Outside Forces

A secret vigilante organization named the Order has been formed to correct the errors of an imperfect justice system. Garrod Shaw, accused of killing his three young children and dumping their bodies in a lake, has beaten his murder charge on a technicality. A Russian Diplomat, while driving impaired, runs down and kills a young woman and faces no penalty or prosecution after claiming diplomatic immunity. Both men are habitually dangerous and for the protection of all citizens, the Order believes it is time to remove these two once and for all.
The newest recruit to the Order, Kaito Hui, is tasked with leading the team that will arrange the accidental deaths of both men but it seems Kaito has gone astray by adding a target of his own into the mix. Nathaniel Diamond, close friend and long standing member of the Order, knows he must bring a quick stop to what Kaito has planned and arranges for a meeting of the Order’s most senior members.
Michael Crowder, a scrawny eighteen year old, has a new girlfriend, Lucy. He knows Lucy hasn’t quite finished with her current boyfriend and while he and Lucy are snuggling naked beneath the sheets, her old boyfriend shows up unexpectedly forcing Michael to scramble and hide under the bed where he witnesses the violent abduction of Lucy from her apartment.
When Michael tries to explain Lucy’s abduction to his parents, his father doubts Michael’s claim. When Lucy turns up dead the next day, the official report is that her death was nothing more than an unfortunate accident from a fall off a mountain while hiking alone. Michael angrily disputes the police report and insists Lucy never went hiking. Michael’s father worries a mental condition Michael suffered through as a child has resurfaced leading him to suspect Michael may have had a hand in Lucy’s death.
When the seemingly accidental deaths of both Shaw and the Russian diplomat appear in the news the next day, Michael’s family can’t help but notice both victims were defended by Lucy’s father, Harvey Metcalf. The coincidence of three related deaths in one twenty-four hour period is too great to ignore.
Michael and his family are soon embroiled in a series of events and murderous schemes that threaten their very lives. As they try to sort through the mystery behind Lucy’s abduction and death, they find themselves pulled dangerously deep into something sinister. Nathaniel Diamond, hard at work trying to rein in the straying hand of his friend, learns that Michael and his family have stumbled unknowingly into the middle of what Kaito has planned. As he tries to protect the Order’s secrets from being exposed and the lives of this innocent family, he soon learns the Order is no longer the straight up organization it once was.