The plan was going smoothly. Too smoothly.
Andreas and Dedrick walked calmly through the warehouse hallways until they finally reached the room where the safe was. But they weren’t alone.
Two armed guards blocked their path.
—The boss ordered that no one enters —one of them growled, frowning.
Dedrick didn’t even hesitate.
—The boss asked us to bring one of the slaves. Now move.
Dedrick’s firm and authoritative tone worked. The guards exchanged glances for a moment before reluctantly stepping aside, allowing them through.
Andreas felt the weight of several gazes piercing through him as they passed by the cages again. Cold, trembling hands brushed against him, barely pulling at his clothes, whispering things he didn’t understand.
But he kept walking.
It wasn’t his problem.
Or at least, that’s what he kept telling himself.
Finally, they reached a door in one of the warehouse’s corners. Dedrick carefully opened it, revealing a neglected office, with stacks of dusty papers piled everywhere. But the only thing that mattered was sitting on an old desk:
The safe.
It was large, square, and heavy, with a thick chain wrapped around it multiple times.
—We have to be careful, or they’ll blow our heads off —Dedrick murmured, kneeling in front of the safe.
Andreas nodded silently and got to work.
Using pliers, both of them began cutting the links, carefully picking up the chains before they hit the floor to avoid making noise.
But one of them wouldn’t budge.
—Shit… this one’s too damn tough —Andreas growled, squeezing the pliers with all his strength. His arms trembled from the pressure, but the chain wouldn’t break—. Dedrick, help me.
Dedrick leaned over him, placing his hands over Andreas’.
Both gritted their teeth and pushed with everything they had.
Nothing.
Suddenly, a sound froze them.
The warehouse door opened.
Dedrick reacted quickly, shoving Andreas back.
—Check who it is! —he whispered, stepping out of the office and leaning against a wall, pretending to be relaxed.
Andreas cautiously peeked out.
It was Kraft.
The guy entered the warehouse with his imposing presence. He was a monster in size and strength, but the worst thing was his eyes.
Dark, piercing—like he could see through any lie.
Kraft walked forward calmly until he was standing right in front of Andreas.
—Hey… Uh, Andreas… where’s Dedrick?
Andreas swallowed hard.
—Uh… he… he went to the bathroom.
Kraft stared at him for a few seconds.
Would he believe him?
Finally, Kraft scoffed and pulled a cigarette from his jacket. He lit it with a silver lighter and exhaled the smoke slowly.
—Hmm… well, I need to talk to him.
Andreas felt a slight relief when Kraft stepped back, but suddenly, the man offered him the pack.
—Want one?
—N-no, I’m good —Andreas declined, forcing himself to sound calm.
Kraft smirked.
—You’re right… you’re still young.
And without warning, he blew the smoke directly into Andreas’ face.
Andreas tried not to cough, but failed, triggering a deep laugh from Kraft.
Then, the man walked toward the cages and stopped in front of them, staring at the chained women.
—Do you know why we do this, Andreas? —he asked without looking back—. Human trafficking… kidnapping women… Do you know why?
Andreas remained silent, but Kraft kept talking.
—Because of our thirst for power and dominance. Because respect isn’t given, it’s taken. This world is rotten, full of idiots with guns who think they have what it takes to pull the trigger. But they’re nothing more than cowards. Liars.
Andreas felt a knot in his stomach.
—I’m not like them —Kraft continued—. I’m real. I killed who I had to kill, crushed who I had to crush. And now, I have everything.
He smiled smugly and looked at the women in the cages. They shrank in fear.
—Maybe one day, I’ll give you one of these bitches as a reward —he added, nudging Andreas with his elbow.
Andreas barely managed to hide the grimace of disgust forming on his face. Some of the girls noticed, and though they said nothing, they saw a glimmer of humanity in him.
Kraft stretched and put out his cigarette against one of the cage bars.
—I’ll be back in a few minutes. Take care of my slaves.
And with that, he left.
