Chapter 6 - Opening the Trunk
With the suspect securely detained in the back of a state trooper cruiser, Marcus turned his attention to the rear of the luxury sedan.
He pulled his mechanical multi-tool from his tactical belt, inserting the heavy key into the sedan's trunk lock cylinder.
The heavy metal latch clicked open with a loud mechanical echo that carried across the quiet stretch of the interstate shoulder.
Marcus slowly lifted the trunk lid upward, allowing the overhead highway lights to pierce the pitch-black interior compartment.
Inside, bound tightly with industrial duct tape and shivering violently, lay sixteen-year-old Chloe with tear-stained cheeks.
"You're safe now, sweetheart; I've got you," Marcus said softly, immediately pulling his pocket knife out to slice through the restraints.
Chloe gasped for fresh air, coughing weakly as Marcus lifted her fragile, trembling frame out of the suffocating metal trunk.
Paramedics rushed forward with a warm woolen rescue blanket, wrapping it around Chloe's shoulders as flashbulbs began to pop.
The missing person mystery was solved, but Marcus knew this suburban kidnapping was only the tip of a much darker iceberg.
May you like
He looked back at the arrested female driver sitting stoically in the cruiser, realizing she was merely a courier in a massive syndicate.
---
