Page 16

N AVY

“You sorry motherfucker,” I mumbled to myself as I scrolled through the results I’d found during my search of the computer. “You don’t even try to hide what a sick fuck you are.”

When the man in question didn’t make a sound in his own defense, I glanced over and found his eyes glazed over as if he was disassociating from the pain his body was currently experiencing.

I looked back to the computer screen to check the time and found I was right on schedule.

However, I hadn’t had a gorgeous woman waiting for me in my bed when I’d made that schedule.

I took a few seconds to think through the changes I wanted to make and came to the conclusion that rushing things along wouldn’t affect my plan or the outcome.

Unfortunately, it would benefit the man sitting so still and quiet nearby because it would cut short his suffering. A few minutes didn’t really matter, though. In the end, his punishment would still last a lifetime.

I leaned over and twisted the short metal rods four times each, causing the man in the chair to groan loudly. When he started choking on the blood pooling in his mouth, I smiled at him and asked, “Are those too tight?” Of course, he didn’t answer. He didn’t have that ability anymore.

With a shrug, I went back to my work on the computer, opening all the documents, screenshots, and pictures he’d thought were hidden from prying eyes.

When a message popped up in the bottom corner of the screen, I read it before I memorized the username of the sender. It wasn’t one I’d found in my research, but it was on my radar now, which meant that someday, hopefully soon, I’d be visiting him with the same purpose I had tonight.

With my quickened timeline, it didn’t take long to finish my tasks.

I set up the scene to match the others before I walked toward the door of the disgusting monster’s cave.

When I glanced over my shoulder, I found him slumped in the chair where I’d left him.

He was free from all the ties I’d used earlier except for the ones holding his ankles to the legs of the chair.

They’d be easy for him to untie . . . if his hands weren’t resting on the keyboard across the room. Of course, he could always call for help, but with his tongue laying beside his hands, that might prove to be difficult.

But without hands to type or touch and without a tongue to form words and threats, he also wouldn’t be able to prey on little girls online or trade disgusting images with his scumbag friends.

I could have just killed him, but I believed it was a much more fitting punishment for him to have to live without the ability to communicate in any way other than blinking. At least he was still alive, right? I thought it was the perfect retribution.

Once I was on the road, I rolled the windows down so I could feel the breeze coming off the water.

I felt a hundred pounds lighter without my protective suit, but it always took a little time to get used to breathing fresh air again.

I pulled the tight cap off my head and wondered how people could function wearing one for any length of time.

Once I tossed it aside, I scratched my scalp and relished the cool wind blowing through my hair.

I’d taken every precaution I could think of but couldn’t find a way around wearing the stocking cap.

I couldn’t risk a stray hair falling - not that I thought the cops were working very hard to analyze every hair or thread they found at the scene.

Once they realized my “crime scene” wasn’t nearly as horrible as the one I made sure to pull up on the computer screen every time I made a visit like this, their drive to solve the crime they were originally called for probably dimmed.

It was human nature to hate a scumbag who lived as a predator. It wouldn’t be surprising to find out that it lessened the urge to find the person who did what they probably considered a favor to their community and humanity in general.

At least, that’s how I felt about it.

I shifted in my seat, hating the limited space of the compact car I’d chosen for tonight.

I detested riding in any car, but it only made sense for this adventure.

A fleet of non-descript vehicles was very important in the grand scheme of things, and I made sure to choose common cars that were a dime a dozen.

Today’s Corolla rolled off the assembly line as one of more than three hundred thousand made that year, just like the other mass -produced vehicles I’d collected over the last few years.

The Camrys, Luminas, Civics, and Accords I’d amassed were all very common and non-descript, something that I knew would help me evade detection.

Luckily, the cars were easy to camouflage and change, depending on the situation. Each time one got repainted, I made sure to use a dull color that could be mistaken for something else, especially in the dark.

Even though they were older models, they still got excellent gas mileage. Just in case I ran into a problem, I had two jerry cans full of gasoline in the trunk for emergencies, but I hadn’t needed to use them so far.

