Chapter 63: Chapter 58: A Sequence Of Events (Part 2)
The task force walked in the dark passageway for around five minutes before approaching an artificial staircase that presumably led to the hideout.
Emma pointed her flashlight down and tried to gauge how far down this staircase went.
Jacob Peralta couldn't help but pass a comment, "Damn, that looks deep."
Emma – "What is going on? I thought we were dealing with small-time kidnappers, but now it looks more complicated than previously anticipated."
Jacob Peralta – "Look, I have researched these guys to the very bottom. I know them very well."
"They are indeed small-time kidnappers. There is no way they could afford to remodel this cave in a hundred years."
"That means either they found this abandoned cave by chance, or there is someone bigger at play that we didn't know of."
"Either way, we should report the situation before heading down."
Emma informed the chief, who gave them the go-ahead to do down, and then the task force started venturing down the stairs.
The task force walked down for a while and felt like the staircase was never-ending.
Emma guided their way with her torch shining, providing them with light to see in this darkness.
They soon arrived at a slightly open bronze door that could only be described as a massive gate like the one in those Indiana Jones movies.
Toby (another force member) whispered, "It feels like this might have been an archelogy site of some kind. I hope we don't encounter some sort of undead Mummy."
Emma whispered back, "Focus on the task at hand. Now is not the time for jokes."
After Emma spoke, the task force heard loud voices of someone talking and looked inside.
Kidnapper 1 - "Did we really have to choose this location? It so echoes in this place. What if someone outside hears us and calls the police?"
Emma and the task force immediately had grim looks on their faces as they thought of the worst possible outcome: the kidnappers had found them out and were mocking them.
However, the following reply calmed down their racing hearts.
Kidnapper 2 - "John, no way anyone will find us out. Cause why would anyone even come this deep in a forest, to begin with?"
John- "How about, let's see, that kid who tried to escape and managed to get to the gate and scream for help?"
Kidnapper 2 - "Come on, John, you are just too paranoid. I know the kids screamed loudly, but as I said, no one would come to explore so deep."
"Remember, we did our research before finalizing this place."
John - 'You call me paranoid while you are so careless you almost let a kid escape."
The two kidnappers soon started arguing among themselves.
Emma whispered to Toby next to her, "Now is our chance to take them out smooth and quietly."
Toby being the sharpshooter of the team, immediately executed the order.
He took out his gun and aligned it twice to understand the angle he would require to shoot at for a clean headshot.
After Toby was ready, he took action and shot John first and, within a few seconds, moved his gun slightly to the right.
He then clicked the trigger and, in the process, shot kidnapper 2 dead before he could even react to John's death.
Emma - "Good job."
Emma then reported, speaking into her shoulder walkie-talkie, "We have officially engaged the kidnappers, current status two enemies down and no one injured."
She then further reported the entire situation of the encounter.
Captain - "Okay, good, but remember your main task is still to rescue civilians."
"So unless you have a clear shot like this, do not engage the kidnappers even if they are currently outnumbered."
Emma - "Yes, captain."
The squad then entered the room and found it to be just like you did expect.
There was no furniture on site. Instead, there were just a few mats and a few touches.
Upon going toward a wall, the task force found inscriptions they couldn't understand and could, with evidence, now conclude.
This cave was an archaeological site that the kidnapper had converted into a hideout.
They moved along the only other passageway out of the room. They found that the narrow corridor led them to a point where it was divided into three separate channels.
Emma soon reported the news and, upon the captain's approval, divided the team into three groups.
Toby would enter the right passage alone, and Emma and Mike would enter the middle path. In contrast, Jake and Mary would enter the left passageway.
Although splitting up like this might not have been practical and risky initially.
As if they were still facing five kidnappers, it would have been utterly stupid, but with only three left, the benefits of splitting up outway the risks.
Hence captain Martin decided to give the go-ahead for splitting up, which in normal circumstances would not have even been considered an option.
Emma and Mike, who had gone the middle route, found that their passageway slowly went down as they walked.
After walking for a while, they entered a vast open area and saw a man sitting on a chair and a woman talking with him.
The man soon noticed them and started screaming, "Help, please help. I am being held hostage against my will."
The woman, who was alerted by the man, tried to turn behind.
However, before she could turn, a rain of bullets soon came drizzling on her from the duo of Emma and Mike.
The young man saw blood and screamed, "Ahhh, blood, no."
"Please don't hurt me. My dad is wealthy. I am sure he will be willing to pay any ransom you want. Just don't shoot me, please."
Mike - "Don't worry, we are the police. You are now safe."
The young man instantly calmed down and thanked them for rescuing him.
Emma and Mike then headed the young man's way to see if he needed any help and found that he was free and not tied down.
Emma was surprised any this and asked, "Why aren't you tied up ?"
The young man replied, "The kidnappers have guns, so even if we are not tied up, we must obey their orders."
Mike - "By the way, what's your name, kid?"
The young man replied, "Ronald Smith."
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