Chapter 3: Hostage

As Elizabeth and Christopher arrived at the scene, they were met with chaos—students running frantically from the school building, their faces pale with fear. Christopher stopped one of them and asked urgently, "What's happening inside?"

The student, breathing heavily, replied, "A group of armed men took an entire classroom hostage!"

Without hesitation, they rushed toward the school, moving cautiously through the hallways. Christopher crouched low and crept toward the classroom, stealing a quick glance inside. There were five heavily armed men holding 28 students captive.

"Damn," he muttered. "This could go south fast." He carefully returned to Elizabeth, who was waiting near the stairwell, and explained the situation.

Elizabeth's expression hardened. "We can't engage them without direct orders. Our best shot is to disarm or immobilize them if possible."

Christopher nodded. "We only have pistols and two mags each. We need backup. I think these guys are after ransom."

But before they could act, a sudden uproar erupted inside the classroom. Screams, crashes—chaos.

Startled, they rushed toward the door. To their shock, the students were fighting back—using chairs as shields and makeshift weapons. Amid the struggle, one of the armed men raised his rifle, ready to shoot.

"We can't kill these little bastards yet," he growled. "Just hold them down—we need them alive for the next show!"

Christopher narrowed his eyes. "They're not after ransom. Then what the hell are they planning?"

That's when he noticed it—each attacker wore a black armband with a symbol of a scale.

Inside the classroom, a brave student named Nina lunged at one of the men, catching him off guard. With help from her classmates, they brought him down. Seizing the opportunity, Elizabeth and Christopher stormed in. Amid the confusion, they managed to subdue the remaining attackers just as backup arrived.

Once the hostages were secured, officers began questioning the restrained men. Elizabeth, inspecting one of the confiscated rifles, turned to them coldly.

"What were your plans? What were you going to do with the hostages? Speak."

The five refused to answer. One of them simply laughed. "This is only the beginning, Chief Espiritu. Inspector Rodriguez."

Christopher stepped forward. "Beginning of what?"

Meanwhile, outside, a school vehicle was transporting the freed students to safety. Or so they thought.

The officer driving the vehicle was actually one of the conspirators. He veered off the planned route and disappeared with the students into an unknown location.

Back at the scene, a radio crackled. An officer's voice came through, shaken: "Sir—the student transport van has been hijacked."

The restrained men laughed in unison.

"This is a message," one said darkly, "to the government."