My late night adventures didn’t seem to have a pattern, but they were always well-planned.

What had started out as something to keep my mind occupied in prison had turned into a venture that made me feel like I was making a difference in the world.

While I had been locked up for something I didn’t feel like I should have been punished for, I had plenty of time to think through every possible outcome.

Before I put things in motion, I had taken pains to solve any problem that might arise.

Occasionally, I’d get a pang of conscience because my late-night adventures didn’t seem to bother me at all.

A shrink would probably have a field day exploring my psyche, but I didn’t think a shrink’s opinion mattered.

I learned long ago that the law could only do so much, and there were many instances where a person suffered consequences for acts they should have been commended for. I worked very hard to never get recognition, though.

A true hero didn’t need thanks. Knowing that he was changing the world a little at a time while making it a safer place for someone’s daughter or sister was thanks enough.

◆◆◆

DALI

I rolled onto my side and nuzzled my face into the pillow, inhaling Navy’s fresh, clean scent. The man smelled like sunshine and soap, and that caused me to smile to myself as I inhaled again.

I heard a noise out in the hall and lifted my head as I looked toward the bedroom door.

Boogie was whining, and I heard Spicoli let out a low woof right before a voice I didn’t recognize shushed them.

I heard another voice that also didn’t belong to Navy and sprang up out of bed, taking care to be quiet as I padded across the floor to find something to wear.

I pulled a shirt off the hanger and then over my head as I scanned the bedroom for something I could use for protection. Obviously, as a felon, Navy didn’t own a handgun, but I didn’t see anything else I could use either.

I heard footsteps in the hallway and looked over to see the gaps in the light coming from the crack at the bottom of the door. Someone was standing just outside, and I knew I had seconds to figure out how to protect myself.

The tall lamp in the corner would have to do, so I yanked the cord out of the wall before I hefted it up to test its weight balance.

It wasn’t the best weapon, but definitely something I could work with, so I rushed over to pin myself against the wall behind the bedroom door.

I put a hand up to stop the door when it swung open, sure that the strangers outside would burst into the room any second now in the hopes of taking the person in bed by surprise.

Just then, the doorknob twisted slowly, and the door was pushed open until there was a space just wide enough for someone to slip through.

It was so dark in the room that whoever had come inside would need a few seconds to let their eyes acclimate, and I used that temporary blindness to my advantage.

I jumped out in front of the person - I could tell by the size it was a man - and jabbed them in the gut with the base of the lamp.

Before they could even react, I swung it around and slammed the pole against their thigh, unfortunately a little higher than the knee I was aiming for.

I used the momentum to swing around in a circle and smack the intruder on the side of the head.

Without a sound, he slumped over and slid down the wall.

I knew I had a limited amount of time before the other stranger came into the bedroom.

I stepped onto the base of the lamp and yanked on the cord a few times before it disconnected, leaving me with a length I could use to further disable the intruder.

I worked quickly, rolling the man over to his stomach and jerking his hands behind his back before I tightly tied the cord around his wrists, leaving plenty of length on one end.

I yanked his booted foot up and used the rest of the length to tie his foot to his hands.

Once I was happy with the knots and knew they’d hold, I picked up one of the socks Navy had removed earlier and stuffed it into his mouth.

“Donner!” one of the men in the hall hissed from just outside the bedroom door. “What’s going on? Donner!”

Just as the man on the floor groaned, someone tried to open the door again. However, the man’s body made the perfect doorstop, and he moaned loudly when the door was shoved open and connected with his ribs. “Navy! Donner! What the fuck’s going on?”

I was still ready to attack when I asked, “Who the fuck are you?”

“Where’s Navy?” the voice asked.

“I asked you a question, asshole!”

“My name’s Chewie. I’m a friend of Navy’s.”

“If you’re a friend of his, then why are you sneaking around his place in the middle of the goddamn night?”