John's Domination

Chapter 5

The fuel light in the car blinked at the red zone as they sped down the highway, a Chevron station with its bright lights spilling onto the road was up ahead. Alice eased the vehicle and pulled into the gas station. They had left Sam behind to hunt down the whereabouts of Sara with only Sam's research as their guide, and with the silence on Richard's end, John felt like he was chasing the wind.

The night felt tense, and uncertainty loomed in the air. John reached for the black box containing Sam's research papers, knowing that this brief stop was a crucial moment in their mission. They needed a destination, a lead to follow, and he hoped that within the contents of the box, they would find their path forward.

Together, they sat in silence beside the gas pump, the bright overhead lights casting long shadows. 

"Will he make it?" Alice's voice broke the heavy silence, tears glistening in her eyes. John glanced up from the scattered documents he had picked up, his thoughts returning to Sam's pallid face.

John hesitated before responding, trying to sound reassuring. "The police should arrive in time," he said, though doubt lingered. "Sam's a tough guy; he'll pull through."

A faint smile graced Alice's face as she opened her side door and stepped out to refuel the tank. Meanwhile, the contents of the box lay sprawled before John—a tangled web of handwritten notes, printed documents, and photographs. It resembled a labyrinth of information, their only hope of tracing Sara's whereabouts. John began sifting through the papers, his eyes searching for any hint, any lead. The absence of any clear direction added to the mounting tension in the air.

John felt the weight of the situation pressing upon him. There could be no error, he thought, as he took in a deep breath and forced his eyes away from the paper before him for a moment. Among the scattered documents, a single sheet of paper stood out to John. It was the only sheet with two addresses written in red, circled with a red ink, and headed with the name "Sara."

John lowered his door's window just as Alice finished filling the car's tank. 

"Do you know the location of the Krauk warehouse?" John asked abruptly. Alice froze and looked at him, her unspoken question clear - was this about Sara? John nodded, confirming her suspicions.

"It's about a mile from here, and—" Alice began but paused.

A black Mercedes Benz raced past the filling station at an unusually high speed, causing John to sit up. They both tracked the car with their eyes until it vanished from sight.

"Get inside the car," John ordered. "That's Xavier's ride. I saw Melissa sitting beside him, and they might be heading in that direction."

Without a word, Alice complied. She got into the car and ignited the engine, which roared to life. With a skillful drift, she reversed out of the station. John watched her adjust the gear and accelerate forward. The chase had begun.

"John, Krauk's meant to be an abandoned warehouse owned by the government. No gang is meant to have access to that building…" Alice said, her voice barely audible.

John remained silent, absorbing the gravity of her statement. He clenched his teeth, hoping that confronting Xavier might shed some light on the situation.

Alice slowed down and parked the car amidst some bushes, John got a clear view of the expansive warehouse. It was a wide, black-painted structure without a gate, and its massive doors stood wide open. Sand, gravel, and bricks were piled in separate heaps nearby. The building, a two-story structure still under reconstruction, had a few holes in its walls. Six people patrolled the upper veranda that encircled the building. Near the structure's right side, John spotted fuel barrels lined up.

Xavier's car was parked with its left side facing the gate. John followed Alice to the trunk of her car, where she handed him a twenty-five ammo belt that he slung across his chest, a pair of eight-ammo military wrist belts, a double-sided gun belt, and the two shotguns he had acquired at Sam's restaurant. He placed the handguns into the gun belt after ensuring they were fully loaded and proceeded to fill the ammo belts with bullets.

Alice rearranged the items in her car, revealing a hidden compartment from which she retrieved a sniper rifle and a pack of its bullets.

"I'll handle most of the work. Your role is to be ready to fire as soon as you see my signal," she explained.

"What signal?" John asked, his expression tense, feeling like a soldier on a suicide mission.

Alice paused and looked at John, who appeared resolute yet concerned. She smiled softly. "I'll intentionally make a mistake. Watch for it. You need to get close enough to act, and don't forget you have two loaded handguns as backup. If necessary, ditch the shotgun if you can't reload it in time. But above all, don't get yourself killed!"

With that, she slammed the car and ran deeper into the bush. He saw her ascend an elevation before she disappeared. He proceeded on foot, approaching the building cautiously. His legs grew weak, and his eyes widened as he counted the men on the veranda; there were twelve, if not more. His earlier assessment had been a mistake. A sense of unease settled in his stomach when he realized that the number of men on the ground was double what he initially thought.

