Assassin X

Alex

It was a chilly night to be sitting outside for a sting operation, but Alex wasn't going to complain about it. Too many officers were already mad that a rookie cop with a wobbly reputation had made the cut and they had already started talking behind his back about Captain playing favorites. Of course Captain had and they were right that he didn't really deserve to be there, but that wasn't going to stop him from doing the job.

And he had a job to do, he had a big job to do, and it wasn't just to catch the current killer that was terrorizing the city without their knowledge. No, it was the job of bringing justice for his father in the only way he could. So there he sat, up high on a building, cold metal under his body, being as still as a rock.

That was his job for the night. That was all of their jobs for several nights until something happened. That was the threat, the anonymous tip that they'd gotten. Someone in the city was going to be killed, someone important. They didn't yet know why or how or who but they were all on the look-out, certain that it was going to happen.

There weren't too many incredibly high-profile people around their small city so they had members of the task team on surveillance of different people, just waiting for something to strike. It was a long shot, an incredibly long shot, but until the officers got any other usable information, and at the moment they had very little, this was the only plan they had. Not only would it serve as a way to protect some of the people but it would also hopefully get them to catch a glimpse of the killer himself.

Or herself. There was always that chance though most serial killers were male, they hadn't been able to rule out anything at all. But still, Alex was highly doubting it was a female killer, it just was too uncommon.

He blew into his hands in an attempt to warm them up. If he'd been wearing gloves it would have been much warmer for him but he didn't want them to get in the way. If something happened and Alex needed his phone or even his gun, he didn't want a gloved hand to cause him to fumble. He trusted himself as a cop but this was all too important to risk.

The cops on the task force had rotated the past couple of nights in tailing the people of the city, looking for anything suspicious. If you took a night shift then the next day you'd work in the office. It was impossibly long hours until something broke. Even the tiniest crack. Alex felt completely drained. They had all looked at the crime scene pictures and files over and over with fine tooth combs but this killer was an expert.

There wasn't a trace of anything left behind that they had found. Even the victims were killed swiftly and cleanly. Barely a hair out of place and not even a drop of blood at any scene. It was almost as if the victims had fallen asleep instead of fallen prey to a talented killer.

Alex had to admit, he admired the killer's work. Most scenes were left sloppily with inexperience or messy due to passion. But not this killer. It was almost like it wasn't the kill itself that mattered, just making sure the person was dead fast and undetected. If it hadn't been for that phone call that Captain received, that one wild phone call threatening the death of others, who knew how many others would have been killed so quickly without any possible way to stop it?

As he watched the streets from high on a fire escape, Alex took a long sip of his coffee. It was no longer hot but it was still warm enough in his paper cup that it felt good when he swallowed it, melting the insides of him. His duty for the night had been to watch Elias Charr who was not only the superintendent of the biggest school district in the area but he also had plenty of money. And of course, with money, came power with his hands dipped in several major organizations. The caller hadn't said who would be next, only that he would continue the pattern and make it someone well known. It had been nearly impossible to make decisions on which of the city's power players to watch over but Captain had made his choices.

The whole situation was a mess and completely disorganized but Captain and the team were doing everything they could to keep the city safe. At least until someone discovered something more.

Elias was at dinner at a fine restaurant completely unaware that Alex was sitting above him, watching the entrance to the restaurant like a hawk. It wouldn't due to let on to anyone that they were possibly in danger and needed protection, it would only scare people. So Alex stayed hidden in the shadows, aware that Elias was completely safe while he was surrounded by people. The killer had only stuck when the victims were alone, which was the way most killers operated. For the moment, Elias would be safe.

Alex took another sip of the bitter black coffee and he winced. He missed the sweet taste of his morning latte, but the task he was on required the strongest black coffee to keep him awake in the night. The other thing he missed was seeing Raven. It seemed ridiculous because he'd only seen her once at the coffee shop, but her picture wouldn't leave his mind. Something about her had felt mysterious, intriguing, and he was dying to get back into the shop to see her again. But with how busy he'd been it had been impossible.

The glass doors to the restaurant opened and out stepped Elias, settling into his coat. Alex looked through his set of binoculars, first at Elias and then at the area surrounding him. The man was standing outside on the phone, looking around confused at the streets. Something wasn't right, that was obvious, but Alex wasn't sure what.

