Chapter 02: To Catch a Predator

“Hannah!” Gavin yelled, chasing after her as she quickly rushed towards her Audi. She grabbed a small, black duffel bag from beneath the spare tire in her trunk and tossed it onto the passenger seat. “Hannah, will you stop, please?”

“Gavin, get your family to a hotel and call the police.”

“And what are you going to do?”

“I have to find my friend.”

“Alright, then I’m coming with you.”

“No, you’re not. It’s too dangerous.”

“And how is it any safer for you?”

“It isn’t. But unlike you, I’ve had extensive training in combat, can you say the same?” she asked and waited for his response. “Like I said, get your family to a hotel. I’ll call you when I’m done.”

“Wait a second, that’s it? You’ll call when you’re done?”

“What else do you want me to say, Gavin? I need to save Kasper,” she said, briefly glancing at him over her shoulder as she hurried along.

“Ok but, Hannah!”

“I’m sorry alright? I have to go.”

“Hannah!”

“What, Gavin?” she asked, finally turning to look at him.

Gavin placed his hand on her waist and pulled her flush to his chest. Her breath hitched as she looked into his mesmerizing blue eyes. Leaning in, he captured her lips in a kiss. Alexa’s mind went numb as his skillful mouth worked over hers, making her body buzz with a seething passion. Placing her hand on his jaw, her engagement ring sparkled beneath the subdued moonlight as she felt his tongue sweep between her lips. Gavin deepened the kiss, making her knees wobble and she closed her eyes completely losing herself in a moment of pure bliss. 

Gently, he sucked her bottom lip, pulling it hard into his mouth. Alexa moaned. His mouth, was warm like a fire, slowly heating her from the inside out. Gavin’s hand slipped lower, clutching Alexa’s lower back, pulling her deeper into him as a growl came from the back of his throat and his kiss grew hungrier and more urgent. Finally, he pulled away, allowing her to breathe as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Come back to me.” Lifting his chin, he placed a light kiss on her forehead while lovingly caressing his knuckles on her cheek. 

“I—I will,” she whispered a little out of breath. She shut her eyes to keep from crying as she tried to make herself let go, “I love you.” Alexa allowed herself one last look at Gavin, committing his face to memory, before hopping behind the wheel of her car and took off after Kasper.

“Please have your phone on,” Alexa growled to herself as she raced down the street. Pulling up the modified GPS, she typed in Kasper’s number and waited as the computer searched for his location. “Come on.”

“GET OUT OF THE WAY!” she honked impatiently to a slow moving driver in front of her. Swerving into the pedestrian lane, Alexa sped around him and quickly tried to gain on Kasper’s abductors, still uncertain of which direction they had fled. 

Blue and red lights brilliantly lit up the sky and the sounds of approaching sirens cut through the night air as emergency vehicles raced to the Stark mansion. Neighbors were questioned, statements were taken and one-by-one bodies were being dragged from the house. Gavin and his family had been escorted off the premises by a few officers and driven to a secure location while the police went to work.

“She hasn't called,” Gavin growled, tossing his phone to the table.

“I wouldn’t worry. Hannah will call when she’s ready.”

“Well I am worried, Mom. Anything could have happened to her. I shouldn’t…I shouldn’t have let her go alone. FUCK!” he yelled and swiped his hand across the items on the table, knocking them to the floor.

“Language!” Joan scolded, covering Dylan’s ears as she glared at her oldest son.

“Sorry, Dylan,” Gavin said and fell to the couch. He dropped his head in his hands as he thought about the events of the night. The look in Hannah’s eyes…this wasn’t her first time in combat. She moved with the skill of someone who’d had their share of fights. In fact, she moved like an action star from some of his favorite movies. Who is she?

“What did Hannah tell you, exactly?” Travis asked, interrupting Gavin’s thoughts. He took a seat on the sofa beside him, twisting a cup of coffee pensively in his hands. “Did she mention anything else the guard may have told her about why these people were after me?”

“No,” Gavin growled. “But I have a pretty good idea of why myself,” he snapped and stood. Gavin walked over to the window, turning his back on his father and keeping himself at a good distance.

“Good evening, folks,” the door opened and a police officer walked inside. “I’m Detective Wes Folsom. Sorry about the delay but we are trying to sort out the mess at your home. CSU is still combing over the scene, I can’t tell you the number of bullets recovered so far. You folks are lucky to have made it out of there unharmed.”

“It wasn’t luck,” Gavin mumbled to himself. “It was her.”

“I’m sorry, son, what was that?” the detective asked, stepping a little further into the room.

“Nothing.”

“The ME is now on site removing the bodies. Once they’re transported to the morgue, we can start to get a clearer indication as to what exactly took place out there.”

