Prologue (Comic Strip) - HUNTED - An Aria Hunt FBI Crime Thriller

Updated: Apr 2

“The sixth will see the spiral. The seventh will ascend.” —Anonymous message, never decoded

Springfield, Virginia – January 15th | 8:37 AM

The red backpack lay open in the snow. Sequins glinted. Zipper half-pulled. Empty.

Tara Michaels was gone.

Ethan Parker crouched beside the crushed diorama, its foam board soaked through.

A whisper of tires on asphalt broke the moment.

The SUV’s presence was sharp against the foggy, snow-covered background.

FBI Assistant Director, Vance stepped out, coat whipping in the wind like she owned the weather.

“Tara Michaels. Age eight. Snatched between the car and the gate. Ten steps. Gone.”

Vance: “Five in eight days. All gifted. No ransom. No message.”

Parker: “Until now.”

Vance: “We need her on this case.”

Parker: “You mean Quant or Cyber?”

Vance: “Hunt. Aria Hunt.”

ARIA HUNT hadn’t left the basement in 712 days.

But the world had finally crawled back to her feet.

“The first four abductions had followed a pattern but the fifth one was an anomaly.”

And Aria's mind hated anomalies.