Channing sat in the corner, his heart hammering against his ribs.
He looked from the unconscious Loyce to the visibly deranged Luna, and that ominous feeling of dread washed over him like a tidal wave.
The convoy pulled off the main highway in the fading twilight, navigating a rugged, overgrown mountain trail before finally stopping in front of an unassuming, concrete structure half-swallowed by vines.
This was a disused ventilation shaft for the Black Mountain Mine. It had been crudely modified, allowing the vehicles to carefully drive down the sloping tunnel.
As they descended underground, the temperature plummeted. The air was damp and biting, thick with the smell of rust and ancient dust. The dim emergency lights barely illuminated the jagged rock walls and corroded minecart tracks.
The moment they ventured deep enough, the radios dissolved into harsh static, and all cellphone signals vanished completely.
After driving underground for about ten minutes, they arrived at a relatively spacious cavern that appeared to be an old equipment transit hub. It was about half the size of a basketball court, littered with rotting wooden crates and rusted machinery.
Several high-powered camping lanterns were set up, flooding the center of the cavern with a harsh, blinding white light.
Luna eagerly ordered her men to drag Loyce out of the car and chain her to a thick steel support pillar in the middle of the room.
"Wake her up!" Luna demanded.
One of the operatives cracked a vial of smelling salts and waved it under Loyce’s nose.
Loyce’s long eyelashes fluttered. She slowly opened her eyes. The initial grogginess vanished instantly, replaced by absolute, chilling clarity.
She calmly surveyed her surroundings. The complete lack of panic on her face was deeply unsatisfying to Luna, whose own expression twisted with manic frustration.
Luna toyed with a metal whip in her hands. Channing stood beside her, awkwardly holding the limited-edition Hermès bag.
Loyce instantly recognized the bag that had started their little dispute. The corner of her mouth quirked up. "You couldn't buy a purse, so you went through all the trouble of kidnapping me? You really want to kill me?"
Crack!

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