Chapter 28 – VENOM
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
VENOM
“Okay we’re heading out,” Ivy calls out.
I round the corner and grab her wrist, pulling her into me.
“As much as I enjoyed our last chase, just come back to me now, darlin’.
” I kiss her forehead, let her go and turn my attention to Evelyn.
“Ev, watch out for this one. Oh, and make sure she picks out some stuff other than gummy bears. I’ll see y'all later.”
As I’m watching Ivy and Ev pass through the front gate, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out to see a text from my favorite operations officer from a high-ranking organization.
Alice
I just received word that Deborah is leaving the country early tomorrow morning. Probably personally moving… the product. We need her taken care of tonight. We’ll give you an extra 50K to make it happen.
Me
Since you asked so sweetly, consider it done.
I’ve worked with Alice for many years. Although we have never met in person, I’ve become fond of her, or rather, what she stands for as well as the organization she works for.
Wonderland.
That’s what they call themselves. And of course, the woman at the top is called the Red Queen.
I’ve never even spoken to the Queen and she’s rarely ever mentioned.
I’m sure I could dig up more information on them if I wanted to, but I have no interest in that.
We have a mutual respect. My reach is far, but they are on a much higher level.
I often thought they might be a branch of the CIA or FBI, but I might never know and that’s alright by me.
Although I was supposed to have another two weeks before I made a move on Deb, I’m always prepared.
Death is always in my pocket.
Deborah lives a couple hours away, but I should still be home by tonight to greet my sweet beast when she returns. I look out the window once more, the car gone from sight, then head to my greenhouse.
I select a couple of vials, along with some syringes and extra blades and fill the custom pockets of my black suit jacket with them.
Time to play.
From her upstairs bedroom, I hear Deborah’s garage open and close, signaling she’s home. I look at my phone once more which has the current view of her security cameras, and watch my prey make her way closer and closer to me. I slip my phone back into my pocket and wait.
The bedroom door opens as she walks in and flicks on the light, closing the door behind her.
She begins to unbutton her silky blouse, not noticing I’m sitting on a rather comfortable chair in the corner of her large bedroom as she strides into her walk-in closet.
A few seconds later, she returns, slower this time, a worried look crossing her face as if she now senses something in her room that does not belong. Or rather, someone.
That’s right Deborah, you should be concerned.
Her eyes land on me and they go wide as she grabs her chest in shock.
“Oh my god. Who the fuck are you? What are you doing in my house? Get out! Get out right now before I call the police!”
“Hush, darlin’.” I shift in my chair, stretching my legs out on the stool, making myself more comfortable.
“I said get out!”
“I heard you, unfortunately.” I pull at my ear.
“Has anyone ever told you your voice is like nails on a chalkboard? Christ, woman, who would ever listen to you speak for more than a few seconds without stuffing something in that big mouth of yours to shut you up. If I knew how wretched your voice was, I might have reconsidered taking this order.”
“Excuse me? Who the fuck are you?”
“Oh, I see we are past niceties.” I place a toothpick in my mouth then stand. “I’m the person sent to kill you, darlin’.”
Tipping my head slightly, I smile wide at her.
She stares at me for a moment, probably considering if I’m joking. When she realizes I am not, fear replaces her anger and she bolts for the door.
I whip a throwing knife and it lands in the door right before she reaches it.
She jerks back in surprise, stumbling in her heels and rolling an ankle before she drops to the floor.
In desperation she crawls for the exit once again and I throw another blade, sending into the door again.
She turns and pushes her back up against the wall, heavily breathing.
“What the fuck do you want?! I have money, I can pay. I’ll give you more than whoever hired you. I can give you whatever you want!”
I casually walk closer to her and squat down to her level. “What if what I want is to watch you slowly die? Does the offer still stand?”
“Please! Please don’t do this. I—I have a family!”
I chuckle. “You have two adult children who don’t even speak to you anymore, darlin’.
Dare I say it’s because of your voice alone, but I think it might have to do with your extracurricular activities or simply just being such a cunt of a mother.
There’s a lot of you around ya know. Quite unfortunate. For you, that is.”
She spits at me.
Why do they always have to spit? Is that really so satisfying?
