Urbex

The Banker

Siegfried's POV

I head into the parking lot. "Shit." I mutter, remembering my jeep was still at the mine. "Guess I'll walk." I mutter, sliding my trench coat on. I pull out my phone, launching the tracker app for the device I planted on the target's car. To my surprise, he was only a few blocks away, but underground. "The sewers." I breathe, confused. I enter an alley nearby, approaching a manhole cover and hauling it open. "Just a storm drain. Thank god." I say, clicking on my flashlight and drawing my USP. I illuminate a round tunnel, maybe 7 feet tall. I stand still, listening. In the far distance, I hear muffled whispers. Following the sound, a chill runs down my spine. "Got a bad feeling about this." I whisper to myself. As I draw nearer to the sound, it grows clearer. It seems to be some kind of chanting. I reach a fork, taking the left tunnel where the noise seems to be coming from. I reach a closed door, hearing the voices clearly now, though I can't understand what they're saying. I look at the rusty door, figuring I can kick it in if need be.

I glance at my phone, seeing I'm right on top of Mannstein's car. I flick the safety of my USP, brace myself, and open the door slowly and quietly, stepping onto a dull, grated walkway. Looking over the edge of the walkway, I see six men cloaked in black, standing around a pentagram, seemingly drawn in blood and lit by candles on each corner. in the center of the shape is a blonde boy, maybe only four years old, quietly weeping. "Present the dagger." One of the cloaked men says. An uncloaked figure emerges from the shadows, a long knife in his left hand and a capless skull in the other. Mannstein. He reaches the circle, raising the knife at the boy. I take aim, between my target's eyes, and meet his shocked stare just before I can pull the trigger. The dagger clatters to the ground as he sees me, pointing up at me with a shaking hand. I fire, hitting him just above his right eye.

As he plummets to the ground, the rest of the members of the circle spin around, each of them firing a pair of machine pistols. I take dozens of hits, quickly crawling behind a door for cover. I hear the bullets clinking to the ground as my body forces them out, and I quickly rush back out, jumping over the side of the catwalk to their level. The men search around for me, unsure of where I went. Seeing his chance, the blonde boy bolts for the door, and I follow, firing backward at his pursuers. "Keep running!" I say, seeing Mannstein's Rolls Royce. I open the backseat door and usher the boy quickly inside, hopping into the driver's seat and seeing the keys still in the ignition. "Yes!" I say, starting the car and peeling out through a huge tunnel just as the men emerge from the shadows with their guns. I manage to outrun them, coming to a large cargo elevator at a dead end in the tunnel, big enough for a few cars to fit on. I hop out, hitting the ground level button.

The elevator buzzes to life, rocketing upward quickly. We pass floor after floor of well-lit areas masked by large rolling doors, finally reaching the ground level. The rolling door whirrs open into what looks like a large stockroom. I open the backdoor to the car, and the boy steps out. "Thanks." He says. "I need to get you home." I reply. He nods, telling me his address. "Alright, stay close to me." I say, leading him through the rolling door. We work our way past a few shelves before coming to a tall set of double doors, each with a window. I peek through, seeing a woman walk past with a shopping cart.

"What the...Is this a grocery store?" I mutter, holstering my pistol and walking through. A store employee in a blue vest seems to notice me, walking over. "Customers aren't supposed to go back there, sir." He says. "Yeah, I know." I say, brushing him off and taking the blonde boy's hand. I notice the insignia on the vest. "This is a god damn Walmart." I say, somewhat shocked. "Sir, are you alright?" The guy says. I walk off past him, headed straight for the front doors. We make it out without a hassle. The boy's address wasn't far away, and we reached a crosswalk. I pushed the button and looked down at the boy. "Can you tell me how you got down there?" I ask. "They took me. From the playground. They said they'd hurt me if I screamed." The boy says, fighting back tears. "Did they hurt you?" I ask, as the sign stops traffic and we're allowed to pass. The boy shakes his head. "Good. You're a brave boy. I'm gonna find out who did this." I say. "What's your name?" He asks, and I tell him. "I'm David." He says. We reach the boy's neighborhood, and I walk up the porch steps of the house with his address, knocking on the door. A weary-looking woman answers the door, looking at me, and then noticing her boy. "David!!" She says, and he runs to her waiting arms. She kisses him and holds him tightly. "Oh my god. I can't thank you enough, who are you?" The mother says, her tired face smiling and wet with tears of joy. A man I assume is the boy's father comes downstairs to the door, hugging his boy and then me. "Thank you so much. He's been missing since yesterday." He says. "You're welcome." I say, and he releases me. "Where'd you find him?" I try to think of something to say. "He got me from the kidnappers. They had a fiery circle, and a knife, and they were talking weird, and-" "My God." The mother says. "One was gonna hurt me with the knife but he shot that guy, and then he got shot lots too but he's ok now." The boy says. The parents notice my bloody shirt. "I don't know who you are, or what line of work you're in, but I thank you for finding my son." The father says, leaning in closer. "And shooting the son of a bitch who was gonna hurt him." He says, putting a hand on my shoulder. I nod, grabbing my card from my coat pocket. "Watch these streets for the next few days, if anyone shows up, call me." I say. "I will." The dad says. "Do you have a gun?" I ask. He shakes his head, looking a little defeated. I nod, grabbing my phone and calling Ian. "Hey, I need a dropoff." "Ok, I'll send it over to your place, what do you-" "Not me, a trusted friend." "Ah. Address?" I give it to him. "What do you need?" Ian asks. I think for a minute. "How about a Benelli M3?" "M3? Nice. I've got a few of those. I'll get it sent over." Ian says. "Thanks, Ian." I say, ending the call. "A white box is gonna show up here in a minute, take it in after the driver leaves. You'll find everything you need in there." I say to the dad. "Incredible. I'm Doug." He says, extending his hand. I shake it. "Siegfried." I reply. "I've got to be on my way, there's some things I need to take care of." I say. Doug nods. "We'll call you if anything goes on." He says. I start walking off back to the Villa, thinking about the events that had just transpired. "A satanic kidnapping ring operated through underground tunnels in Walmart, ran by bankers. How much deeper does this shit go?" I say. I make a call. "Hey, it's Nightingale." "Hey Sig, how'd that job go?" "Job's done. But I found some crazy shit in the process, I'm on my way to explain." "Sounds good. Don's still workin' on your buddies, but they're in better shape." "Good. Be there soon." I say, hanging up.