Chapter Seventeen
Two/face??
“Shit.” Jimmy’s muttering pulls my focus from the dive bar to him. Shooting him a questioning look, he sighs. Locking his phone and sliding it back into his pocket, he shakes his head. “Nothing, it’s fine.”
“If there’s a fucking problem, Jimmy. Just say it. I don’t have time for this shit.” I spit out, feeling impatient and already pissed off. I’m stuck out here in the freezing cold, picking up scum off the streets.
“Harry went to the apartment again. The alarm was triggered when he tried putting in an incorrect code, but don’t worry. She didn’t answer the door.”
My head snaps to his, the seething anger beginning to pulse through me.
“What the fuck did you just say?”
“Look, it’s fine, he left.”
“Are you fucking kidding me? He’s terrorizing her, yet we’re stuck here dealing with this shit.”
Jimmy turns to me, his usual calm demeanor changing in an instant. There’s a chill to his voice, the weight, and risk of what we do continuing to have a hold over him.
“No one fucking begged you to be here, Two, we each have our reasons, and I’ll be fucking damned if we let this piece of shit go home to his wife pissed and fucking rape her again.” He gestures towards the dive bar entrance.
“Look, I can hear all the shit you’re spouting from that van. Mind shutting the fuck up? Hard to concentrate when I have the nerd and the fucking cowboy complaining in my ear.” Axe chimes through the earpiece.
Jimmy shakes his head, letting out a small sarcastic chuckle as I turn my attention back towards the bar. The street outside is quiet. The occasional engine backfiring and feral dogs is all that can be heard this time of night. Lucky for us, this bar stays open all hours. It”s not exactly a salubrious establishment, so it’s perfect to pick up this package.
“Just keep your eyes on the target, Axe.”
“Not hard. He’s been plowing through a bottle of Jack since seven. I’ll probably have to carry this fucking idiot out myself, that’s if he doesn’t start a fight beforehand.”
“If he does, just pull him out, like the good Samaritan you are.” I quip sarcastically.
“Pull him out by his fucking hair, maybe.” He mumbles back.
Ignoring Axe, I settle into my seat. Knowing full well this could carry on for hours, this is probably the worst part of each job. Especially now I know that cunt Harry is lurking around the apartment again. This clown is fucking relentless with Summer. Part of me wonders if he’s just torturing her because he can. He enjoys the terror he inflicts and the fear she feels whenever he’s nearby.
I smile silently, knowing that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. I had no intention of ever seeing Summer, but once I laid eyes on her, I just had to know her. I needed to meet her, speak to her, and listen to her voice. I had no idea why because this would never work. How could it? I’m a killer, and she’s the unfortunate collateral in her father’s murder.
Each time I enter that apartment, the air smells of her. I sit patiently in the armchair by the window. I smoke my cigarettes, knowing all too well she’ll smell them. The smell will put her on high alert. The adrenaline will begin to pump through her body, her brain will begin to convince her she can escape. But we both know she doesn’t want to; she wants to see what lurks beneath the mask.
Each interaction we have confuses her more, making her question what’s right and wrong. I can’t think about the future, likely because I have no intention of making it. This work is dangerous and dirty, with far too many risks.
“he’s heading out the side door now. Keep an eye on him. I’m not far behind.” As soon as I hear Axe’s words, the door to the bar opens, and a dishevelled drunk stumbles out.
“Great, gotta deal with some fucking pissed moron.” I mumble.
“Problem?” Jimmy quirks a brow.
“No, they just always think they’re invincible after a couple of drinks.”
“He’s had more than a couple.”
Switching on the ignition, the rickety van rumbles to life. Looking towards the target again, the noise of the van hasn’t alerted him to our presence. Likely, he’s paying no attention to what’s happening around him.
“Sooooo…” I glance at Jimmy, who’s running through the target file. “Finn Reid, thirty-seven years old. Just acquitted for the rape and violent assault against his wife Sarah, after she refused to testify in court.”
