Creating an Industrial Empire in 19th Century Parallel World

"Cool it cool it cool it," Jack repeated, his voice shaking slightly as he stood up from under the desk with his hands raised. The goon's gun was trained on him, and Jack knew that his life hung in the balance. "I have the ledger," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. "But I need your word that you'll let me go if I hand it over to you."

The goon scanned Jack up and down, his expression inscrutable. He glanced over at his partner, who was also aiming his pistol at Jack. For a moment, there was silence.

Finally, the goon spoke. "We got orders that we take him out, right?" he said, his voice low. "He might have seen the contents of the ledger, and you know that we can't let this man get away."

Jack felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead. He knew that he was in serious trouble. He had stumbled onto something big, something that had put his life in danger.

"Look guys," Jack said, his voice shaking slightly. "I don't even care what's in this ledger. I'm not paid enough to die for it, so please, let me go and I'll hand it over to you."

The goon hesitated, his finger tightening on the trigger. Jack held his breath, waiting for the worst.

"Unfortunately, we have strict orders," the goon said, pulling the firing pin.

Jack braced for the worst, there was no getting out of this situation. But he doesn't want to die. So he went for plan b. Which is fighting his way out of here.

Jack immediately grabbed the goon's arms and pulled him forward. He then pivoted his body and used the goon's momentum to swing him into his partner, causing them both to stumble backward.

Jack seized the opportunity and made a run for it.

The two goons recovered and got up to their feet and started pulling the trigger. Bits of concrete and debris exploded around Jack's feet as he sprinted towards the exit. He heard the bullets whizzing past him.

As he rounded a corner, he spotted a door and rammed through it, and burst out onto the street. He looked around frantically, searching for a place to run.

He spotted a nearby alleyway and sprinted toward it. He ran and ran until he was several blocks away. Only then did he slow down, his chest heaving with exertion.

"There he is!" One of the goons yelled and fired another round of bullets in Jack's direction, causing him to jump over to the side.

"Those goons don't know when to give up huh?" Jack exhaled, as he caught his breath and leaned against the wall.

He had to keep moving, or they would catch him.

"This isn't worth five hundred dollars," Jack resumed running. Even though his heart was beating too fast, he endured the pain and kept going. He couldn't afford to stop now. He had to find a way to shake off the goons and hand over the ledger to his client.

After five minutes of running, Jack stopped at a nearby alleyway and glanced over his shoulder. There was no one chasing him, could it be that he finally had managed to lose them? He couldn't take any chances though. He had to be sure. He ducked into the alleyway and leaned against a wall, panting heavily. He took a moment to catch his breath and tried to think of a plan.

Suddenly, he heard a noise coming from a nearby dumpster. He froze, thinking it might be the goons. But then he heard a faint whimpering sound. Curiosity got the better of him, and he walked cautiously toward the dumpster.

As he got closer, he could hear the sound more clearly. It was a kitten. A small, gray kitten was trapped inside the dumpster, meowing pitifully.

"Shit, just a cat huh?" Jack cursed under his breath. He looked around again for good measure to see if the goons were coming or not. Fortunately, he didn't see or hear them coming.

In that case, he can go to Caroline Dupont's store.

Since he had run a considerable amount of distance, getting there would take time. But if that's the only way for this to end, he had no choice but to make the journey.

As he walked, he thought about the danger he was in. Upon breaking and entering Mr. Rockefeller's office, and successfully managed to escape from it. Rockefeller's men were quick to react. Rockefeller is sure to be serious about silencing him. After all, the contents of the ledger were explosive, and Jack knew that it contained evidence of illegal activities. He had stumbled onto something big, something that could bring down Rockefeller, and along with other politicians.

The value of the ledger is incalculable, but Jack knew that it was worth his life. He had to get it to his client and let them do whatever the hell they wanted from it.

Twenty minutes later, Jack arrived at the storefront of Loreal. He knocked on the door, hoping that someone would answer.

"Who is it?" The person behind the doors asked, it belonged to the voice of a man. Security perhaps?

"I need to speak with Ms. Caroline Dupont. Is she here?" Jack asked.

There was silence for a moment. After a few moments, the door creaked open, revealing the security guard.

"Ms. Caroline Dupont is not here in the store. What do you need from her?" The security guard asked.

"I have something to deliver to her in person, it's too important that I have to see her now. Do you have an idea of where she might be?" Jack asked.

"Look, I can't tell you that information so carelessly. I have no way of confirming your identity so why not return tomorrow?"

"It can't wait!" Jack pleaded, desperation creeping into his voice. "It's a matter of life and death, I swear."

The security guard studied Jack's face for a moment before nodding. "Fine, she is staying in the Fifth Avenue Hotel. Though I'm not sure if the hotel is going to let you in or not since it's almost one o'clock in the morning."

"Thank you!"

Jack quickly turned on his heels and ran towards the hotel, hoping that he would make it in time. He arrived at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in twenty minutes and rushed inside, ignoring the curious stares of the night staff. He made his way to the reception and approached the desk, trying to catch his breath.

"Is Ms. Caroline Dupont here?"