Chapter 12
Laura turned off her car's engine, letting the sudden, eerie silence of the railyard envelop her. The wind whistled through the broken window frame, carrying the sharp scent of rust and dead grass. She looked down at her purse, verifying that her phone was still connected to Detective Harlan. The screen glowed silently, a fragile lifeline connecting her to safety.
She gripped the encrypted hard drive tightly in her hand. It was her only shield, her only currency.
She stepped out of the car, her heels sinking slightly into the soft, oily dirt. The massive repair depot stood fifty yards away, its towering corrugated metal doors rusted open, creating a dark, yawning mouth that seemed ready to swallow her whole.
"I'm here, Vincent!" Laura shouted into the vast emptiness, her voice echoing off the metal structures.
No one answered. The only sound was the rhythmic banging of a loose piece of sheet metal somewhere high up on the roof.
Laura began to walk toward the entrance, each step feeling heavier than the last. She checked her surroundings, looking for any sign of Vincent's men or Harlan’s tactical team, but the railyard appeared entirely abandoned.
She stepped through the threshold of the depot. The interior was vast and dimly lit, illuminated only by shafts of dusty sunlight piercing through the cracked skylights high above. Abandoned train chassis sat on rusted tracks like sleeping monsters.
"Walk to the center track, Manager Bennett," a voice boomed from the shadows above.
Laura stopped, her eyes tracking upward. High above the floor, on a rusted metal catwalk that spanned the width of the depot, stood Vincent. He looked exactly like a man who commanded an empire of fear—impeccably dressed in a dark wool coat, his expression completely calm, detached, and dangerous.
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Beside him, bound tightly to a heavy metal chair, was a woman. Her face was bruised, her clothes torn, but her eyes were wide with terror as she looked down at Laura.
"You're late," Vincent said coldly, leaning against the catwalk railing. "And I don't like to be kept waiting."
