"Stay here," she said, not as an order, but as a fact. "If anyone cos out, use this taser. Don’t hesitate." Her thumb brushed the cartridge, the taser’s hum almost silently.
I gazed at the device in her hand as she held it out to with steady eyes. "If they co screaming, pop it. Short blast. Then call us imdiately."
Her face was hard but not unkind. The way she offered the taser felt like a hand extended in trust and command at the sa ti. I saw no room to argue.
At last, I accepted it because I trusted them to bring him back intact. I had to.
Maximus cut in, his tone firm and commanding. ’We go through the back. Sam will take point, as Jessica keeps eyes on the caras. Stay sharp and keep close. Now, move.’
As he finished, the air shifted while everyone straightened.
"Any question?" He asked as everyone said no in sequence over the line, making trust them sohow. There were no questions, no hesitation. Definitely no confusion.
Samantha and Max disappeared into the shadows at the house’s edge. The night swallowed their silhouettes almost at once.
The car sat quiet except for the engine’s low sigh and Jessica’s voice in my ear, full of distance and focus.
"South cam green. East cam looped. Basent feed is now stable. Josh in sub-level, moving east," she said. Her voice was thin but steady. "Be alert."
Silence settled, giving an uncomfortable feeling. My heartbeat spoke loudly in my ear. I could hear it as if it were another radio signal...thump, thump, thump.
Every small sound stretched. The whisper of wind through long grass, the scrape of a broken shutter, the pulse in the earpiece when Jessica switched feeds.
Then ca the creak. A soft wood creak through the earpiece, barely more than a tick.
Samantha whispered, "Clear left," then, "Clear central." Maximus’ voice clicked in, low and calm.
Jessica kept the cara voices flowing into my ear: "Basent corridor. One silhouette pacing around. Male voice heard. Attempting to isolate audio."
The tapping of the keyboard echoed, indicating her fingers were moving fast through code and feeds, and my chest tightened every ti she spoke.
After a while, the line snapped awake with noise. It started as a scrape, a clang, then sothing heavy hitting wood.
The sound rolled through the earpiece, and my stomach dropped. Then a male voice cut through, closer, raw, and loud. I froze when I heard it.
"Leave you! Get out! You don’t know what you’re doing, you f***ing..." The voice was ragged, anger and fear braided together.
It was the voice I had heard several tis, in offices, in late-night calls. It hit like a fist.
It was Josh’s voice.
For a second, the world tilted.
It was impossible, and then it wasn’t. The recognition was sharp and ugly. I tasted tal at the back of my mouth.
"Josh," I said, my breath shallow. "That’s him."
"Confird?" Max snapped.
I quickly said yes as Samantha answered, "Okay then. We are getting him now."
The sound of rustling ca through as many voices started to ripple through the line, increasing my anxiety by each passing second.
Then Max’s voice ca clear and sudden. "He’s moving! He’s escaping through the east exit!"
My hands found the taser like it was the only steady thing in the night.
It was heavier than I had imagined. I flicked the safety on without thinking. My legs pushed up. I had to see. I had to act. Now.
"Be careful, Dave, we still don’t know if he was carrying any weapon with him or not," Jessica warned.
Her warning went over my head as only Josh’s face ca in front of my eyes. My feet found the mud, the ditch soft underfoot.
The world reduced to sight, sound, the raw need to catch the shadow of the man who had stolen everything from .
My breath ca out hot and ragged. Wind slapped my face. The taser felt like a promise in my hand. Small yet fierce.
Branches slapped against my face as I pushed through the scrub.
The ground was soft and pulled at my boots with every step. Behind , I could hear Maximus and Samantha pounding after , their breaths sharp and fast.
The house vanished behind the dense and dark woods. Ahead of , a dark, blurry figure moved fastly, desperately, like a shadow that refused to stop.
Adrenaline burned through my veins, making faster than I should have been. My lungs scread for air, but my legs kept moving.
I was not going to let him slip away. Not this f***ing ti.
The figure ahead darted left, then right, weaving through the trees. My grip tightened around the taser in my hand. I pushed harder. Inch by inch, muscle by muscle, I closed the distance.
He must have heard , because he glanced back.
For a second, in the pale moonlight, he looked like nothing more than a terrified man. His eyes wide, his face raw with fear, but then he hunched his shoulders and ran harder.
I lunged, my hand catching on his jacket. Both of us went down hard, slamming into the mud and tangled roots.
The breath left my chest, but I did not let go. He fought like an animal. His elbows jabbed, teeth clenched, legs thrashing as if desperate to get free from my grip.
His strength was wild, born from panic.
"Dave!" Maximus’ voice cut through the trees, firm and commanding.
In the next instant, the others were on us. Samantha dropped low, grabbing one of his arms, while Maximus locked the other.
tal flashed under the moonlight.
A knife that had slipped from the man’s grip. Max kicked it away.
The fight ended as quickly as it had begun. They had him pinned.
I lay there gasping, the taser still clutched in my hand. Slowly, my eyes lifted to his face.
Josh.
His lip was split, blood sared across his chin, but his eyes... his eyes were alive, burning with anger and sothing darker.
He glared at like a cornered wolf. His voice ca out harsh, spitting words like venom, "Dave f***ing Morris. You will be finished."
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