Hour Of Darkness

CH 19 - "Hunter And Hunted"

19...Hunter And Hunted...

He was working his way through the trees to the rear of the cabin when the alarm went off. Hunter froze and crouched lower to the ground. So much for the element of surprise. He looked around through the steadily darkening trees. He'd spotted the sensors and had been extremely careful working his way around them. Had he missed one? Or had the other target set it off? Didn't really matter now, they knew someone was coming. But he was certain they weren't expecting him. They had been relentlessly pursued by the other target, their focus would be on him.

Hunter reasoned that he may still have the element of surprise.

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Jonathon checked the clip for the Beretta Storm and snapped it in. He handed it to Clarice. “There's thirteen shots.” He said.

She took it tentatively. “What about you?”

“I have the shotgun.” He said. “But you keep that on you at all times. And remember.” He tapped his temple. “Shoot for the head.”

“But that doesn't actually kill him.” She was shaking but couldn't make it stop. “How do we stop him for good?”

“Just go for the head shot.” Jonathon repeated. “Once he's down, we'll take it from there.” He picked up the shotgun and confirmed that it was loaded.

They descended the stairs slowly, Clarice close to Jonathon's back, the Beretta pointed downward the way he'd showed her. “I thought...I thought maybe I was ready for this.” She shuddered. “But I'm not, Jonathon. I'm not.”

“One step at a time.” His eyes moved quickly, thoroughly over the ground floor as they came to the bottom of the stairs. “Stay with me.” He spoke low. “It may not be him.”

“Who else would it be?” Clarice's throat was tight, squeezing her words. She forced herself to breathe but her intense fear still shook her. “It is him. I can feel him, he's here.”

Jonathon led her through the pantry to the basement. He set the shotgun down and studied the monitors. It was almost night beneath the trees, too dark to see anyone who might be lurking there. Jonathon pressed a button and the monitors switched to infrared.

Keeping an eye on the stairs leading up out of the basement, Clarice's hand flexed around the handle of the Beretta Storm. “Do you see anything?”

Jonathon's brow pinched with a hard frown. “No.” He left the monitors and went to the cabinet with the radios. He took out two and handed one to Clarice, setting them on the same channels. “Take this.” He said. “Keep an eye on the monitors. If you see anyone, let me know immediately.” He took a Glock model 20 10mm from the cabinet and stuffed in a full clip. “Close the security door behind me and do not come out until I return. I don't care what you hear or see. Stay down here.”

“You're going out there alone?” Clarice shook her head. “No. You said we were a team, that we had to have each other's back. I can help. I-I know I probably seem weak to you and you need to protect me, but I can be strong, Jonathon. I can. I'll make myself be strong.”

Jonathon leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Baby, I know you're strong. I never thought otherwise. The fact that you're still sane after all you've been through the last few days shows me how strong you are.” He glanced towards the stairs. “You're right, we are a team. And you will have my back by being my eyes for me. That may not be Alec out there. I need to know who exactly we're dealing with so we'll know how to handle the situation.”