Prologue:

The subterranean command center was a fortress of shadows, the air thick with tension. Harsh, fluorescent lights flickered sporadically, casting jagged shadows across the concrete walls. Rows of monitors glowed with a cold, unfeeling light, displaying a chaotic array of surveillance feeds. Government operatives, their faces drawn and pale, moved with practiced precision, their eyes glued to the screens as they relayed information in clipped, urgent tones.

At the center of the room, Lucas Kane stood like a stone sentinel, his gaze fixed on the largest screen where a live feed from a black-ops mission unfolded in grainy detail. The feed was choppy, transmitting from deep within a hostile territory where the line between enemy and ally blurred into a dangerous gray. The mission had been months in the making, a covert operation designed to extract a critical asset—a man with knowledge so sensitive, it could shift the balance of global power.

The team on the ground moved through the labyrinthine corridors of an abandoned factory, their weapons raised, eyes scanning every shadow for threats. The tension was palpable, every breath a risk, every step a calculated gamble. Kane’s voice crackled through the comms, steady and authoritative, guiding them through the perilous terrain.

But something was wrong.

“Team Alpha, report status,” Kane commanded, his voice betraying no hint of the unease gnawing at him.

“Clear so far,” came the response, but it was laced with a tension that mirrored Kane’s own. “Proceeding to the extraction point.”

Kane’s eyes narrowed. The intel had been flawless—or so he’d been assured. Yet there was a gnawing suspicion in the back of his mind, a whisper that something was off. He dismissed it, focusing on the mission. There was no room for doubt now.

Suddenly, chaos erupted on the screen. The operatives’ steady advance turned into a frantic scramble as gunfire echoed through the comms. Figures appeared from the shadows—hostiles, heavily armed and far more numerous than anticipated. The screen flared with muzzle flashes, the feed crackling with the shouts of the team as they returned fire.

“Ambush! We’re surrounded!” The panicked voice of the team leader filled the command center, sending a jolt of fear through the operatives watching.

Kane’s jaw clenched. “Fall back! Get out of there!”

But it was too late. The screen flickered, showing operatives falling one by one, the mission unraveling before their eyes. The critical asset, the man they had risked everything to extract, was nowhere to be seen. The realization hit Kane like a punch to the gut—this wasn’t just an ambush. It was a setup.

The betrayal, when it came, was swift and brutal. Kane’s eyes darted to another screen, where the live feed from an adjacent camera showed Ethan Cole, then still an FBI agent, on the move within the facility. He was supposed to be on the outside, coordinating the extraction. Instead, he was in the thick of it, his presence unexplained, and his actions suspiciously out of sync with the mission plan.

As the last operative fell, the screen went dark, and the command center was plunged into a stunned silence. Kane’s fist tightened around the edge of the console, his knuckles white. The mission had been a catastrophic failure, and there would be hell to pay. But even as the weight of the failure pressed down on him, one thought dominated his mind: Cole.

The aftermath was swift. Reports were filed, blame was assigned, and Ethan Cole was hung out to dry. The official story painted him as the scapegoat—a rogue agent whose actions had compromised the mission and led to the deaths of his fellow operatives. His pleas of innocence fell on deaf ears, the real truth buried under layers of bureaucracy and deceit.

The prologue ended with the image of Ethan Cole, standing alone in the pouring rain outside the federal building, his resignation letter clutched in one hand, his career and reputation in ruins. As he turned and walked away, the storm clouds above mirrored the storm brewing within—a storm that would one day return to exact vengeance on those who had betrayed him.

 

Chapter 1

 The isolated cabin perched on the mountainside like a forgotten relic of a time when life was simpler. It was a modest structure, built from weathered timber, its roof sagging slightly under the weight of years. The dense forest that surrounded it was a fortress of green, shielding it from prying eyes and the chaos of the world below. For Ethan Cole, it was the perfect place to disappear, to escape the shadows of a life he no longer recognized as his own.

Ethan had retreated here nearly a year ago, seeking refuge from the relentless torment of his past. The silence of the mountains had become his only companion, the solitude a balm for his wounded soul. He spent his days chopping wood, fishing in the nearby stream, and nursing a bottle of whiskey by the fire at night. It was a simple, monotonous existence—exactly what he needed.

But even in the quiet of the mountains, the past was never far away. It lingered in the corners of his mind, a specter that haunted his dreams and filled the empty spaces between thoughts. Every time he closed his eyes, he was back in that command center, watching helplessly as the mission unraveled and lives were lost. The betrayal still burned in his gut, a wound that refused to heal.

