Chapter 16 Oxley
OXLEY
I look around the kitchen with a satisfied smile.
Clean. I haven’t fully cleaned the kitchen since I brought Huntley home.
Not that it was dirty before, but I’ve gone a month without really cleaning it.
I’ve been called a neat freak and germaphobe for most of my life.
To be frank, it doesn’t bother me. I like knowing that I’m not going to get sick because there are bacteria growing in my fridge.
Before heading back to Huntley, I swap laundry loads and fold the towels in the laundry room. The compulsion to put them away is strongly bubbling under the surface, but I’m distracted by my phone ringing. A glance at the screen says Nori’s calling.
“Hello, Nori,” I answer.
“Hey, boss. You good?”
“Very good. How’s the crew?”
“We’re good. Listen. I got your man.”
My stomach jumps, my heart skips around in anticipation. “The guy who shot Huntley?”
“Yep. He’s here waiting for you.”
I turn to look at the door in the direction of my bedroom.
I’ve never left Huntley alone in the apartment.
I haven’t left him alone since we met. Bringing him to work where he’s out of my sight is different.
There are security cameras there. Voss has already patched me in, so I can look at him any time I want.
If I take care of this guy, I’ll be leaving him alone. Entirely alone. For hours.
“I’ll be there in a bit.”
“Kay. See ya later.”
I pocket my phone and head for the door, but my feet stick. Sighing, I turn back for the tower of towels and bring them with me. It’s honestly silly to leave them here when I walk by the bathroom, where they belong, on my way to Huntley.
He looks toward me as soon as I step into the bedroom, a smile on his face. He’s lounging in bed watching television with his laptop in his lap. He’s adorable. Seeing him there makes my heart race.
I return his smile on my way to the linen closet, then join him on the bed. Huntley mutes the television as soon as I sit in front of him.
“You asked me if the person who shot you had been caught.” Huntley nods, setting his computer aside. “He’s been caught.”
He inhales. “Are they putting him in jail?”
Seconds tick by like hours as I hold his stare, an internal debate on what I need to tell him. Eventually, I settle on the truth. “No. The police don’t have him.”
Huntley looks confused. “Then…”
“My crew has him.”
“And you’re not going to turn him in?”
“I’m not. I’m going to kill him.”
He inhales sharply, eyes almost comically wide now, and jaw hanging as he stares. I don’t say anything as he processes my words. His mouth works, forming different shapes as he works on finding words. It’s several minutes before he manages to find some.
His voice comes out in a squeak. “You’re going to kill him? You specifically?”
I nod. “You’re in pain every day because of him. Ideally, I’d like to keep him alive and in pain until you’re able to walk again without pain, but I don’t have the patience for that.”
“You’re going to get caught,” he says, and fear fills his eyes.
I realize he hadn’t been afraid of my announcing that I’m about to kill a man. He’s afraid for my safety. Warmth fills my chest. I’m not sure someone has worried about me like that before.
“I won’t get caught.”
“You’ll cover your face, right?”
“No, he’s going to look at me as he dies.”
“But he’ll be able to identify you!” His tone rises with his worry.
I grip his hand. “Ghosts tell no tales. He won’t get away. He won’t live long enough to turn me in. I won’t get caught.”
“But—”
My hand cups his cheek, feeling his soft skin with the beginning of evening fuzz. “Huntley, trust me. I promise I won’t get caught.”
He swallows, giving me a nervous nod.
“I’m telling you because I don’t want you to wake up in the night alone and be concerned when you can’t find me. I’ll be home before morning light, and the man who shot you will be dead.”
Huntley shivers. His lips press together again, and he nods. “Okay,” he whispers.
I slide closer to him so I can press a kiss to his lips. Hopefully, it conveys my confidence and assures him I’ll be home. This scumbag will be dead.
“Are you going now?”
I nod, though I didn’t plan on leaving until dark. This man needs to suffer as long as possible, but he’s going to die before the sun comes up tomorrow morning. “Yes. I have my phone if you need me. Okay?”
He nods.
“Don’t be afraid for me.”
Huntley smiles, though it’s still nervous, and he doesn’t answer.
His arms around me when I hug him are almost painfully tight.
Even so, he lets me go and gives me a curt nod.
I’m not sure if it’s his desire to know this man is dead or his determination to trust me when I tell him to that has him putting on a brave face.
I walk out of my apartment as the sun begins to set.
The warehouse where we conduct our business is in the middle of the industrial district in Anaheim. It’s still in operation, producing paper twenty-four hours a day. There’s always business going on. There’s always noise.
Noise enough to cover screaming in the basement.
The basement isn’t accessible from the factory itself.
Only through an abandoned tunnel that looks derelict, though we keep it maintained and passable.
The factory itself is owned by Van Doren Technologies, but not in name.
The deed and trail that lead to the bank accounts are convoluted at best and can be dumped on a moment’s notice.
Nori is waiting in the surveillance room, swinging back and forth in her chair as she stares at the monitors. “Hey, boss,” she greets without turning around. No doubt she watched me approach through the tunnels.
“Hello,” I return and take a seat beside her. She’s watching a man in the big room tied to a chair, just like a cheesy gangster movie.
“His name is Peter Palmer-Davies.”
I tilt my head. “I know that name.”
She nods. “You should. He was once a politician, but before he turned to politics, he was a Baptist pastor. He’s well known for loudly vocalizing anti-LGBTQ, submissive women, white supremacy, and eugenics for those who aren’t Baptist Christians.”
