How do you fight a ghost who controls the very machine hunting him?
Eugene Terrell Barkley has spent his life training for a fight he didn't know was coming. A Seido Juku karate expert with a voice that can command a room, Eugene grew up in the shadow of a father he believed died decades ago. But the truth is far more dangerous: his father, Jarvis Meadows, is alive, and he is a master of systemic manipulation.
Jarvis-known to the underworld as 'Teach'-has spent years building an untraceable empire within the ruins of the American credit system. He doesn't just hide from the law; he operates the federal databases that track the nation's most violent criminals. To Jarvis, the world is a fraud, and everyone in it is a mark-including the son he intended to shape in his own twisted image.
When the Vi-CAP investigation closes in, the lines between predator and prey blur. With the help of Madeline, a 'Spy Who Loved Me' figure whose love is the only variable Jarvis can't quantify, Eugene must navigate a labyrinth of financial predation and institutional failure. As Jarvis prepares a 'Staged Exit' to vanish forever, Eugene must decide: is blood thicker than water, or is he the one man disciplined enough to break his father's recipe for madness?
Perfect for fans of technical crime thrillers and psychological tradecraft, this high-stakes procedural explores what happens when the system meant to protect us is the ultimate weapon of the hunter.
