His followers applauded.
Marcus was replacing a damaged ceiling panel near the far wall.
Adrian glanced at him.
"Hey."
Marcus looked down.
"Yes?"
"You're in the way."
Marcus looked around.
The maintenance ladder was six feet from the training area.
"There are twenty feet between me and the mat."
Adrian smiled.
"Then you're still in the way."
A few trainees laughed.
Marcus simply stepped down from the ladder.
He moved the equipment aside.
"Better?"
"Much."
Marcus returned to work.
One of Adrian's instructors whispered something.
Adrian laughed.
"What's funny?" Marcus asked.
"Nothing."
"Good."
Marcus climbed back up.
Adrian watched him for a moment.
Something about the man's calmness irritated him.
Most people became nervous around Adrian.
Marcus didn't.
That bothered him.
Later that afternoon, Adrian was demonstrating a combination for several wealthy clients.
He threw a spinning kick.
The class applauded.
Then he noticed Marcus standing near the doorway.
"Come here."
Marcus stopped.
"Me?"
"Yes."
Marcus walked over.
Adrian pointed at the mat.
"You've been watching."
"I've been fixing the lights."
"You were watching."
Marcus shrugged.
"A little."
Adrian grinned.
"You think you can do better?"
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
Several people laughed.
Adrian stepped closer.
"Then why were you analyzing my footwork?"
Marcus said nothing.
Adrian's smile disappeared.
"You know what I think?"
Marcus waited.
"I think you're one of those men who watches other people succeed because you're too afraid to try."
The room became quiet.
Marcus looked at him.
"You may be right."
That answer made Adrian laugh.
"What's your name?"
"Marcus."
"Marcus what?"
"Hale."
Adrian nodded.
"Well, Marcus Hale, if you ever want to learn how real fighters move, ask."
Marcus picked up his toolbox.
"I'll keep that in mind."
He walked away.
Nobody noticed the tiny scar beneath his right ear.
Nobody knew where it came from.
Nobody knew that six years earlier, Marcus Hale had been the callsign Ghost Six.
Nobody knew that he had once entered buildings where armed men waited in darkness.
Nobody knew that he had been trained to read a person's balance before they moved.
Nobody knew that the spinning kick Adrian had just demonstrated would have been easy to counter.
Marcus knew.
But he had promised Sophie something.
No more fighting.
No more guns.
No more missions.
No more blood.
He had promised his daughter that their life would be ordinary.
And for six years, it had been.
Until that morning.
Because the man wearing the wrong shoes had not been a coincidence.
And by sunset, Marcus would discover that someone had found him.
Someone who knew exactly who he used to be.
The trouble began with a photograph.
At 6:40 that evening, Marcus sat in the maintenance office eating a sandwich.
His phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
He ignored it.
It vibrated again.
This time, a message appeared.
YOU CANNOT HIDE FOREVER.
Marcus stared at the screen.
He deleted the message.
Then he called his daughter.
"Hey, sweetheart."
"Hi, Dad!"
Her voice immediately changed his expression.
"How was school?"
"Good."
"Just good?"
"We had a science experiment."