Life For A Life
Vex
“Is he still alive?” I slam my car door closed in front of what appears to be a simple storage facility that I own under a shell company.
Payne shakes his head. “Sadly. How is Ms. Fleur doing?”
“Her hands still shake, and I think she might have had a panic attack.” Being powerless, watching her pain burns like acid in my gut.
“Did you make sure she’s getting help?”
The idea of another man helping her… Dahlia’s mine to care for and protect. “She’ll be fine.” I’m going to make sure of it. “Don’t let me go nuts in there.” Payne is good at pulling me back from the edge. Though, I’ve never felt as close to it as I do now. Murder is a necessity. Something I have to do because of who I am and the people in the world. It’s not something I take pleasure in. You find a roach in your house, you kill it. You don’t do a dance over its corpse and celebrate its death.
But killing this man… this roach… he’s too low even for a roach… this blight on humanity could be the first to tip me over the edge. He hurt Dahlia in a way that c an never be erased. I can protect her, but no one can take the realization away that life and safety are smoke and mirrors.
“I won’t.” Payne thumps me on my back. “I can take care of the problem for you.”
That might be the reasonable choice—My fists clench—but it’s not the way to deal with my pit of rage. “I’ll let you know.” And even though I don’t want to, I will. Because once you find pleasure in killing, it changes you.
That pleasure has turned many a man into a thing of nightmares.
We head through a secret door in a back room into a section of the building that’s soundproofed, which is important when we need to acquire information. That shouldn’t be an issue today.
Though I can understand why men of old would put their enemy’s head on a stick as a warning to all.
This guy’s head would look really good hanging outside my club.
And that’s why I’m going to let Payne take care of him.
Payne flips the switch off on the music he left on the entire time. Wouldn’t want the guy to think we’re unfeeling? The lights didn’t go off either, in case he was afraid of the dark…
“See, all safe and sound. If you ignore a few of those bruises.” Payne smiles as the guy stands up from where he was curled up on the floor.
“Who notices a few bruises when they’re about to die?” The man in front of me no longer has the crisp, trustable demeanor that might have helped him get away with bringing his victims home. Maybe I’ll just give him a few more before I leave him to Payne.
“You aren’t going to kill me,” the man manages to stand tall as he says those words.
“Why would you think that? We don’t take people here to make friends with them.” Why am I even talking to the soon-to-be dead man in front of me?
“Because I can give you something you want.”
There’s nothing that filth has that I want. “You didn’t say this man was stupid. ”
“Didn’t think he was. Other than choosing your club, which in itself was the stupidest decision he’ll ever make.” Payne doesn’t take his eyes from his target.
“I’m not stupid. I’ve been doing this for decades without getting caught. How did you guess?”
“Is this guy bragging about hurting women?” I turn to Payne to avoid looking at the filth in front of me.
“It seems he’s stupider than I thought. Maybe we should hurt him before we kill him, just so he knows what it feels like.”
Torture would be too kind for him.
“You aren’t going to touch me.”
Stupid and overconfident.
“I didn’t pick your club by accident. Everyone has heard of the great Vex—”
His mocking tone grates on my nerves.
“—The Serial Killer Exterminator. This was my ultimate challenge.”
The grin would disappear if I put my fist through his face. “You must have a death wish.”
“No one is going to die today. Unless the rumors aren’t true. They say once you make a promise, you keep it. Were they wrong?”
“They weren’t.” What is his angle?
“I’ve killed hundreds of women. Their deaths were glorious. I wish we had the time to go over all the details. But if you want the last two to survive, you’ll need to leave soon. My beauties haven’t had anything to drink in days. It has been days, right? Time gets lost in here as you can understand.”
His beauties? Survive? “You have more victims?”
“Two of the sweetest women you’ve ever seen. They’re waiting for me in their little holes. You can’t believe the smiles on their faces when they see me.”
His smile causes my stomach to revolt. This… thing almost had Dahlia. “Where are they?” I bite the words out rather than releasing the rage burning inside of me.
“You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you? ”
A noise that he probably thinks of as a laugh echoes through the room, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
“I’m not going to give you the pleasure of rescuing my beauties without something in return. If I die, they die.” The filth swaggers forward like he won this game. “Who do you care about more, them or me? Take your pick. Just picturing my beauties at home withering away makes me happy. Does it make you happy? They say you’re the best killer on the planet. Do you enjoy killing? Do you enjoy knowing that you have all the power?” He steps forward until he reaches the end of his chain.
Sheer force of will and experience keeps my face expressionless. “Where are they?”
“Not until you give me your word that you won’t kill me. That’s my price. Them for me.” He folds his arms and gives me a challenging look.
There’s no way evil like this can walk away. “If… they are alive, I give you my word that no harm will come to you from my hand.” But you’re dying today. “Now where are they?”
