Chapter 2 - The Iron Barricade
The metal handle of the glass door rattled aggressively under Michael Carter's grip. The sound cut through the quiet hum of the station box fan, sharp and demanding.
Daniel Reed did not move toward the door immediately. He kept his posture grounded, his hand resting near the heavy wooden edge of the front counter. Behind him, Emma and Olivia stayed hidden in the knee-space of the desk, their breathing shallow and synchronized.
Michael’s voice filtered through the reinforced glass, muffled by the rain that had begun to drum heavier against the roof.
“Open up! I know my daughters are in there. Some incompetent officer locked them inside without my consent.”
Daniel stepped around the counter, walking deliberately into Michael’s line of sight through the glass. He did not unlock the deadbolt. Instead, he raised a hand, signaling for the man to stay outside.
Michael was dressed in a dark wool coat, water beading on the shoulders. His face was pale, tight around the jaw, and his eyes darted past Daniel to look for the children. When he realized he could not see them, his expression shifted from bureaucratic annoyance to raw, calculated fury. He banged the flat of his palm against the glass.
“Open this door right now, Reed! I’m filing a formal complaint with the commissioner before you even finish your shift. You’re harboring runaways!”
“Mr. Carter,” Daniel said, his voice carrying clearly through the intercom speaker mounted beside the frame. “Step away from the door. You are currently standing at an active police facility during an ongoing medical investigation.”
“Medical investigation?” Michael sneered, leaning close to the glass, leaving a smudge of breath condensation. “They are my children. They slipped away from my vehicle while I was picking up a prescription. They have medical conditions that require immediate supervision. Give them back.”
“If they require medical supervision, Mr. Carter, the paramedics will be here in less than two minutes,” Daniel replied, keeping his tone chillingly flat. “They called for an ambulance themselves.”
Inside the station, the faint wail of an approaching siren began to bleed through the rain.
Michael’s head snapped toward the street. For a split second, panic flashed across his features—not the panic of a worried father, but the panic of a man whose timeline had just collapsed. He gripped the door handle again, rattling it until the heavy frame shuddered, but the deadbolt held firm.
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“You don’t know what you’re interfering with,” Michael hissed through the glass, his voice dropping an octave. “You’re ruining everything.”
Before Daniel could answer, the red-and-white flash of the county ambulance painted the wet pavement outside, swinging into the lot and cutting off the SUV’s exit path.
