The Man Who Walked Into the Dark

Jessica sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the half-empty bottle of whiskey on the nightstand. The room was still filled with the remnants of last night. The scent of Sam’s cologne lingered on the sheets, the echo of his laugh still playing in her ears. She had let herself be happy, let herself forget, just for a little while. And now he was gone.

It started with a phone call she missed sometime after midnight. Then another. By the time she woke up, there was a message from Leanna, her voice clipped and urgent: Call me. Now.

Jessica grabbed her phone and hit redial. Leanna picked up on the first ring. “Jess, Get back to the office now.”

---

By the time Jessica arrived, Olivia had several screens pulled up, scanning footage from the town’s limited CCTV network. “I got him leaving your place around two a.m.,” Olivia said, rewinding the footage. “He walked toward the docks. Then… nothing. Cameras just happen to be out past that point.”

Jessica exhaled sharply. “Of course they are.”

Leanna was pacing, arms crossed. “This isn’t random. He’s a cop. He knows how to disappear if he wants to. But this? This feels deliberate.”

Jessica’s fingers curled into a fist. “Someone took him.”

Olivia turned in her chair. “Question is, was it Vanguard?”

Silence hung between them. They all knew the answer wasn’t that simple.

---

Jessica and Leanna drove to the docks, retracing Sam’s last known steps. The wooden planks creaked beneath their boots as they walked past rows of boats, most of them small fishing vessels and a few luxury yachts that didn’t belong here.

Leanna examined a nearby security camera mounted on a warehouse. “Looks functional. This one should’ve caught something.”

Jessica nodded. “Let’s hope it’s not ‘coincidentally’ erased like the others.”

A few phone calls later, Olivia was able to get them access to the footage. They watched from Jessica’s tablet as a dark figure approached Sam near the docks. The man wore a long coat, his face hidden by the grainy resolution, but the way he moved was controlled, precise.

Sam turned to face him. There was no struggle. No visible fight. Sam simply nodded once and walked toward a black SUV parked nearby.

And then he was gone.

Jessica’s stomach twisted. “He knew the guy.”

Leanna replayed the footage. “Or he was forced to act like he did.”

Jessica clenched her jaw. “I need to find him.”

Leanna looked at her carefully. “We will find him. But Jess, if this is bigger than Vanguard—”

Jessica cut her off. “I don’t care. We bring him back.”

---

That night, back at the office, Jessica sat alone, staring at the screen as the footage looped over and over.

She reached for the whiskey but stopped herself. Instead, she pulled her laptop closer and started digging. If someone had taken Sam, they had left a trail. And she was going to follow it.

No matter where it led.