This morning was no different. Ethan stood by the cabin's single window, staring out at the fog that curled through the trees like ghostly fingers. His breath fogged the glass as he took a long, slow sip of coffee, trying to shake off the remnants of another restless night. The radio on the counter crackled faintly, playing an old country tune that seemed to echo the loneliness of the place.

His life had become an endless loop of isolation, a self-imposed exile from the world he no longer trusted. He had cut all ties, severed every connection, and buried himself in this forgotten corner of the earth. There was a certain comfort in the routine, a dulling of the pain that came with each day being the same as the last.

But today, the loop would break.

The first sign was subtle—a soft ping from his laptop, a sound he hadn’t heard in months. The device sat on a small wooden table in the corner, covered in a thin layer of dust. Ethan frowned, setting his mug down and crossing the room. He hadn’t used the laptop since he’d arrived, its connection to the outside world severed along with everything else. Yet now, it hummed with life, the screen flickering to display a single message.

“URGENT: YOU’VE BEEN FRAMED. GET OUT NOW.”

Ethan’s heart skipped a beat. The message was encrypted, the sender unknown. But there was no mistaking the urgency in those words. His instincts, honed by years in the FBI, kicked in immediately. Something was wrong—very wrong.

He was about to close the laptop when a sharp sound cut through the silence—a twig snapping, just outside the cabin. Ethan’s blood ran cold. He’d lived in these woods long enough to know the sounds of the forest, and this wasn’t one of them. This was something—or someone—deliberately trying to be quiet.

Without hesitation, Ethan grabbed the Glock he kept hidden in the kitchen drawer and crouched low, his heart pounding in his chest. He moved silently to the window, peering out through the gap in the curtains. The fog made it difficult to see, but there—among the trees—he spotted movement. Shadows slipping between the trunks, too coordinated to be animals.

Assassins.

The realization hit him like a sledgehammer. Someone had found him, despite all his efforts to disappear. And if they were here, it meant the message was true. He’d been framed, and now they were here to tie off loose ends.

Ethan’s mind raced. He had only seconds to act. He couldn’t stay and fight—he was outnumbered and outgunned. His only option was to run, to get out before they boxed him in. He moved quickly, grabbing a backpack he kept stashed under the bed, already packed with essentials. He slung it over his shoulder, checking the Glock one last time before heading for the back door.

The first shot rang out just as he reached the doorframe, shattering the window behind him. Ethan ducked, adrenaline surging through his veins as he bolted out into the dense underbrush. The cold air stung his lungs as he sprinted downhill, the sound of footsteps crashing through the forest behind him.

Branches whipped at his face, the terrain treacherous underfoot, but Ethan didn’t slow. He knew these woods better than anyone—he had spent months mapping every trail, every hiding spot. The assassins were close, but he had the advantage of familiarity.

He veered off the main trail, plunging into a narrow ravine that cut through the mountain like a scar. The sound of pursuit grew fainter as the terrain grew more difficult, the steep walls of the ravine providing some cover. Ethan pressed on, pushing his body to its limits, the survival instincts he had buried for so long now fully awakened.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he reached the edge of the forest, where the land opened up into a rocky outcrop overlooking the valley below. He paused, chest heaving, and scanned the horizon. The assassins were nowhere in sight, but he knew they wouldn’t give up so easily. They would regroup, track him down, and finish the job.

Ethan took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. He was a man on the run now, hunted and alone, with only one goal: clear his name and find out who was behind this. But to do that, he would need to disappear again—this time, not just from the world, but from the eyes of those who had betrayed him.

As he descended into the valley, the cabin he had called home for the past year vanished behind him, swallowed by the fog and the trees. There was no going back. The chase had begun, and Ethan Cole was about to become a ghost once more.

But this time, he wasn’t running away—he was running toward something. And whoever had framed him was going to wish they had never come after him.

chapter 2

 The city never slept. Its pulse was a constant thrum of life, an endless cacophony of car horns, distant sirens, and the hum of neon signs flickering against the darkness. Amidst the towering skyscrapers and crowded streets, there was a place where the city’s noise faded into a background murmur—a labyrinth of alleys and forgotten corners, where shadows lingered and secrets were kept.

Mara Ellis thrived in the

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Texte: David Moore
Lektorat: David Moore
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 20.08.2024
ISBN: 978-3-7554-7994-9

Alle Rechte vorbehalten

Widmung:
To those who fight in the shadows, seeking truth in a world full of deception. This is for the unsung heroes who never give up, even when the odds are stacked against them. And to my family, whose unwavering support and love have been my guiding light through every storm.