Whimpers escaped the girls lips, body trembling off in the corner. Eyeshadow cascading down her face in a gothic mess. Blue eyes red from tears, body weak from the beatings, cloths tathered and hardly hanging on. She was the reason Damion had been called, yet she wasn’t the target at the moment.

“Come on dude” The guy behind him whined. “She’s a fine piece of ass. Look at her, could you blame me”

Damion’s cocky grin started to crack the stone faced expression he’d be holding for a while. Yet instead of speaking to the grown man who’d be pleading and throwing out a million and one “sorrys” and “my bads”. Neither ment anything to him. He slowly strode over to the girl, putting his palms up to her so he wasn’t a threat. Trying to look past the black and blues starting to form on her shoulders, neck, left cheek, legs and thighs. Only one thing was certain, he’d pay.

“Did he?” Damion tried to sound sweet while pointing to the remains of her cloths, hoping she’d understand.

“No….” She mouthed.

“I’m pretty sure he’d have gotten around to it” Damion sighed, standing from the crouched position and shaking his head. “Wake, your a whole cop. Do you know what would happen if someone found out you kidnapped your neighbors daughter. Dragged her out to the woods, beat and probably would’ve done worse if I hadn’t been tracking you”

“They will protect me. You’ve no idea how many people wanted a piece of this little ting. She’s ripe for the taking too” Without a word, Damion’s left first collided with Wakes temple. Throwing him onto the ground, without a chance to recover from the chair falling. His head had bounced twice on the hard wood, but no blood escaped yet.

“Nobody’s here to protect you, because I got to you first. I’m not going to be calling it in and having a bunch of your buddies show up. Do you have any other cloths for her?” Damion left the man on his back, looking down at him like an animal on display. “Surely you’d at least got that far?”

“There’s a bunch of cloths in a suitcase in the room” He head nodded towards the closed door.

“Hun if you could go clean yourself up and change. I’m gonna take our friend for a walk quick. Don’t leave that room unless you hear three knocks on the door” The girl was batered and beyond terrified, she didn’t need to be witness to the rest. Instead of speaking she just nodded and started towards the door. Limping like an elderly person with a cane.

Turning his attention back to the man he sighed. “Did you have to hurt her so much? It’s gonna take weeks for her body to heal…. Years and therapy to help the rest”

“I didn’t want her to run?” He looked at the strange man with a confused expression.

“It was rhetorical. I knew why” Another sigh and he was pulling the man with the chair out the door.

“What are you gonna do with me?” His lip and body trembled at the question.

“I’m going to give you a series of choices on our walk” Damion looked back and watched the door close, hearing the lock engage he through the man to the ground. Breaking the old wooden chair in the process.

Of course his freedom made him delusional. With a roll he’d gotten to his feet. Brandishing both arms of the chair as weapons. Damion yawned and stepped right past him out the door.

“It’s beautiful out here” He looked around, not even bothered by the man’s fighting stance or weapons. “Come take a walk up the trail. No need for violence”

Damion started up the trail but turned when the man hadn’t started to follow. Looking as if he could run, he sighed again.

“Don’t make this harder then it needs to be” Damion had become tired of this entire problem. Of course he’d gotten tangled in this due to one of his friends giving his number out to the girls parents.

“Who the fuck are you?” Wake shouted charging straight at Damion’s back.

Ducking into a crouched position to avoid the rush sent awake tumbling to the ground. Chuckling he sent a swift kick into the man’s kidney. Eliciting a squeak and groan.

“If we could move this along?” Damion looked at his designer watch and pointed to the cop. “I’m late. So we gotta wrap this up quick”

“What are you going to do to me?”

“I’m not going to do anything to you. This walk is about your guilt” Grayson sighed, motioning the man forward. “I’m even going to make you a deal. There’s an old bridge up here that connects the two sides of the gorge. You walk across it and I won’t follow you”

“That bridge has been condemned since the late 80’s. I’ll fall”

“Even if you don’t fall, that will be the story. You can run away into the fading sun” Grayson continued to walk, listening to the man’s steps slowly creeping forward. “So? Do we have a deal?”

The bridge was about forty old, four by four planks hanging against torn and tattered ropes. Aged horribly for wear and tear. Wake gulped loudly, looking over at his capture.

“All I have to do is make it across?”

“Yup” He grinned with a cat like smile.

After a few steps it was all over. Another predator was gone and technically nobody could blame him. He’d never touched a hair on his head. Heading back down to the cabin, the girl was standing outside.

“Let’s go girls!!” Grayson shouted from the stands, watching his teen daughter dribble the ball down the court.

Sadly she missed the layup but was quick to recover and pass it to a team mate. “You got it. Good pass” He added in looking at the woman to his left watching him. One in particular coming through the gym doors in a full suit. Black hair tied up in a tight bun.

“Mr. Grayson” She gave him a weak smile, sitting down next to him.

“Hello” He grumbled, knowing this was a work thing.

“A girl had a very interesting story about a shadow man who saved her life today. You wouldn’t know anything about that would you?”

“No, I’m retired” He chuckled to himself watching his daughter score. “Nice shot hun!”

“Is that why you do it?” The woman was looking at the girls on the court now.

“Every single one that goes missing is someone’s sister, daughter, friend….. if someone gets ahold of me. It’s because I know how to get results…” He didn’t even look her way.

“They need you for a case in Utah…. A small time biker gang starting to run kids and women out of Mexico… are you in”

“Fine…. Give me a day”