Chapter Twenty-Seven

There were no words for how furious Scorpion was.

How could an entire police department not be able to find one man? A single man who had a criminal record, and was easy to spot in a crowd. He looked like a thug straight out of prison.

Which he was, of course, but the citizens of Toronto didn't need to know about his dealings with him. He was wanted for a suspected murder-suicide. That was all they needed to know.

"Captain, sir."

Scorpion turned his eyes and voice cold. "What is it, rookie?"

The rookie looked down, suddenly unsure. He quickly looked back up. "We've received a call from Toronto General. They've said that Kyle Martin is there. He's taken hostages and has asked for you, sir."

Scorpion fought the urge to laugh. Was Kyle that stupid to take hostages? Did he really think that they would make a difference? He was still going to die, and slowly. Scorpion was going to make sure of that. "Do we know for sure that it's him?" Scorpion asked, eyes narrowing.

"We... didn't check, sir. Shall we call back to make sure?"

Scorpion nodded stiffly. "I want every detail you can squeeze out of him. Do not come back here until you can describe to me what every single hostage is wearing!"

The rookie officer took that order as his dismissal. He walked away from Scorpion; his head lowered all the way until he was out of view. He might've kept his head lowered passed that, but Scorpion didn't care. He wanted results. That was not a definitive result.

"Sir!"

"What?" Scorpion snapped at the direction of the voice. A young officer approached him. To Scorpion's surprise, he didn't hide or lower his gaze as he approached. He walked almost calmly right to Scorpion, meeting his gaze intently.

"I would like a word with you, sir." The officer said boldly, leaning in slightly and whispering, "In private."

"This had better be good." Scorpion growled and brushed past the officer and led the way into his office. Scorpion slammed the door after the officer entered. "What is it?" Scorpion demanded his eyes narrowing.

The officer stood his ground, his gaze unwavering. "Permission to be blunt, sir."

Scorpion almost rolled his eyes. "Granted. Out with it."

"Well, sir, I would like to know why we're about two minutes away from imposing martial law on the city of Toronto."

That was, of course, an exaggeration. It was to put emphasis on how busy the entire police force was looking for one man. Whose crime wasn't nearly as severe as some of the people that the officer had put away. Luckily for him, Scorpion probably didn't know who he was. That worked in his favor. Scorpion remained silent, so he decided to press his advantage.

"I've found out a connection between you and Kyle Martin." The officer said taking a step forward. "He's the cousin of your former partner, Jake Martin." Knowing he was entering dangerous territory, the officer decided to lay one last card on the table. "I wrote the report for a domestic abuse case between Jake Martin and his wife."

Scorpion's gaze was now murderous. "What's your point?" He snapped. "What's your name and rank?"

"My point is, sir, it seems that there is a personal connection between you and Kyle Martin. That's unprofessional."

"You still haven't given me your name and rank," Scorpion said darkly, "I would like to know who you are."

"I don't think my name is important, sir. Neither is my rank." The officer said and smiled. "I know that almost everyone who wrote about Jake Martin has either met with an accident or retired early. So, you don't need to know who I am."

"I am your superior!" Scorpion snapped, smashing his fist against the desk. "You will give me your name and your rank or you will be fired!"

"No need to make a scene, sir," The officer said, still smiling. He walked over to the door and opened it. "I will give my resignation when there's a new police captain."

And with that he was gone.

Scorpion now realized that there was now a problem bigger than Kyle Martin.

There was a loose end that he had somehow overlooked.

This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

"Sir."

Scorpion didn't even look up from his seat that he'd slumped into. "Yes, what is it?"

"There was no answer from the hospital."

"So?"

"I think that something may have happened, sir. I think we should send some unit to see if something can be done."

Realizing that he would have to solve one problem at a time, Scorpion stood up. "All right. Recall a couple of units. Have my car ready."

"Anything else, sir?"

Scorpion shook his head. "No. Now get out of here. We've got work to do."

A lot more work than I thought.

"Hold a moment." Scorpion said as the man turned to leave. The man paused, his brow raised in an unspoken question. "Do you know the officer who was in here before you?"

"I was not paying attention, sir, I'm sorry."

Scorpion exhaled. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, sir."

"All right. Go." Scorpion waved him away.

Damn it. Who the hell are you?

The man had managed to blend into the crowd of police officers and made his way into the parking garage, where there were so few police cruisers left. The man got into one and without waiting for a partner, drove onto the streets of Toronto and waited.

He didn't have to wait long for the voice of dispatch. "There's an armed gunman at Toronto General. He has hostages. We need all units in the area to check it out."

The man grinned. He wasn't near Toronto General, but he wasn't on the schedule. He could easily just show up and they wouldn't think twice about him. That's the power of being a shadow. The man thought, flicking his lights on.

And hit the gas pedal to the floor.