Zane sipped at his water, coolly watching the people gyrating on the dance floor.

It was a Saturday night, and the club was busier than ever. The lights were flashing and the music was pounding. The two bartenders were the busiest ones there, mixing drinks and cocktails and sending them out in record time, but looking as though they were relaxed the entire time, with an easy smile that never wavered as they sucked their patrons’ wallets dry.

The next busiest were the waitresses. The sultry women wearing tight, revealing clothes and cakes of makeup wove their way through the crowd skillfully, smiling sensuously as they handed out drinks. They invited the eyes of men as light bulbs attracted moths, with their fluttering eyelashes and innocent faces. But if a man, or woman, ever decided to do more than just look, then the third busiest people around, the bouncers, were waiting for them.

Zane, for his part, never went up to the waitresses. He didn’t even glance at them. He had spent sixteen years with Aurelie, after all, and his best friend was far more beautiful on her worst day than these women were on their best.

Zane finished his water, and then sat back, continuing to observe the dancers. Somewhere in the throng of people, his target was hiding. And Zane knew that the other man wouldn’t be able to get away. He wouldn’t let it happen.

After all, Zane was a very patient hunter.

~~~~~~~

Jackson Alderman partied the night away, enjoying the useage of the cash he had obtained from abducting that red-haired girl. Poor thing was probably full of holes from the way those men had shot at her. Well, no matter. Whether or not she was alive was of no concern to him, now that he had his pay.

Still, it was a shame. She’d been so beautiful… No other woman he had met since seemed all that pretty. That didn’t stop him from taking his pick from the women that were throwing themselves at him. Well, woman. He wasn’t butt-ugly, but he wasn’t all that handsome either.

The two of them left the club at two o’clock in the morning, drunk and stumbling to the street to hail a taxi and go back to his place. The woman was giggling non-stop and pressing her breasts against his arm. Jackson eyed the melons and visibly gulped, lust lighting a fire in his eyes.

Then, out of the shadows, a voice came. “Hello.”

Jackson looked over. There was a person standing so that his face was in shadow, but the rest of his body was in the illumination of the streetlight. It was such a classic movie scene, Jackson began to let out a drunken chuckle. His companion just continued to giggle.

“Miss, could I have a word?” The stranger asked, unperturbed by the reaction they had.

The lady skipped over to him, singing, “Okay!” When she got to him, she saw his face, she grinned lasciviously. “Hey you’re pretty handsome. You wanna…”

She didn’t explicitly state anything, but, as though her meaning weren’t clear enough, she ran her tongue over her lips and moved so that her body was pressed against his arm. He looked at the woman with distaste, but it didn’t show in his tone as he pulled her to one side and told her something. She hummed in agreement and hobbled off.

“Hey, where’s she going?” Jackson asked, annoyed that his female companion for the night had run off.

“Don’t mind that. Instead, I think that it’s a far better idea for you to focus on me.” The stranger’s voice took on a far colder and more bloodthirsty tone. A formless killing intent permeated the air. Jackson felt the hairs on the back of his neck begin to rise. He shivered, cowering.

The stranger strode forward. “You participated in the kidnapping of a red-haired teenage girl.” It wasn’t a question.

Jackson’s blood ran cold and he backed away from the stranger. “W-who are you?”

“A friend. A brother, really.” He answered. While he said this, the unknown man pulled a gun out from the waistband of his jeans and pointed the weapon at Jackson’s temple. Jackson froze, his mouth going dry.

“Who hired you?” He asked, a steely glint in his eyes, as if to say, ‘This isn’t a joke. I will shoot you.’

“A-Arno Blunt. It was Arno Blunt! He organized the entire thing, after getting the orders from some other guy. But I don’t know who that other guy is!” Jackson cried, panicking. He had no loyalty to them. They weren’t even friends, so why would he lose his life to protect them?

“And the others?” The man asked.

“We didn’t tell each other our names!” Jackson cried. They hadn’t, not trusting the others enough.

“Describe.” He demanded. Nodding, Jackson complied, describing the other men to the best of his memory.

When Jackson had finished, the man turned on his heel and walked away. Jackson sighed in relief, his shoulders sagging.

“Hey!” The unknown man called.

Jackson looked up.The sound of a gunshot and a sharp cry followed soon after.

“That was for laying your filthy hands on Relle.”

~~~~~~~

Zane sat in his car with a sigh. He picked up his laptop from the passenger seat and opened up a folder. In it were multiple profiles of several men. If Jackson saw this he would be amazed. The profiles were of the other men who had participated in Aurelie’s kidnapping. All of them were stamped with a DECEASED watermark. Zane added the watermark to Jackson’s profile as well.

Then he looked at the remaining clear profile. It was Arno Blunt’s profile.

Zane backed out of his parking space and drove off.