I walk out. I lock the bedroom door from the outside.Click.
I key the radio on my shoulder.
"Luca," I say, my voice devoid of humanity. "Perimeter breach, North Sector. I’m moving to intercept. Flush them toward me."
"Copy that, Boss. Hunting party is active."
I move through the silent house, a ghost in my own castle. I exit through the side door, slipping into the shadows of the forest.
The air is still. The birds are singing again, oblivious to the violence about to unfold.
I move fast, my boots silent on the pine needles. I follow the signal on the tablet. The dot is stationary.
He’s close.
The rage I felt earlier has distilled into a cold, sharp focus. I am not angry anymore. I am efficient.
I reach the edge of the property line. The twelve-foot fence looms ahead. Beyond it, a dense thicket of scrub oak and access roads.
I see a car. A nondescript gray sedan parked on an old logging trail. The window is down. An antenna is mounted on the roof.
I bring the rifle up. I sight through the scope.
I see a man in the driver’s seat. He’s wearing headphones. He’s looking at a screen. He’s watching the feed from the drone.
He’s looking at my house.
I don't shoot. Not yet.
Shooting is too easy. A bullet is a mercy.
I sling the rifle. I draw the hunting knife.
I climb the fence, bypassing the electric current with the remote in my pocket. I drop silently onto the other side.
I creep toward the car.
The operator is humming to himself. He thinks he’s invisible. He thinks he’s the predator.
I reach the driver’s side door.
I yank it open.
Before he can turn, before he can reach for the pistol on the passenger seat, I grab him by the throat and drag him out of the car.
He hits the dirt with a thud. I’m on him instantly, a knee to his chest, the knife blade pressed against his windpipe.
He freezes, his eyes bulging. He sees the scar. He sees the eyes.
He knows.
"Hello," I whisper.
"Please," he chokes out. "I’m just... I was just hired to take photos."
"Photos of my wife," I clarify.
"I didn't know! They just said... surveillance!"