“Foul. Now you’ve upset me, Debbie. Can I call you Debbie?”
“No,” she growls.
I stand, wiping away what spittle of hers landed on me. “Here’s what we’re going to do, Debbie. You’re going to continue your little nighttime routine and I’m going to watch. If you reach for your phone, you die. If you try to run out of here again, you die. Are we clear?”
“You just want to watch me, like some freak, and then you’ll leave?”
I smirk. “Most definitely."
Stepping to the side, I motion for her to get up and continue what she was doing before she was interrupted by my presence. She eyes me suspiciously but rises onto shaky legs and limps her way back to her closet. I follow with a smile.
I watch her remove her long form fitting skirt, leaving her in just her beige bra and matching panties.
I eye her up and down as I lean against the closet doorway.
I get a scowl from her in return and then she reaches behind her back and unclasps her bra.
She turns before letting me get a full view of them but reveals her ass to me in the process instead.
Certainly not as plump and delicious as Ivy’s. The thing is barely non-existent. She then slips on a light blue nightgown, with a plunging neckline.
“Did you choose that one just for me, darlin’? I’m truly honored.”
“Fuck you.”
“I’ll have to pass, all offense to you.”
She lets out an annoyed grunt and I move away from the door as she walks out and goes into her bathroom next. I stand in the doorway again and watch.
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I quickly take a peek at it, seeing it’s my sweet beast.
Ivy
I love you. We hit some traffic due to an accident, but we’ll be back soon. I hope you aren’t missing me too much.
Me
Missing you terribly. I had to step out for work but I’ll see you when I’m home. I love you.
My attention snaps back to Debbie, who is now pumping foam into her hand and begins to wash her face.
Mmm, almost time.
I’ve learned Deb here does love her skincare routine.
I play with the toothpick in my mouth, anticipation building.
She dries her face and looks over at me with another scowl before continuing. Reaching for her La Mer cream, she uses a small little tool, scooping some out and begins to rub it into her face, neck and chest.
“You missed a spot.”
She gives me no response, just stares at herself in the mirror as she applies the cream.
She suddenly stops, hands hovering just an inch away from her skin. And then she screams.
My head tips and I close my eyes, savoring the sound of this vile woman’s agony. Then I let out a satisfied sigh and look back at her. “Ah, there we go. That is certainly better.”
Frantically, she grabs a towel and tries wiping off the cream, but it’s too late. She watches herself in the mirror, horrified, as her skin reddens, blisters and then begins to melt.
Her initial scream was pleasing to finally hear, but now her continued high pitched noises are very unpleasant to my ears, maybe I should have chosen a quicker death. Although, this child trafficking bitch definitely deserved something slow and painful.
I move toward her to get a better view of my work when she tries to grab at me.
I shove her away and she stumbles back, tripping over the bathroom rug and falling ass first into the tub with a thud.
She makes the mistake of attempting to use her hands to try to stop what is happening to her face, but that only causes the flesh bubbling on her hands to stick to the melting skin on her face.
Debbie’s pain-filled screams grow softer, her body moving in jerky motions as she tries to claw herself out of the tub.
This is certainly a messy one. Blood and other liquid oozes from her face down to her neck, mixing with liquified skin. Her mouth moves, where I imagine her lips were once, trying to say something, but it just comes out as gurgled sticky noises.
She finally stops moving. The bathroom becomes quiet except for the continued sizzling of her flesh.
I pull out a syringe, cover my nose and lean into the tub to quickly inject the high dose of venom into her arm, taking an extra step to make sure she’s quite dead.
And then I turn away and make my way downstairs.
As I pass the kitchen, I swipe up a delicious looking apple. Before I reach the front door, I hear a faint sound coming from down the hall to my right. A hollow banging.
Last time I followed a sound after killing someone, I found my little wild beast.
Do I want to see where this leads me?
I place my hand on the front door handle and stop.
Well, fuck it, let’s have a looksie.
As I walk toward the end of the hall, the banging gets louder. I reach the door and the noise stops.
I try the knob. Locked.
I let out an annoyed sigh then take a step back and kick open the door.
The room is dark and quiet now, but I find the light switch on the wall and flick it on.