Andrew Gates — POV
I woke up in an abandoned facility.
There was no electricity. No lights. Nothing but darkness.
The only sound came from the constant dripping of water somewhere around me. Each drop echoed through the facility, creating an unsettling rhythm that seemed to grow louder with every passing second.
The place stank—literally.
The air was thick with the smell of dampness, rust, and something far worse that I couldn't identify.
I tried to move.
That's when I realized I was tied to a stool positioned in the middle of a shallow pool of filthy water. My hands were bound tightly behind me, and my legs were secured to the stool.
I tried calling for help.
Nothing came out.
My mouth had been gagged.
All I could manage were muffled grunts and desperate moans.
Then—
CREAK.
A door opened somewhere behind me.
My entire body tensed.
Footsteps followed.
Several of them.
They were coming closer.
Before I could react, two men grabbed me from behind and forced me upright. Then they dragged another figure into the room.
His head was covered with a black hood.
His hands and legs were tied.
They threw him onto a stool directly in front of me and secured him just as tightly.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then a man's voice echoed through the darkness.
"Mr. Andrew Gates... or should I call you Detective Gates?"
I couldn't see his face.
He remained somewhere beyond the darkness, watching us.
"Mind my manners," he continued calmly. "Please, remove their gags."
One of the men stepped toward me and ripped the cloth from my mouth.
I immediately coughed and gasped for air.
"What the hell do you want from me?" I shouted. "And where the hell is Ben Moshack?"
My voice carried through the empty facility.
I tried to sound angry.
But deep down, I was afraid.
The men standing around us weren't ordinary kidnappers.
There was something about the way they moved.
The way they watched.
They weren't here to threaten us.
They were here for something.
"What do we want from you?"
The mysterious man chuckled.
"That's an odd question."
He slowly stepped closer.
"Because, if I remember correctly, you're the one who has been looking for us."
He paused.
"So perhaps I'm the one who should be asking the questions."
I stared into the darkness.
"What about Moshack?"
The man stopped.
"What about him?"
His voice suddenly became colder.
"Actually... I'll tell you about him."
He walked around me slowly.
"He warned you."
I frowned.
"But you didn't listen."
He stopped behind me.
"And now..."
His voice dropped into a whisper.
"...it's left to us to finish what he started."
My heart sank.
I stared at him as he finally stepped into the faint light.
Something about his face felt familiar.
I had seen him before.
Somewhere.
But where?
Before I could remember, he walked toward the other prisoner.
The hooded man had been making muffled sounds the entire time. His head kept tilting from side to side as if he were trying to figure out where everyone was.
The stranger reached down and grabbed the hood.
"Let's make this interesting."
He pulled it off.
I froze.
My blood ran cold.
I knew that face.
Everyone in the department knew that face.
Jason Hitchcock.
A decorated department hero.
One of the most respected detectives in the city.
And, for years, one of Waller Greene and Ben Moshack's fiercest rivals.
Jason looked directly at me.
There was disgust in his eyes.
It was strange.
We were both tied to chairs.
Both prisoners.
Both surrounded by armed men.
Yet somehow, he looked like he was in a better position than I was.
The mysterious man looked between us.
Then he smiled.
"Oh..."
He laughed softly.
"You two know each other."
He took a step backward.
"This is going to be fun."
Jason pulled against his restraints.
"What do you want with us?"
His voice was strained.
"And where the hell is Edgar?"
I stared at him.
Edgar?
That was the name of Jason's partner.
His partner for the past few months.
My eyes narrowed.
If Jason was here...
Then where was Edgar?
And more importantly—
Who were these people?
The stranger's smile disappeared.
"That's the question you should be asking yourselves."
He turned toward the darkness.
"Because Edgar..."
He paused.
"...is the reason you're both here."
Jason's expression changed instantly.
For the first time since the hood had been removed, I saw genuine fear in his eyes.
And that scared me more than anything else.
Because whatever had happened to Edgar...
Jason already knew it was bad.
And judging by the silence that followed—
we were next.
The silence in the room became unbearable.
Then the lights suddenly flickered.
For the first time, I saw how many men were standing around us.
Six.
Maybe seven.
All armed.
The man who had been questioning us stood in front of Jason and me, his face calm as though everything happening was nothing more than a game.
"You want to know why you're here?"
He pulled a pistol from his coat.
Jason's eyes narrowed.
"What are you doing?"
The man didn't answer.
Instead, he raised the gun.
BANG!
The sound exploded through the facility.
I felt something hot tear through my shoulder.
I screamed.
My body jerked violently against the stool as blood began soaking through my shirt.
Jason stared at me.
Then he looked at the gunman.
"What the hell are you doing?"
The man smiled.
"Giving you both a reason to fight."
One of the men walked toward me.
I barely had time to react before he grabbed my injured leg.
"Wait—"
CRACK!
Pain exploded through my body.
I screamed so loudly my throat burned.
My left leg had been broken.
I collapsed against the restraints, gasping uncontrollably.
Jason stared at me in disbelief.
"You bastard!"
The men laughed.
The stranger walked between us.
"You have one way out."
He pointed toward the dark corridor behind him.
"Fight."
Jason's expression hardened.
"Fight who?"
The man pointed at me.
"Each other."
I stared at him.
He continued.
"Whoever survives walks out of here."
Jason pulled against his restraints.
"You expect us to kill each other?"
"No."
The man smiled.
"I expect you to do whatever it takes to live."
One of the men approached Jason and released his restraints.
Then they did the same to me.
My body nearly collapsed the moment I was freed.
I couldn't stand.
My left leg was useless.
Jason slowly rose from his stool.
His eyes remained fixed on me.
The men began walking toward the exit.
I heard the door opening.
Before leaving, the mysterious man stopped.
He looked back at us.
"Oh, and one more thing."
He smiled.
"With the way things are going..."
He glanced at Jason.
Then at me.
"...we'll win."
The door slammed shut.
BOOM.
Silence.
Just me.
Jason.
And the sound of water dripping around us.
I pressed my hand against my shoulder wound.
Blood covered my fingers.
Jason stood several feet away.
He looked at my broken leg.
Then at me.
"I don't want to do this."
I laughed bitterly.
"Neither do I."
He clenched his fists.
"But only one of us gets out."
I slowly pushed myself against the stool, trying to stay upright.
My leg screamed with every movement.
"Then I guess..."
I looked directly into his eyes.
"...we find out who wants to live more."
Jason charged.
And the fight began.