The devil’s witness

Lucas’ POV “Gbam!” I heard a gunshot c***k through the alley on my way home. I froze. A man dropped to his knees, blood staining his shirt as he collapsed onto the wet pavement and the man holding the gun slowly turned to look at me. For one horrifying second, neither of us moved. Rain poured around me, cold against my face, but I barely felt it. My eyes were fixed on the gun in his hand. Then I looked at the man on the ground, Daniel Russo. I knew him. Not personally, but I knew his name. His pictures were widely distributed across my investigation board in my room. I’d spent over four months investigating the Black Vipers, a criminal organization powerful enough to make people disappear and influential enough to make the police look the other way. Daniel Russo has appeared in my research more than once. Suspicious business deals, shell companies, meetings with people who didn’t exist on official records. But there was nothing I could publish, and nothing I could prove well until tonight. My gaze returned to the man holding the gun, Dorian Voss. His name had appeared in my files too and a few pictures stuck to my board. He was supposedly one of the Black Vipers’ most trusted men, though nobody seemed to know exactly what he did for them. Well, now I know. Dorian lowered the gun while his eyes remained on mine. There was no panic in his expression, no surprise, just a terrifying calmness. He had seen me, we’d locked eyes then suddenly my body finally remembered how to move. I ran and I kept running! I didn’t think about where I was going, I didn’t think about Daniel, I didn’t even think about the rain soaking through my shirt. I just ran and kept running! My shoes slipped against the pavement as I raced through the alley. I nearly crashed into a dumpster, I caught myself and I kept going. I expected footsteps behind me, I expected another gunshot but nothing came. That somehow frightened me more. I burst onto the main road with headlights flashing into my eyes and disappeared into the crowd, keeping my head down as cars passed and strangers hurried beneath umbrellas. Nobody knew what had happened, nobody knew that a man had just been murdered less than a minute away and nobody knew that I had witnessed it. I pulled out my phone, 11:47 p.m. I saw two missed calls from my editor, normally I’d call back but my heart was racing and my fingers not functioning properly. I only stared at the screen without answering. How was I supposed to explain this? “Sorry I’m late. I just watched a man get murdered by the Black Vipers” so I just shoved the phone into my pocket. Was I going to the police first? Not yet. I needed to think. By the time I reached my apartment, my breathing had steadied but my hands were still shaking. I locked the door behind me then the deadbolt. I stood there for several seconds, listening but I heard nothing. No footsteps, no voices, just the sound of the rain against the windows. I went back to the door and locked it again and did the same to the windows. I then exhaled and walked into the kitchen. “Get a grip, Lucas” I thought to myself as I filled a glass with water. My hand trembled as I raised it to my lips then my phone buzzed. I froze, it was an unknown number. I stared at the screen till the call ended. A message appeared, “you’ve seen what you shouldn’t have” My stomach dropped to my knees. Someone knew about me, I was doomed, I set the glass down first. My first instinct was to call the police and second was to call my editor but before I could do either, three slow knocks sounded against my front door. My heart stopped and I stopped breathing. Another three knocks came on my door. Whoever was outside wasn’t in a hurry. “Lucas Vale.” They called out. My blood ran cold, it sounded like the guy who just killed someone. I backed away from the door slowly. How the hell had he found me? “Open the door.” He said again but I didn’t move. Dorian knocked once more, “I know you’re in there.” My eyes darted around the apartment, the apartment was small so there was nowhere to go. I had spent years chasing dangerous men for stories, convinced that knowing the truth made me different from the people who were afraid of it. Tonight, I finally understood why people were afraid. The man outside my door had just committed a murder and he knew I had seen it. I swallowed hard. Was this how my life was going to end? What have I accomplished? What impact did I make in life? “Lucas.” His voice was calm, almost polite. “I’m not here to kill you.” He assured me but I didn’t believe him, not for a second. Then he added, “I’m here because I need you to find out who ordered that man’s death.” I stared at the door blankly. Of all the things I expected Dorian Voss to say, that wasn’t one of them. And somehow, it was much more terrifying.