NOVPUB
Chapter 176: Chapter 176 Dummy
Liam carried the duffle bag over his back as he climbed up the side of a quiet, rundown house. His hands gripped the old drainage pipe, boots moving silently along the wall like he’d done this a thousand times. The building was a few blocks away from Sam’s. High enough. Dark enough. Isolated. Perfect.
He reached the rooftop and crouched down. The night was still. Just wind brushing past his ear. He set the duffle bag down beside him, unzipped it with a single, fluid motion, and pulled out a compact binocular. With practiced precision, he raised it to his eyes and zoomed in on the glowing window across the street—Sam’s room.
There he was. Sam.
Curled under a thick blanket, soft blue light from his night lamp casting faint shadows over his bed. He looked asleep. Calm. Liam watched his chest, expecting a rise and fall. Nothing. A second passed. Still nothing.
Liam narrowed his eyes.
Before jumping to conclusions, he scanned the street below.
That’s when he noticed the cars. Way too many of them. And not the kind the locals drove. This neighborhood was cheap, poor. The people here were barely scraping by—old pickups, rusted sedans, missing hubcaps. But tonight, he counted seven new cars. All parked strategically along the block. Different models, different colors—but the placement was too careful.
He zoomed in with the binoculars again. A man sitting inside one of them. Another one in the back seat of the car across the street. They weren’t civilians.
Police.
Plain clothes, but the body language was there. Trained. Still. Watching. Waiting.
Liam smirked. "So they knew I was coming."
He shifted his view and that’s when he saw her.
Vanessa.
She sat in the driver’s seat of a white SUV, leaned back slightly with her hand against her chin. She looked tired. Bored. Her eyes were fluttering, already dozing off. No vest. No badge visible. She wasn’t even holding a weapon. Clearly, she didn’t expect him to show up. Just another half-assed trap from the force.
Liam chuckled low under his breath and reached into his bag again, this time assembling the sniper. A sleek, matte black piece—clean and well-oiled. He clicked the scope into place, unfolded the bipod, and crawled forward until the barrel of the rifle peeked out over the edge of the rooftop.
He lined up the crosshair with Sam’s window.
Still motionless.
Too still.
He watched a few more seconds, zoomed all the way in. The lighting gave it away—the shadows were wrong. No slight shifting, no natural breathing motion. Just dead fabric and hollow volume.
A dummy.
They’d filled the bed with clothes or padding and laid it under the blanket to bait him.
Liam grinned.
"Bastards really think I’m that predictable," he muttered, more amused than annoyed. "Nice try."
He took one last scan with the binoculars, slowly tracing the house perimeter, looking for something—anything—to hint at Sam’s real location. But the angle was bad. Trees and fences blocked most of the view. They’d planned this carefully.
Still didn’t matter.
Liam left the sniper where it was, placed the binoculars beside it, and stood up. With a graceful leap, he dropped down the side of the house and landed on the ground without a sound.
His boots hit the pavement soft. He moved fast but calm, weaving through the shadows until he was behind Vanessa’s SUV.
She didn’t notice him until the car door on the back passenger side swung open.
Her eyes snapped open instantly, trained to alert at any sound.
Her head whipped around, and there he was—Liam.
That dangerously handsome face of his staring at her like it was nothing. That same calm, unreadable expression.
She blinked, confused at first. Then panic hit her.
"Liam!" she hissed, keeping her voice low. "What the hell are you doing here?"
He didn’t answer right away. He just smiled casually and leaned forward, resting his arm on the front seat as if this were some friendly visit.
"Hi," he said smoothly.
That one word—so casual, so unfazed—made her blood boil.
"Cut the bullshit," she snapped, eyes darting around to make sure none of the other officers were walking this way. "Do you have any idea what you’re doing? You could get arrested if they see you. Or worse."
Liam waved off Vanessa’s concern like it was background noise.
"You worry too much," he said calmly, voice low from the backseat. "Now... where’s Sam?"
Vanessa let out a short, sarcastic chuckle. She didn’t even turn to face him. "If you actually think I’m going to tell you where Sam is, then you’re more insane than I thought."
Liam sighed quietly, leaning back against the leather seat. His fingers tapped against the door beside him.
"You know how much I need to do this," he said, voice sharper now. "This isn’t just about revenge. This is about getting stronger."
Vanessa turned her head slightly, her eyes narrowing. "Yeah. I know exactly what it means. Kill Sam, gain experience, get more power... feed the system. But you have no idea what’s waiting for you."
Her tone was firm, and there was something else layered beneath it—fear. Real concern.
She added, "I’m not sending you to your death. Or worse. Prison."
Liam leaned forward from the backseat again, now closer, his breath brushing against her ear as he spoke.
"Then don’t worry about what happens to me," he whispered. "Let me deal with my well-being. All I need from you is one thing—tell me where they’re keeping him. I’ll handle the rest."
Vanessa closed her eyes for a second, lips pressing into a tight line. She wanted to scream at him, or slap him, or maybe both. She knew he meant what he said. Knew that no matter what, Liam was going to hunt Sam down. With or without her help.
But before she could say anything else, her body stiffened.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted movement.
Chief Josh.
He was walking her way, coffee in hand, smug grin plastered across his face like he was about to say something completely unnecessary—as usual.
"Shit," she muttered under her breath.
She tried to subtly turn to Liam, to signal him to disappear. But it was too late.
Josh had already seen her. Their eyes met. If she looked away now, it’d be suspicious. Too suspicious.
She clenched her jaw and kept her posture neutral, silently praying Liam got the message and hid himself fast.
Josh reached her side and leaned down, his breath warm with the stench of overly sweet coffee and whatever cologne he bathed in.
"Well, well, Vanessa," he started with that annoyingly fake friendly tone. "Didn’t expect you to still be awake at this hour. Thought you’d be passed out from the cold by now."
Vanessa forced a tight smile. "I’m fine, sir. The cold doesn’t bother me."
Josh chuckled, like he thought he was charming. "That’s what I like about you. Tough one, huh? Maybe you need someone to keep you warm, though. You know, if things get too chilly."
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. "I’ll manage, sir."
Josh seemed to linger a moment longer, eyes scanning her body like he was trying to undress her with his gaze.
Then finally, he nodded and took a sip of his drink. "Alright then. Stay alert. Can’t have you falling asleep on duty."
"I won’t," she said flatly.
He smiled that greasy smile again, then turned and walked off slowly, like he wanted her to watch him leave.
The moment he was gone, she exhaled heavily, sinking slightly into the seat.
From behind her, Liam popped his head back up from the floor of the backseat.
He had that same cocky grin, totally unfazed.
"Smooth," he whispered. "But you do know he likes you, right?"
Vanessa rolled her eyes hard. "Shut up, Liam."
