Ellery drove thirty minutes outside the city limits, deep into a decaying industrial park. The roads were cracked, choked with dead weeds, and completely devoid of traffic.
She pulled her Civic up to a massive, windowless warehouse constructed entirely of corrugated steel.
A heavy-set man in a grease-stained mechanic's jumpsuit was leaning against the metal siding, tossing a ring of rusty keys in the air. Dwayne Boggs, the landlord.
Dwayne grunted as Ellery approached. He grabbed the heavy chain of the rolling steel door and yanked it upward. The metal screamed in protest, echoing loudly across the empty lot.
Ellery stepped inside. The air was stale and smelled like motor oil. Her heels clicked sharply against the cracked concrete floor. She ignored Dwayne and immediately looked up, scanning the steel beams of the roof. No water stains. No structural sagging.
She walked to the back of the massive space and tested the heavy steel personnel door. It had three industrial-grade deadbolts.
"It's secure," Dwayne said, crossing his arms. "But I ain't renting it out for cheap. Three grand a month, first and last up front, plus a security deposit."
He was price-gouging her. It was three times the market rate for this dump.
Ellery didn't even blink. She unzipped her bag, pulled out a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills, and slapped it directly into Dwayne's meaty palm.
"I only need it for one month," Ellery said coldly. In a month, this entire zip code would be buried under ten feet of ice, and paper money would be used as toilet paper.
Dwayne stared at the cash, his jaw slack. He immediately shut his mouth, pulled a crumpled lease agreement from his pocket, and handed her the keys.
As soon as Dwayne's pickup truck disappeared down the road, Ellery locked the steel door from the inside. She stood in the center of the cavernous room. She did the math in her head. The pallets arriving tomorrow would only fill a third of this space.
She checked her bank app. Eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars left.
It wasn't enough. Not for the generators, the weapons, the fuel, and the gold she needed to evolve the space.
Her eyes darkened. She spun around, unlocked the door, and got back into her car. She slammed her foot on the gas, speeding back toward downtown Seattle.
Twenty minutes later, Ellery strode through the glass doors of the boutique investment firm where she worked. She ignored the receptionist. She ignored her coworkers. She marched straight down the carpeted hallway and shoved open the heavy mahogany door to her department director's office.
Frank Baxter was on the phone, his feet kicked up on his desk. He scowled at the intrusion and opened his mouth to yell at her.
Ellery beat him to it. She slammed a freshly printed resignation letter onto his desk.
She dug her fingernails violently into her own thigh, using the sharp physical pain to force tears into her eyes. Her eyes went red instantly.
"It's my mother," Ellery choked out, her voice cracking perfectly. "She was in a horrific multi-car pileup this morning. They just told us. She has massive internal bleeding, and she needs an experimental emergency surgery that her insurance is completely refusing to cover. I have to leave, Frank. I have to be at the hospital and figure out how to keep her alive."
Frank's anger evaporated instantly. He dropped his feet to the floor, his face flushing with extreme discomfort and pity. "Oh, god. Ellery, I'm so sorry."
"I need my money, Frank," Ellery sobbed, raising her voice just enough so the analysts outside the glass walls could hear her. "The medical bills are destroying us. I need my final paycheck, my severance, and every single hour of my accrued PTO cashed out. Today."
Frank grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck. "Ellery, you know corporate policy. Final payouts take two weeks to process through payroll-"
Ellery let out a devastating, broken wail. "Two weeks? She might be dead in two weeks! If I can't pay the surgical deductible, they're going to let her die! Is this how this firm treats employees whose families are dying? Because I will go to the press right now!"
Frank panicked. The last thing he needed was a viral LinkedIn post accusing the firm of cruelty.
He snatched the phone off the receiver and dialed the CFO directly. "Yeah, it's Frank. I need a same-day wire authorization. Emergency severance and PTO payout. Bypass the two-week hold. Just do it!"
Ellery stood there, wiping her eyes with a tissue, playing the tragic victim.
Ten minutes later, Frank handed her a confirmation slip.
Ellery bowed her head. "Thank you, Frank. You have a good heart."
She turned and walked out of the office. The second the elevator doors slid shut, cutting her off from the office floor, the tears stopped. Her face instantly returned to a mask of absolute, freezing calm.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out.
Fifteen thousand dollars had just hit her account. She had squeezed the last drop of legitimate money she had. Now, it was time to break the law.
