came over to ask us. She didn't remember us. Stupid woman. We knew that she knew what we were talking about. We had to act. We killed her, it was the only way to keep her quiet. Afterwards, we found out that one of ours had raped her, even though she was dead, and then cleaned up any evidence that would have given us away. He used to be a cop, he died a while back though. Since then we decided to continue to screw with Brooklynn's family. We kidnapped all the females that worked for her. We raped them for a while and then we killed them. You know the rest."
I was furious. I wen to get up but the knife that was still in my thigh shifted and cut more flesh. I groaned but remained on the ground. Rolland pulled out a gun and pointed it at me. Not at Ellie, at me.
"Tell me, Levi. Are you ready to die?"
He started pulling the trigger and I looked away. I heard the gunshot and waited. When I felt nothing, I opened my eyes. I checked Ellie for a bullet wound. I tore my eyes when I heard Rolland fall. I saw a bullet wound in his thigh. I pulled the knife out of my thigh and stood up. More of the sex ring showed themselves. One by one, they all fell down.
