Chapter 6 - The Safehouse Door
The unmarked sedan coasted to a silent halt beside a rusted metal loading dock that smelled heavily of rotting fish and sea salt. The flickering bulb above the reinforced steel door cast a sickly yellow halo over the concrete steps. Miller cut the engine, plunging the car into an abrupt, heavy silence broken only by Lily’s ragged, shallow breathing.
"Get out, keep your head low, and stay right behind me," Miller instructed, popping his door open with a quiet click.
Leo clutched Lily tighter to his chest, his dark blue hoodie straining across his shoulders. He pushed his own door open and stepped out onto the damp pavement, the evening chill cutting right through his light clothes. The sky above was a bruised purple, heavy with the promise of an autumn storm. He looked around the deserted alley, half-expecting the black SUV to round the corner at any second with its high beams blinding them.
"Move, Leo," Miller urged, already half-way up the metal steps. He banged a specific rhythm against the steel door—three short thuds, a pause, and two heavy slaps with the flat of his palm.
Inside, the heavy bolt slid back with a loud, echoing metallic clatter. The door cracked open an inch, revealing a sliver of bright fluorescent light and a pair of suspicious, bloodshot eyes peering out from the shadows.
"We're closed, Miller," a raspy voice snapped from within. "Unless you brought a corpse, come back tomorrow."
"I brought something worse, Doc," Miller said, pushing his weight against the door to widen the gap. "A kid with a torn-up knee and a tail of dirty money trailing right behind us."
The door swung open fully, revealing an aging man in a blood-spattered butcher’s apron worn over surgical scrubs. Dr. Aris Vance looked like a man who had seen too many wars and too many secrets. His gaze flicked from Miller to Leo, and finally down to Lily’s bleeding leg. A deep frown carved itself into his weathered face.
"Get her on the table inside," Vance muttered, stepping back to let them pass. "And lock that deadbolt behind you, Miller. If the syndicate is sniffing around, this place has an expiration date."
Leo carried his sister inside, his eyes widening at the makeshift operating room. The space was a converted meat-packing cooler, lined with stainless steel tables, bright surgical lamps, and shelves overflowing with medical supplies that looked suspiciously like they had been acquired off the back of a truck. He gently laid Lily down on the central examination table, stroking her messy hair.
"Am I going to die, Leo?" Lily whispered, her small hand reaching out to grab his sleeve with surprising strength.
"No, Lily, you're going to be fine," Leo lied, his voice breaking as Dr. Vance approached with a tray of gleaming metal instruments and a bottle of antiseptic that made the air sting.
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"Hold her hands, boy," Vance ordered sharply, snapping on a pair of latex gloves. "This is going to hurt worse than the fall."
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