American Pyramid

Revenge

Zak

I sighed in frustration when my phone rang yet again. It's like now that I have more on my plate, the more my phone decides to ring. I've been trying to juggle everything going on with no breaks in between. Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly fortunate to have built such an empire within the paranormal community, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't take a mental toll on me. 

Answering without looking at the caller ID, I could tell immediately that something was wrong. "Zak, honey?!" 

"What's wrong, mom?" 

"There's police and firetrucks here! The fire alarm went off!" 

"Is everyone safe and accounted for?!" 

"Everyone except Tori. She won't answer her phone and I can't check the cameras since we were told to go outside." 

"I'm less than a mile away. I'll be there soon." 

"We're all at the back gate!" 

I threw my phone into the passenger seat, running the intersection light that turned red as soon as I got to the middle of the intersection, not giving a shit about anything else but to get to my museum. Screeching through the back gate, I could see a group of people looking shocked and curious about what was going on. 

There was no fire thankfully, but this place could burn to the ground if it meant everyone who worked under me was safe. 

Richard, my general manager, was the first to spot me after I parked the car. "What's going on, man? Where's Tori?" 

"There's a situation," he sighed. "I got here right after the alarms went off. I rolled back the cameras. That one guy you told me to keep an eye on was posing as an electrician and has someone else with him. Tori went up to talk to them and I guess when she realized something was going on, he lunged at her." 

Whoa, WHAT?! 

I immediately pulled out my phone to log into the app that let me see a live view of the cameras anytime I desired, and when I saw movement in the basement, my heart sank. 

She was curled up in the corner in pitch darkness, two men in the hallway leading towards the pentagram that was still on the floor looking like they were talking about something, and I wish I would've heard what they were saying. 

Everything else around me was just white noise. I needed to get in there because I was no use being outside. 

After I confirmed that there were only two intruders, I knew I wouldn't have much to worry about. I didn't give a shit if they had guns - I was going to get to her one way or the other, and I didn't care if I got killed in the process. 

"Sir, sir!" A police officer shouted at me after I had retrieved my pistol from the car and marched towards the side entrance. "I can't let you go in there! This is an active crime scene with a hostage situation!" 

"I own this building and my girlfriend is in there. I'm not going to sit out here and wait for something to happen!" I retorted, ensuring my gun was loaded while my other hand rested on the handle. 

"That's understandable, but we have a SWAT team on the way. This entire area is secured. We can't have you getting in the mix of this--" 

"I don't care. I know the ins and outs of this place. You tell them that they're in the basement of the house. My general manager has eyes on the cameras in real time." 

"Sir!" 

I'm not one to question authority, but nobody, and I mean nobody, was going to be in my way when it came to protecting the ones I love.