Chapter 3 - The Corrupt Badge
Hadrian slowly lowers himself to his knees, keeping his hands perfectly visible in the flashing red and blue lights.
He gently sets Sorrel down on the grass, whispering for her to stay calm and brave.
The police officers rush forward, violently slamming his face into the muddy ground.
He feels the biting cold of steel handcuffs ratcheting painfully tight around his wrists.
Sorrel screams for her father, fighting desperately against the officer who picks her up.
The heavy steel front doors of the mansion slowly creak open, revealing a horrifying sight.
The Fiancée stumbles out of the smoke, weeping hysterically and holding a bloody towel to her head.
She points a trembling, manicured finger directly at Hadrian.
"He locked us inside and tried to burn us alive for the insurance money!" she cries with perfect theatrical agony.
The lead officer nods sympathetically, gently guiding the evil woman toward an awaiting ambulance.
Another officer violently yanks Hadrian to his feet, ignoring the blood dripping from his bruised jaw.
Hadrian watches helplessly as a paramedic hands his crying daughter over to the Fiancée.
The wicked woman drops her innocent act for a split second to flash him a triumphant, mocking smile.
Hadrian is forcefully shoved into the hard plastic backseat of a police cruiser.
His mind races through every possible tactical scenario to find a way out of this nightmare.
He shifts his weight, feeling a small, hard lump hidden deep inside his tactical boot.
It is a heavily encrypted burner phone given to him by his former military commander.
He manages to twist his bound hands down his leg, agonizingly slipping the device free.
He dials a memorized sequence of numbers using only his thumb.
The voice on the other end is deep, raspy, and incredibly dangerous.
"I told you never to call this number unless the ghost was back," the voice growls.
Hadrian stares through the window at the burning remains of his family home.
"The ghost isn't just back, he is hunting my daughter."
A long, heavy silence fills the line before the commander finally speaks again.
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"I am tracking your GPS signal right now, but you need to brace yourself for impact."
Before Hadrian can ask what he means, two blinding headlights appear in the wrong lane, hurtling directly toward the police cruiser.
