Can't Save Me

Grant

"Where the fuck are you?!"

Chuck's voice hit my ear so forcefully that it echoed in my ear canal.  I winced as I pulled the speaker away from my ear. "Atlantic City-ish. Listen..."

"Atlantic fucking City?! What the fuck do you think you're doing in Atlantic fucking City? You damn near died six fucking days ago! The ONLY place you should fucking be right now, is a goddamn hospital bed!"

"Chuck..."

"YOU GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE BEFORE I SEND THE COPS FOR YOU, DEVEREAUX! I AM NOT FUCKING AROUND WITH YOUR VIGILANTE BULLSHIT RIGHT NOW!"

"THEN SEND THEM!" I shouted so loudly, so gruffly, that even Snyder in the driver's seat jumped. I would've laughed at the look he and Jones exchanged if I wasn't so full of rage in that moment. "I found her."

"WHAT?!" Chuck exclaimed, his voice cracking with exasperation. Or maybe surprise. It was probably a combination of both.

"We're tailing them back to their main hideout now..."

"Like hell you are! Pull over! What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"

I felt my hackles raising. There wasn't anyone or anything on this planet that was going to stop me, and it was almost laughable that Chuck, from three hours away, thought he even could. "And how are you going to stop me?" I asked challengingly. "You got some teleportation powers I'm not aware of? You gonna Thanos snap me?"

"I've already texted my contact at ACPD. They're headed out to find you. Don't fucking do anything stupid. Or I should say anything fucking else stupid."

"Good. I'll make it easier," I snapped. "I'll drop a pin when we land."

"No! Grant! That's not what I meant! Man, don't do this," Chuck said, much more pleading than he had been a few mere seconds ago. I could hear the fear in his voice, but it did nothing to me. All I could think about was Madeline: how pale she looked, how gingerly she moved, whatever they had injected her with. I couldn't let her suffer for even another hour. "Think of what's on the line here. You could get yourself killed. Think about your family. You're about to be a grandpa."

"Maddie is PART of that family, Chuck," I stated firmly. "And it's not just about her anymore..."

"What do you mean?"

I swallowed the giant pit of emotion that had built in the middle of my throat. "There are more girls."

"What do you mean?" Chuck's shocked tone came back.

"At least eight. Maybe more. This isn't just about Maddie, Chuck. Who knows how many people are out there looking for these girls? I can't just sit back and wait for you guys to get here. I HAVE to do something."

"All you're going to do is get yourself killed!"

"Then I guess your guys better get here fast," I retorted as Snyder slowed to a stop. He met my eyes in the rearview mirror and gave me a nod, his signal that he was as ready for anything as I was.

The truck we were following, the one with Madeline inside, had pulled up outside of what looked like an abandoned warehouse.  Snyder stopped a couple of blocks back, outside of a bar that looked like it housed the only life on this street. It was so incredibly dark, so desolate. There was no question as to why Eva had chosen this place as her base of operations. I watched as the driver got out of the Escalade and went to knock on what appeared to be a garage door on the front side of the building. It slowly rose, which meant there were more men inside... and possibly more victims. I felt the beating of my heart ratchet up as the Escalade pulled inside and the door dropped once again.