“Where they would never be found. My family bought the land hundreds of years ago, but it’s not in my name. You have to follow my directions exactly or you’ll miss the turnoff. It’s a dirt road about four hours outside of Urbium…”
***
“Do you think that we’re going to find anything, or do you think he sent us on a wild goose chase to stay alive a few more hours?” Payne asks as we hit the fiftieth pothole down this poor excuse of a dirt road.
The soon-to-be-dead guy was right. No one would find this place without following his directions. “I’d prefer it to be a ploy than to know there are hundreds of dead women up ahead.” But I know there are. From a young age, I’ve seen things that no human should have to see… Things that should never have been done to another human being .
“You think they’re there.” Shadows of the past fill Payne’s eyes.
“Yeah, I do. If you don’t want to get out of the car, I can handle it myself.” Payne still has some memories from his past that haunt him.
“I should go. You might need my help if both of them are alive.”
Payne will always step in regardless of the cost to himself. That’s why we’ve been friends for decades. I’d trust him with my back. “I can call you if I need help.”
Payne stares out the window for a long moment as we slowly pass by endless trees.
This guy was smart. I’ll give him that.
“We’ll see this through together. How are you going to get around the promise you made?”
By playing at being a loophole lawyer. “I promised that no harm would come to him from my hand. I said nothing about yours.”
Payne smiles for the first time since all of this happened. “Consider it done.”
An old wood shack comes into view. At one point, it was probably someone’s pride and joy. The wood looks to be hand-milled, probably from the surrounding trees. How long has this place been forgotten by the world?
Too long.
I stop the SUV well before the house. It’s always good to walk in quietly to check for any surprises.
With this guy, I expect a few. He’s just too confident not to have prepared for any eventuality. On the other hand, if we die, he’ll die in the room.
Payne heads to the right, and I head to the left.
The first welcome comes in the form of a tripwire just a few feet ahead of us. It doesn’t seem to be attached to any explosives. Must be an early warning system.
Payne’s route takes him through the woods a bit.
Payne: Trail cameras scattered throughout. They face towards the farmhouse.
We both have SAT phones, but surprisingly, there’s also regular phone service. That’s interesting. Did he arrange that? Or is it rigged somehow to work ?
All of this is to keep the women in. He isn’t concerned about strangers wandering in.
Vex: Keep your eyes open. There are going to be traps.
Payne: Found two already. Took care of them.
I trained him well. The area around the house is clear. You don’t want to accidentally hurt yourself walking around your home.
But just in case, I tread carefully up the porch steps.
The faded tattered curtains are tied back giving a clear view inside. The space is eerily normal, complete with lace doilies on the end tables and dried flowers in the vases.
That garbage lives here.
Why?
There doesn’t seem to be any electricity or monitoring technology visible. I move to the next window that overlooks the dining room.
More doilies and vases full of dried flowers cover the table.
WHAT?
I blink twice, hoping that what I thought I just saw isn’t really there. Three birthing stools surround the table, each with shackles attached.
Death would be too kind…
Payne doesn’t need to see anything in here. My friend has too much gentleness in his soul.
My soul… It was destroyed too long ago.
The kitchen is empty except for shelves of canned goods and old cooking equipment. It tells me nothing except the guy doesn’t cook much.
The last room in the back corner must be the bedroom.
Will it be the same or…
I step back as all feeling drains from my body. The sight in front of me was staged for maximum impact. Yet so neatly done that it won’t leave a single shred of evidence.
Death is too kind for the man who did this.
There’s no one living left in the house .
Me: You done?
Payne: Yeah. No sign of anyone being held in the woods.
That leaves the backyard, because there’s no one alive inside that house.
I walk around to the back of the porch and stare out to the field as Payne jogs over.
“This place is weird. What’s with all the random stepping stones scattered around?”
He hasn’t figured it out yet. We aren’t looking for a building the women are being locked in. “Those are the ones that died. We need to look for holes that haven’t been filled in.”
“Holes?” Payne stares at me as I step off.
The beehive-like grid spreading out from the center of the yard goes on for over an acre. There are hundreds of stones.
“I’ll head left. You go right.” I don’t quite run through the grass, but neither do I tarry. If there’s anyone alive out here, they’ve been days without water or food.
“The stones have names on them. Do you think they’re the real names?”
With this guy? “Possibly.” He likes to brag.
“There’s a tarp over here!” Payne points towards a green tarp that’s mostly covered in fake grass, and I dash over to him.
“Careful as you pull it back.”
Payne nods and slowly edges around it, looking for wires or any other surprises that might show up if we lift this. “It appears clear.”
“I should do this.”
Payne lifts the edge. “I’ve seen dead bodies before.”
The problems come if she isn’t dead. “Okay, we’ll do it together.”