Alex Hunter moved through the alleyway, his boots crunching on shattered glass. The city was a maze of shadows, but he knew its pulse like his own heartbeat. A storm brewed above, casting a darkened haze over the narrow streets. He liked it that way. Easier to blend in, harder to see the Devil moving through the dark.

His leather jacket clung to his broad frame, rainwater streaming off it as if deflected by his sheer will. The flickering streetlights barely illuminated his scarred face, each mark a memory of battles won and lost. Tonight wasn't about memories, though. Tonight was about revenge.

The low hum of a motorcycle engine came to a stop nearby, and Alex's hand instinctively rested on the grip of his Glock. He stepped out from the shadows, his eyes locking onto a group of men huddled around a rusted dumpster. Their laughter echoed through the alley, but it stopped the moment they saw him.

"Hunter," one of them muttered, his voice shaking.

Alex smirked, the kind that sent shivers down spines. "You boys have picked the wrong night to play gangster."

The leader, a burly figure with a shaved head and too many tattoos, stepped forward. "You don't scare us, detective. We run this part of town."

"Is that right?" Alex's voice was low, calm-too calm. He took a step closer, his presence sucking the air out of the space. "Funny. I thought to just walk through your front door ."

The leader barely had time to blink before Alex was on him. A swift right hook cracked against his jaw, sending him stumbling back. Before the others could react, Alex drew his Glock, its barrel gleaming in the dim light.

"Who wants to be next ?" he growled, eyes cold as ice.

The group hesitated, fear palpable in the air. They knew the stories about Alex Hunter. They knew he wasn't a man who made threats-he made promises.

"Get out of my way ," Alex warned. "I have got a killer to catch , and if I have to go through you , I won't lose any sleep over it ."

One by one, they stepped aside, their bravado crumbling under his relentless gaze. As he holstered his weapon and walked away, the storm finally broke, rain pouring down in sheets. But to Alex Hunter, it felt like nothing more than a cool breeze on a warm night. He had a mission, and nothing was going to stop him.

Not tonight

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