Chapter 3 - Ghosts in the Light
Mason walked out onto his dark porch, closing the wooden door behind him so Sophie wouldn't hear.
"General Vance," Mason said, his voice flat.
"It's Director Vance now," the voice corrected. General David Vance had been Mason's commanding officer in the Division—a top-secret black-ops unit that conducted unsanctioned counter-terrorism operations across the globe. "Three years ago, you retired after Claire's funeral. I wiped your record, gave you a new identity, and promised to keep the federal agencies off your back as long as you stayed under the radar."
"I was keeping a low profile," Mason said, leaning against the wooden porch railing. "A arrogant fighter pushed his luck."
"That 'arrogant fighter' is the nephew of Senator Thomas Rourke," Vance warned, his tone grave. "Colin Drake posted that video to save face, claiming you assaulted an athlete. Senator Rourke is already calling the Savannah Police Department demanding an arrest. But worse than that, Mason... people who used to look for you are watching that video right now."
Mason's jaw tightened. "The Cartel?"
"The Syndicate in Eastern Europe," Vance replied. "You took down their entire weapons distribution grid in Munich five years ago. They put a five-million-dollar bounty on your head before you vanished. If some internet sleuth identifies you as Mason Hale, former commander of Apex Squad, your house will be swarmed by hitmen within forty-eight hours."
Mason looked back through the living room window. Sophie was sitting on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, watching television, completely unaware of the shadow falling over her life.
"I won't let them touch her, David," Mason whispered.
"Then you need to pack your bags and move her tonight," Vance said sternly. "I can send a transport team—"
"No," Mason cut him off. "If I run, they'll track us forever. I built this life for my daughter. She has friends here. She has a high school graduation in two months. I am not running anymore."
"Mason, you're forty-three years old! You don't have a team anymore! You're working as a waiter!"
"I still have my hands," Mason said coldly, ending the call.
May you like
He walked back inside, staring at his daughter. He knew he had a choice to make: slip into the night like a ghost, or face the rising storm head-on to protect the peaceful life he had fought so hard to give her.
Before he could process his next move, the bright red and blue lights of three police cruisers flashed outside his living room window, casting long, menacing shadows across his patchy front lawn.
