Silent Justice

By Timothy Spears

The room was dark, save for the dim glow of a laptop screen. The man sat hunched over the desk, eyes scanning the screen with an intensity that bordered on obsession. Every night, it was the same ritual. A glass of scotch sat untouched by his side, forgotten in the meticulous trawl through the online abyss.

Tonight, he was looking for one man. A predator who had evaded justice far too long. His fingers moved deftly over the keys, pulling up files and piecing together the puzzle of the man's life. Name, address, daily routines—every detail was a step closer to justice.

As the hours passed, he leaned back, satisfied. He had had enough. Tomorrow, he would set the plan into motion. This man would not harm another child. This man would not breathe another breath of free air.

He reached for the glass, but then hesitated, his mind wandering back to the beginning. To the day that had set him on this path of silent justice.

It had been a bright, sunny afternoon when his world shattered. His younger sister, only twelve, had disappeared on her way home from school. The police found her days later, bruised, broken, but alive. Her attacker, a repeat offender, was arrested but released on a technicality. The legal system had failed them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Timothy Spears
• Release date: Jun 26, 2024
• ISBN: 9798227699985

Book preview

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2024 Timothy Spears

All rights reserved

Prologue

The room was dark, save for the dim glow of a laptop screen. The man sat hunched over the desk, eyes scanning the screen with an intensity that bordered on obsession. Every night, it was the same ritual. A glass of scotch sat untouched by his side, forgotten in the meticulous trawl through the online abyss.

Tonight, he was looking for one man. A predator who had evaded justice far too long. His fingers moved deftly over the keys, pulling up files and piecing together the puzzle of the man's life. Name, address, daily routines—every detail was a step closer to justice.

As the hours passed, he leaned back, satisfied. He had had enough. Tomorrow, he would set the plan into motion. This man would not harm another child. This man would not breathe another breath of free air.

He reached for the glass, but then hesitated, his mind wandering back to the beginning. To the day that had set him on this path of silent justice.

It had been a bright, sunny afternoon when his world shattered. His younger sister, only twelve, had disappeared on her way home from school. The police found her days later, bruised, broken, but alive. Her attacker, a repeat offender, was arrested but released on a technicality. The legal system had failed them.

He remembered the rage, the helplessness, the vow he made at her hospital bedside. If the law could not protect the innocent, then he would. He would become the shadow that predators feared, the silent hand of justice that struck without warning.

He rose from the chair, the familiar resolve hardening in his chest. He walked to the window, staring out into the night. Somewhere out there, a man was about to meet his end, and the world would be a little safer.

His sister deserved that much. They all did.

With one last look at the screen, he shut the laptop and downed the scotch in a single gulp. Tomorrow, the hunt would begin again.

Chapter 1: The Incident

It was an ordinary day, or so it seemed. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and life in the small town was moving at its usual, unhurried pace. But for Michael Reed, that day would forever be etched in his memory as the day everything changed.

Michael was at work when he got the call. His boss, a gruff man with a heart of gold, had summoned him to the office. Mike, it's your mom. She says it's urgent, he said, handing over the phone.

His mother's voice was frantic, almost hysterical. It's Emily. She's missing. She didn't come home from school. The police are looking, but... but...

Michael's heart sank. Emily, his twelve-year-old sister, was the light of their family. Always smiling, always full of life. The thought of something happening to her was unbearable.

He left work immediately, his mind racing as he drove to the school. The police were already there, questioning teachers and students, but no one had seen anything unusual. Emily had simply vanished.

Days turned into a nightmare. The town rallied together, searching the woods, the parks, anywhere they could think of. Michael barely slept, fueled by desperation and fear. His parents were inconsolable, clinging to the hope that Emily would come home.

Then, a week later, they found her.

She was in an abandoned shed on the outskirts of town, barely conscious and severely traumatized. The doctors said she would recover physically, but the emotional scars ran deep. Emily's attacker, a man with a history of sexual offenses, was arrested. Michael thought it was over, that justice would be served.

But the trial was a farce. The defense lawyer found a loophole, a technical error that got the charges dismissed. The man walked free, a smug smile on his face as he left the courtroom.

Michael watched, seething with rage and disbelief. How could the system fail so completely? How could a monster like that be allowed to walk free? That night, as he sat by Emily's bedside, he made a vow.

If the law couldn't protect the innocent, then he would. He would find these predators and make sure they never harmed another child. He would become their judge, jury, and executioner.

And so began Michael's transformation into a vigilante, a hunter of the night, driven by a single, unrelenting purpose: to deliver justice to those who had escaped it.

Part 1: The Catalyst

Chapter 2: Awakening

After the trial, Michael was a changed man. The sense of helplessness gnawed at him, the injustice festering like a wound that refused to heal. He spent hours online, reading about other victims and the failures of the justice system. It became an obsession, a dark cloud that followed him everywhere.

One night, as he browsed the web, he stumbled upon a forum where survivors shared their stories and frustrations. Among the posts, he found links to the national sex offender registry. Curious, he clicked through, entering a world he never knew existed.

The registry was a goldmine of information. Names, addresses, photographs, and details of the offenses—everything was there. He realized that these predators were living freely, often unnoticed, in communities across the country. The thought made his blood boil.

That’s when the idea took root. What if he could do something? What if he could track these men down and ensure they never hurt anyone again? It was a dangerous thought, but the more he considered it, the more it made sense. He had no family to worry about, no close friends. He was alone, driven by a singular purpose.

Michael began to research vigilante justice. He read about historical figures, both real and fictional, who had taken the law into