Elaine was caught leaning out of the window in Nick Palatnokiv’s office trying to escape. She turned to see two men staring at her with a mixture of anger and confusion. Elaine thought quickly.

“I-uh, I’m checking the security system in here. Did you know this window was open? The boss would be pretty mad if he found out.” Elaine tried to sound as knowledgeable as possible. The man on the right who had on a tan button down shirt and hardhat squinted at her.

“Who are you? Let me see your badge.” He demanded cautiously taking steps toward her.

Elaine snatched her badge from her chest pocket and flashed it at the men glancing at it as she hid it back in her pocket. “Name’s Peterson. I just started not too long ago. I am just doing a cursory check to make sure this area is secure. I noticed this window was open so I came in to close it.” Elaine’s palms were sweating as she shoved them in her pocket to hide their shaking.

Both men surveyed her for a bit before the man on the left with a blue button down shirt and a baseball hat with the company logo on it leaned over to the man on the right and whispered. Elaine leaned slightly forward trying to overhear. She heard the man in the blue shirt whisper “Jacobs mentioned hiring someone. I guess this is who he was talking about. Let’s let her go and ask him about it tomorrow.” The other man nodded his head in agreement.

“Ok Peterson, you are free to go but you need to leave this area until you get the proper clearance.” The men gestured her out of the office. Sighing Elaine nodded her head and moved toward the door. With shaky legs she walked down the stairs steadying herself on the hand railing. When she reached the bottom of the stairs her stomach sank as she saw who was approaching. The big burly man from earlier was striding her way a look of pure rage across his face.

“What is going on?” He bellowed at the two men behind her. He stopped in front of Elaine and glared at her. She pulled her cap lower over her eyes to hopefully hide her identity.

The man in the tan shirt came up behind her to explain. “This is Peterson. She was doing a cursory check and noticed a window open in the boss’ office. Jacobs must have hired her.”

“No one is allowed in the boss’ office!” Burly man growled turning redder with every word. Everyone froze speechless and unsure of what to do. Elaine was about to suggest that she just be on her way and they clear this up tomorrow when she heard a commotion behind her. She saw a man struggling with what looked like a big bag trying to drag it to the loading dock. Suddenly the bag slide off and a small boy popped out.

“Detective Ramos!” she heard a tiny shout.

“Tommy!” She cried. The burly man tried to grab Elaine but she spun around out of his grasp. She darted around the two men in the button up shirts and sprinted across the concrete toward Tommy. She watched as the bag was pulled over Tommy and he was dragged out the loading dock door.

As she tried to follow, her way was blocked by the burly man who had somehow caught up to her. Elaine attempted to dash around him but he easily caught her and threw her back. She stumbled but quickly steadied herself and reached for her gun. She pulled it on burly man as he approached her.

“MOVE!” She grunted as he smirked coldly at her. That’s when she felt someone close in behind her. Before she could react with a thud she was slammed in the back of the head. She crumpled down in a heap before blacking out.

To Be Continued…