“It’s all coming back to me.”
Nori looks at me, nodding. “He’s not surprised at being caught. He hasn’t fought. No screaming. No pleading. No threatening. It’s as if he knows he’s reached the end of the line. Almost as if he’s ready for the release from this world.”
“That takes the fun out of it.”
“I agree. I’ve been watching for literally any sign of… anything. But he’s been doing just this. Looking around without interest. It’s rather disappointing.”
“You’re sure this is our guy?”
“Yes. A witness identified him. One of the victims he shot recognized him, too. He was caught on security cameras.”
“And yet, the police didn’t bring him in.”
“This man has connections and money.”
“Has he talked?”
Nori shrugs. “I’m a person of color, a lesbian, and a woman to boot. He’s not about to say anything to me.”
“I should let you kill him then.”
“I’m certainly hoping you’ll let me be a part of it. I’d love to be the last thing he sees before he dies. I’m everything he hates wrapped up in a cute body.”
I smile as I get to my feet. “Let’s go then.” There’s a wall of knives just inside the door, and I grab one of the hunting knives with a serrated edge. Yep, always going to be my favorite.
My footfalls echo in the stone hall following Nori’s. While we don’t see or run into anyone else, there’s never less than a handful of my crew here. Monitoring. Dealing with business. Research. Watching the video feeds.
As we walk into the room where Peter is being held, I notice Benjamin is just inside the door with an Uzi, standing guard.
Unnecessary force, really. While some might say he’s trying to look like a threat when he’s barely five-feet-tall, I know he chooses the Uzi because it’s the gun that killed his father.
The exact gun. It’s personal for him. He used it to avenge his father’s death, and he’s used it for every kill since.
He flashes me a smile, and then his attention is trained on Peter again.
Peter watches us approach, dismissing Nori entirely as if she’s not even there. Yep. We’re doing society a favor with this one. Though arguably, we’re always doing society a favor by getting rid of the criminals who slip through the fingers of justice.
Probably.
“Van Doren,” Peter says. There’s no surprise there. He greets me as if he’s been anticipating this meeting.
I don’t answer as I approach, stopping just outside the ring of light so I remain in shadow. An amused smile climbs one side of his mouth.
“What’s this about, Van Doren?”
“Besides you being the lowest scum of the earth?” Nori muses.
Peter doesn’t acknowledge her.
“You think you’re untouchable,” I note. “You think all the bullshit and hate you spew will gain traction in the world.”
“Isn’t it?” he asks, amused. “Look at what’s going on right now. My exact views are taking over the government. They’re getting louder. Reaching farther.”
“Illegally,” I point out. “These people can’t win fairly, and that’s why everything is rigged.
That’s why news networks have gone to court claiming to be entertainment when they’re charged with misinformation.
That’s why you have the government hiding the erasure of people and removal of rights in bills about child pornography, because you know damn well no one would vote for them on their own.
You have politicians bullying other politicians, ignoring the American people’s wants to pass their own agenda.
You have idiots like you passing laws to put Bible verses in schools because you know damn well no one is following your bullshit willingly; you’re turning more people off organized religion than you are convincing them what you believe is real. ”
Somewhere in that, something I said struck a nerve. His shoulders are tense, his lips pursed.
“I’m not even going to touch on subjects that your middle school education can’t comprehend.
Bottom line is you’re only going to be remembered as a villain.
Just like every other person like you has been and will be in history.
I know you think you’re going to change the world, but look around you.
Take a lesson from the thousands of years of recorded history before you.
Even if stupidity like yours reigns for a short time, it’ll be short-lived, and the world will regard vile people like you with scorn. ”
His nostrils flare. His eyes flash. Peter is angry now.
“Your dictator heroes have all fallen in the past, and they’ll continue to fall in the future. They aren’t and won’t be remembered for anything good.”
“I really hope you believe the bullshit you spread,” Nori says, “because nowhere in the Bible does it say you’re going to heaven for being a bully, cruel, shooting people for existing, or treating people as disposable.
In fact, one of the Commandments you support being placed in public places is to love thy neighbor, is it not?
The Bible is full of people just like you going to hell. ”
Peter sneers at Nori. I can see his hate as if it were a current making his skin glow.
“I was going to be the one to kill you since you shot someone I love,” I say. “Instead, I’m going to let Nori kill you however she wants as long as it takes all night.”
He looks at me, eyes narrowed. “No, you’re not. You’re going to let me go.”
Nori takes my knife from my hand and marches forward. Peter fights his bindings, trying to pull himself free to get away from her.
“I think I’ll skin you alive,” Nori says.
Peter thrashes, cursing her and calling her all kinds of nasty things as she tears his shirt from his torso.
“You should note how sharp the knife is,” I say, sliding my hands into my pockets. “She could peel every individual layer of skin from your body one by one.”
“That’s an idea,” Nori says, and I watch as she slides the serrated blade of the knife over Peter’s chest, taking one of his nipples with the transparently thin layer of skin. He screams, jerks backward.
Unfortunately for him, the chair is welded to the floor. He’s not going anywhere.
“Oops,” Nori says, holding the knife up to examine the nipple on the edge of the blade. “I didn’t mean to do that yet, but I must say, your screams are beautiful. Better than any hymn you lead in your sermons, father.”
He meets her eyes, his hate shining brightly.
“I can’t wait to get to the goods,” she says, smirking.
Ah, there it is. The tiniest sliver of fear. We can work with this.