The Hunter

Marcus's POV

The glass of whiskey burst against the wall, amber liquid dripping down my office window like tears.

"Twenty years!" I roared at the empty room. "Twenty years of building this empire, and now some ex-cop thinks she can waltz into my town?"

My hands were shaking with rage as I looked across the street at Elena Santos hanging her private investigator sign. She moved with the ease of someone who'd never learned to be afraid. That would change soon enough.

My phone buzzed. A text from my source at LAPD: "Elena Santos. 10 years murder. Left after researching police corruption. Dangerous. Recommend extreme care."

I laughed bitterly. Dangerous? She had no idea what dangerous looked like.

The office door burst open without a knock. My son Tyler stormed in, his seventeen-year-old face twisted with fear.

"Dad, we have a problem," he gasped, still wearing his Moonfall Bay High letterman jacket. "It's about tonight's shipment."

"What about it?" I kept my voice cool, but inside, alarm bells were screaming.

"One of the girls fled from the holding room at the plant. Amy Rodriguez. She's been lost for two hours."

The world went dead. Amy Rodriguez was meant to be on tonight's boat to Bangkok. She was worth fifty thousand dollars to my buyers. More importantly, she knew enough to destroy everything I'd built.

"How?" I asked quietly.

Tyler swallowed hard. "Someone left the lock open. The guard says it wasn't him, but..."

"But what?" "Tommy Chen was hanging around the plant today. He saw the loading process. What if he saw more than we thought?"

I closed my eyes, feeling the kingdom I'd built for twenty years crumbling around me. First David Chen poking around asking questions, then his daughter showing up looking for him, now his little brother seeing too much.

"Find the girl," I ordered. "Use every man we have. Check the trees, the caves, every hiding spot in town. She can't have gotten far."

"What about the detective across the street?"

I looked out the window again. Elena Santos was carrying boxes up to her office, totally unaware that she'd walked into a war zone.

"Leave her to me," I said. "I have plans for Detective Santos."

Tyler left, and I poured another whiskey with steady hands. Twenty years ago, I'd been just like that woman across the street. Young, optimistic, believing in justice. Then my father died and left me this town, this business, these obligations.

The first girl had been a mistake. Maria Gonzalez, sixteen years old, worked at the plant after school. She'd seen something she shouldn't have seen, asked questions she shouldn't have asked. One push, one fall down the stairs, one moment that changed everything.

But the buyers had paid good money for Maria. Money that saved the plant, kept the town living, fed hungry families. I told myself I was helping people. That sometimes good people had to do bad things for the greater good.

Twenty years and thirty-seven girls later, I still told myself that lie.

My work phone rang. "Sheriff, this is Dr. Archer. I need to speak with you immediately."

"I'm busy, Doc."

"It's about Amy Rodriguez. She came to my office an hour ago."

My blood turned to ice. "What did she tell you?"

"Nothing. She was too scared to talk. But Marcus, she's hurt badly. Someone beat her. There are rope burns on her arms and..." Ryan's voice cracked. "There are needle marks on her arms. What kind of monster are you turning into?"

"Where is she now?" I asked coldly.

"I... I can't tell you that."

"Dr. Archer, you've kept your mouth shut for five years because you understand the effects. Don't start being a hero now. It didn't work out well for Sarah Mitchell."

The line went quiet. Then Ryan spoke, his voice hollow: "You killed an innocent girl to keep me quiet. How do you sleep at night?"

"I sleep very well, knowing I've kept this town wealthy and safe. Where is Amy Rodriguez?"

"Find her yourself."

The line went dead. I stared at the phone, then smiled slowly. Dr. Ryan Archer had just made his first mistake in five years. Now I knew exactly how to handle him.

And the detective.

I picked up my radio. "Jake, come to my office. Bring your gear."

Five minutes later, my deputy stood in my doorway, looking nervous. Jake Morrison was weak, but he was faithful. His mother owned the bakery where the detective was renting space. Perfect.

"Jake, I need you to do something for me tonight. Something that will solve all our problems."

"What kind of something?"

I gave him a file folder. Inside were pictures of Elena Santos from her LAPD days, her service record, and detailed information about her life in Los Angeles.

"She's not here by accident," I explained. "Someone sent her. Someone who knows about our plan."

Jake frowned. "Who would send her?" "David Chen. Before he died, he must have called his old police friends. Told them about the missing girls. Santos is here to finish what he started. "

It was a lie, but Jake didn't need to know that. The truth was easier and more dangerous - Elena Santos was just unlucky enough to rent David's old office at the worst possible time.

"What do you want me to do?" Jake asked.

"Tonight, during the shipment, there's going to be an accident. A terrible fire at the detective's office. She'll be stuck inside, overcome by smoke. Very sad. Very accidental."

Jake's face went white. "Marcus, I can't... I won't kill an innocent woman."

"Innocent?" I laughed. "She's here to destroy our town, Jake. To put your mother out of business, to shut down the plant that employs half our neighborhood. Sometimes we have to make hard choices to protect the people we love."

Jake stared at the floor, torn between guilt and fear.

"Think about your mother," I pressed. "Betty's getting old. The bakery is failing. If the plant stops, who's going to buy her bread? Where will she go?"

"There has to be another way." "There is no other way. Elena Santos dies tonight, or this whole town dies slowly over the next ten years."

Jake nodded hesitantly, but I could see doubt in his eyes. Doubt was dangerous. Doubt made people unstable.

After he left, I made one more phone call.

"It's me," I said when the voice replied. "We have a problem. The detective is more linked than we thought. Yes, she has to leave tonight... No, Jake can handle it... What do you mean she's not working alone?"

My contact's next words made my blood freeze.

"Elena Santos didn't come to Moonfall Bay by chance. She's been tracking our activity for six months. And Marcus? She's not the only one. There's a federal task team watching your town. They're already here."

The phone slipped from my numb hands.

Federal agents. Already in town. Watching everything.

Elena Santos wasn't a threat to be removed.

She was bait in a trap that was already closing around me.