12

Quickly getting to her feet, Claire refused to give up on her stricken friend when, the sound of a vehicle's engine suddenly caught her attention. A SWAT van shot forward and smashed into the Tyrant, pinning it to the wall. In the chaos, the Tyrant released its hold on Leon, who lay on the floor nursing his sore neck, coughing.

Claire quickly approached his side as the door to the SWAT van opened, and the elusive FBI agent appeared. Claire helped Leon to his feet as the woman walked past. "This is getting old," she spat. "Saving your ass—that's twice."

Leon replied flippantly. "I didn't realize you were keeping score."

The woman turned suddenly and cried, "Look, this isn't a game!"

A sudden movement came from the SWAT van, and the Tyrant began pushing against it. Leon turned toward the movement and raised his firearm. "You've got to be kidding me," he spat.

"Nothing dies down here," the FBI agent said, frustrated. She clicked a button in her hand, and the SWAT van exploded in a ball of flames. Leon and Claire turned towards the stranger with shocked expressions.

"Who is this woman?" Claire whispered under her breath.

"I take it you have the key card?" the stranger asked. Leon gave a nod, and the woman watched them a moment, considering.

"You want to know what's happening here?" she finally said, turning to the garage shutters. "I'm going to bring in the people responsible for this mess. Come with me, give me some backup, and I'll fill you in on the rest."

"Wait" Claire interrupted "We lost a little girl that was with us. We have to find her first"

The stranger rolled her eyes "Forget the girl" the agent said coldly

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Claire snapped. Leon raised a hand to try and calm his friend, and then said, "Claire's right. We can't leave her behind."

The stranger dropped her arms in frustration, and answered, "One girl doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but I guess I shouldn't have expected anything else from a naive rookie cop." Annoyance crossed Leon's features. "The name's Leon," he said.

Crossing her arms, the woman said, "If you're not going to have the sense to help me, then could you at least open the shutters? I'm losing valuable time."

Leon sighed, and moved towards the exit, swiping his card. As the shutters rose, the stranger turned back to the young cop. "Find a way out of the city, Leon," she said. "Before it's too late." The woman walked forward into the rain, and quickened her pace, shouting back over her shoulder. "Name's Ada. You wanna find the girl? Check out Iron's office."

After Ada had disappeared into the darkness of the streets, Leon turned to Claire and asked, "The chief was involved?" Claire shrugged and replied, "I don't know who that is, but the guy who attacked me had a badge and carried a gun."

Leon took her chin gently, and looked at the wound on her lip. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you alone," he said, sadly. "It's okay," she replied, shrugging it off. "You found us a way out."

Leon gave Claire a slight nod, and looked to his left, noticing an open door that had been previously closed. "Maybe we can get back into the station that way," he said, and started a jog towards the door.

Claire moved to follow until she noticed a small pendant on the floor and picked it up. Sherry's name was engraved on the golden surface. Claire figured that she must have dropped it when the man had wrestled her away. Claire hurried towards Leon who had stopped in the doorway with a questioning look. "Stay safe, Sherry," Claire whispered to herself, placing the pendant in her jacket pocket.

The pair entered the doorway, and a corridor led to a small elevator that took the pair back up into the station. After crossing a walkway that overlooked the city, they found themselves in an office filled with stuffed animals and other various curiosities. The classical music playing in the background had become stuck on a loop; the needle on the gramophone player had slipped.

Leon approached the desk and picked up the needle, silencing the music. "This is the chief's office," he said, turning to face Claire who was still eyeing the room uneasily. Leon lifted a framed photograph off the shelf and handed it to her. "Was this the guy who took Sherry?" he asked.

"Yes," Claire replied, looking away from the photo and into Leon's eyes. "Why would he take her?" she asked, dejectedly following Leon into another room. "I don't know," Leon replied, who was drawn to an open notebook on a small table.

Leon flipped through the pages, his eyes scanning the hastily drawn writing. "Spies... conspiracy?" he muttered to himself as he read. "The man's losing his mind."

Claire became uneasy at Leon's words: "We have to get Sherry away from him." She pleaded, "Is there any clue about where he might have taken her?" Leon scanned more pages. "No," he answered. "But look at these earlier entries. It seems he was working with a scientist who he believed had betrayed him…and his paranoia seems to grow over time. After the city fell, he locked himself in here, convinced that 'they' would come for him, and he planned to run away with the mayor's daughter..."

Claire looked at the writing as it continued across the pages; Iron's descriptions of the mayor's daughter unnerved her. Suddenly, a small phone began to ring, startling the young pair. Leon quickly lifted the handset and said, "Hello." There was silence, and then a menacing voice replied.

Put the girl on!

Leon's eyes met Claire's

"Chief Irons, sir! With all due respect, what the hell are you doing?"

You think I'm a fool!?

The chiefs voice suddenly boomed down the handset

You know EXACTLY what I'm doing. You know why I want the girl. That's why you and your friend tried to keep her to yourselves!

"What are you talking about ?" Leon questioned, confused.

Don't play stupid! The man growled back. You're one of their spies. That's exactly why you applied for this job. They sent you here to keep an eye on me! Didn't they?

"Sir. You're making no sense. If you just-"

ENOUGH! The voice boomed. Put the girl on, now! Or I'm gonna start in on the little one...

Claire looked on as Leon started to clench his jaw. He glanced at Claire and passed her the phone. "He wants to talk to you," he said

Claire took the phone, and steadied her breathing. "Hello"

Good to see you again, Claire.

Claire Looked up and spotted a CCTV camera watching them both.

We've got unfinished business

"What are you talking about?" Claire asked with annoyance.

Don't waste my fucking time! Bring me the pendant, or Sherry dies

Claire pulled the pendant from her pocket, and gazed at it as it sat in the palm of her hand

"The pendant? What do you need it for?"

Again, with the ignorance! Do you want the girl to die?

"Fine. Where are you?" Claire answered

The orphanage

"The orphanage. Where is that?" Claire asked as she locked eyes with Leon

In the neighbourhood. You'll find it

"Is sherry alright?" Claire asked.

For now...

Claire suddenly lost her temper and spat, "I swear, you bastard! If you hurt her..."

The line suddenly went dead. Claire looked at the phone in her hand and grumbled, "Are you serious?"

"Come on." Leon said as he turned away quickly.

"Wait," Claire said as she followed him. "Do you know where we're going?" He replied, "Kinda," and then added, "I remember seeing the orphanage from my apartment window when I went for a viewing. It's not too far from here."

Claire exhaled in relief, glad she didn't have to search the entire city for her. Claire didn't want to leave Sherry in the madman's clutches any longer than she had to.

Hang on Sherry. Were coming.