“So you’re telling me we’ve been holed up here for the past two hours and you still have no idea who these people are?” Travis asked, stepping into the man’s face. “What have you been doing this whole time?”

“Sir, everyone has been working as quickly and as efficiently as possible to resolve this thing but it’s going to take some time. There were nine confirmed DOA on the premises. Each one had to be photographed and examined before transport. We want to make sure that when we catch the person or persons that sent them, we have enough hard evidence to convict. That means taking our time so we don’t miss anything. Now, while those guys are doing their thing, I’d like to ask you all some questions. Mr. and Mrs. Stark, I have a few pictures here I’d like to show you.”

“What are they?” Joan asked, instructing Dylan to join his sister on the couch.

“The men in your home. I’d like to know if either of you have seen them before.”

Joan grimaced but stood to take a look, covering her mouth with her hand as the detective flipped through each photograph. “I’m sorry, no, I don’t know any of these people,” she groaned and quickly backed away, moving towards her youngest on the couch.

Travis went next and Gavin stepped towards the detective, looking over his shoulder. “Wait,” he pointed, moving to the detective’s side for a better view. “I know this man.”

“You know him?” Travis asked.

“Well I don’t know him know him but I’ve seen him around my apartment before.”

“Does he live there?”

“No. I know everyone in that building and he’s not a resident.”

“Do you recall the first time you saw him?” Detective Folsom asked, flipping open his notepad.

“Uh…it was I don’t know five  months ago, maybe. He was standing outside the front like he was waiting on someone. I checked my mail and stepped outside. We exchanged glances briefly before he went inside the lobby. I just assumed he was there to see someone but hadn’t been buzzed up. That was the day…” Gavin stopped himself and looked up at his father.

“That was the day, what?” Detective Folsom pressed.

“It was the day I decided to propose to Hannah,” Gavin lied. “I was talking to Jeff about finding her a ring. That’s how I remembered.” In truth, it was the day Gavin received the incriminating letter in the mail concerning his dear old dad. The letter now safely tucked away in the backpack with the other personal items he was able to secure from the house.

“Well I’m not sure if that will help us any but we can at least determine a timeline for when these people entered your lives,” Folsom replied and flipped his notepad shut. “If any of you can think of anything that may help, give me a call.” He placed his card on the table in front of Travis and stepped back. “We have three officers standing outside to look after you and your family. They’ll make sure you stay safe.”

“Thank you, Detective,” Travis nodded and shook the man’s hand.

“If you need anything, just let them know.”

“Excuse me, Detective, how’s Moises?” Gavin asked, turning to face the detective.

“Who’s Moises?”

“The guard they pulled out of the tool shed with us.”

“Oh, he’s doing fine. That tourniquet really saved his life. Whichever one of you thought of that, he owes you his gratitude. The doctor says he should make a full recovery.”

“That’s good.”

“Did he give you anything?” Travis asked, taking his son’s lead.

“He’s still unconscious. But don’t worry, Mr. Stark, as I said before, we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“Detective?” A patrolman stepped inside and motioned to Folsom and he excused himself from the room.

“Gavin, may I have a word with you please?” Travis asked, pulling his son into the adjacent bedroom without waiting on his response.

“What do you want?” Gavin asked scowling. He snatched his arm free from his father and moved closer to the wall away from him.

“Five months ago you asked me for a loan. Did it have anything to do with what happened tonight?” Travis whispered, keeping his tone even.

“How do I know?”

“Well you should! $1.5 million is a lot of money, Gavin. What did you need it for? It certainly wasn’t to get this garage idea you’ve been so on about up and running. So where did the money go?”

“Do you really wanna get into this right now?”

“Yeah, Gavin, I really do. Your family, THIS family has been shot at, threatened and run out of our home all in the course of a few hours. If you’ve gotten yourself involved in something I need to know right now!” Travis demanded, his voice raising a few octaves but remaining quiet enough so as not to alarm the others. The scowl on Gavin’s face deepened and he stormed out of the room and back towards the others. “Where are you going?”

“You wanted answers, Dad, I’m going to get them for you. Wait here.” Moments later, Gavin returned with the manila envelope and the letter.

“What’s this?” Travis asked, opening it. He gasped, glanced up at his son and quickly shut the door to the connecting room. “Where did you get these?” he asked, flipping through each picture.

“It came the day I first saw that man on my doorstep. My money’s on him slipping it into my mailbox. He was standing right there. He could have easily seen which apartment number was mine. That money, that $1.5 million ‘loan’ was to cover YOUR ass, Dad, not mine. If you want answers, look at yourself. Whatever you’re involved in; whosever wife you’re screwing is what got your family THIS family shot at, threatened and run out of our home.”

“Does your mother know?”

“Oh, NOW you’re worried about Mom?”

