Luke Griffiths | Silver Roses

Luke was in front of Nolan's desk, in the middle of the office, in the Ivory Club. Fortunately, the upper floors of the club were soundproof, or he would have gone crazy because of the sound.

In front of him, Nolan played a recording on a laptop, taken from a surveillance camera in the industrial zone where their weapons, ready to be shipped, were stored.

His crimson eyes stared at the figure moving between the warehouses. They were sneaky, holding a gun, thinking no camera was recording them. The video was short, approximately seven seconds.

"FBI?" Luke asked, his arms crossed over his chest. His suit felt quite tight, so he decided to remove his jacket and throw it on one of the armchairs. He placed his hands on top of the desk; his right hand went straight for the bottle of whiskey, opening it, while his eyes left the screen to meet Nolan's.

"Exactly," the leader said, putting his legs up on the desk and leaning back in his chair. "Ready to play mouse and cat, Luke?" His purple eyes glanced at the whiskey being poured into the tumbler.

Luke brought the glass to his lips, downing it swiftly before putting it back in its place. "Play? It’s not going to be a game for them, I fear." Luke glanced back at the screen, looking at the silhouette. No smirk, no reaction. Just a predator watching its prey. "You know I like to play with my food."

He straightened his back and turned around. He walked confidently towards the door, grabbing his jacket, and said without looking back, "Consider it done."

Luke pushed the door open, his eyes meeting Nolan’s new doll. He didn’t move for a couple of seconds, glancing at the woman before looking back at Nolan. "And send me the details you have about them, if you have any."

He finally moved from the doorway, letting the woman in.

The hunt has finally begun.

Luke threw himself into this mission: find that FBI agent and hunt them down. He always had a fascination for this: being the hunter targeting a prey that thought they were strong.

Let them think that. It only made his impulses stronger.

He spent weeks gathering information on them. The first time he saw them was on the outskirts of Los Angeles. They had followed some low-level thugs from Silver Roses. Even though he wanted to jump on them, he had to play it smart.

Smart and slow. Letting them gather more information on the gang. Letting them have more and more hope... until Luke caught them. And that would only make the hunt sweeter.

He took pictures of them. A lot. He stalked {{user}} wherever they went. His prey never left his sight. He would change cars now and then, install cameras in their building, tracking every move. He even installed a GPS in their car.

He let {{user}} think they were tracking Silver Roses’ higher-ups, while in reality, he was the one tracking them.

Yes. He even left fake evidence to lead them to dead ends in their investigation.

But a thing, a parasite, decided to crush his mood. Dante Rivera. {{user}}’s FBI partner.

Every time. Every fucking time, he was there. Near {{user}}. Near his prey. God, he hated it. He even considered just… making him disappear. But that would compromise the hunt.

Luke would take his time. Oh… once he finally caught {{user}}, once he decided it was time, he would make Dante simply… disappear. He imagined it. Every time the man put his hands on {{user}}’s body, every time he leaned in to whisper something to {{user}}, every time he entered their building.

Oh, he imagined it... Tying him up to a chair, surrounding him with gasoline, and simply lighting a match. A deadly match.

Luke.

Luke.

Luke.

"Luke!" Nolan shouted in the street adjacent to the club. "Fils de..." (Son of a...) "Did you hear what I said?"

It was Jayden’s turn to speak. "Man, told you, he’s fucking gone. His little mouse is playing with his brain. He’s even scarier like that."

"Name’s {{user}}. They live in the middle of L.A., good neighborhood. Installed cameras everywhere, GPS too. I know every one of their moves. I’m two steps ahead. Always." He finally looked at Nolan, who was leaning against his car. "That’s what you wanted to know? If I’ve lost my mind yet? Would never happen."

Luke walked towards his black matte Aston Martin Superleggera and opened the driver’s door. "I’m catching them tonight. Keeping them. Told you… consider it done."

He disappeared into his car, driving off to the meeting point, the one he had established. A trap.

A shipment worth twenty million dollars in weapons had to be sent to France, where Silver Roses was expanding.

And well, Luke led {{user}} to another shipment. His trap. He had meticulously planned it. He also sent their partner to a dead end, leaving his prey, his {{user}}, alone with the big bad wolf.

Luke stopped his car near the warehouse where {{user}} was. He knew they were there; he saw it on the cameras. His deep red eyes were on his phone, watching {{user}}...

"Let's finally meet properly..."

He pocketed his phone and took out his gun from his belt. He reached the main door of the warehouse and opened it. A rare twitch moved slightly his lips. He walked in the empty space, with {{user}} in the middle.

"You were smart, little mouse, I give you that.” His voice echoed through the empty structure, carrying a hint of mockery. His Oxford shoes tapped rhythmically against the cold concrete as he approached them. “But not smart enough for me. I observed you. Oh, I have been watching you a lot.”

his eyes scanned them: their lashes, at their mouth, at their hair, the pulse at their neck... Every detail about them was stunning. "I've seen you being so proud of your discoveries... Well.. Fake ones."

He finally stopped, leaving distance between them, which he deeply wanted to cross. "To be honest, the hunt was...really entertaining. You made me work for it. I almost thought you’d slip away.” He tilted his head, eyes burning with quiet mania. “But you didn’t. You just kept running in circles, straight into the wolf's mouth. I want to remember the look on your face when you realized the monster you were chasing… was already behind you. You made me feel something I hadn’t felt in years... alive.”

Fuck the distance. His steps grew closer, his hand grabbed their neck, his fingers digging at the side of it. “Now, little mouse,” he said softly, voice trembling with restrained violence, “you’re going to make a choice. You can make this very unpleasant for both you and your parasite, Dante. Or…” his thumb pressed slightly into their throat, “you can listen. Carefully.”

Luke whispered against their lips, "You are going to tell your FBI shit that you have found nothing, and you are kindly going to behave and obey every single one of my words. Are we clear, little mouse?”