The news spread before sunrise.
Not because the media reported it.
Because fear traveled faster than headlines.
Every checkpoint…
Every port…
Every private airport…
Received the same order.
Find Hawk.
Alive.
Inside the National Intelligence Headquarters…
A senior officer slammed a thick folder onto the conference table.
“The order came directly from Victor.”
The room fell silent.
No one questioned it.
No one asked why.
Everyone simply began working.
One younger officer hesitated.
“Sir… who exactly is Victor?”
The room grew even quieter.
An older commander looked at him.
“You’ve been here five years.”
“Have you ever wondered why wars end before they begin?”
The young officer frowned.
“No, sir.”
“They don’t.”
“They end because Victor decides they’re no longer profitable.”
Across the country…
A crime syndicate abandoned an entire warehouse overnight.
A governor canceled an overseas trip.
A billionaire quietly transferred his family to another continent.
None of them had received a threat.
They had only heard one sentence.
Victor is looking for someone.
And no one wanted to be standing in his way.
Meanwhile…
Forty kilometers from the estate…
An abandoned church overlooked the mountains.
Hawk stood at the broken bell tower, binoculars in hand.
Jane watched from below.
Within minutes…
Three black SUVs surrounded the church.
Then five.
Then ten.
Armed men poured into the valley.
Jane’s face turned pale.
“They found us…”
Hawk calmly lowered the binoculars.
“No.”
“They found where I wanted them to look.”
Jane blinked.
“What?”
Hawk smiled.
The church was empty.
Every footprint leading inside…
Was fake.
Every campfire…
Had been lit by a timer.
Every discarded piece of clothing…
Belonged to someone else.
The church had never been their hiding place.
It was bait.
Several kilometers away…
Hidden inside an abandoned railway tunnel…
Hawk listened to a small radio.
One of Victor’s captains spoke.
“Search every room.”
“They’re still here.”
Hawk switched the radio off.
“They’ll waste six hours searching.”
Jane stared at him.
“You knew exactly how they’d think.”
“I had to.”
“You can’t survive Victor…”
“…unless you stay one move ahead.”
Back at the estate…
Victor watched the live drone feed of the empty church.
One of his men lowered his head.
“We failed, sir.”
Victor remained silent.
Then…
He smiled.
“Interesting.”
The captain looked confused.
“You aren’t angry?”
Victor folded his hands behind his back.
“For years…”
“People survived because they feared me.”
He continued watching the empty church.
“Hawk survives because he studies me.”
For the first time…
Victor acknowledged his opponent.
“He’s dangerous.”
The captain carefully asked,
“Should we increase the reward?”
Victor slowly shook his head.
“No.”
“Rewards attract hunters.”
He turned away from the monitor.
“I don’t need hunters.”
“I need someone Hawk trusts.”
At the same moment…
Hawk sat beside Jane as dawn broke over the mountains.
She looked exhausted.
“You haven’t slept.”
Hawk smiled faintly.
“I’ve learned something.”
“What’s that?”
“The day I sleep peacefully…”
“…is probably the day I’m dead.”
Jane looked at him.
“Are you afraid of Victor?”
Hawk remained quiet.
Finally…
He answered honestly.
“Yes.”
Jane looked surprised.
“You admit that?”
Hawk nodded.
“Only fools underestimate Victor.”
He stood and checked his rifle.
“But Victor knows something too.”
Jane waited.
Hawk looked toward the horizon.
“He should be afraid of me.”
Hundreds of kilometers away…
Victor poured himself a glass of whiskey.
He looked at a map covered in pins and photographs.
Every possible escape route had been crossed out.
Only one remained.
Victor smiled to himself.
“Hawk…”
“You’ve won the battle.”
He placed a black chess king in the center of the map.