2025-03-29 08:53:42
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The shadow in the hospital Oscar’s Pursuit
The cab ride home was silent, the only sounds coming from the city as it blurred past the windows. Oscar leaned against the seat, his face pale from the blood loss. His wife, seated beside him, reached for his hand, her grip firm yet trembling. She didn’t say a word, but the worry in her eyes spoke volumes.When they arrived, she helped him out of the car, her movements swift but cautious. His legs nearly buckled beneath him, and he gritted his teeth, pushing through the pain as she supported him toward the house. The Bolt driver waited as she guided Oscar through the door before hurrying back to the car. She had to retrieve the vehicle she had left at the mall to throw off any potential followers. Their movements were calculated, deliberate. They couldn’t afford mistakes.Oscar staggered inside, his breath shallow as he made it to their bedroom. His wife helped him ease onto the bed, carefully positioning him against the pillows. Every inch of his body ached, the pain radiating from
The shadow in the hospital Impromptu Visit
The blaring horn of a truck shattered the quiet of the hidden apartment complex, sending a ripple of tension through Walker’s chest. His grip on the bottle he was holding tightened instinctively. His hidden apartment was not the kind of place where people paid casual visits. He stood, moving toward the window, and peered out through the blinds.Svet.The old truck driver climbed down from his truck, a large box in his hands. A gift. Walker didn’t move at first. He just stood there, watching. There was something about Svet that never sat right with him. He had saved Walker’s wife in a moment of crisis, and for that, Walker was grateful. But ever since then, Svet had been lingering too close, weaving himself into their lives. Walker had been trained to be cautious, and something about the man didn’t add up.The way Svet had pulled rank at the Daad Intercontinental Supermarket had been unsettling. One moment, a manager was embarrassing Walker, the next, Svet had shut her down with a few
The shadow in the hospital A deal below the belt
The wind howled through the dense thicket, rustling the overgrown shrubs that concealed the entrance to Jett’s hideout. He moved swiftly through the darkness, his breath steady despite the chaos raging inside his mind. The meeting had gone south. He had signed a deal with the Crocs—one he had no choice but to accept. They had set him free after his capture, but at a cost. Now, he was bound to a contract that turned his skills against the very people he once sought to protect. He had never been a saint, but at least he had wielded his knowledge on his own terms. Now, his will was no longer his own.He reached the mouth of the cave, crouching behind a thick trunk, scanning the surroundings. He never entered without ensuring he wasn’t followed. The Crocs had him in their grip, and he knew better than to underestimate their reach. The cave was well hidden, deep in the forest where few dared to venture. Wild vines snaked over its rocky exterior, masking the entrance like nature’s own fortr
The shadow in the hospital Prison Invasion
Ramirez’s heart pounded like a drum as he sped through the city streets of New York, his thoughts darkened by the loss of his wife and daughter. Every twist and turn on his patrol car’s journey seemed to echo the emptiness in his soul. He was convinced that the key to his personal nightmare lay with Javier Montoya—a notorious criminal now confined within the harsh walls of Rikers Island. Though Montoya was locked away, whispers of corruption and secret releases haunted Ramirez’s mind. Determined to find answers, he barreled down 42nd Street, the neon lights and towering billboards blending into a chaotic river of color that barely registered as he pushed his vehicle faster.Turning sharply onto Lexington Avenue, Ramirez’s focus intensified. The memories of his family—the gentle smile of his daughter and the comforting embrace of his wife—drove him onward. His mind wandered between scenes of happier times and the stark reality of his current despair. Soon, he merged onto the FDR Drive,
The shadow in the hospital Venom
