Within the Shadows by J.D MCG (knowledgeable books to read .txt) 📕

The man Barnes knew only as Cain, entered the room, clutching something in his hand, before passing it to Lily. He then left the room, as she approached Barnes, who was sat uneasy and anxiously on the floor.

'You're going to tell me what I want to know, otherwise, your family are going to get worse than you,' she spoke calmly and softly while showing him recent photos of his ex-wife and two daughters.

'You bitch!' he yelled. 'I'll kill you!'

'Not before I kill them, and you,' she threatened. 'You're running out of time, Joe.'

Tears started to form in his eyes. 'I'll kill you,' he repeated quietly, sobbing his heart out.

'You've got twelve hours to make up your mind.'

Lily walked out of the room and shut the door, locking out the light from the room. Barnes sat in the darkness with nothing but the possibility of what could happen, and it would all be his fault. He did nothing but cry.

They were a mile away from the Arena car park. Ally silenced her sirens and flicked off her lights as she approached. She noticed in her rearview mirror, the other officers did the same as she instructed.

Ally parked her car outside the entrance. Sarah and Brian pulled alongside her, as she departed her car. The Authorised Firearms Officers perched themselves with the car park within the sights of their guns.

'Right,' Ally rounded them up to hear her plan. 'Somewhere in there is this van.' She showed them a photo. 'We're looking to apprehend the suspects alive. We need to know where they're keeping Barnes. Now let's get moving.'

The team took a few minutes to arm up with Kevlar vests and a handgun each. They were taking no chances since they knew how dangerous Lily could be. As soon as they were ready, armed police stormed the building first, before the three of them entered.

The armed police split into three teams and took different access points. Ally went with the team who went left, Sarah straight ahead and Brian to the right.

Once the first floor was clear, they moved further up to the second. Ally checked every inch of the floor before moving up to the next with the rest of the team. Brian began to sweat. He wasn't used to how dangerous this case had become. In all his years on the force, rescuing Barnes was one of the scariest, most intense case of them all. His urgency to find his friend was top of his list, but he wasn't sure they were even going to find him, let alone alive.

As they reached the third floor, Ally's phone began to ring quietly in her pocket, but loud enough for her to hear.

She stopped still to answer it. 'Ethan, what is it?'

'I've just gone through some of our dead victim’s accounts, the one with the van...'

'Get to the point, Ethan,' she cut him off.

'Well, it turns out he also owns a canal boat.'

'Does this boat have a name?' she asked with urgency.

'The Queen Rose,' he replied.

'Thanks, Ethan.' She hung up the phone.

As the armed police moved off towards the next floor, Ally hesitated and thought twice about what she was going to do, before finally deciding. She darted off back down the parking garage, towards the entrance. Officers stood guarding, making sure no civilians were able to gain access.

Ally flew past them, running as fast as her feet could take her, turning left around the corner and heading towards the canal. When she made it close to the water’s edge, she slowed down, making sure not to give herself away. The light was beginning to fade from the sky, making it nearly impossible to find the canal boat where she assumed Lily was keeping Barnes captive.

Couples and friends sat beside the canal at nearby restaurants, eating their meals, accompanied by fun and laughter. Ally glanced around, checking every canal boat that sat on top of the water, but she kept coming up short until she spotted it a few metres down by the water’s edge.

'We've found the van,' she heard Sarah whisper down the earpiece.

She heard the shouts of the armed police before they opened the van. There was silence before she heard the word, clear. There was nothing inside the van.

'It's empty,' she heard Sarah speak again with disappointment.

'Guys, I've got a lead. I need back-up,' Ally informed them.

'Where are you, Ally?' Brian asked.

'Down by the canal. I need you here quickly. I think I'm about to make contact with Lily.'

'What are you doing out there?' Sarah questioned her actions, wondering why she wasn't with them inside the car park.

'No time for explanations, just get here.'

People chatting loudly nearby and slight screams could be heard coming from behind her. She turned her head to see the armed police, followed by Sarah and Brian, marching stealthily. Ally started to move quickly towards the canal boat, removing her holster handgun and aiming it in the direction of her target.

As Ally approached the boat, the armed police moved either side, covering all entry and exit points, in case the assailants made a run for it.

'On my orders,' Ally whispered her command.

Barnes' stomach growled, but the worry was the only thing he could think about. Food didn't seem so important to him now. His family was in danger and it was his fault. If he just gave her the information she needed, they wouldn't have brought his family into it.

He could hear chatting faintly in the distance. What are they discussing? Hopefully, they're not talking about my family. Then it went silent. He could see the shadows of Lily and Cain, under the bottom of the door. They were still as if something had spooked them.

Barnes listened carefully and heard