"Mike, that guy is nuts..."
A few feet behind him, Steve's voice had returned to its elevated pitch, the bizarre situation getting the better of everyone involved.
Only a handful of minutes had passed since the ominous message, allowing them to conquer the hill right behind the warehouse, the terrain remaining delightfully even for now.
Keeping an eye out for any obvious traps, Mike scanned every tree trunk and brush, painfully aware that he was practically blind to trip wires in the darkness of the forest.
"Nuts, maybe. Bluffing? I doubt it…", the Lieutenant countered, his hand wrapped around the .38 in a death grip, as they passed the foreign terrain at a slower than normal pace.
Twice already he'd stopped the group, double checking something ahead that looked odd. Twice, his worry had been unfounded. And yet, he knew it was only a matter of time before they'd run into a trap set up by a manic doctor who'd made it his latest game to chase them through a dense forest in the dead of night.
Forming a line, they travelled near the edge of the ravine overlooking the road below, the terrain winding left to right where nature had carved into the hillside over the years. A fallen tree had blocked their path earlier and Mike led the group around it, breaking a branch off to use as a stick to poke at anything suspicious ahead of them.
"Do you think he has all his guys coming after us?"
Gifford's frantic whisper disrupted his deep thoughts and Mike slowed down for a moment to turn around and look at the distraught reporter, seeing little besides her cheekbones and the fear in her eyes reflected only by the moon up above.
"I don't know. But we need to expect it. This guy doesn't play around."
"Then why is he doing this? Why not just…I don't know…just kill us?"
"It's the thrill of the game.", the Lieutenant explained somberly, his eyes drifting over to his partner who remained quiet, jaws clenched, "He likes to feel like he's in control. And he wants to get even for us putting a serious dent in his operation a few years ago. He's out for revenge in the worst way possible. And unfortunately, you got caught in the crosshairs."