Cole walked toward the small shack behind the garage.
The door was rusted, hinges groaning like they hadn't been touched in years.
He pushed it gently metal moaned in protest.
A wave of dust hit his face, thick with the scent of old oil and iron. It stung his throat, made his eyes blink.
His gaze found the wall hooks held a few sets of keys, their faded tags barely readable.
He ran his fingers across them, picked one.
Gave it a quick look… then stepped out.
Cars lined the garage in uneven rows.
Some were junk, half-stripped and abandoned.
But one stood out solid frame, clear windows, tires still whole.
Not flashy. Not a wreck.
It radiated purpose.
He tried the key.
Click.
The door unlocked.
Cole slid into the driver's seat and twisted the ignition.
The engine growled to life.
His hands gripped the wheel tighter as Lena's image crossed his mind metal legs and all.
The thought of her still breathing… pressed his foot deeper on the gas.
He hit the road.
Following the route the homeless men had described.
Cutting through backstreets, ducking under broken bridges, speeding past rotting rail lines.
Each bump, every turn it all pulled him closer to something real.
Eventually, he reached the other end of the city.
Now came the hard part:
Choosing the right person to interrogate.
Not everyone talks.
But some people?
They'd sell their soul for a breath more.
Cole scanned the scene.
Under a flickering streetlight, a lone thug stood hunched over hands in his pockets, eyes sharp despite the fogginess in them.
He looked like trouble.
And trouble always listened.
Cole pulled up, stepped out slowly.
The thug straightened up, hearing footsteps.
Cole's stare never wavered.
"If you want to live… you'll answer my questions."
The thug scowled. "What the hell are you talkin' about?"
Then he threw a punch.
Cole caught it mid-air.
Twisted the man's wrist, slammed him off balance.
"I said live. I didn't say anything about not getting hurt."
Then he fired.
BAM.
The bullet tore through the thug's leg.
He collapsed with a scream.
Cole grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to the car.
Threw him in, slammed the door shut.
Back behind the wheel, Cole took off again.
The city streets remained still
…but the storm inside him was just getting started.
The air inside the car was stifling.
The windows weren't fogged, but the tension inside made it hard to breathe.
Cole sat behind the wheel, but his eyes weren't on the road they were fixed on the man bleeding in his passenger seat.
The thug was still breathing, stubbornly clinging to life despite the bullet in his leg.
But each breath sounded like it had to crawl its way through pain.
Cole pulled the car over to a forgotten side street.
The engine shut off.
Silence took over.
Only the thug's stifled groans forced through clenched teeth filled the space like poison.
Cole slowly turned to face him.
His eyes were cold, sharp, and still.
"Now... calmly answer my questions," Cole said.
His voice wasn't raised, but the weight behind it could break bones.
"You filthy piece of shit... I heard about a girl the cops picked up around here."
"Where did they take her? What happens to the ones they arrest in this city?"
The thug looked him dead in the eye.
His lips twisted into a half-smirk.
"Hah... Buddy," he chuckled.
"That girl? She's already dead."
He spat to the side, then added with more venom:
"And if she's not... she probably wishes she was."
A vein pulsed in Cole's temple.
But he didn't flinch.
He leaned in closer his breath cold against the man's face, gaze unblinking.
"Don't worry," he said calmly.
"She's not the kind to die that easily."
A beat of silence.
"But you..."
His voice dropped, razor-sharp.
"I don't know how much pain you can take yet."
And then
CRACK.
A punch landed clean across the thug's face.
His head snapped to the side, lip split wide open.
One of his teeth was probably loose now.
Blood trickled from his mouth.
"GODDAMN IT, MAN!" the thug shouted.
"You trying to kill me!?"
Cole didn't blink.
"Not yet."
He sat back, keeping the gun close.
"But if you don't start giving me what I need… I won't stop myself either."
The silence thickened.
The thug's eyes darted between rage and panic.
But he knew now Cole wasn't bluffing.
This... was his last chance.