Trucks and armed men moved through the trees. Moving slowly as they followed the tracking devices.

"Stop here, and let's search," a tall man said, giving hand signals to the other trucks.

Men dispersed in various directions moving through the forest, their eyes scanning everything as they looked.

"They have to be here somewhere?" the commander said.

"Who, sir?" the driver asked.

"People who need our help," the commander said, earning a sharp look from the driver as he climbed from the vehicle. Moving through the forest, the commander looked around, finding three pairs of footprints heading ... into the trees. Following them, he broke into the clearing as a young officer came from a cave.

"Sir, we found bodies," the young officer said as he shielded his face from the dawn's first light streaking over the horizon into the night sky, "looks like someone stayed here for a few hours. The fire is out and cold, but that doesn't mean anything. It could have been laid out that way."

"Who are we looking at, Shetland?" the commander asked.

"Daily and Douglas," Shetland said, "looks like they were taken out with something hard. Both have snapped necks."

The commander looked around, seeing a log lying near the entrance of the small clearing, "That could be it." Bending over and carefully picking it up, "There is some blood."

"Could be both men's blood," Shetland whispered, looking around the clearing, "no footprints, no outside fire ... nothing that could give away a hideout."

"Yeah," the commander sighed, pushing to his full height, "there is only one person who is this good, this careful and this successful."

"How do you know who it is, Commander Greyson?" Shetland asked, "all we have is a grainy picture."

"That is true, but I know her from the time we trained together," Greyson said, taking in the area, "we felt like clones next to her creative ways of filling an objective."

"Is she really that good? If she is, we wouldn't have a picture of her," Shetland said.

"How many pictures of you are there available on camera?" Greyson asked, "pictures that people could find with facial recognition."

"I suppose a few," Shetland shrugged, "why?"

"This photo is the only photo of this woman anywhere," Greyson said, "that makes her good. Exceptionally good."

"The only one?" Shetland asked, an incredulous look on his face, "that's not possible."

"It is," Greyson said, wandering toward the river, "if they have left already, my guess is their path started in this direction. Crossing the river and moving toward a path from here."

"Why would you say that?"

"Any other way would have meant capture," Greyson said, "which means they have coverage of the area. Someone is helping them."

"We already presumed that," Shetland said.

"We assumed they had inside help," Greyson said, "but this type of avoidance means the help is external. Everything happening here is intentional. Run the compound's residents through facial recognition and pull every file attached to any profile with their faces attached. Especially the residents."

"What are we looking for?" Shetland asked.

"Not sure yet," Greyson shook his head, "the trackers went offline here. The female resident would have been programmed to never disable them. The woman we are hunting would disable them for a specific reason, so what is it, and where is she heading?"

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"What do we do with the bodies?" Shetland asked, "take them back to the compound?"

"No," Greyson said, shaking his head, "they will only burn them to cover their tracks. I'm done taking orders from those cutthroats. Time we find out why they want to track down and kill someone who could have taken them out with her finger."

"They did look angry when they found out who had taken the residents," Shetland said.

"That wasn't anger,' Greyson said.

"Really, it looked like anger," Shetlands said.

"No, they used it as a cover for their real emotion," Greyson murmured, looking around the clearing again. "All that blustering and threatening, shouting what they will and will not do. Their eyes gave them away even though they tried for a good cover. I saw their real emotion."

"What was it, Commander?" Shetland asked.

"Fear, Shetland," Greyson murmured, looking toward the rock face before meeting the younger man's confused gaze, "absolute, bone-chilling fear."

"Who could make them feel that kind of emotion?" Shetland asked, frowning.

"Someone who knows them better than they know themselves," Greyson said, pausing and frowning, "or ... someone who can take them out at the roots, and they know it."

"Never thought they would be able to feel any emotion," Shetland said. Motioning to the men carrying the filled body bags to place them on the truck, "they seem very confident."

"All a cover for cruel, mean, calculating and cold men," Greyson sighed. "Someone has to end their tyranny... hopefully, it's the person we are tracking."

"But we're supposed to end her," Shetland said, "wouldn't assisting her in success make us go against orders."

"Following orders from men who solve problems by murder is being an accomplice," Greyson said, pulling the tracker from his belt, dropping it on the ground and destroying it. "I will no longer allow myself to be used to cover their cruelty and obsession with the Bassett family."

"What am I supposed to do with that?" Shetland asked, frowning as he squared up to his commanding officer.

"Whatever you want," Greyson smiled, "just remember this ... when the chips fall in the Bassetts favour ... and they will... be on the side that is just and right. You must ensure your code isn't compromised and your conscience is clear."

Shetland stared at Greyson before nodding, "I'll take that under advisement. What do we do now?"

"Find which way they are going and make sure they get through," Greyson said. "We're going to make sure the bodies go for an autopsy with people who will need the evidence to take down the Tenderhooks and do whatever it takes to end their legacy."

"Put balance back into the equation," Shetland said, meeting Greyson's surprised gaze, "men who can be bought have no morals."

"True. Which are you?" Greyson asked.

"Like you, I cannot be bought," Shetland said, "I've had problems with this assignment from the start."

"Same," Greyson nodded, "let's lead as we should."

"Agreed," Shetland said, pulling a tracker from his belt, "I see you disposed of yours ... it's time I do the same."

"We'll see who follows," Greyson murmured, joining the groups of men at the trucks. "Men ..." gaining their attention, he continued, "we have been compromised and have a choice to make. Dispose of the Tenderhook trackers or hike back to the compound with your gear. The choice is to be made now and here."

"How have we been compromised?" one of them asked.

"We have a code we work with, hold ourselves up to and try to maintain," Greyson said. "When taking the assignment, we were not told all the details, only those important to the person hiring us. We are being asked to go against one of our own because of fear of two weak men who own what they have through the blood of others. These men will think nothing of disposing of us once they have what they want. Each of us has a choice: uphold our creed or sell out to murderers. If you decide to hold to the creed, dispose of your trackers ... if you don't, collect your gear and start hiking. You have a minute to decide."

Silently he watched as men pulled their trackers from their various locations and disposed of them. One or two hesitated as though they fought with themselves but finally followed their team members.

"I'm glad you decided to stand with us," Greyson said, "now, let's help our brethren by doing what is right."

"What is right?" one of the men asked, frowning.

"Saving the innocent and protecting the moral," Shetland said, "it's part of our creed. Remember who we are standing up for those who cannot."

"So standing against the playground bully," another said, "we can do that ... I don't like bullies."

Greyson grinned, "No one does. We will get rid of anything that will assist these bullies in tracking and tracing us. By doing that, they will find our sister and those with her. It cannot happen until the right time when they can no longer get their way. Remember, these bullies will use any means necessary to eradicate anyone who will stand in their way. We have a job to do ... let's go dark."