5 Months Earlier - January 23, 2013
A dull ache pulsed at the back of the man's head. He tried to open his eyes, but everything blurred. He blinked, tried again. The room slowly sharpened into focus. It was more of a holding cell than a room. It's what he expected.
He was seated. Opposite him, McKnight. The American, a mocking smile on his face. And then, his American colleagues. Hard faces, cold eyes. But what really set him off were the figures beside them. Stern-faced. Filipino government officials. His own countrymen.
A strange lethargy clung to him, a heavier kind of fog than just grogginess.
McKnight.
His mind flashed back. Moments before. The chase. He'd been so close.
He'd followed McKnight, his senses tingling, honing in on the target's fear, his specific energy signature. The pursuit had led him through the winding, damp streets of Ozamiz, into a narrow, shadowed alley. Then, the ambush.
Bullets. A flurry of them.
