Chapter 14

Hunter's fingers danced across the keyboard in a rhythmic blur, the soft clacking barely audible over the progressive heavy metal playing. Lines of code scrolled down the monitor as he infiltrated the digital life of one more client in the trafficking ring, and his head bobbed up and down in time with the guitar riffs as his favorite song started. As he delved deeper into the encrypted files, a message popped up that made his stomach churn.

I need a new toy. Requirements: girl, preteen, virgin.

Hunter's fingers paused, hovering above the keyboard as he absorbed the depraved request flashing on his screen. A visceral disgust twisted in his gut, his pulse accelerating with a mixture of anger and revulsion. His jaw clenched tight, the muscles in his neck tensing as if bracing against the wave of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. The warmth that usually filled him during a successful hack now turned to a searing heat of fury, his hands shaking as he fought to maintain control.

As he extracted more data, a sudden spike in the network's traffic caught his attention. His screen flickered momentarily, and Hunter recognized the signs of an external breach. Someone was trying to worm their way into his system, a silent battle of wits unfolding in the digital shadows.

With a swift series of keystrokes, Hunter initiated a counterattack, rerouting the intrusion through a maze of dummy nodes and encrypted firewalls. His brow furrowed as he monitored the intruder's movements, a game of cat and mouse playing out in lines of code and flashing cursors. He wasn't sure if his defenses would hold, the uncertainty making his heart race as he patched vulnerabilities and shored up his digital barriers.

The uncertainty of the situation gnawed at him, his mind racing through potential vulnerabilities in his network, pondering the consequences of a breach.

Knowing he needed to share this development, Hunter grabbed his jacket and headed to the clubhouse. The air was crisp as he rode through the city, the familiar roar of his Harley grounding him.

Hunter arrived at the clubhouse with a heavy stride, his entrance drawing immediate attention from Brick and Slate. Without any preamble, he dove into the details of the breach and the disturbing content he'd unearthed.

"Brick, Slate, we've got a problem," Hunter stated, his voice edged with the strain of his earlier discoveries. "Someone tried to hack into my system while I was documenting demands for trafficking. Also, these bastards are not just looking for anyone—they want children."

The room's atmosphere tightened like a drawn bow. Brick straightened, his demeanor shifting as he absorbed the gravity of Hunter's words. "First things first. Did they get in?"

"I think I managed to keep them out," Hunter replied. His throat felt tight.

Slate scratched his jaw, his brow furrowed in concern. "What's our move?"

Hunter's hands instinctively curled into fists at his sides, the urge for immediate action pulsing through him. "We need to ramp up our security, first off. And then, we hit back. We can't let this slide. They are using and abusing children . This sicko asked for a preteen." He swallowed as bile churned in his stomach.

Brick nodded, the lines of his face hardening. "Agreed. We play it smart, ramp up security, and prepare to move on these bastards. No one targets kids on our watch."

Hunter's gaze flicked between Brick and Slate, the solid certainty in their responses grounding him. "I'll dig deeper, see what else I can find. We need to shut this down before any more lives are ruined."

Hunter gave a solemn nod. The challenges ahead were daunting, but with the ECO behind him, they were not insurmountable. The disgust that had churned in his stomach now transformed into a steely determination. He would use every skill at his disposal to end this horror.

Later that night, Hunter sat hunched before his array of screens, the continuous scrolling data rolling across the monitors providing a monotonous backdrop to his deepening frustration.

His eyes burned from the relentless scrutiny of data, and his shoulders knotted with tension. A wave of fatigue pressed heavily against him, urging him to step away, to rest, but the digital underworld wouldn't pause for his discomfort.

But he was deep into his routine of sifting through layers of digital debris when a cluster of encrypted files he'd cracked open revealed something unexpected: an email from a Gmail address with detailed, authentic-looking surveillance report by Detectives Stephenson and Green.

His pulse quickened as he scanned the document. These were police-level details, and the file not easily obtainable.

Does Ethan have a mole in his department?

His mind raced as he pieced together the implications. Had the ring infiltrated the police? Was law enforcement the ring? Or was there another player at this table? The realization that this might overlap with Ethan's world gnawed at him. He had to know more.

Just as he leaned back in his chair to mull over the implications, his phone lit up with Ethan's name.

Okay, the guy is scary intuitive, but maybe he's clairvoyant.

A simple text flashed on the screen: How was your day?'

The question seemed almost laughably mundane against the backdrop of his complex digital battlefield. Hunter's fingers hovered over the screen, tempted to spill the troubling discoveries of his day. But caution prevailed.

He typed a noncommittal, Fine. You?

Before he could set the phone down, it started ringing, Ethan's name flashing insistently. With a resigned sigh, Hunter picked up, his voice heavy with fatigue. "Hey, Sir."

"Hey yourself." Ethan's voice came through, tinged with concern. "Just fine, huh? Come on, Hunter, what's really eating at you?"

Too damn astute.

Hunter hesitated, the weight of his day pressing down on him. "It's been a long one," he finally admitted. "Just more chasing shadows and dealing with the scum of the earth."

"I know that tone, Hunter." Ethan's voice softened. "Is this about your... side projects again?"

