1

In the driving rain, Daniel sprinted out of the warehouse and looked around. His eyes studied the surroundings with speed and accuracy. He has this feeling, and this felt true. His heart pumped with excitement. He knew deep down that whoever was doing this was here. He needed to be here.

This was a hard place to focus on, with green fields, stretching farmland, and forests covering most of the area.

Daniel tried to focus more on the trees, past the fence to his east. Erica comes up to him, gun raised. Have you found him?

'You already aiming? You are an American.' Daniel remarked while his eyes took in every detail except for Erica.

'Better safe than sorry sir,' Erica responded, looking around with her arms stretched out and strong.

'Okay, first rule Chandler, don't call me sir. When you fucking say, sir, I'm looking around for someone who is older and more dignified. Someone with a cane and loads of stories. Just call me Daniel.'

'Not Danny?'

'Don't push it.' Daniel said.

Royce comes next to them both, panting. 'You two fucking Olympic sprinters? I have never seen two people move so fast. You found them?'

'Better question or no,' Daniel gave a frenetic reply as he focused on something, someone that caught his eye. 'Royce, go around the other side. Check the back.' Royce went around the corner. The man in black stood still in a muddy clearing between thick-trunk trees. He raised his arm. The odd thing was how still he was. Daniel had to look twice once he spotted him. He almost looked like a statue. 'There, about six hundred metres east, in the forest. There, that guy.'

Erica had some difficulty seeing in the thick, beating rain. All the officers had difficulty as well. It occurred to Daniel that this was almost an intimate moment. The man couldn't see that Daniel was watching him. Not that Daniel made it obvious he was watching him.

Royce came back. 'I can't see in this fucking rain. He's not here. I think, Agent Bridgewater, you may be reaching for this one.'

Daniel shook his head, gave Royce the eyes and mouthed to him. He's over there. About east of me. Six hundred metres.

Royce mouthed, 'We don't say metres here. We use yards.'

Daniel mouthed back 'Shut the fuck up and focus.'

Royce nodded as he realised how stupid that whole conversation sounded, and he was the perpetrator.

'Why are you standing still and looking the other way?' Erica spoke in a hushed tone. This even confused her, as it felt like they were in a smaller space and not outside of the warehouse metres from a large, several square foot car park.

'Cause I don't think he has a clue that I can see him.' Daniel noticed and he took his time to unbuckle his gun from his holster.

'What are you doing?' Erica asked as she tried her best to keep looking around and follow Daniel's lead.

'Something is paramount to this job, Chandler. The element of surprise.' Daniel turned with great speed and shouted at the man, 'STAY RIGHT THERE NOW!'

The man turned on his heels with an elegance that surprised even a seasoned chaser like Daniel Bridgewater.

Daniel ran out of the car park, leaped over several fences, and sprinted across the road as cars just avoided his colossal frame. Two cars collided with each other, but Daniel only just about registered that as the man moved like a blur in the downpour. Daniel had to stay focused as he made his way through the rain and muddy ground. Erica tries, as she might see them both head deep into the forest. She ran right around, hoping to cut this man off.

Daniel leaped over fallen trunks and logs. Every single oak tree around Daniel and the forest itself shook, and the leaves flew down from branches. He saw the man move his left arm in almost a whip-like motion, and one of those logs flew right towards him. He slid on the ground, avoiding logs coming in from both sides, and flipped over one as it passed. Two big trucks flew towards him, and Daniel planted his feet on the ground and raised his arms like he was a boxer in a defensive position. He covered his face, and the trunk smashed into him, but both broke in half. Another flew at him from his right. Daniel did another flip and slipped, and he just missed another tree pulled from the ground and flung from his left.

As Daniel gathered his footing and the rain still fell thick from the grey sky, he took a guess where the man would be heading to and fired two shots from his gun. The bullets skimmed and rattled two trees near the man, who Daniel could see was wearing a black hoodie, black jeans, and black boots. He was also wearing what looked like black leather gloves.

Daniel kept on running, every step becoming more desperate. What was once fleet footedness had become more pronounced and lacked assurance and confidence. He pulled out his gun and screamed at the man. He knew for his own personal agenda that getting this man, who was moving logs and trunks by the flick of his arm, was the guy. If he caught him now, well, he could end this case in record time. And also get back to what he needed to do.

Get Wallace.

Both men did not know Erica was running around the edges of the forest. She leaps over fences, both wooden and wired, with the grace of an Olympic hurdler. She thanked God, that was her collegiate athletic talent. Being a state 100-metre hurdler served her well, as she could see the chase through the leaves, bushes, and trees. She could see that the man was gathering pace, like pace owed him something, and he was coming to collect.

Daniel saw this too and commanded his legs to move faster and harder, and they did. The assuredness and confidence came back as he gained on the man in black. Soon enough, the trees, the mud, and the thick rain turned into a blur—a weird confluence of greens and browns. Clear in the middle of his focused vision was The Man in Black, using his right hand as a whip. More branches flung towards Daniel, who met them with a type of contempt that an environmentalist would hate. He blasted past those bushes like they were not even there. Going through them like a brick wall, even the trees looked like they recoiled.

