Static filled the air for a moment before a gruff voice answered. "Didi? What's going on?"

"Tiger, it's Sarah and Derrick too," Sarah said, her voice firm despite the tremor running through her. "We have a plan to get into the safehouse."


Over the next ten minutes, they meticulously laid out their strategy, each detail explained with a mix of hope and trepidation. Tiger listened intently, occasionally interjecting with clarifying questions.

"A power outage and a blind spot entry," Tiger mused, his voice thoughtful. "It's risky, but it has potential. I like it. Smart plan."

Relief swept over them, but it was soon followed by a rush of fear by wat Tiger said next.


"But there's a problem," Tiger said, his tone a little sour.

The cabin was suddenly filled with a dense and uncomfortable silence.


"What is it?" Derrick demanded, his voice tight.

"Bobby's been… unpredictable lately," Tiger said, his voice low. "He anticipated you might make a move, so he made the first twisted move, Sarah. Especially for your family."

Sarah's chest heaved with her heart. A feeling of icy fear crept along her back. With her face bleeding profusely, she muttered, "What do you mean?"

Tiger's revelation, "He took your sister, Olivia," came as a gut-punch. "She's at the safehouse with him. A… deterrent, I suppose. He figures the emotional pull will be too strong for you to resist. I tried to stop him, but Bobby is Bobby. "

The revelation hung heavy in the air, the weight of it threatening to crush them. Sarah felt the room tilt, her vision blurring with tears. Olivia. Her sweet, innocent sister, used as a pawn in Bobby's twisted game. Anger, hot and raw, surged through her, battling with the paralyzing fear.

"He can't do that!" Derrick roared, his voice laced with a mixture of fury and desperation. "Olivia has nothing to do with this!"

"He can, and he did," Tiger said, his voice heavy with regret. "He knows you, Sarah. He knows your weaknesses. He's gambling that you'll come running, that you'll surrender yourself to protect your sister."

Tears streamed down Sarah's face, a silent war raging within her. Suddenly, the painstaking plan they'd worked so hard to create seemed so little in comparison to her sister's existence as well. Olivia couldn't stand the notion of herself, afraid and alone, at Bobby's mercy.

Didi extended her arm to put a reassuring hand on Sarah's shoulder. Her voice was forceful but gentle as she stated, "Sarah, we can't let him win." "We must retaliate. For Olivia, for Ethan and Leo, for ourselves."

Sarah took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing herself to focus. Olivia needed her, not a blubbering mess. For them both, she needed to be strong.

Sarah cleared the tears from her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat. Although rough, her voice was determined. She said, "We enter, we get Olivia out, and then we take Bobby down."

Derrick, after a moment of stunned silence, nodded curtly. "Olivia cannot be used by him as a negotiating chip. After we get her out of there and neutralize him, we deal with him."

Didi squeezed Sarah's hand, her eyes shining with admiration. "That's the Sarah I know. But we need to adapt the plan. We can't just focus on getting in anymore. We need to get Olivia out first, and then worry about apprehending Bobby."

Tiger, on the other end of the line, let out a low whistle. "Risky. Very risky. But it might be your only option. Listen carefully. The layout of the safehouse has changed slightly since my last update. Olivia is being kept in a separate room on the first floor, away from Bobby's quarters. There's a single guard stationed outside her door."

"A single guard?" Sarah echoed, a flicker of hope igniting in her chest.

"Yes," Tiger confirmed. "But remember, this is all based on intel I was able to gather a few days ago. Things might have changed."

"We have to take that chance," Sarah said, her voice gaining strength with each passing moment. "How do we get Olivia out without alerting the other guards?"

Tiger thought for a while. "Next to the kitchen on the east side of the building is a small service entrance. The security cameras there are broken and it's little used. If Miguel can disable the main ones for a few minutes longer, you might have a window to get in and out unseen."

"That could work," Derrick mused, tracing the layout of the safehouse on the worn map with a calloused finger. "We create the power outage, slip in through the service entrance, grab Olivia, and get out before the backup generator kicks in."

"Sounds simple enough," Didi said sarcastically, a dry chuckle escaping her lips. "Except for the part where we're dodging armed guards and potentially facing a deranged Bobby."