 Xavier emerged from the building, accompanied by a hefty man who was dragging Sara by her hair. She wore a torn brown outfit, with various spots showing the damage. John gritted his teeth, his fear pushed aside by anger as he glared at Xavier from his concealed position.

His attention was drawn upward as six men slumped against the wall, their lives extinguished. He hadn't noticed Alice taking them out, but he watched in amazement as she eliminated the rest in rapid succession. One man stumbled and fell to the ground, lifeless, which drew everyone's attention.

Another figure dropped to the ground, and the remaining men turned their gaze in the direction opposite to where John was hidden. He couldn't help but smile. Seizing the moment, John stepped out of his hiding spot just as someone among the men shouted, "It's an attack!"

John raised his gun and fired into the air, taking down two heads with a single shot. He quickly emptied the first gun and aimed the last bullet at Xavier. He pulled the trigger, but the bullet missed Xavier and instead struck the man holding Sara, blowing his head off. Letting the now-empty guns hang from his shoulder, John sprinted toward the pile of bricks where six dead men lay on the ground. It was clear that Alice had cleared the way for him. 

Xavier, seemingly unconcerned about the girl, made a run for his car as bodies dropped all around him. John watched as Melissa opened the car door from the inside. Xavier sped away, his car kicking up gravel as it roared off.

John signaled for Sara to come to him, and she bolted toward him, keeping her head low to avoid stray bullets. He handed her a shotgun and one of the wrist ammo belts. Sara immediately set to work loading the bullets, her back marked with dirt, her hair dusty from the ordeal. 

"Can you use a gun?" John asked as Sara was loading. She nodded in response. 

John turned back to the clearing, where Alice was still actively taking down men. He scanned the area and spotted the gasoline barrels nearby. An idea formed in his mind.

Sara had just finished loading the bullets when John whispered to her, "Get ready to run." Sara looked puzzled, but John didn't have time to explain. He could see more and more men pouring out of the building, more than Alice could handle alone. 

John aimed at the gasoline barrels and fired. The explosion that followed was massive, blowing away one side of the building. Bricks and debris rained down on them, but John shielded Sara as best he could, gritting his teeth against the force of the blast and the heat of the flames that passed by.

"Run!" he shouted, and they both bolted. A few of the men who had tried to approach them from behind were taken down by Alice. Sara, holding a shotgun, gunned down two more who were in their path, while John fired at every target he could see with his handguns drawn.

They made it back to where the car was hidden, and Alice appeared behind them, running at high speed.

"What's wrong?" John asked, catching his breath.

"John, you poked a hornet's nest, and now they're very angry," Alice replied. John's eyes widened as he looked behind him with concern. The three of them hurried into the car.

Alice skillfully pulled out in reverse, and as they sped away from the scene, eight men appeared in their rearview mirror, firing their weapons at the car. John and Sara quickly ducked down to avoid the bullets as Alice navigated through the chaos.

Sara, still trembling, found her voice amidst the chaos. "Alice, what's going on? These men abducted me from a party. Who are they? Where's Dad?"

Alice extended one arm backward to comfort Sara, gently tapping her shoulder, but her focus remained on the road. "Look, I know you have a lot of questions," Alice began. "We're going to a place where we can rest. Don't worry about Uncle Sam; he takes care of himself."

John, peering through the rear window, saw more men joining the initial eight on the street. There were many more of them than their bullets could have handled. The decision to leave the scene saved their lives.

"Where are we going?" Sara asked.

"To Richard's likely location," Alice whispered. "We might get clarity when we arrive."

John nodded. "I'll go through Sam's documents for available information."

Alice tightened her grip on the steering wheel, and Sara continued to shake in the back seat. The state of Sara's clothes was evidence of the ordeal she had endured, but John couldn't find the words to comfort her.

"Did they—" John began to ask, but Sara interjected.

"No," Sara replied. "A man called Xavier ordered them not to harm me. He said I was a valuable asset until I became useless. But they humiliated me every day for three weeks. When he arrived today, I overheard him tell the boss that I had served my purpose. I was so scared." Sara trembled, struggling to hold back her tears.

"I'll make them pay." Alice vowed. 

"I want revenge too. You won't go alone." Sara interjected. 

Alice looked up at the car's rear view mirror, meeting Sara's gaze. Sara smiled weakly and curled up in her seat.

The rest of the ride continued in silence, the only sound being the occasional turn of the pages of Sam's notes by John.