Manhunt

Car seventy-four on the scene,
requesting backup at the ravine.
Gun drawn, investigations on,
searching the grounds, seeing what comes around.

A silent breeze in a shadowed forest,
intrigues my head to hidden noises.
My hand tightens and the barrel heightens,
under extreme pressure, the sweat is hard to weather.

I wipe my face and move at a slowed pace.
Crouching down and visioning around,
while the suspects on the prowl.

Moving along a river wall I came upon,
suspect is sprinting the rocks,
then into the woods he trots.

Rain starts pouring as I continue exploring,
and moving through the swamps,
I slip and slide in pursuing the crook.

Into the mud puddle I landed,
crawling a hill that's ... fingers peeling into the
Earth, while my knees pressed against the roots.

Pulling myself back into the hunt,
I clinched my pistol and sought the scum.
Pacing through the wilderness at the speed of light,
I launched a round just missing...the bad guy's crown.

Jumping down from a high point,
I release more ammo trying to halt him.
Dropping to the ground,
one of my bullets takes him down.

A breath I catch while on my knees,
only to notice the crook still flees.
Due to this I continued to track,
the killer quack.

Off in the distance, I see the suspect halting,
narrowing my gap, then he's coursing into the
cabin at Lake Crossing.

The cabin was of one level, due to out of season...,
with front side porch, two basic windows, and an
average front door.

I stopped at nearby tree,
barely parting the gunman's bullet hitting the bark by me.
I made it known, I'm U.S. Marshall Joe...,
giving up a laugh; he said, "can't take me back!"

Menacing words with him made no sense,
taking more lives is all that he meant.
I reloaded my nine iron and fired a round,
through the windowpane the runner had sang.

Then darted diving and rolling to the backside bushes,
confusing the suspect of my movements.
Stealthy and persistent I was to the back door,
where he wasn't consistent knowing of my existence.

Just to this point, out with my lock pick to sneak up upon him.
I approached calm and patient, silent, tired and sore.
Made no noise, cause the crook, wasn't in front of my nose.

Armed and brawn I asked the crook to go down.
To my surprise the criminal rolled his eyes,
pulling around blood-soaked hands and a twelve gauge
shotgun.

Yelling halt, my thoughts deceived me when he smiled
and shot.
In reflex I ducked, curving around and taking my shot.

Bullets blazed right through his chest,
sending him out the front window he stood about.
Suspect down, I approached him on the ground,
to see him still around.

"You murdering bastard!"
"Why'd you kill someone?"
Coughed he did, saying; "just for fun and nothing more".

I gave no time and proceeded to cuff him,
in twist he went for his secret gun.
Lunging toward me,
putting him down with a point-blank round,
a sense of ease came over me.

Happy to go home from this brutal manhunt,
seeking solitude from the family I love.
Best wishes go with the bruised mother, loss,
and children.
Please recover, heal one another, start anew.