The jolt had sent Mike tumbling backwards, straight into the arms of his partner, causing both men to crash to the ground and end up in a heap of limbs.
Startled, Gifford had jumped to the side, her eyes wide in fear, one hand in front of her mouth as she watched on from a safe distance.
"Y'okay?", Steve gasped, being lodged beneath his partner and the hard ground, turning his face away so that the back of Mike's head wouldn't break his nose.
"I…I think so. Are you?", the Lieutenant stammered, his voice shaking slightly from the aftershock of the electrocution, as he rolled off the young Inspector and ended up on all fours.
"Yep…yeah…I am good…"
Running a quick hand across his plaid dress shirt, Steve grunted, then carefully sat up, his frown turning into a relieved smile at the sight that greeted them.
"It's too bad you had to get shocked, but at least you got the bar dislodged and opened the door…"
Following his glance, Mike's eyes came to rest on the metal pole lying on the ground, and the partially ajar door that gave them a peek at the starry night outside.
A small red wire ran along the outer edges of the frame, then connected to an old car battery sitting by the jamb.
"Looks like he was trying to intimidate any unwelcome visitors…", Steve breathed and got back up to inspect the simple contraption some more, Mike's hand appearing on his shoulder as he did so.
"No…look, you can easily see it from the outside. He did this to keep us in, possibly alert him if we try to escape. I think it's time we get out of here…"
"Yeah, I think you're right…"
With a powerful and swift kick, Mike shoved the door open wide enough for them to exit, taking one slow step at a time as he took a closer look at the perimeter.
A barren gravel lot greeted them on the other side, large enough to allow several semi-trucks to move around undisturbed. A small lantern lit up a handful of parking spots on the far side, before the ground rose significantly, tying into the adjacent mountain ranges that surrounded the warehouse.
"We're definitely up north someplace…", Mike said as Steve appeared next to him, their synchronized gazes going from one side of the terrain to the other, then down south, where a dim light over the horizon suggested civilization in the far distance.
"You think that car is rigged?", Steve asked and pointed his chin at the lone green LTD's sitting under the lantern across the parking lot.
"I don't know about you but this reminds me of the cheese in the mousetrap…", Mike countered and shook his head, "I bet he's got that whole place here rigged. Let's head south and try our luck at the first house or vehicle we come across. Anything is better than continuing to play his game."
With a quiet nod, Steve followed his partner around the corner of the building, making their way from one end to the next painfully slow, unsure what other unwelcome surprises might await them.
The west side of the building was relatively long, stretching several hundred feet out. Two decaying concrete loading docks were reminders of a time when the warehouse saw significantly more use.
Nudging Gifford back into the middle, the group continued along the lengths of the building undisturbed, flinching only when the reporter accidentally tripped over a broken piece of concrete on the walkway.
It wasn't until they reached the far end of the building that Mike slowed down, his eyes travelling up the steep hill that greeted them, then over to the invitingly even and accessible driveway leading from the warehouse back to the road.
Looking over his shoulder once again, ensuring they weren't followed, Steve sighed, knowing the course of action the Lieutenant would take before he ever said it out loud.
And while it was true that caution would indeed be their best friend in this situation, the young Inspector couldn't quite shake the unmistakable feeling of dread that came with climbing through uneven terrain in near complete darkness, dragging along a reporter who, for all intents and purposes wasn't used to that sort of workout and could quite possibly jeopardize their escape altogether.
Yep, things would indeed get worse before they could get better.
"Let's get moving…", Mike finally said and jogged the short distance across the gravel driveway surrounding the warehouse to the steep hill ahead, his blue vest and black dress pants quickly disappearing amongst the shadows thrown across the area by the sole light on the opposite end.
Gifford stayed close to him, her heavy breaths giving away her location even without seeing her.
Taking up the rear and holding onto the scalpel like a medieval sword, Steve skipped the distance decidedly faster, his long legs allowing him to bounce across tree roots and brush that were giving Gifford trouble, as the reporter tried to navigate the terrain while staying close to Mike.
The group was halfway up the first part of the incline, heading due south to parallel the gravel road leading back to civilization, when the crackling noise of a bullhorn disrupted the silence.
"Lieutenant, I give you credit. Didn't take much for you to overpower my man and leave the building."
Straight ahead of him, Steve could hear Mike stopping in his tracks, even holding his breath, a distraught Gifford right next to him, reaching for an exposed root for balance.
"Just know that the fun is only beginning. I chose this location because of its remoteness. And because there are plenty of woods surrounding it. The nature of my business has made it necessary to put certain safeguards in place to prevent an escape. In your case, that means I let you escape on purpose, make you taste freedom one last time before I rid myself of your existence, and that of your partner for good. And what better way to do so than with a fun game of cat and mouse? You have five minutes to get a head start before I am coming after you. Rest assured that there is no escape from these woods and that death is a mere certainty. However, I am showing mercy by allowing you to pick the matter thereof yourself. As a former soldier, I am sure you can appreciate that."