If only he could hear what was happening on the phone then he would know if there was anything to be worried about. He watched Elias, his brow was furrowed and the way his mouth was moving he looked to be confused about something. He turned his back toward Alex and started to walk down the sidewalk of the city streets, his fancy shoes heading down the wet pavement, his fine coat swirling behind him. The man looked like he held all the power in the world, and that was likely what the killer was after.

A feeling wiggled down deep in the pit of Alex's stomach and he knew instinctively that something wasn't right. Elias could have been talking to anyone on the phone, he could have been pulled away from dinner for any reason at all, but Alex didn't think it was just any reason. In fact, he knew deep down that it was for a very specific reason. He was about to call out from the metal escape, to try to stop Elias from walking through the streets alone and unknowingly putting himself in a deadly situation, but Alex hesitated.

What if he didn't stop Elias?

What if he followed him instead? Then when he saw the killer approach, not only would he stop the killing but he'd be there for the arrest.

He should call for back-up. That would be the smartest thing to do, but as Alex started to scramble down the fire escape as fast as he could, he decided that he could handle it himself. The killer had never used a weapon so it was unlikely that he would pull one.

But Alex was armed and could put a stop to a mad man with one bullet.

Elias had already gotten several paces ahead of Alex by the time his feet hit the sidewalk. Running would give him away but he kept his eyes trained on Elias, checking the area every other step to see if he could see anyone coming out of the dark shadows that looked dangerous.

Time seemed to be going slowly but Alex knew that the seconds were ticking by faster than he realized and if the killer was going to strike it was going to happen any moment.

As if the killer could read his thoughts, a shadowy figure, dressed all in black, stepped out from an alleyway that Elias had just passed. Alex couldn't make out much but a tingle went down his spine the way this person was staring at Elias', eyes boring into his back.

The killer took cat like steps and was coming closer to Elias. Alex drew his gun and was about to yell to Elias while his feet broke into a run. Before he could call out, he kicked a tin can and sent it skittering along the sidewalk, creating enough noise for the killer to turn.

Alex jumped back into a shadow, his gun still drawn and his breath coming out fast. He could kick his own self for being so careless as to cause noise in the street. He'd almost had the killer! He'd almost busted the whole case wide open on his own!

Under a street lamp the killer stood, looking behind himself, scanning to see if anyone was around.

But wait, the stature…the stance…the petite look of the body….was it a women?

Immediately Alex started to take mental notes.

Small, maybe only 5'5, with what looked to be dark hair. Something glinted in the light, a nose ring?

Suddenly Alex's heart panged tightly in his chest.

He knew that hair, knew that nose ring, and when he looked closed he could see those little streaks of magenta. Frozen in place, Alex wasn't sure what to do.

She turned back around to where Elias had been only a moment before but he had gotten too far away from both of them. She turned back around to survey the streets one more time before she disappeared back into the dark shadows of the night.

His eyes had to have played tricks on him. It couldn't have been her, there had to be some mistake. She had seemed so sweet, so pleasant and nice. There was no possibility that she was a cold blooded killer.

But there was no denying what he'd seen. Of course they'd have to talk to Elias the following day, find out what the call had been about, and make sure that Alex had been right in what he'd suspected. That was just a formality. Alex knew exactly what he had seen and exactly what had happened. Though he really wished he hadn't.

He took out his cell phone and hit the speed dial to call the captain.

"You got something? he asked the rookie.

Alex sighed. “Yea, I got more than something. I think I got an ID for the killer.”

The line was silent for a moment before Captain spoke again. “Who were you tailing tonight?”

"Elias Charr,” he answered.

"Then how did you get an ID?”

Alex explained what had happened with Elias and dinner and how he had followed when a shadowy figure came out from the alley. That he'd disturbed the scene before he could catch the killer but he definitely knew that this person had been going after Elias and he knew who it was.

"So, who is it then?” Captain asked impatiently.

Alex knew he was about to sound ridiculous but he had to say the words anyway. They were the truth after all and they were going to have to do something about it.

"She's a barista at the coffee shop down the street from the station. Her name is Raven.”