Dust snowed down from the old, broken ceiling fan as the building shook violently.
Iris grabbed onto the desk, her desk chair rolling back and forth with the motion of the building.
"Wh-What the? We don't get such powerful earthquakes here-"
A loud buzzing, heard from overhead, mixed in with the sounds of metal objects clinking and falling off shelves in the backroom.
Her heart pounded in her ears from the adrenaline of the earthquake even after it subsided.
She stayed put for a moment, preparing for any aftershocks and when she felt it was safe to get up, she headed towards the backroom to check on the fallen supplies.
"Shit." Iris breathed out as she ran a gloved hand through her long blonde hair.
Before her laid boxes of supplies and tools upside down, their contents spilling out onto the floor.
"This is going to take forever to clean u- DAMNIT!" She huffed in frustration as she picked up a box of particularly tiny screws.
She yanked off her brown and orange gloves and tossed them onto the shelf next to her, before she returned to her desk to rummage through the drawers.
"Magnet…magnet….where is my magnet?!"
Just as she shoved the top drawer back in, the front door burst open and her small hardware store was filled with armed men in military gear.
Iris looked up. She placed one hand on her hip and the other on the desk, leaning against it.
"Sorry boys, I can only help one at a time." There was a flirtatious, teasing tone to her voice as she smirked.
"Ms. Iris Sattler?" One of the men asked, his eyes masked by black aviator glasses.
Her eyebrows flicked up and she stood up, standing tall with her back straight.
"Well that depends. Who is asking?" She said with an accusatory tone as she crossed her arms.
Without another word, the man flicked his head towards her and two men approached her.
They grabbed her arms and shoved her down in the seat, both holding a hand on her shoulders to ensure she couldn't get away.
"Oh? Like to play rough I see." Iris snarled.
"Ma'am, we are here looking for Mr. Sattler. It'd do you good to tell us his whereabouts. And fast." The man demanded, his voice laced with irritation and a hint of a threat.
Iris chuckled, "Hate to break it to you, but my father's been dead for years. The only one running this place and the mechanic shop is me. So, unless you're here to buy something, please see yourselves out. I have work to do."
She tried to get up but the men shoved her back down.
Another man stepped forward and slammed his hands on the desk before he leaned in, invading her personal space.
"Listen, Tootsie. We know about your father's top secret mechs."
Iris' eyebrow twitched upwards.
"Hand them over now and we'll leave you to your little shop. Or you can keep playing games and we'll take them the hard way. I'm not much of a loser you know." He hissed.
Iris leaned in, their faces almost touching as she glared at him.
"Oh? What a cute little analogy. I don't know what you're talking about. Now, get out of my shop. I actually have work to do, unlike…." She looked him up and down, "…some of us."
He let out a deep growl as he slapped her hard across the face.
"So. You want to play the hard way do you? I know you have them."
Iris turned her cheek and let out a laugh, almost doubling over as she did so.
"I see."
She threw her weight backwards in the chair, flipping it over as she did a backwards somersault, freeing herself from the grasps of the other two military men.
The main man stepped back, a scowl on his face, while the other two scrambled to grab her again.
Iris quickly grabbed a wrench off the desk and smacked them on the shoulders, close to their necks with it.
They groaned in pain, their hands flying up to their shoulders as their bodies twisted.
She grabbed the chair and kicked it towards the one on the right, causing him to stumble backwards as she elbowed the one on the left hard in the gut.
"Are you two kidding me? Trained soldiers letting a little girl get the best of you? You should be embarrassed!"
Iris quickly glanced around the room and towards the door.
There were about 4 more men inside besides Mr. Aviators and the threatening one, and three more filling the doorway.
She clenched her jaw and kicked the desk over, sending the main man stumbling backwards.
As he was about to fall to the ground, grunting in anger, the other soldiers quickly ran to catch him.
"Don't grab me you fools! Grab her! GRAB THE GIRL!" He screamed, his finger flailing as he pointed at her, his other arm shoving them away.
Iris threw her wrench towards the window, shattering the glass, and quickly jumped through it.
Her foot just narrowly escaped one of the soldier's grasps.
She ducked and rolled, blood trickling down from a gash in her left arm from the broken glass.
The soldiers began to run towards her from the doorway and jump out of the window themselves.
Without a moment to rest, she grabbed the wrench and jumped up, running towards the nearby forest.
"GET HER DAMNIT! GET HER!"
'BANG!!!!'
A gunshot echoed through the air.
Iris' eyes widened as she fell to the floor.
'D-Did I just get hit?'
She looked down at her leg, her heart pounding at the sight of blood staining the fabric of her coveralls.
Then, a burning sensation set in.
'SHIT!' She thought as she quickly stumbled to her feet.
It was too late.
She felt a sharp tug to the back of her scalp, her hands flying up to grasp the hand that was fisted in her hair in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure.
"Gotcha." The man whispered in her ear as he hauled her up.