The weight of their situation settled back in, a sobering reminder of the perilous task they were undertaking. But the thought of Olivia, alone and scared, fueled their determination.

"We need a way to take out that guard outside Olivia's room," Sarah said, her voice laced with a steely resolve. "Quietly, without raising an alarm."

A tense silence descended upon the cabin once more. Derrick and Didi exchanged worried glances. Not-so-lethal takes downs were one thing, but it was extremely dangerous to take down an armed guard discreetly.

A gleam of wicked intent emerged in Didi's eyes. "Remember those tranquilizer darts I mentioned I 'borrowed' from my old roommate, the aspiring vet?"

Sarah and Derrick's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean those…" Sarah began, her voice trailing off as she imagined the darts filled with a potent sedative.

"Exactly," Didi grinned. "Enough to knock out a rhino, let alone a single guard."

The room was filled with a rush of nervous excitement. Though unconventional and perhaps hazardous, there was an odd allure to it when there were no better options.

With a resolute sparkle in her eyes, Sarah said, "Okay. Here's the revised plan. We create the power outage. Derrick and I head for the service entrance. Didi, you stay outside and keep an eye out for any trouble. Once we're inside, Derrick will take care of the guard with one of Didi's 'borrowed' darts. Then, we get Olivia and head back out the service entrance."

"What about Bobby?" Derrick asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

"We'll deal with him later," Sarah replied, her voice hardening. "Our priority right now is getting Olivia out of there safely."

Tiger, listening intently on the other end of the line, cleared his throat. "There's one more thing. Bobby has a… volatile personality. If things don't go according to plan, if he feels cornered, there's a chance he might hurt Olivia. Be prepared for anything."

Sarah's stomach churned with a fresh wave of dread. The possibility of facing a desperate and violent Bobby was terrifying, but she wouldn't let fear paralyze her.

She had to believe they could get Olivia out, that they could overcome whatever challenges awaited them.

"We understand," Derrick said grimly. "We'll be careful, but we won't back down."

The following hours were a blur of frantic activity. Miguel, on the other end of a shaky phone call ...confirmed he could disable the security cameras for a ten-minute window, starting at midnight.

Every second beyond that would be a gamble, as the backup generator kicked in after fifteen minutes.

With renewed urgency, they prepped for their daring mission. Sarah took out an old rucksack and packed it with of necessities, including granola snacks, water bottles, a first aid kit, and most critically, the tranquilizer dart vial that Didi had acquired.

The clear liquid within shimmered menacingly in the low light, a clear reminder of their unconventional strategy.

Derrick, ever the pragmatist, went over his weapon – a sturdy crowbar he'd found hidden in the cabin's dusty shed. It wasn't ideal, but it would have to do in a close-quarter situation.

Didi, meanwhile, readied a pair of walkie-talkies snagged from a forgotten box of childhood toys. They crackled to life with a satisfying hiss, a flimsy lifeline in the chaos to come.

A nervous silence fell over the cabin as the clock approached midnight. The air was heavy with fear and suspense, and they felt the weight of their circumstances pressing down on them.

Sarah glanced over to the kids, who were soundly asleep in the corner, completely unaware of the impending storm outside.

A fierce protectiveness swelled within her, fueling her resolve. She wouldn't just be getting Olivia back; she'd be securing a future for her entire family.

Finally, with the witching hour a mere ten minutes away, Miguel called. His voice, strained with nerves, confirmed the cameras were down. A surge of adrenaline coursed through Sarah. This was it.

Her voice was remarkably steady as she said, "Okay, let's do this."

Driven by desperation, they moved with a practiced skill. Sarah and Derrick donned dark clothing, their faces hidden by makeshift masks fashioned from old scarves.

Didi, acting as their lookout, positioned herself near a window with a clear view of the approaching road.

Sarah and Derrick snuck out into the cool night air after taking one last look at the sleeping kids. The moon gave the nearby woods a spooky glow as it was obscured by a thin layer of clouds.

The only sounds that shattered the stillness were the rustle of leaves beneath their feet and their hearts racing..