“Gavin…”

“Relax. I didn’t say anything. I kept this as quiet as possible. I wouldn’t want to tarnish your pristine reputation, Dad, but mostly, I didn’t want Mom to be embarrassed or hurt by it.” Gavin paused and watched the flurry of expressions shift around his father’s face. “I guess the question is: what have you gotten us into?  Why were these men after us tonight?”

“That’s just it, Gavin, I have no idea. These women they were just…I needed companionship and I…”

“Save it. I don’t need to know the details behind why you cheated on a woman that’s been nothing but devoted to you for 42 years. If Hannah hadn’t…”

“Yes! Hannah. She said one of the guards overheard something.”

“Right. Something to do with you not paying someone. I know.”

“But YOU paid them. The money, how did you deliver it?”

“I left it where the note instructed. I have no idea if they got it or not. It’s not like I sat around and waited. I was pissed,” Gavin admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “I just wanted to be out of this fucking situation. I should have just let you deal with it. Now we’re homeless and Hannah’s out there alone, I have no idea if she’s hurt or…all because you couldn’t keep it in your pants.” Travis’ head sank into his hands as he dropped onto the ottoman behind him. “This ends now. Whatever you’ve done, if you need to come clean to keep us safe you’d better fucking do it. And if you ever…”

“I won’t. Never again. These women…they—they meant nothing. I love your mother.” Again, Gavin turned his back and stormed out, leaving Travis to stew in his own mess. 

Alexa stopped just one lot away from the abandoned building. Why are they always abandoned and creepy? She thought as she skulked along the dirt path towards the entrance. Kasper’s SUV was parked outside and there were dim lights shining through the grimy plate glass window on the 2^nd floor. Carefully she inched onto the loading docks, checking for vulnerable points of entry.

Alexa detected movement on the wall beside the rear exit and quickly pressed herself into a panel near the packing bay. One of the armed men she’d followed had stepped outside for a smoke. A large semi-automatic rifle hung off of his right shoulder and two smaller firearms were holstered on either hip. He had his back to her as he lit his cigarette and inhaled a deep puff. 

Smoke swirled around his head and he shifted his weight back and forth between each foot. He wasn’t overly aware of his surroundings nor did he appear concerned about being out in the open; probably assuming they’d gotten away scot-free. Moving quietly, Alexa slid along the partition, getting herself into position behind him. When next he lifted his cigarette, she charged. Wrapping her arm around his throat and a hand over his mouth, Alexa applied pressure to his trachea, crushing his windpipe before giving his head a violent jerk and snapping his neck.

The gunman slumped against her and she dragged him down the dock and pushed his body into a corner out of view. Retrieving his weapons and extra ammo, Alexa slipped inside the propped open door and followed the hallway to a set of stairs. Advancing swiftly and silently, she checked each room she passed, being sure to clear them before heading up.

“Why did you bring him here?” She heard a voice say just on the other side of the wall.

“I didn’t know what else to do. That—bitch…she took out my entire team before we even made it through the front doors. I thought you said this would be easy. A quick payday; in and out before they even realized we were there. ”

“That’s what I was told. Two guards, one family of four. It was a simple kill mission.”

“Well it was anything but simple! There were five armed guards, one on each exit, two at the front and six people in that house. And then we get the cherry on top, that asshole over there shows up in the middle of our breach. It was a clusterfuck!” The men continued arguing.

“We need to get rid of him. No deviating from the plan; that’s what they told us.”

“Yeah well they’re not the ones being shot at now are they? This is bad man, this is really fucking bad. We failed. Do you know what that means for us?” She could hear the frantic movement of feet as though someone was nervously pacing the floor. From her position outside the door, she could make out three shadows. One was flickering in front of the light; the pacer most likely. Another remained static against a wall. The third, although faint, appeared to be resting between the other two. She had yet to see that one move.

“Get it together! I can’t have you losing your shit on me right now. There’s already enough to deal with.” A door opened and two shadows disappeared from the room. Alexa waited a moment to see if the voices would return.

When they didn’t, she crept across the hall and carefully poked her head around the corner. Kasper was lying unconscious on the floor, his hands bound in front of him. The sound of a creaking floorboard quickly drew her back and she watched a man slowly approaching from the other end of the passageway. His movements backed her into the empty room across the hall and Alexa closed her fists as she prepared herself for his next move.

“You must be her,” he said, closing the door as he entered in behind her. “The ‘bitch’ I’ve been hearing so much about. Funny. You don’t look so tough to me.” Alexa drew her knife and waited. The man smirked and did the same. “That’s a pretty big blade for a little thing like you. Tell me, sweetheart, you ever fought with a knife before?”

He was twice her size and had the advantage in both reach and strength, but Alexa was used to that. “Why don’t you come a little closer and find out?”

