Chapter 4 - The Shadow Above
The footsteps moved quickly across the living room above us, purposeful and hurried. I immediately clicked off my flashlight, throwing the basement into near-total darkness save for the faint glow filtering from the small street-level window near the ceiling. I pulled Liam behind me, tucking him securely into the narrow alcove between the concrete wall and the steel cabinet. ""Keep your head down and stay silent,"" I whispered directly into his ear. His breathing hitched, but he nodded against my shoulder, tucking his small frame into a tight ball. Above us, the heavy footsteps moved into the kitchen. Cabinet doors banged open and shut. Drawers slid roughly against their runners. A man's voice muttered curses under his breath, sharp and agitated. ""Where is that boy?"" he snarled to himself. The floor above our heads creaked violently as he walked toward the basement doorway. The door swung fully open, casting a tall, distorted shadow down the wooden staircase. ""Leo?"" Vance called out, his voice smooth and unnervingly calm, a terrifying contrast to the angry muttering from moments before. ""Leo, buddy, are you down there playing around with my papers? You know you aren't supposed to be in Uncle Greg's workspace."" Silence hung in the basement, thick and suffocating. The staircase creaked beneath his weight as he took the first two steps downward. My hand moved smoothly to the snap of my duty holster, freeing the retention strap without making a sound. If he reached the landing, he would see the unlocked cabinet immediately. I couldn't risk a confrontation in a tight, enclosed space with a seven-year-old child trapped behind me. I reached into my belt pouch, clicked the silent emergency button on my shoulder radio to transmit our GPS coordinates to dispatch, and stepped boldly out into the center of the basement floor, illuminated clearly by the light from the stairway. ""Afternoon, Gregory,"" I called out, my voice flat, professional, and loud enough to command the entire room. The footsteps instantly froze on the fourth step.