I shake my head, trying not to let my eyes roll. It’s not that I don’t have empathy for victims because I do. It’s the anger I feel towards people who prey on the vulnerable, manipulating them for their own gain, traumatizing them over and fucking over again because they’re just shells. Shells waiting to be swept away, when the fucking predator has no use for them or finds a new victim to torment.
“How did we come by this one?”
“Our good friend at the women’s shelter witnessed Finn hanging around but never saw him interact with Sarah. She refused to testify in court a day later and went back to him.”
“Why are we here, though? We can’t force her to testify. We usually only deal with victims who want justice?” I ask curiously.
“A week ago, she came back to the shelter. Sarah took another severe beating and ended up being taken to the hospital. When she was there, they told her she was pregnant.” Jimmy answers solemnly.
“Fuck…” I mutter, keeping my eyes on Finn as he stumbles through the street.
“The baby is ok, but I guess that’s the wakeup call she needed. She went to Pamela; Pamela came to me.”
“Take it there’s no chance he’ll change?” I ask sarcastically, quirking a brow.
Jimmy shoots me a cold look. My humor isn’t for everyone, and I know as well as anyone that violent and cruel bullies will never change. With a baby on the way, it just means a new victim is arriving for him.
“We’ll head to the end of his street; Axe is following from here.” Jimmy gestures towards Axe, who’s silently following Finn through the badly lit street.
With his hood up concealing his face, from here, it looks like the devil himself is following him. Axe stands well over six feet and is as broad as he is tall. A former US marine, the discipline he was taught treats him well in this little hobby. His immense patience is something I should probably take notice of, but I’m too reckless and out of control for him. My anger clouds my judgement, I hoped it would subside in time, but it hasn’t; if it hasn’t by now, it likely never will.
“Axe, you good with that?” I speak via the radio.
“All good, Two. Take into account this guy is fucking rinsed. It could take a while. I’ll call if there’s an issue.”
The van picks up the speed and heads towards Finn’s house. As we pass the rundown property, I feel a shudder slither up my spine as we park on the quiet road. Luckily for us, the gardens are so unkempt and overgrown, this tatty van would go unnoticed.
Fuck, this looks like where I used to live…
As my eyes scan the dark street, an unnatural cold feeling begins to settle over me. The once white small houses are now falling apart, dirty and rotten. I swallow hard, knowing all too well the sadness that’s likely going on behind each closed door. Kids watching their parents get high, begging them to stop, to pay them some attention, hell, even fucking feed them. The arguments turn violent, leaving the younger, smaller members in the home to pick up the fucking pieces of their lost hope.
Clenching my fists, I count to ten. As much as I want to walk into each home and kill every bad person in there and save the kids, I know I can’t. I learned a very long time ago.
You can’t save them all.
I can still smell the whisky and cigarette smoke from the back room of the bar. I can feel the sweat on my skin, and I can hear those words. The memory is so vivid, even now, eight years later, something I’ll never allow myself to forget. The first time, I felt like I was doing some good, even if what was proposed on paper sounded wrong.
“How’s things with Summer?” Jimmy asks, yet I hear the concern in his voice.
When I don’t answer, he turns to me, letting out a heavy, frustrated sigh.
“Don’t fucking start, Jimmy,” I bite back.
“I’m meant to look out for her, and I know you’re tormenting her.” I feel him getting angry.
“You know shit!”
“You haven’t removed those fucking cameras in the apartment. You’re still going there and for what? To scare the poor girl even more?”
My jaw ticks, but I have no response. My gaze moves towards the opening of the street, but Jimmy has a valid point: I am tormenting her.
“If she knows I’m around, she’ll feel safe.” I reply blankly.
“Safe? Safe how?”
“She knows I’ll never hurt her, but she needs to know I’m around and I’m fucking watching. Maybe then she’ll stop letting her guard down and letting Harry continue to torture her.”