“With pleasure.” He lunged. Alexa stepped to the side, but the man followed as fast as a cornered snake. He attempted another swipe and she calmly ducked beneath, backed away and kicked his leg out from under him. The man was quick to his feet. Alexa moved with more grace and precision than her opponent, and the man soon realized she was more dangerous than he discerned.

Shaking it off, he moved back a few steps, staring at Alexa as he sized her up and plotted his next move. His wrist flicked out and the knife whirled forward, almost too fast for the eye to track. Alexa threw her right arm up in a desperate attempt to block but the strike, intended for her throat, struck her forearm instead. The sharp blade sliced her open from elbow to wrist. She stumbled back, clutching at the new wound as she peered into the man’s smiling face.

“Brock.”

“Excuse me?”

“I thought it only fitting you know the name of your executioner,” he tilted his head as if waiting for her to return the courtesy. Instead, he received an answer in a forward attack that had him promptly bumping against the wall. 

The two backed away from each other. The laceration on Alexa’s arm hurt remarkably little, seeing how much it was bleeding. She was thankful for that but knew the pain would sneak up on her later.

The damage was to Alexa’s dominant arm and the blood had quickly worked its way between her palm and the hilt of her weapon, making it difficult to maintain a tight grip. This was not the first time she was injured during a fight and Alexa knew the shock that eased the pain would soon also slow her reflexes and dull her mind.

“Give up?” he asked in his throaty voice. “You can’t beat me.” Maybe he was right. Brock was uninjured, unhindered and not suffering from exhaustion. He bounced lightly on the balls of his feet, but stayed his attack.

Alexa suspected that he was waiting for her to recklessly lunge out, desperate to end their combat. Or maybe his plan was to delay until she grew weak from blood loss and then pounce. Either way, she was not giving him the satisfaction of an easy kill.

Brock feinted with his left hand and Alexa dodged the real attack that came from the right. She kicked his hand, disarming him. Bringing her left arm up, she slammed her fist into Brock’s face. The blow caught him across the temple. A burst of light obscured his vision, momentarily dizzying him.

Blood ran down his chin from a split lip and he pushed himself into the wall as he slowly refocused. “Give up?” Alexa snarled, taking position with her back to the door.

He smiled and spat blood on the floor in front of her. “Cute.” Brock lashed out. She threw herself backwards. Her foot caught on the rolled carpet and she fell. Before she had time to process, he was on her, his hands clutching tightly around her throat, squeezing the air from her lungs. “Nighty night, Princess.”

Jamming her left palm onto the metal floor, she pivoted herself and threw her body to the side, loosening his grip. Alexa rolled and raced to her feet. More blood ran down her right arm and pooled onto the floor. Not allowing Brock the chance to regain his balance, Alexa smashed her fist into his jaw and felt it crack against her knuckles. She followed up with a second, third and fourth blow until his breathing was even and he was out.

Snatching her knife from the floor, she quickly rushed back across the hall to where Kasper was being held. He had come to and was struggling with the binds on his wrists. “A!” he shouted in a low whisper. She placed a finger against her lips and he nodded. Kneeling in front of him, Alexa sliced the ropes off her friend and helped him stand. “Your arm. You’re hurt.”

“I’ll be fine. I don’t know how many more are in here but we need to go before…”

“SOMEONE’S HERE!” they heard a man shout behind the door across from them.

“Too late,” Kasper hissed as he ran with her from the room. Gunshots exploded behind them and Alexa pushed Kasper in front of her as she returned fire.

“Get to the stairs!” she ordered, keeping her head low while rushing after him.

Kasper turned a corner and Alexa jerked him back as the wall to their left exploded with bullet holes. “JESUS!” he gasped as she threw him inside a room. “We’ll never make it out of here alive.”

“Speak for yourself,” she snapped and pushed a few boxes in front of the door. Moving to the window, Alexa calculated the distance to the ground and nodded. “We’re gonna have to jump.”

Kasper glanced out the window and swiftly backed away. “To what? There’s nothing down there but concrete and pain!” More bullets riddled the door and it was only a matter of minutes before they’d be standing face-to-face with the gunmen outside.

“Better decide now, K, broken ankle or bullet to the head,” she said, lifting the window up and climbing to the ledge. Kasper reluctantly followed her out, leaning as far against the wall as possible. A cooling breeze blew over his face and he tried his best not to look down.

“Fuck, this is stupid! This is crazy! We’re going to die!”

“Shut up and jump!” she yelled, taking the plunge. Alexa landed in a bush just beneath the window, rolled out and motioned for Kasper to move it. “K? Get your ass down here!”

“No way, I’m gonna die!”

“No you won’t! I did it.”

“Yeah but, you’re crazy!”

No! Crazy is standing on a rooftop, unarmed with a bunch of people shooting at you! Now stop arguing and do it!”

“SHIT!” Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, counted down from five and jumped. 

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