Chapter 7: The Rail Depot
The old rail depot sat like a rusted skeleton against the bruised morning sky, its corrugated tin roof rattling violently in the rising wind. I cut the SUV's engine a hundred yards back, letting the vehicle coast silently into the shadow of a rotting water tower. Leo was still fast asleep in the back, breathing evenly, wrapped securely in my coat. I locked all four doors from the inside, checked the heavy hunting knife strapped securely to my belt, and stepped out into the biting chill of dawn.
The gravel crunched too loudly beneath my boots as I crossed the open yard toward the main loading platform. Windows on the upper office level were smashed out, jagged teeth of glass framing the gray sky behind them. I kept my profile low, hugging the rusted siding of an abandoned freight car until I reached the rusted iron staircase leading up to the side entrance.
Inside, the air smelled of stale creosote, damp wood, and old iron. Dust motes danced lazily in the thin shafts of light piercing through holes in the roof. I moved with deliberate quiet, every step calculated, my eyes scanning the shadows for tripwires or lookouts. Elena was smart; she wouldn't leave herself exposed in an open room unless she had an advantage.
Near the central dispatcher's office, a sliver of warm yellow light spilled out from beneath a warped wooden door. Muffled voices drifted down the empty hallway, one of them sharp and clipped—a voice I hadn't heard in five agonizing years. Elena.
"The boy was a distraction," her voice echoed clearly through the thin partitions. "Daniel is too predictable. He thinks a quiet town can wash away what he did in Chicago. He’ll walk right through that front door."
"And if he doesn't bring the ledger?" a second, deeper voice asked.
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"Then the trail ends here for all of us," Elena replied coldly.
I didn't wait for them to finish their planning. I raised my boot, planted it squarely beside the heavy brass doorknob, and kicked inward with all the weight and fury I possessed. The old wood splintered with a deafening crack, and the door flew wide open, slamming against the interior wall with a hollow boom that rattled the dust from the rafters.