“You can’t be fucking serious? What you’re doing is fucking dangerous and could get us all exposed. We agreed that once the funeral was over, we’d get her to leave and get rid of Harry once and for all. Give her a chance at a clean slate, but if you keep coming around, she might stay.”
I know what we agreed. I don’t need Jimmy’s holier-than-thou attitude ringing in my ears right now. But I can’t help myself. I want to protect her forever, but if she leaves, I lose that control.
“What’s so wrong if she does stay?” I turn to Jimmy, but the question causes him to pale.
“If she does and something goes wrong, she could be a target. Michael could never forgive us for that, and we owe him that much.”
Allowing my gaze to move back towards the street, his words rest heavily on my dark soul. He’s right. The reason this works is because none of us have anything to lose. If a relationship developed, questions would eventually be asked, and everything we worked hard for could fall apart and cause undeniable damage to everyone.
“Sorry to break up the heart-to-heart ladies. He’s turning the corner now.” Axe’s voice breaks the thick tension in the van. Looking in the side mirrors, I spot Finn approaching and Axe not far behind.
Sliding from my seat, I move to the back of the van. As the uneasy footsteps approach, I slide the door open. Initially, Finn jumps, but Axe is soon behind him, pushing him into the back.
“What the fuck?” Finn asks with a wide-eyed look as he spots the black mask looking back at him.
With one smack to the side of the head, he’s out cold. Once the zip ties are secured around his wrists and feet, Jimmy wastes little time in tearing away from the street and heads off into the night.
Settling back into the passenger seat, I zone out for the drive back to the warehouse. Luckily, the drive isn’t long, but I spend most of it thinking about Summer. For a moment, I let my mind wonder whether she could stay in New York and start a new life.
That would involve answering a lot of questions about me, her dad, and Jimmy.
That could complicate things in an instant. I fucking hate it, but Jimmy’s right. At any time, this could blow up in our faces, and we understand that someone innocent getting hurt isn’t what we stand for.
When the brakes screech, I feel my body wince at the whining sound coming from the vehicle. Looking up, the dark old warehouse stares back at me. The evil souls still lurk within the walls, but they can’t hurt anyone anymore. Their torment on this world now ceases to exist.
Sliding open the rear door of the van, we bring Finn’s limp body into the warehouse. As Axe ties him to the chair, I move into the side room with Finn’s file in my hand, something Jimmy managed to obtain. Placing it onto the workbench, my eyes scan the words and photos attached. Shaking my head, I can’t believe someone so violent and cruel has managed to evade a prison sentence.
Then again, after seeing the justice system”s failings first hand, I can believe it. I follow each police report, each domestic violence call, each hospital report. Police officers, doctors and nurses seemed to offer all the help they could to Sarah, even offering her a protection order whilst he was out on bail, but it failed. She sadly caved every time and went home to the only thing she knew: abuse.
Her only glimmer in this dark world is her baby. Since she refused to testify, the police were likely concerned about the outcome of the arrest if she did decide to press charges this time round. Their concern would be that at any moment she would refuse, and the vicious circle would begin again.
On this occasion, I can’t blame law enforcement, there are only so many resources, and even if convicted, Finn could still claim his parental rights to that child. Sarah may never escape him. We”re the better option for a happy and healthy life for her and her child.
Not wanting to look at the countless images of the abuse suffered at the hands of her own husband, the man who swore to protect her, I drop the file onto an old workbench for later.
“I can’t keep looking at this shit.” I mutter, moving from the back room.
Sliding the mask back over my face, I feel the dark persona overtake me. Easing the building tension in my neck, I crack each side”s joints. Releasing some of the building pressure, I stare down at Finn. Still unconscious, he’s slumped in the chair with both his feet and hands securely held down.
As Axe approaches with a bucket of ice-cold water, he pours it over Finn. It takes a second, but he soon gasps, his wild, confused eyes scanning the unfamiliar room. Once he spots us, I can’t help but smile. When the color drains from his face, he sobers up instantly.
