Chapter Text
It had been a quiet morning at the precinct-almost too quiet. I kept pacing, glancing over the files for the ongoing series of thefts targeting local businesses. Daph was sitting at her desk, buried in reports and barely noticing me as I reviewed the files again. I could feel the tension building in my chest, the quiet stretching too long, like the calm before the storm.
“You planning to solve all the crimes in the city before lunch, detective?” Daph said, half-joking.
I smirked without looking up. “Someone has to. And besides… routine calls are boring.”
Routine. I hated that word. Nothing about this felt routine.
Then the alert came through the PA system, snapping my full attention. “Unit 5, a disturbance reported at an Eastside warehouse. Possible hostage. Backup needed immediately.”
I felt Daph glance at me, noticing something serious in my expression-or maybe just confirming what I already knew: this was going to be bad.
“Looks like routine just left the building,” she said.
“Let's move,” I nod.
As we drove toward the warehouse, my mind raced faster than my hands on the wheel, anything can go wrong. The items stolen in this case weren’t just expensive-they were connected to a powerful syndicate. That meant the criminals were dangerous, organized, and unpredictable. Every instinct in me screamed that this could go south very fast.
Keep calm… watch your back… Daph’s here and she can’t get hurt… we’ve got this. I repeated to myself like a mantra, trying to steady the tension boiling in my chest.
When we arrived, the warehouse looked abandoned at first glance. But shadows shifted, muffled voices echoed inside. As we moved in, I decided to separate from Daph to check out the rear office-and everything suddenly went black.
A cloth suddenly was pressed to my face, preventing me from breathing. Panic clawed my chest as I struggled, flailing, but it was useless. Strong hands dragged me into a back room, hood over my head, and ropes biting into my wrist.
Daph… she’ll find me… she has to… My mind raced, grasping for any tether to reality, to hope, to her.