Hunter and Hunted

Hunter and Hunted
Marcus Daniels POV

The water had been freezing when I hit it six months ago, but Chen's people were waiting exactly where they'd promised.

I watched Elena's mother through my binoculars as she watered her garden, completely unaware that death stood three hundred feet away. One phone call, and Chen's Seattle team would make sure Maria Santos never saw another sunrise. The thought made me smile.

"Marcus, stop playing with your food." Chen's voice crackled through my earpiece. "Did Santos take the bait?"

"Like a hungry fish." I lowered the binoculars and checked my watch. "She'll be at the warehouse in thirty minutes, guns blazing, thinking she's saving Dr. Archer."

"And the others?"

"Agent Kim is already on a plane from Seattle. Ryan Archer is with Elena. Amy Rodriguez is in their safe house with two FBI guards." I pulled out my tablet, showing the tracking dots of all our targets. "Everyone exactly where we want them."

Chen laughed, cold and sharp. "You've learned well these past six months. When you first came to me, wet and pathetic from your failed death scene, I wondered if you'd be worth saving."

I remembered that night clearly. The icy water, my lungs screaming for air, swimming deeper instead of up while Elena and her people searched the surface. Chen's submarine had felt like a miracle when it appeared in the darkness.

"You said you could give me revenge," I reminded him. "You said if I was patient, I could destroy everyone who ruined me."

"And I keep my promises, Marcus. But first, tell me—do you truly understand why we must eliminate these people?"

I'd heard this speech before during my six months of training in Chen's underwater base. "The trials start in two weeks. Without key witnesses, your lawyers can get the charges dropped. The trafficking network survives, and you keep making millions."

"Billions," Chen corrected. "We move over three thousand girls a year across the Pacific. Elena Santos and her friends threatened a twenty-billion-dollar operation. They must be erased completely."

My phone buzzed with updates from our teams around the country. Portland team reported they'd planted explosives in Agent Thompson's car. Vancouver team confirmed they had eyes on Sarah Kim's family. New York team was ready to move on the federal prosecutor handling the case.

Twelve targets total. All would be dead before sunrise.

"What about the doctor?" I asked, glancing at the live video feed from the warehouse. David Archer sat tied to a chair in the basement, blood dripping from his nose where I'd hit him. "He's served his purpose as bait."

"Kill him when Elena arrives. Let her watch him die. It will make her desperate and stupid."

I smiled at that. Elena thought she was so smart, so brave. She had no idea she was walking into a killing box I'd spent six months designing.

The truth was, my "death" had been planned from the moment Elena first arrived in Moonfall Bay. Chen had warned me months before that the FBI was closing in. We'd staged everything—the fight on the pier, my fall into the water, even the search for my body.

While Elena celebrated her victory, I'd been recovering in Chen's facility, learning new skills. How to kill silently. How to disappear completely. How to become a ghost that haunted from the shadows.

"Marcus, the girl is awake." One of my men spoke through the radio. "She's asking for water."

I switched camera views to the holding cell where Amy Rodriguez sat chained to a wall. The safe house guards had been easy to drug—Chen's people were good at their jobs. Amy thought she was protected, but we'd grabbed her twenty minutes after Elena left.

"No water," I ordered. "I want her scared and crying when Elena arrives. Fear makes people careless."

Chen's voice returned to my ear. "Speaking of careless, you're certain Elena doesn't suspect the warehouse is a trap?"

"She's a hero, Chen. Heroes always think they can save everyone." I packed up my equipment and headed for my car. "She'll come charging in, and my men will be waiting. The building is rigged to explode. Everyone inside dies, and I finally get my revenge."

"What about you? How will you escape?"

"I won't be there. I'll be at Elena's apartment, waiting for her mother to arrive for their weekly dinner." I thought about Maria Santos, the kind woman who'd brought me cookies once when I arrested her daughter. "Chen, can I make Maria's death last? I want Elena to know her mother suffered."

"Do what you want, but make it look like an accident. We can't afford police attention right now."

I drove toward Elena's neighborhood, my heart beating with excitement. Everything was falling into place perfectly. In two hours, Elena would be dead. Her mother would be dead. Everyone who'd destroyed my life would be dead.

The trafficking network would survive. Chen would reward me with money and power. And I would finally have peace.

My phone rang with an incoming call from my team at the warehouse.

"Boss, we've got a problem. There are more cars coming than expected. It looks like Elena called for backup."

I cursed under my breath. "How many?"

"At least six vehicles. Federal plates. She brought the whole damn task force."

Chen's voice was sharp in my ear. "Abort the warehouse operation. We can't fight that many agents."

"No!" I slammed my hand on the steering wheel. "I've waited six months for this. I'm not running again."

"Marcus, be smart. We can—"

I ripped out my earpiece and threw it out the window. Chen didn't understand. This wasn't about money or the trafficking network anymore. This was personal.

Elena had taken everything from me. My town. My power. My life. She'd made me look weak, made me run and hide like a scared animal.

Tonight, she would pay.

I changed course, heading back toward the warehouse. My men were good fighters, and the building was full of traps and explosives. Even with backup, Elena's people would walk into a nightmare.

As I drove, I made one more call—to the team watching Elena's mother.

"Change of plans. Grab Maria Santos now. Bring her to the warehouse. I want Elena to watch her mother die before the whole place goes up in flames."

"Understood, boss."

I smiled, imagining Elena's face when she realized her mother was inside the building. She'd have to choose—save the hostages or save her own mother.

Either way, she'd lose.

My phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number. When I opened it, my smile disappeared.

It was a photo of Chen, sitting in what looked like a federal interrogation room, his hands cuffed to the table.

The text below read: Marcus, this is Agent Sarah Kim. We arrested Chen an hour ago in Vancouver. His submarine base is surrounded. His organization is finished. And now we're coming for you. Surrender while you still can.

My hands shook as I stared at the photo. Chen was captured? That meant—

Another text arrived, this one from Elena: We knew about the warehouse trap, Marcus. We've known everything since we tapped Chen's phones two months ago. Every plan you made, every target you chose, we heard it all. You're not the hunter anymore. You're the prey. And we're already closing in.

I looked in my rearview mirror and saw them—three black SUVs with federal plates, speeding up behind me.

The trap wasn't at the warehouse.

It was here. On this road. Right now.

And I'd driven straight into it.