Walker sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly into the dimly lit room. His mind was a storm, a never-ending swirl of worries and unresolved thoughts. Elizabeth stirred beside him, her eyes fluttering open as she instinctively checked on their baby, Seth. Once satisfied that he was sleeping soundly, she rolled over, expecting to find her husband asleep. Instead, she saw his tense posture, his shoulders hunched forward as if carrying an unbearable weight.She wiped her face with her palm, clearing her vision as she glanced at the bedside clock. It was exactly 2 a.m. The eerie silence of the night made his soft murmuring more apparent. Walker’s lips moved, but his words were incomprehensible. Elizabeth sat up, concern tightening her chest. She reached out and touched his shoulder. Walker flinched slightly, his body jolting as if pulled from the depths of his thoughts."Baby, why aren’t you sleeping? You look troubled," she whispered, moving closer and wrapping her arms around him. H
The shadow in the hospital Prison Chaos
Ramirez's breath came in ragged gasps as he maneuvered through the crawlspace. The air was thick with dust, making his lungs burn. He heard the officers below shouting orders, their boots thundering against the floor. The prison was alive with the chaos he had unleashed.He wiped the sweat from his brow, his mind racing. He needed to get to the inner cells. If Javier Montoya was truly inside, he had to see him with his own eyes. If not, then Ramirez knew he had been chasing shadows—and his family’s disappearance had a different culprit.The crawlspace was tight, barely giving him enough room to move. His uniform scraped against the rough metal, and his shoulders ached from the strain. He pressed on, ignoring the discomfort. Every second counted. He could hear the officers below, their radios crackling with updates.Ramirez pushed forward, but his luck ran out. The metal creaked beneath his weight, and then—SNAP!—the weak panel gave way. He barely had time to react before he plummeted
The shadow in the hospital Memory Loss
Tiny flickers of light danced before his eyes. His vision blurred, unfocused. He groanved, trying to move, but his body felt weighted, sluggish. Panic clawed at his chest as he struggled to make sense of his surroundings."Where... where am I?" His voice cracked, dry as desert air.The sound of hurried footsteps. A soft gasp. Then, warmth—a gentle hand brushing against his cheek. "Walker! Oh my God, you're awake!" A familiar voice. Comforting. Shaky with emotion.He tried to lift his head, but the effort was exhausting. Squinting through the haze, he could barely make out the silhouette of a woman. His heart told him it was Elizabeth, but his mind refused to connect the dots."I’m here," she whispered, her fingers tracing his face as though confirming he was real. "It’s me, Elizabeth."Walker’s breath came out in short puffs. "What happened to me? Why can’t I see properly?" He reached up, his fingers brushing against bandages wrapped tightly around his hands and arms.Elizabeth sque
The shadow in the hospital You’re using criminals to catch cops now?
Ramirez crept forward on aching elbows, the metal biting into his skin with every inch he advanced. The stale air of the ventilation shaft was thick with grime and rust, the silence broken only by the faint groans of the prison’s ancient structure. His heart pounded in his ears as he reached a long shaft stretching over the highest-security wing—the place they called The Pit.This has to be it, he thought. Javier Montoya’s cage.But as he crawled closer, his gut twisted.The shaft above this particular section wasn't like the others. It was reinforced with iron bars, thick and welded to an inner frame—an iron lattice designed to block even the smallest object from falling through. Someone had gone to great lengths to seal this section off from above. Not because of an escape risk—but because of rescue attempts. They had sealed it like a vault.They knew his men might try this. They thought of everything.Ramirez pressed his face to the narrowest gap in the ironwork. He couldn’t see mu
Latest Chapter
Bring back Riven
