The Hunter Association headquarters caught the first rays of dawn across its glass and steel facade, casting long shadows that stretched like fingers across the marble lobby floor. Security guards stiffened at their posts as the automatic doors parted. Three executives huddled by the elevator paused mid-conversation, their coffee cups suspended halfway to their lips.
Aiden stepped through the threshold, the overhead lights reflecting off his mask's obsidian surface. The crimson eyes glowed with an inner fire that pulsed slightly with each breath. A receptionist dropped her pen. Someone whispered something urgent into a comm device. The mask's angular cheekbones and pointed chin jutted forward as he approached the security checkpoint, hoodie pulled low, hands buried deep in his pockets.