Hunter chuckled dryly. The irony was not lost on him. "Yeah, you could say that. Been doing some digging into some sex traffickers," He rubbed his face with his free hand and confessed. "I'm a white-hat hacker, Ethan." He paused, gauging the detective Dom's response through the silence. "I'm not out to cause harm, Sir. Just trying to level the playing field, take from the crooks and give some justice back."

Over the phone, Hunter waited, holding his breath as he imagined Ethan processing the revelation. There was a brief silence, one that stretched just long enough for Hunter to feel a twinge of apprehension.

"Hacking?" When Ethan's voice came through, it was tinged with a surprise that resonated clearly across the line. After a moment, he added, "All right. I didn't see that one coming."

The earnestness in Ethan's response coaxed a burst of laughter from Hunter. His fatigue and the grim context of their conversation momentarily lifted. "No?" He chuckled.

"Hell no," Ethan replied, his tone mixing disbelief with amusement. "When you say hacker, I envision someone holed up in a dark room, surrounded by takeout boxes. I imagine someone with a distinctively shadowy and tech-savvy appearance. Like a young man, dressed in casual attire, maybe a disheveled hoodie and a geeky t-shirt—not a gorgeous six-foot-plus biker with a muscled body, a grey goatee, and amazing eyes."

"Gorgeous, eh?" Hunter's laugh deepened, a genuine sound that filled the small space around him. "Well, if you imagine me surrounded by multiple monitors and working on a mechanical keyboard, you've got that part right," he teased, glancing affectionately at his own setup. "But yeah, I guess I don't fit the typical geek-squad stereotype of unkempt long hair, thick glasses, and an unkept beard."

The easy banter, flowing so naturally even over the phone, made the weight of the night feel a bit lighter. Ethan's laughter came through the speaker. "There's nothing unkept about your beard."

Despite the distance and the digital medium between them, a surprising sense of closeness lifted Hunter's wariness, as if Ethan's understanding had bridged a gap he hadn't fully acknowledged before.

Ethan's tone softened, and the underlying worry became more pronounced. "Just be careful, man."

"Always am," Hunter assured him. "It's mostly white-and-grey-hat hacking, you know? Ethical stuff. I'm not crossing into black-hat territory—no stealing, no ransomware. Though, I might push the boundaries with the black hats when they're the bad guys."

Again, Ethan laughed, easing more of the tension from Hunter's shoulders. "A modern-day digital Robin Hood, huh?"

"That's the idea," Hunter replied, stroking his hand through his goatee.

There was a pause, and Hunter could almost see Ethan rubbing his forehead in exasperation. "You're going to give me gray hairs. Just… be careful, okay? And if you're onto something big… maybe it's time to bring in some backup."

"Will do. Will do," Hunter agreed. "Anyway, how are things on your end?"

"Doing my best," Ethan said, and Hunter could hear the earnestness in his voice. "I've got a big case on my hands." Ethan's voice lowered an octave as he continued, "Seems like Green and I stumbled onto something... and I don't like it. We're talking dirty cops and criminally involved politicians."

Hunter's attention sharpened, and his fingers tightened around his cellphone. The pieces started clicking into place, aligning with disturbing clarity. He leaned forward and braced himself with his elbows on his knees. Dirty cops, criminally involved politicians—these were not just random elements; they were the very entities he'd been tracking.

"That sounds a lot like what I've been digging into," Hunter found himself saying. "From the digital side, I mean. There's a network, Ethan. It's bigger than just street-level crime. It's reaching right up into the places that are supposed to protect us."

Ethan was silent for a moment. "You think we might be looking at the same beast from different angles?"

"Sounds like it," Hunter confirmed. A sense of solidarity formed as he realized their separate battles were perhaps fronts in the same war. "These threads I've been pulling at... they're leading to some high places. Some of the traffic patterns, money flows, they hint at connections that no one wants to talk about."

Ethan exhaled sharply. "I had a feeling. Green and I, we've seen things. Records that don't add up, arrests that don't go anywhere, cases that get quietly dropped..."

Listening to Ethan, Hunter felt a chill snake down his spine. "We need to be careful," he cautioned. "Whoever is behind this, they won't take kindly to being hunted."

"You're right," Ethan agreed, but Hunter didn't miss the hint of steel threading through his words. "But now that we know there's a connection, we can cover more ground together. You keep an eye on the digital footprints, I'll handle the streets."

Hunter found himself nodding, even though Ethan couldn't see. "Deal," he replied, feeling a renewed sense of purpose energize him. "We'll bring this whole dirty network down."

Their conversation wrapped up with a promise to touch base regularly, sharing any piece of information that might help connect the dots. As Hunter ended the call, he stared into the darkness outside, feeling a bond with Ethan that went deeper than before. They were in this fight together now, each from his own battlefield, but united in a common cause. The night felt a little less oppressive, the task a little less daunting, knowing he had a partner in this shadowy dance.

They talked a bit more about the logistics of their respective battles against the darker corners of their world

"Get some rest," Ethan finally said, his voice low and sincere.

"You too, Sir," Hunter replied. "Talk soon."

Hunter ended the call, setting his phone down gently. He sat back, allowing himself a moment to reflect on their conversation.

As he powered down his monitors, the room dimmed, leaving Hunter in the soft glow of the city lights filtering through his window. He felt a rare sense of peace settle over him, the kind that only came from knowing someone was out there who understood the weight he carried. With a final look at the quiet screens, Hunter pushed himself up and headed to bed.