“Where the fuck am I?” He bellows, “I’m going to fucking kill you!” The threats continue, but I ignore them, as does Axe and Jimmy.
Shaking my head, I roll my eyes and step closer. Kneeling on one knee, I cock my head to one side while he’s making threats, I can smell the fear coming from him. His body begins to shake, and his teeth clattering.
“Do you know why you’re here, Finn?” I ask calmly.
“My fucking whore wife complaining again?” He spits back.
“Ah, so you have an idea why you’re here. That’s something.” I sarcastically respond, hearing a deep chuckle from behind me. Axe shakes his head.
“What the fuck do you want?”
“What I want is for you never to lay a hand on your wife again, but we both know someone like you can’t control the sickness deep inside you.” My response is blank, causing Finn to still.
Swallowing hard, he remains quiet for the moment.
“You see.” I continue. “We only get called when someone like you manages to avoid justice, when we can all see what a piece of shit you are. We get involved because there’s no rehabilitation for someone like you. No medication, no treatment plan, and certainly no remorse.”
“What, so you’re just gonna kill me?” Finn begins to laugh, his smart-ass comments being used to hide his guilt and fear.
“Yes.” I answer his question bluntly.
“You can’t fucking do that; I have a fucking kid on the way!”
“That’s exactly why we’re doing it. We have no intention of letting your innocent child grow up watching their mother suffer at the hands of her dead-beat husband. That child then grows up thinking that behavior is acceptable, not a fucking chance Finn.”
He begins screaming for help and tugging at the restraints. Rising to my full height, I continue to stare down at him, pitying his pathetic attempts to set himself free. Even with what he knows, he’s shown no remorse, apology, or even a fake promise that he’ll never do it again.
Zoning out, I slowly move towards the tools placed along the worn workbench. Turning back to Finn momentarily, he stills as our eyes meet. The sweat drips from his forehead, and his breathing becomes shallow as the adrenaline begins pumping through his body. My gaze falls to his bruised and grazed knuckles. I blink a couple of times, trying not to allow my own memories to haunt my mind.
“HELP!!! SOMEONE FUCKING HELP!” The pleas continue, but I just shake my head. My attention turns back to the tools laid out in front of me.
“No one can hear you out here.” I say, still making my weapon choice.
“I’ll fucking find you, and I’ll kill you all! I’ll gut you! You won’t get away with this. People will come looking for me.” Finn continues to spit his poison. “You have no idea the people I know!”
Turning on my heels, I hold a large blade between my fingers, allowing the tip of the sharp blade to press into my thumb. I kneel in front of Finn again, allowing the blade to slowly glide across his cheek. Watching with intent as the burning pain rushes through his flesh.
“AH!” he spits out, the blood beginning to trickle down his cheek.
“Really? Well, in that case, maybe we should just let you go?” Another sarcastic remark of mine as Finn’s face begins to contort with uncontrollable rage.
Rising to my feet again, I slam my fist into the side of his head. As the blood flies from his mouth and spatters across the concrete, he stays fixed in the chair. I guess it was a good idea of Jimmy’s to nail it down after all.
“Thing is, Finn, you won’t find us. No one will come looking for you because no one fucking wants you around.” I shrug before delivering another blow to the face. This time I hear a crack as a tooth flies from his mouth along with more blood.
Footsteps coming from the separate room causes me to turn around, observing Axe walking back in, holding the case file in his hands. He shakes his head, reading the same reports I have. Pulling out the photos, he begins to pin them to the wall in front of Finn, images taken over a span of eight years. He displays it for all to see: each brutal attack Sarah received, each cut, each bruise, every stitch she required. He displays it as a sick timeline of abuse, documenting the suffering she endured.
“She knows her fucking place! she’ll never get away, she fucking needs me!”
