Phoenix (Action One-Shots)

Write to Rank - Brown Belt

"Have you ever thought what the price of success is?"

A note written with blood-red letters was on Daniel Goldman's desk. Under it, was a sealed file.
Reluctantly, he tore it open and a photo fell from inside. When he saw the picture, his knees gave in. Tied on a chair, with wounds on her face and blood on her clothes, was a young woman. On the back of the photo, the phrase «If you don't pay for your sins, she will» was written. Under it, a date, time and address. He plopped on his chair and pressed the red button on the phone in front of him with trembling hands.

"Call Miller and Fox" he ordered his secretary.

In less than five minutes, there was a knock on his door, but no answer. They knocked once more. Still no answer. On the third knock, the door opened violently and Kendall Miller and Rene Fox burst in. To their surprise, they found an empty room.

"Daniel!" Rene called and ran to his chair.

Just as she was expecting, she found him unconscious on the floor.

"I'm getting you some water" Kendall offered and left the office. 

"I'm sorry..." Rene said, slapping her boss with such force that he shot up.

"I need help..." he begged her.

At that very moment Kendall walked in the office, holding a glass of water in his hands.

"Are you okay?" he asked Daniel and knelt beside him.

Daniel picked up the glass and nodded «no» as he drank.

He stood up and sat on his chair, trying to hold back the tears that welled up in his eyes.

"Do you recognize this woman?" he asked, showing them the photo.

"Your sister... " Rene replied.

Daniel couldn't hold it in anymore; he burst into tears.

"You're the only agents I trust. I need your help" he pleaded, wiping his eyes.

"Leave it to us. We'll build a strong team and organize a rescue operation. I suggest Logan and Emma" Rene immediately took action.

Kendall agreed and went to notify them.

"This is the address" Daniel said and wrote the information down on a note.

"We'll meet there tonight."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rene's black BMW parked in front of the old factory near the harbor. Logan White climbed out and approached Daniel, who was already waiting for them. Rene checked if she had everything she needed and joined them. Seconds later, Kendall's silver Aston Martin pulled up in front of them and he and Emma stepped out of the car.

"Here we have the factory's facade" the Agency's director started saying, unfolding a paper.
"Fox, I need you to go in with me. And the rest of you, check the perimeter. If you detect any suspicious movement, notify me immediately" he ordered his agents and walked to the factory, with Rene following him.

The place looked empty at first but, suddenly, a strange noise caught their attention. It sounded like footsteps. They pulled out their guns and ran towards the source of the sound. To their surprise, they found a small recorder playing a tape. Furious, Daniel grabbed it and threw it at the wall. Then, his phone started ringing. It would have meet the same fate, if he hadn't looked at the caller's number.

"Hello...?"

"Hey, Dan! Have you seen my binder? I've looked everywhere, but I can't find it"

"Wanda... Where are you?"