R Patterson - The Shadow Hunter

Mitchell ducked into a tent where an elderly woman was selling scarves. Based on the amount of stock hanging off every rack in her store, her items weren’t all that popular in the warm climate.

“ Necesito tomar prestado tu teléfono ,” Mitchell said, asking to borrow her phone.

She scowled at him and shook her head. “ Ladrón !”

Mitchell wasn’t a thief, but if the woman didn’t calm down and acquiesce to his request, he considered overpowering her.

“ No soy un ladrón ,” he said, glancing over his shoulder. “ Estoy en problmas . Hay hombres detrás de mí .”

She glared at him. “ Salir ahora .”

Mitchell snatched her phone out of her pocket and raced out of the tent. She screeched, begging anyone to help her. But her cries were ignored among the tourists who were unaware of what she was saying and the other store owners who weren’t willing to leave their wares unattended.

Mitchell darted down an alley before re-dialing the number. He went through the same process again until he reached his contact.

“I’m sorry to do this to you, but could you tell me the address again for the clinic?” Mitchell asked.

“Clinic?” the man asked. “What are you talking about?”

“Never mind,” Mitchell said before hanging up.

Someone almost played me.

He deleted the record of the call before returning the phone to the woman. She smacked him several times with the back of her hand, but he apologized and then thanked her by giving her a hundred-dollar bill. She stopped squawking after that and finally offered a weak smile.

Now, time to disappear again.

He grabbed a scarf and wrapped it around his head.

HAWK TOLD his driver to stop. After the cabbie complied, Hawk paid the fare and hustled toward the marketplace. He wasn’t sure where Reaper had gone, but Hawk figured if he was in the same position, that’s where he would go. Big crowds were easy for him to disappear into, and he was betting that Reaper was thinking the same thing.

Hawk alerted Alex and Mia to the situation. “I could be completely wrong, so be alert in case he shows up. But if I were him, I’d save my curiosity for another day.”

“We’ll be ready for whatever happens,” Alex said over the coms. “Just keep us posted.”

“Roger that.”

Hawk wouldn’t have been so inclined to play his hunch, knowing that the odds of finding a target in such a crowded place would be infinitesimal. But that’s because until today, he’d never worn a pair of Dr. Z’s Sunglazzes.

Hawk tugged his cap down low across his face as he mingled with the tourists, going with the flow. He trudged past countless merchants offering everything from traditional food to authentic Dominican clothing. He constantly shook his head as store owners vied for his attention.

As Hawk moved along, he checked every face. An outline encircled every face and flashed red when it didn’t find a match in the database. This process continued for ten minutes without any results.

Then Hawk noticed a bulkier woman limping toward him along the edge, dressed in traditional Dominican garb and wearing a scarf. She was hunched over a cane and shuffling slowly. He stared directly at her, but she didn’t seem to notice him.

Just as Hawk passed her, his glasses outlined her face and flashed green.

“I’ve got a visual on him,” Hawk said over the coms in a hushed tone. “He’s in the market.”

“On our way,” Alex said.

Hawk waited a moment before turning around and following Reaper. Without the glasses, Hawk would’ve likely walked right past him. The disguise was good, but not good enough to outwit Dr. Z’s facial recognition device.

Hawk maintained a safe distance from Reaper for a couple of minutes. However, when he reached an intersection near the end of the market, he looked around before dashing down a back alley.

“We’ve got a runner,” Hawk said over the coms as he broke into a sprint in pursuit.

Hawk pumped his arms, his lungs feeling as if they were on fire after a couple of minutes. Back and forth through a series of alleys and tight streets, the two men ran. Reaper struggled to find any way to separate himself from Hawk, but Hawk wondered how much longer he could keep up the pace. His target didn’t seem to tire, signaling that he was in much better cardio shape than Hawk.

“How you holding up?” Alex asked.

“He’s still running,” Hawk said.

“Just don’t lose him,” she said. “We’re almost there.”

Hawk followed Reaper for two more blocks before he switched directions and raced down a narrow street that took a hard right turn. When Hawk reached the turn, he found himself staring directly at Reaper’s gun.

“Over there,” Reaper said, motioning for Hawk to move against the wall, which all but hemmed him in.

“Look, we just want to talk,” Hawk said.

“I should’ve finished you off, Hawk,” Reaper said. “I didn’t want to have to kill you, but I figured you would’ve received the message.”

“All I want to know is who’s sending you those messages you’re so desperate to pass along.”

Reaper huffed a soft laugh through his nose. “You’ve got a lot of nerve trying to track me down. And I must admit that you almost had me. But I started thinking that maybe I saw you at the pool.”

“I’m lousy at disguises,” Hawk said before nodding at Reaper. “But your outfit, on the other hand, was pretty damn good.”

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere,” Reaper said. “I’m going to kill you and then make it look like a robbery.”

“No one will buy it,” Hawk said.

“What makes you so sure?” Reaper said.

“Because it’s not going to happen,” Hawk said.

Reaper trained his weapon on Hawk. “That’s where you’re wrong.”

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

AS REAPER PULLED THE trigger, Hawk dove to the ground. The bullet ricocheted off the cinder block wall right to the right of Hawk’s shoulder. When he glanced at Reaper, Hawk saw the gun lying a few feet away and the muscular soldier collapsed in a heap with Alex standing over him. She held a syringe in one hand, signaling a thumbs up to Hawk with the other.

“Impeccable timing, dear,” Hawk said.

She grinned. “It wouldn’t have been nearly as close if we didn’t need him alive.”

Alex sneered at Reaper before kicking him in the ribs. “Mess with my husband again, and next time I won’t be so kind.”

Reaper’s eyes remained closed, the injection already doing its job.

“Let’s get this punk into the van,” she said.

Hawk scrambled to his feet and then helped Alex and Mia lug Reaper’s large body into the back of their van parked along a nearby street. They drove straight to the clinic, preparing the interrogation session.

When Reaper came to a few minutes later, Hawk and Alex had secured the mercenary to a chair. He opened his eyes and scanned the room, groggily muttering something Hawk couldn’t quite make out.

“Well, hello there, Sunshine,” Hawk said, waving his hand in front of Reaper’s face. “Nice of you to join us today.”

“What’d you do to me?” Reaper asked as he winced. “My head. My neck.”

“You better be thankful that your heart’s still beating,” Hawk said. “Hell hath no fury like a woman who almost watched her husband being gunned down in a back alley.”

“I already told you that it’s nothing personal,” Reaper said.

“Likewise,” Hawk said. “I appreciate you not killing me in Sonbong, though I’m sure you’re regretting that decision at the moment.”