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The man stopped and pointed his right arm forward. Daniel then, for a moment, lost all power of movement. A force hit his chest harder than it has hit him in some years. Before he knew it, he was off the ground and hurtled backward. His back smashed against a thick trunk, which snapped, and the tree started to topple and fall backward. It landed right next to Daniel's legs. Daniel had enough foresight to move his legs in the literal nick of time.

The man looked for a few seconds as Daniel got up. He turned on his heels and run again.

Daniel had clear rage across his face and spat, 'Motherfucker. Oh, I'm going to get you for that. You think you can throw a man into a tree and get away with it!!' It felt like a question, but that was more of a statement. A battle cry. Something to get himself up and pump the blood. It did the trick, too, as Daniel caught up to the man and got close enough to grab him as they ran into a clearing in the middle of the forest. The man turned and ducked the grab, lifting Daniel again off his feet. 'Ah fuck.' He bemoaned to himself as he expected his back to be introduced to another tree.

'FREEZE!' screamed Erica, who came in through a forest path to the right of the pair. 'PUT HIM DOWN AND RAISE YOUR HANDS NOW!'

The man looked at her and then looked at Daniel, who could only see the hood. He could not see the face of the man. ''l'll...say no to that.' He spoke with a deep voice, yet an indifferent tone.

Erica's gun flew from her hand and went into some bushes. The man raises his left hand and had Erica, frozen, unable to move by her own volition, raised off the ground. The man in the back looked at them both. 'Partners should die together.' He said in that same cold, emotionless tone. 'It's the only fair way to go.'

Before Daniel and Erica, both knew it, the man flung his arm in the air, and they were thrown up and up, higher in the air with immense speed. The ground, which was hundreds of feet below them, grew smaller and smaller. Soon enough, the thick rain subsided, and the sky calmed. They were that high and then the climb stopped. Both hurtled to the ground.

Erica, by instinct, screamed as the ground came close, which was an unwelcome and fatal sight. Daniel remained calm. To him, the Pennsylvanian rain grew tiresome, and he was in the state for only twenty-five minutes. Daniel had the thought that maybe this was the way his intense and haphazard life was about to end. Then a swift feeling of mourning hit him.

Wallace. There is no way he should get away with what he did.

'DANNNIIELLLL!!! WHAT THE FUCK DO WE DOOOOOO?' Erica screamed at him as the ground came closer by each second. He saw the ripples of her skin fly up her face. Her lips fluttered with no control.

It surprised Daniel that she was still alive. Most would have died from shock at this point, but here she was. It impressed him.

Daniel looked at her and stuck his arm out. Erica reached for it and grabbed it. He pulled her towards him and to his chest as the ground came to them, and for both of them, it all went black.

2

Officer Don Russo looked on as Bridgewater, Chandler and the other officers gave chase into the woods. To him, that was up to them.

Let these outsiders chase their ghosts.

Another officer, Officer Brian Sampson, an eight-year vet from the local police, walked up to Russo. He was older, with a little plumpness to his chest. Sampson called it real muscle. Everyone else said that he could lose a few pounds. 'Well, what a predicament this is?' Sampson asked as he looked at the ensuing chase. 'You figure anyone's going to believe this?'

'You see any press, Sampson? This shit is getting buried.' Russo answered.

It depends on who's dead. That's the common rule of importance. If those twelve men are nobodies, nobody in this town's going to give a fuck, but if one of them is somebody, somebody who matters, then no matter what, shit's going to leak. You can mark my words on that.' Sampson mused with his own version of sage advice.

'I'll mark your words when you say you will lose weight and not just promise it.' Russo said with a smile.

'Ah, you fuck, I'm telling you, this is muscle.' Sampson tapped his chest. 'No fucking around with...'

At the very moment Sampson was going to talk about how tough he was, the two officers saw two people fly high into the air, surging faster and faster, and then they stopped flying to heaven, and they fell with equal speed back to Earth.

'What in the fuck?' Russo exasperated when the warehouse shook for a good ten seconds. It stopped. Russo looked at Sampson and he did likewise. They pulled their weapon out of their holsters and went into the warehouse. They moved with considered steps and trained movements as they switched positions: Russo first, then Sampson. The warehouse shook again for another five seconds before it stopped, and they heard something go splat on the ground. They both stopped and went to the main floor. There, they saw a body on the floor.

Both officers looked confused. They looked up.

'This new, or did it drop?' Sampson asked as he looked around.

'I think it is a drop.'

Splat.

A few yards from where they were standing, another body slammed into the floor. Blood came pouring from the head of the dead on impact. This made them both jump, and both could not lie; No one can know they were both scared. The retelling of this story would be one of surprise and cold-blooded policing.

Splat.

Another landed right near the feet of Sampson, who screamed, 'Fuck.'

Splat. Splat. Splat.

Another three fell to the floor. Russo did not need to be told a fifth time. 'Let's go. Come on.' They ran towards the door leading to the hallway where they'd come. As they ran, bodies fell from the ceiling. There was more splatting. There was more blood and both officers could not explain it. Who could?

Not them.