The Stone-Faced Man stamped his heavy boots against the concrete floor of the treatment room. The sound ricocheted off the walls like a gunshot."I warned you," he said, dragging the word warned into a deep, groaning rasp that froze the air itself.Dax kept his gaze pinned to the floor, his battered body trembling under blood-stained bandages. Around him, the others sat or slumped against the walls—bruised, broken, humiliated.Six had gone after Walker. Only five had returned—and barely."You’re all worthless," the old man hissed. "Six against one. One... and now you’re five." He spat thickly onto the floor, the glob splattering near Dax’s boot.He stalked closer, the air warping with his rage."What the hell were you thinking—leaving one of your own behind? If your corpses were dragged back to me, I would’ve loved it more."The silence was suffocating. No one dared lift their head."You think he’s gonna mercy Riven? He’s squeezing him dry as we speak—and that one broken link is enoug
The House Divide
Oscar’s wife stared at him for a full minute—really stared—like she was trying to figure out if she even recognized the man sitting in front of her.“Is there something you’re not telling me?” she asked, voice tight.Oscar wasn’t listening.His mind was a thousand miles away, replaying the moment everything went wrong—the night he chased two strangers through the alley behind Ramirez’s safehouse. Strangers who moved like trained shadows.He caught one, slammed him into a wall—but the guy slipped free in his car, and almost snapped Oscar’s temples in the process.Since then, the hunt had never stopped.And Oscar had never told her why.“I’m talking to you, dummy,” she snapped, voice slicing through the silence.Oscar turned his head, half amused. “Did you just call me dummy?”She crossed her arms but didn’t answer. The set of her jaw said enough.“What’s gotten into you?” Oscar muttered, disbelief flickering across his battered face. The woman he married—calm, respectful, patient—was n
"You're Going To Tell Me Everything"
The single bulb above Anita’s head flickered, its weak glow pulsing like a dying heartbeat. It buzzed intermittently, casting long shadows that crawled across the rotting wooden walls of the shed. The air was heavy—damp, stale, and sour with mold. A faint drip echoed in the corner, where rust kissed the steel frame of an old workbench. The place smelled like wet earth and forgotten things.Anita stirred.Her wrists were zip-tied to a rusted metal chair, the plastic biting into her skin. Blood, dry and dark, streaked down her temple from the blow at the club. Her lashes fluttered. She winced at the ache in her skull, the tightness in her arms. For a moment, she didn’t know where she was. Then her gaze found him.Jett stood in the shadows, arms crossed, a statue carved from grief and fury. His face was unreadable. Stone. Cold. A shadow masked half of his features, but his eyes—those eyes—burned.He didn’t speak.Seconds passed. Maybe a minute. The silence thickened, pressing down like f
The Visitors took to their heels
A cough.Low. Wet. Right outside the back fence.Walker froze, still crouched over the false floorboard in the kitchen, where he’d been checking the tension on the tripwire. The wire hummed in his hand.He reached slowly for the blade taped under the sink.Another cough. Then silence.It wasn’t Greg. Greg never came back. Claimed his knees hated stairs. This sound came from the alley behind the thorn wall—a place only someone looking for him would bother with.Walker moved to the window. The boards made no sound; he’d oiled the hinges himself. Through the slats, nothing moved. Just ivy twitching in the wind.Then—click.A soft crunch.Someone just stepped on the pressure plate under the third flagstone.His heart rate spiked. He waited.WHAM!The spring-jaw trap snapped shut with a metal scream.A shout. Muffled. A man’s voice.“Shit! Shit!—”Then silence.Walker grabbed the small mirror on a stick from behind the curtain and angled it through the window gap. What he saw made him curs
The Safehouse Isn’t Safe
The ride was quiet, but not peaceful.The kind of silence that clings to your skin. The kind that knows how to wait.Oscar leaned back in the passenger seat, jaw clenched, a cold sheen of sweat collecting on his temples. Every bump in the road jarred his broken ribs, lighting fires under his skin. His shirt clung to his torso, damp with blood that refused to clot. He didn’t complain. Didn’t groan. The pain reminded him he was still alive—for now.His wife gripped the steering wheel like it was a lifeline. Her eyes danced between mirrors—rearview, side, dash cam—never resting, never blinking too long. The way she drove, it wasn’t just focus. It was fear disguised as control.She hadn’t spoken since they left the clinic.She didn’t need to.They couldn’t go home. Couldn’t risk her sister’s house. Couldn’t hide in a hotel, not even under a fake name. Whoever was after them wasn’t tailing—they were tracking. With precision. With intent. Like wolves trained by men who’d seen war.Oscar kne