Continuing his delusional rant, I see movement in my peripheral. Glancing to my right, Jimmy passes me a machete. I lift it towards the light, checking the sharpness of the blade. Finn’s words are caught in his throat as he watches the long blade shimmer slightly.
With the machete over my shoulder, I stride back over to face Finn. His eyes haven’t moved from the machete placed over my right shoulder. Standing before him, I allow the silence to fall over the room before I speak.
“Are you right or left-handed?”
His brow furrows, “What the fuck does that have to do with anything?”
Studying both hands, I examine the scars and bruises that mark his skin. Spotting the deeper colored bruises on his right and how they’re more scarred than the left, I already have my answer.
“Never mind.” Taking a step forward, I slam my left hand down onto his right, holding it in place.
“Wh-what…” He’s unable to get his words out.
As the machete rises above my head, I force it down hard. Once the blade connects and cuts through bone, the desperate maniacal screams bounce off every wall in the warehouse. I feel the blood splatter across my face as Finn cries out in agonizing pain, blood pooling at his feet. Holding his right hand in mine, I thrust it into his face as the sweat pours faster from his body.
“You don’t need this now.” I say before throwing it into his lap and heading outside.
Pulling out my cigarettes from my pocket, I lean against the exterior wall of the warehouse. Sliding the mask up, I light the cigarette and inhale deeply. My lips curl into a sinister smile as the sound of cries and retching fills the air around me.
That’s the least that piece of shit deserves.
When my eyes wander towards the night sky, the stars sparkle, and the moon offers the only light around for miles. For somewhere so dark and eerie, it offers me some odd peace. Possibly because this is where a lot of the trauma ends for each victim, they’ll never be terrorized by these people again and have their chance at a happy life.
“Gonna finish this?” Axe breaks the silence, taking a space next to me as I exhale.
“Yeah, eventually.” I mumble. “Think this will ever end?”
“What, pieces of shit, stop being pieces of shit?” Axe asks, quirking a brow, knowing full well that I already know the answer. “Never.”
“Didn’t think so.” I answer before stubbing out my cigarette and sliding the mask back over my face.
Jimmy leans up against the workbench, watching Finn as his body continues to writhe in pure agony. The blood continues to seep into the concrete as it pours from Finn’s semi-conscious body. Dragging the machete blade across the floor, his head slowly lifts. The coldness in his stare tells me everything I need to know; he knows what’s coming.
Standing behind him, I grab a fistful of hair, wrenching his head up. A garbled cry escapes his throat, my fingers pulling so tight, I can feel fear and pain radiating from him. Holding the blade to his throat, I lean in close, my lips lowering to his ear.
“I’ll make sure your child never knows you.” I speak through gritted teeth.
“I’ll see you in hell, you fucking bastard.”
“I’ll look forward to it.” I sneer.
Dragging the long blade across his throat, the blood sprays across the photos, still pinned to the wall. Releasing his head, Finn’s body slumps forward in the chair as his lungs fight for breath. Stepping around the chair, I stand in front of him, the blade of the machete dripping over the floor as the blood pours from his neck. The only noise in the warehouse now is the garbled cries from the piece of shit who’ll never hurt anyone again.
When his body finally stills, I look to his wide eyes. I feel a wave of satisfaction wash over me. Even now he’s dead, I can still see the real, undeniable fear deep within his soul. Dropping the blade onto the floor, it clatters against the concrete as I walk through the separate room. Lifting a heavy kerosene bottle, I head outside.
“Let’s clear up this shit.” I bark as both Axe and Jimmy drag the body out towards the pit at the rear of the property.
Once the body is rolled into the pit, silence falls over the three of us. I pour over the kerosene, throwing in the case file and gloves. Lighting a match, I throw it over the body, destroying all the evidence, along with the majority of the body. As the flames lick higher, I sit on the log next to Axe and Jimmy. Taking a sip of my whiskey, we all watch as one more bad person leaves this earth, never to return.