CHAPTER 2: The Shepherd's Mark
chapter 2
The black sedan hit the bridge at full speed, tires hissing across the soaked pavement.
"Move!" Lena shouted.
She lunged toward Arthur just as Max sprang into action.
The German shepherd launched himself into the middle of the road, barking with a ferocity that echoed over the river below.
The sedan didn't slow down.
Its headlights flared brighter.
For a terrifying instant, it looked as though the driver intended to plow through everyone on the bridge.
Then the vehicle swerved.
Rubber screamed against wet asphalt.
The car spun sideways, stopping only a few yards away.
Four doors flew open.
Men dressed in dark raincoats stepped out.
No badges.
No uniforms.
Only cold eyes and pistols fitted with suppressors.
Lena immediately raised her weapon.
"Police! Drop your guns!"
Nobody listened.
The first shot cracked through the storm.
Not loud.
Just a sharp pop.
Concrete exploded beside Lena's boot.
"Cover!" she yelled.
Arthur tried to stand but collapsed to one knee, blood soaking through his shirt.
Max refused to leave him.
The dog planted himself between Arthur and the gunmen, teeth bared, growling with a sound that barely seemed canine anymore.
One of the men smirked.
"So the dog remembers."
Arthur's breathing caught.
"You..."
The stranger smiled without warmth.
"I was wondering how long it would take."
Lena glanced at Arthur.
"You know him?"
Arthur closed his eyes for a moment.
"I wish I didn't."
Another bullet slammed into a patrol car, showering the bridge with glass.
Lena ducked behind the engine block and returned fire.
The attackers scattered with practiced precision.
This wasn't some desperate street gang.
These men had trained together.
Arthur watched them move through the rain.
Every step confirmed the fear he'd carried for seven years.
"They're cleaning up loose ends."
Lena frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Arthur looked at Max.
The old dog's eyes never left the men closing in.
"It means they never stopped hunting me."
Lightning ripped across the sky.
For a split second, every face on the bridge was illuminated in ghostly white.
Arthur recognized another man climbing from the passenger seat.
Older now.
More gray hair.
But unmistakable.
His heart nearly stopped.
"No..."
The man smiled.
"I told you we'd meet again."
Arthur whispered the name like it hurt to say.
"Daniel."
Lena looked between them.
"You know each other?"
Arthur laughed bitterly.
"We graduated from the academy together."
Daniel slowly removed his gloves.
"You were supposed to disappear quietly."
"I almost did."
"But you survived."
Daniel's smile faded.
"That was your mistake."
Max suddenly barked.
Not at Daniel.
At the driver.
The man behind the wheel had finally stepped into the rain.
He carried no weapon.
He didn't need one.
The moment Arthur saw his face, every ounce of color vanished from his own.
Lena noticed it immediately.
"Who is he?"
Arthur's lips trembled.
"The one man I prayed was dead."
The driver stopped beneath the pouring rain.
Even from fifty feet away, his voice carried across the bridge.
"Welcome home, Arthur."
May you like
He smiled.
"Seven years is a long time to run."
