It’s been the worst of days but I hope it will become the best of days. Imagine my shock at turning on my television to see my own reflection staring back at me. There was a time when I felt that this day was inevitable but I had been so careful and it had become so damn easy.
There is nobody to blame but myself. Somewhere I must have slipped up but I cannot fathom where. One of the reports mentioned something about a new DNA technique but I don’t understand how they could link anything to my name and photo. There was no time to ponder in any event, only to flee. I have no doubt that the horrid old woman across the road will report my location to the authorities at once; she never liked me anyway. Pity I didn’t have time to slit her throat before I left, that would have been fun.
At least I am finally getting some of the recognition I deserve. Everybody now knows my name, not just my monikers. They will realize how truly great I am compared to them and their ordinary, pathetic and meaningless lives. I will be remembered forever and they will be forgotten. It is true what they say, there is a silver lining to every cloud.
Now I am in the unnatural position of being the hunted or at least that’s what everybody thinks. As if I would be that weak and cower going quietly into the night. No, there is still time for one last night of fun, a final crescendo. Just as well all the preparation had already been done and I was already ready to go.
The target is perfect, my nemesis Garda and his whore. Oh, how I cannot wait to see the terror on their faces as I rip her to shreds. They have it coming, which makes it sweeter if that is even possible. He should never have interfered in my business, the damn fool. Now he has destroyed my happiness and I will destroy his. I’ve been looking forward to getting my hands on her as I followed from a distance. Part of me hopes she will resist so I can destroy her physically and emotionally as she gasps for her final breath.
The house alarm has already been dealt with. There will be little difficulty getting through a sliding door at the rear of their property. They really should be more security conscious; you never really know who might come along at the dead of night.
Now it is only a matter of timing. It should be a surprise attack and they should have no opportunity to offer a reasonable resistance. That copper has already caused me too much trouble. From my surveillance I know that his girlfriend sometimes gets up for a snack around midnight, the pig. So, it will be, let us say around half one in the morning. It will be so good; people will finally realize how great I truly am.
It took patience but finally the allotted time has arrived. The house is dark and there has been no movement for hours. She never appeared at midnight, a small break from the usual routine, but not enough to call off the attack given the circumstances. Those idiots would never be a match for me in any event.
It is finally time to leave my hiding spot in the hedge but first I look at my surgical knife and wonder how much greater his terror will be, as he knows what the scene will look like at the end. I can already feel the stirrings of an erection building. As expected, I can simply walk up the long back garden. With every step, the excitement builds but then there is albeit momentarily, tension as the sliding door is reached. But in truth, it’s something that I have done hundreds of times before and it is an easy obstacle to pass.
Now is the time for stealth. I must make as little noise as possible. Having been in the house a few weeks prior, I know what room they are sleeping in and make my way slowly towards it. Now is the time that makes the rest of my life worthwhile. I am not a harbinger of death but of unconstrained life. I gentle push the door open and through the moonlight can see them at rest. Slowly I go towards their bed, my knife at the ready. I will follow the usual routine, put it to the throat of the woman to subdue them both.
But then the stillness of the night is broken, in a flash so fast there is nothing I can do to react. I hear the sound of something, perhaps the cabinet opening behind me and then the sound of a gunshot. A second passes before I feel the pain pulverizing through my body as I stumble and then fall to the ground; something has gone seriously wrong, what exactly I cannot fathom.
A few moments later and the lights have been turned on, dazzling me. Then I am turned on my back and my ski mask violently torn from my head; I feel naked. Much to my surprise, it is the cripple’s girlfriend that is standing over me, cursing and jeering me. It’s like I’m that little boy again being laughed at by my half-sisters. She had never been in that bed but had rather been waiting for me ready to pounce.
She discusses with the cripple if they should call an ambulance as I start to choke on my own blood. Hopefully they will let me die, there is nothing left for me in this world now. The argument goes back and forth a for a few minutes before they eventually ring nine, nine, nine.
A few hours earlier
“I knew.”
They were the words that shocked Sean the most. He had no choice but to tell her everything, come what may. But she had revelations all of her own that came out in tears. That for a time she had been an undercover agent but that now she truly loved him. Perhaps such revelations would doom many relationships but not this one. Instead, they reaffirmed their love for one another.
Then matters turned to the business at hand.
“So, we could next? That’s what you’re saying, right,” Laura said in a concerned tone.
“Yes, I’m afraid so. Given, the circumstances I fear it will be tonight. If you want to get in one of those cars and just keep driving, I totally understand. I’ll face him alone. I can’t tell anyone else or I’ll be implicating myself in serious crimes. Please, just go!”
“Never, you hear me,” she replied steely, “we will face this threat together. Both for you and for what he did to all those women. For this last while I have had this feeling that someone was matching me. That’s why I left the house while you were away. I have even taken to checking the security round the house. The alarm and the security lights are not working so I think it will definitely be tonight. I’ll stay awake with my gun in the closet all night if I have to and catch him by surprise.”
“I’ll put one under the pillow too. If it comes down to it, I’d rather shoot you than let that monster have his way,” Sean said, his voice shaking.
“It won’t come to that,” she replied clutching his hand across the table.
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