Rodney smirked shamelessly. "Ms. Aspen, as long as you surrender yourself to me, I wouldn't mind letting these people go. How about that?"

Aspen's calm and composed demeanor finally cracked. She exploded, shouting, "Screw you, Rodney! If this were Bridgefields, someone would've dumped your corpse in the wilderness by now for speaking to me like this!"

Rodney's face darkened as he waved a hand, barking, "Close the doors!"

The sound of the heavy doors slamming shut echoed through the hall.