Sins Loom: The Unwilling Weaver

What’s going on over there? Through the gap in the shutters, Ed saw a flashlight turn on and focus on a wall. It was difficult to make out what was going on through the shutters and the shelves, but he thought he saw a small group of people gathering towards the direction of the light.

Back in the centre of the warehouse, the briefcase he had brought with him remained untouched on the table where he left it. The man in the light not even bothering to look at it. The man himself was standing there, probably wanting to leave as soon as this whole thing was over.

The group of officers drew closer to the vent under the captain’s lead. One hand was holding the light, the other was pulling his pistol from its holster. His gut was telling him that something wasn’t right, and he didn’t want to be caught without a weapon.

But before they could get any closer, something happened that none of them could’ve predicted.

BANG!

The sound bounced around in the air duct before blasting through the ears of the nearby officers. Bringing them to a stop from the force of the noise alone.

A bullet blitzed through the air, threading the needle between the officers and the shelves, and heading directly for the man in the light. The bullet pierced the veil of light before anyone could react, shattering the wall that isolated the man from the outside world.

However, the bullet was stopped before it could touch the man. A red glowing hexagonal screen appeared in the air between the bullet and him. The bullet collided with the screen in a rain of sparks as the bullet shattered on impact.

The cops immediately jumped on the vent and dragged a person out. Somehow, one of the gangsters had managed to hide away before he could get gunned down, and instead of leaving, chose to take his revenge.

He was pushed onto his knees with such force that Ed swore he heard something crack. The man wasn’t shot dead like his companions, instead he was dragged away to suffer a far worse fate behind closed doors.

It wasn’t all in vain however. The force from the bullet needed somewhere to go, and it just so happened to go into the man, knocking him off his feet. He wasn’t harmed at all, in fact, it didn’t even dirty his suit, but he was left stunned at what happened. He couldn’t believe that someone had the gall to try and hurt him.

The rest of the police force swarmed around the man to protect him from any more unseen attackers. Before he could complain, they helped him to his feet and started carrying him while they guarded him from every angle. They brought him towards a back entrance where his car was, all the while checking if he was okay.

“Unhand me you filthy animals!” he shouted as his brain finally started registering what was going on. He forced them away and started checking his suit. “This suit is worth more than your life. If something happened to it there will be hell to pay.”

Yelling at the officers, he realised that he no longer had his briefcase. “Enough of this! I need to leave this instant. Go get me my briefcase!” he ordered as he walked himself outside and got into his car.

The captain scrambled to get everything sorted after the mess that happened today. Grabbing the briefcase off the table, he handed it over to the man and apologised profusely for everything that happened. He assured the man that the gangs would be dealt with swiftly. The car drove off under the protection of several police cars and a large chunk of the drones.

A small group stayed behind to clear out the area so that the warehouse could be used come morning. Just because people died there, it didn’t mean that they could stop.

While all of this chaos was happening, Ed’s eyes were transfixed on the bottom of one of the shelves. There’s no way... He couldn’t see where it was, but Ed was a hundred percent certain that the briefcase the man came with was still here. The police had given him the one Ed had by mistake.

When the man was knocked to the ground, the briefcase flew out of his hand and slipped below the shelves.

The police had made a mistake, and somehow the man hadn’t noticed.

Ed’s eyes flashed with greed as he couldn’t pull himself away from the thought of getting that briefcase for himself. What was in it? Could it turn his life around?

But he couldn’t go out there just yet. The cops were still inside, and he had no doubts that they would kill him. So he instead waited patiently for them to leave. Watching them all closely, he noticed one of them walking in his direction.

Bursting into action, he climbed down the hole and pulled the cover back on before the officer reached the door. He ran around the corner and hid himself in a small nook where he waited for his racing heart to slow down.

Hugging against the wall, he heard the cover shift, followed by the sound of someone climbing down the ladder. A flashlight lit up the sewers for a few tense seconds as the light got closer and closer to the tunnel he went down.

Ed stayed where he was, his breath caught in his throat. Time seemed to slow down, stretching on for an eternity, but for what was probably only a few seconds at most.

The light turned around and was followed by the sounds of someone mumbling, climbing the ladder, and putting the cover back on.

Ed held his position for a minute before slumping over, breathing heavily. That was too close. Slowly, he made his way back to the ladder and stood there listening for any noises above him. When the coast was clear, he climbed the ladder at a snail’s pace, making sure to be as quiet as possible, just in case the guy hadn’t left.

Feeling safe, he pushed the cover up.