The Subtle Fortress
The rain had just stopped when Walker stepped off the train and into the quiet edge of the Bronx suburbs. Not the heart of New York—too loud, too watched. Here, people minded their business. And if they didn’t, he’d give them a reason to.He walked with a duffel bag over his shoulder, the only sound his boots slapping damp concrete. Three blocks in, he saw the apartment. Weathered brick. Ivy curling up the sides like it was trying to pull it back into the earth. Two floors. Back alley. Narrow front. It was perfect.A sign in the dusty window read: Room For Lease. No Pets. No Nonsense.He knocked once. Waited.The door opened a crack. One gray eye peered through. Then it opened wider.Old man. Mid-seventies. Flannel shirt, suspenders, the scent of wood shavings clinging to him like perfume.“You lost, son?” the man asked.Walker didn’t smile. “Looking to rent. Short term. You Greg?”The man nodded. “Might be.”“I’ll pay three months upfront. Quiet. No visitors. I just need space.”G
PENTHOUSE–FORTY-THIRD Floor
Penthouse, 2:17 A.M.Outside, Manhattan pulsed—wet streets, blinking signs, garbage trucks grinding somewhere far below. Inside, the hallway outside the main chamber felt like a mausoleum—quiet, cold, and waiting.Riven leaned against the wall, fidgeting with a lighter he didn’t know how to use. “You think he ever sleeps?”Dax didn’t look up from his phone. “The boss?”“No, Santa Claus.”Dax’s mouth twitched—almost a smile. “If you gotta ask, you’re not ready to meet him.”Riven glanced at the thick steel double doors ahead. “Think he’ll like me?”Dax finally looked over. “No.”Riven paused. “What if I brought donuts?”Now Dax did smile—barely. “He doesn’t eat sugar. Says it fogs the kill switch.”“What’s the kill switch?”Dax tapped his chest. “The moment you hesitate.”Before Riven could reply, the doors clicked open on their own. No creak. Just smooth, mechanical surrender.“Guess that’s our cue,” Dax said, already walking.Inside the Domain.It felt more like a fortress than a hom
The Day Of Departure
Paris, 5:26 a.m. – The Day of DepartureA gray hush hung over the apartment like a veil. Outside the window, the streets of Montparnasse were slick with rain, streetlamps still glowing, casting long yellow reflections across the pavement. Inside, the kitchen smelled of dark roast and quiet dread.Elizabeth stood barefoot by the stovetop, wrapped in one of Walker’s old cotton shirts—navy blue, frayed at the cuffs. She cradled a white mug in both hands, staring blankly at the French press slowly dripping behind her. The overhead light hummed, a faint contrast to the rhythmic patter of drizzle tapping the windowpanes.Walker entered the kitchen already dressed—charcoal jeans, black boots, and a fitted dark jacket zipped halfway. His duffel bag was slung over his right shoulder; a small black carry-on rolled behind him.“You’re early,” she said without turning.“I couldn’t sleep.”She reached for a second mug and poured. “You want one for the road?”He nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.”They sipped
You will stay here tonight
A dusty taxi creaked to a halt by the side of an empty stretch of road. Jett stepped out first—broad shoulders wrapped in a black leather coat, hood drawn, his jaw clenched beneath a well-groomed beard. His mirrored sunglasses caught the glow of the streetlight, making him unreadable.Without a word, he circled to the other door, yanked it open, and dragged Anita out. She stumbled. Her face was veiled beneath a grey scarf, pulled tight. Her wrists were tense under his grip.The taxi disappeared into the fog. Another whizzed past, not even slowing when the driver caught a glimpse of the strange duo. Jett knew better than to head home. Surveillance was real. Patterns get you caught. And tonight, he wasn't just a hacker — he was judge, jury, maybe more.He hissed into Anita’s ear, the barrel of a pistol poking under her rib cage. “One sound, and I turn your insides into fog. Got it?”She nodded slowly, eyes wet, throat stiff.When a second cab finally pulled over, Jett shoved her inside