Andreas let out a sigh of relief before returning to the office.
—Did you manage to distract him? —Dedrick asked, still applying force to the thick chain.
—Yeah… he’s a real idiot —Andreas replied, his disgust still evident—. But that doesn’t matter now. We have to break this damn thing.
Both of them pushed with all their strength.
CRACK.
The chain gave way.
But before they could catch it, it fell to the floor with a loud metallic clang.
The noise left them frozen.
Silence.
And then…
The safe began to tip over.
—No, no, no, no—!
THUD!
The safe crashed onto the floor with a brutal impact.
Both of them stood there, mouths slightly open.
—Oh… shit… —they muttered in unison.
And then, the door behind them opened.
Kraft stood in the doorway. Cold. Silent.
Both of them turned to look at him, fear written all over their faces.
The next moment was pure hell.
Kraft lunged at them like a raging bull.
BOOM!
The two of them were sent flying backward, slamming against the wall from the impact of a single punch.
—IT WASN’T JUST DELUSIONS THIS TIME… IT WAS A FUCKING BETRAYAL! —Kraft roared, his voice trembling with fury.
Andreas hit the ground with a pained grunt. Dedrick barely managed to get up before another punch from Kraft nearly shattered the wall beside him. Both of them scrambled out of the room, dodging Kraft as Dedrick slammed the office door shut.
—Fuck, fuck, fuck! —Andreas screamed, shaking in fear.
—CALM THE FUCK DOWN, WE’LL BE FINE! —Dedrick shouted, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him.
BAM!
The door was obliterated by Kraft’s fist.
Kraft stormed out and went straight for Dedrick, delivering a punch to his stomach that sent him crashing into a wall again.
—I HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU, ANDREAS!
The giant charged at him.
Andreas was terrified. His instincts screamed at him to run, and without thinking twice, he turned on his heels and bolted through the row of cages, trying to put as much distance as possible between him and Kraft. However, the criminal reacted instantly. With brutal strength, he shoved one of the cages so violently that it slid across the floor and smashed into Andreas’ side, knocking him down with a painful thud.
Gasping, Andreas tried to get up, but Kraft was already on top of him. With both hands raised, the man delivered a devastating punch to the ground. Andreas barely managed to roll away in time, the impact shattering the concrete floor beside him and sending debris flying everywhere.
Meanwhile, Dedrick was still recovering from the previous blow when one of the guards burst into the office with a gun in hand.
—ON THE GROUND! —the guard roared, pointing a pulse shotgun at him.
Dedrick gritted his teeth, raising his hands slowly before placing them on his head as he knelt. He had no choice… yet.
—DEDRICK, HELP ME! —Andreas screamed in desperation, dodging another blow from Kraft.
Dedrick couldn’t do anything at that moment. He was trapped, forced to listen to his partner’s cries without being able to react.
—Shit… —he muttered in frustration.
—SHUT UP! —the guard barked, pressing the barrel of the shotgun against his neck.
Kraft had no intention of letting Andreas escape so easily.
He rushed to his seat and pulled out a modified weapon, industrial in design, with a carbonized metallic tone.
The Starbrand.
It was a modified flamethrower, designed to fire a continuous searing-hot plasma beam. The moment he pulled the trigger, an incandescent roar erupted from the weapon, unleashing a torrent of fire in a straight line.
Andreas saw it ignite with a blinding glow.
Oh, no.
BZZZZZZZT!
A plasma beam shot straight at him.
—RUN, YOU LITTLE SHIT, RUN! —Kraft laughed, firing again.
Andreas barely had time to react. He felt the scorching heat graze his back and sprinted without stopping, jumping over crates and dodging cages to avoid being incinerated.
On the other side of the room, Dedrick remained motionless on the ground, with the pulse shotgun aimed at his head.
The guard slowly squeezed the trigger.
Time seemed to freeze.
Both Andreas and Dedrick were on the brink of death.
What would they do to survive?
To be continued…