After a long discussion, Jacob came out of Mr. Alvarez' office followed by Madeline. Jacob turned his heel to find, Madeline brooding. He sensed the confusion.

It was a long meeting. Jacob and Madeline walked out of the room, tired. As, Jacob turned towards Madeline, he found her lost in her own thoughts. More precisely in her own conflicts. She tip toed her way down the stairs when Jacob held her by the arm, making her halt abruptly in her place.

"Maddie, you still have a choice to back out."

She looked up at him and her expressions turned more relaxed. "Why should I?" she breathed.

"Because, your gloomy face looks scary."

"What?"

Madeline cried out comparatively louder and Jacob broke out into a cackle.She rolled her eyes and playfully punched over his chest, "You are jerk!"

"Duhh! Tell me something new!" he flexed.

Madeline huffed and made her way out of the office.

"Hey, Listen!" Jacob followed suit.

Later that night;

The black car, pulled over - the headlights highly illuminating a dark, damp alley.

Jacob, who was seated on the passenger, gestured the driver to deem the headlights and scanned through the dark alley.

"All Clear..

....It is 12: 15 am. We have 45 minutes till ambush. Team! Let us take our positions..

....Remember, no one acts beyond my instructions. Am I clear?"

"Noted!"

"Good!"

Jacob got off the car and five other in team trailed. All dressed in black and loaded weapons fastened to their waist. They cautiously padded their way through the dark alley- devoid of any sound, except for their footsteps and the only light source being the deemed yellow light from the lighthouse miles apart.

As, they reached the designated spot, everyone spread across the perimeter and settled down in their positions and switched on their ear piece.

"Team, acknowledge your positions." Jacob commanded.

"In position!"

Even though Jacob was skeptical about how Madeline would react after seeing Jackson Claros yet again, especially when the wound within, was still fresh, she was honestly ready for the mission.

Actually, the fact that the person who they were trying to get busted was someone she once loved, did not bother her. Rather, she was desperate to see that man suffer who made her go through another nightmare.

Well, that was till the black car pulled over and Jackson Claros climbed out, followed by his men. Although his expression held the same confidence and determination yet she was failing to recognize him anymore. He seemed like a whole new person. Why not? He is a criminal. Ace at hiding and adept at masking.

The mask that he used to pull her out of the darkness and take her into a new journey of love, only to throw her back into another dark realm.

A conflicting blend of anger and sadness was steering inside her. As much as she wanted to pull out her gun and put a bullet into his skull, a part of her was still longing to feel his warmth.

Internally she was praying to wake up and realize that it was just a dream. That, she would wake up to find Rex beside her staring at her with the same loving eyes. But no. This was the truth. Jackson Claros was the truth. Nothing else but this dirty game was the truth.

However painful it might be. However heartbreaking it might be. She did not hold the strong to alter any of it.

"Maddie! What's the situation out there?"

Jacob's voice echoing through the ear piece broke her out of her thoughts and then reality came down rushing in front of her eyes.

The man standing at their peripheral was nothing but a criminal and they are here to teach him the lesson he deserved.

She loaded her gun and took in a deep breath before she spoke, "The boss is here followed by 8 other men."

"Awesome! That is what I call a real Jackpot."

"Sir!" Clare prompted, "We are just an order, away. The Hawks will be over."

"No, don't go for any activity, now. Get your guns ready and wait. Remember, we want the leader in one piece. Again, we are six and they are eight. We need to move strategically."

Suddenly, a loud gunshot echoed through the surrounding, trembling the walls. In no time, the silence was robbed off, and a chaos took over.

"The Hell!" Jacob cussed, "Who the hell fired?"

Madeline who was standing closest to the Hawks, identified the epicenter of the chaos. She peered through the baffled expression of the men and her heart dropped to her stomach.

Jackson Claros was shot- supported over someone's shoulder, withering in pain, while he was getting dragged inside the car.

"Who the hell are these people? Where did they appear from?"

"Dunk that! Get Claros!"

While, Jacob yelled orders, Madeline stood their frozen. Her eyes was locked on Jackson Claros' lifeless body. The reasoning in her brain seemed to stop. She failed to act. She failed to decipher.

"Save the Boss!" Jereff yelled from the other side.

In no time, several unidentified men jumped out of the dark and started firing in the blind. The police did not take a back seat either. The place soon turned into a mess of desperate gunmen, smoke and gunshot.

Suddenly, a close gunshot banged near Madeline's ears jolting her in her place. She flounced towards the source to find a gunmen collapse on the floor and Clare's gun letting out smoke.

She rushed towards Madeline and complained, "What the hell? This man could have put a bullet in your skull in no time."

Unbothered by Clare's words, she looked at the direction where Jackson's car was standing. But, it was gone.

------------------------------------------

Mr. Alvarez's Office;

He sat in his place, a visible annoyance in his face.

A tension filled silence was overpowering the room which was not out of anyone's understanding. The people involved in the mission stood surrounding his table- head held down.

Jacob shuffled his eyes through the defeat in everyone's eyes and looked back at Mr. Alvarez with a stoic face.

"So you say, Jackson Claros was close to you guys but you failed to catch him." Mr. Alvarez started in a calm tome but the sarcasm in his tone was distinct.

"That won't be the right way to present it, Mr. Alvarez."

"You got a better way to explain the failure."

"The situation was trickier than it sounds. None of us were expecting such an aggression."

"Oh!" leaning forward and locking a glare on Jacob, "So, you expected that would handcuff Jackson Claros and walk out of the place and his men would be standing there watching it all?"

"You are mistaken, Mr. Alvarez"

"After everything, you still have the audacity to say that I have?" Mr. Alvarez stormed up and thundered, hurling the paper weight across the floor.

Everyone present their shuddered in their position and impulsively took a few steps back. Jacob on the other hand, kept staring at Mr. Alvarez least expecting the most calm person to burst out.

After a few moments, Jacob let out a shaky exhale and started, "If that was the situation, maybe we could have done it the way you expected. Walk out with handcuffed Jackson Claros with pride. But, no. It wasn't just his men."

"The hell do you mean?"

"Mr. Alvarez, Jackson Claros was shot."

"What if it was a foul play?"

"There was no way, they could have sensed our presence. Mr. Alvarez, I want to think wisely on what I am about to spill." shifting his weight on one foot, he pulled out his hands from the back and waved it in a matter of fact manner, " I strongly believe there is a different story behind it. In fact yesterday, Madeline pointed out on how bizarre it sounded. Why would they make themselves vulnerable to the world? Also, let me add, if the boss himself was planning to be present."

"So, some rival of the Hawks and fired senselessly over The Hawks."

"May be. May be not."

"Officer Jacob Thompson. Be Clear!" the boss commanded in a stern voice.

"It might be genuine or it might be a foul play as well."

"We are failing to draw any strong conclusion."

"We do! And I don't know why, all evidences are screaming out one single strategy. What if Jackson Claros is trying to lead us somewhere?"

"To the dead end, yes."

"If he had to lead us to the dead end, he himself would not have been present there."

Mr. Alvarez took in a deep breath and composed himself, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Mr. Alvarez, for years we have known that the Hawks  was solely responsible for human trafficking. They hibernated for years, anyway. But, we can't ignore that the leader of the Hawks is known to almost every weaker sections of the society as a kind man. There is a thin line of difference in both the news. The Hawks involved in Human Trafficking is what we have assumed, the leader being a kind man, is what we have learnt. Both the news, can't go hand in hand. Same man can't do both. A man who sells lives, will never save lives. Again, a person who saves lives will never sell lives. We are running behind the Hawks with the benefit of our suspicion. What if we are making blind moves? What if Hawks is never behind this trafficking?"

"Are you defending Claros? Are you telling me that he is innocent?"

"No, he obviously isn't. But, we shouldn't forget, the recent crimes did not lead us anywhere Hawks."

"But, it was them five years ago. And no, this is not an assumption."

"That doesn't justify, what happens now."

Mr. Alvarez fell silent. He lowered his eyes towards the glass table and a crease formed over his eyebrows.

Jacob took in a deep breath and concluded, "Till today, the fight was between us and the Hawks. But, now I am sure, there is a third player into this game. I am not saying Claros is innocent, in case that's what you are perceiving, but there is surely a different vertical we need to work on. Who knows, if that third player is the one playing the real game? If that player is the KINGPIN! Whatever he is. I believe he plays a major role in the game. We. need to find him. Every bit and pieces of him. Every detail of him."