Urban Renewal (Urban Elite Book 1) (5 page)

Jack

I can’t help but smile as Max jumps up and down like a kid on Christmas morning. The motel is impressive. I’ve arranged for each room to be laid out with furniture and top of the line computer systems, but she wants to have her own belongings moved in, and that’s fine. I’m sure she won’t refuse the computer I’m having set up in here, though.

It’s a brave, new world for investigators, with the internet playing almost as intricate a role in an investigation as the investigators themselves. Using cutting edge technology will have a direct impact on our mission to clean up the streets of Louisville. The furniture and computers will be delivered tomorrow.

I’ve hired an elite security team that I’ve worked with in the past to set up an impenetrable security system. Though they work under the guise of being just another private investigation firm, they’re actually mercenaries. The
Undercover Elite
team is the best of the best and is led by my friend, Cash. We’ve agreed to an informal partnership between his team and mine, so it makes sense that I name my new business entity
Urban Elite
. We’ll operate independently with no formal affiliation with Cash and his crew, but we’ll work closely together, occasionally trading services and employees when a specific skill set or training expertise is called for.

“This is going to be off the chain cool!” Max’s excited yammering cuts through my thoughts.

“Max, I think you’d do well establishing a crime blog for my
Urban Elite
investigative team. Our own social media forum so we can control what gets published and not be at the mercy of the press. You’re a good writer and you’re tenacious – exactly what I’m looking for. It's a paid position, of course.”

“Yeah, that’s cool. My dad will be happy about that, but if I know him he’ll still be supporting me. Since Mom died of breast cancer he hangs on to me pretty tight.”

I can feel the familiar ache that comes whenever I think about the loss of my parents. Nothing could have prepared me for the call I got at work, another cop informing me there had been an
accident.
It was no fucking accident -- a drunk driver swerved over into their lane, hitting them head-on. No amount of money could ever make up for the loss. My parents did leave me well off, though, and I like to think that if I do something with the money to help others, my parents would be proud.

Even with the passage of time, and even though they’re not physically with me, I feel their love and support every day of my life. Doesn’t make me miss them any less, though.

With some effort, I shake myself back into the present and decide I’d rather bask in Max’s excitement rather than dwell on the heartbreak of the past.

“This is going to be so fuckin’ awesome, Jack!”

“You know, you really need to work on the potty mouth.”

“Potty mouth?”

“Yes, Max, you’re going to have to work on your professionalism. You’ll be interacting with some heavy hitters in this job. You only make one first impression, so make it count.”

“Well, I’m not going to change how I dress.”

“You can keep the tomboy look, but at least try to talk like a lady.”

“Okay, it’s a deal.” She holds out her hand for me to shake and I can’t help but smile. The poor kid has been trying to work for me for the last six months and she finally prevailed. I’m flattered that she’s this excited about it. She’s given me every reason under the sun why she’d be an asset to me and, really, you can only resist Max so long before she wears you down.

She’s one of a kind, that’s for sure. That same relentless drive will be the driving force of our crime blog. I have the money to back it up and I’m counting on my relationship with Agent Turner and the cops I’ve worked with for years. With those connections, we’ll be among the first to reach a crime scene, which will give us an edge over the local media. They listen to their police scanners but we’ll get the call first-hand.

I’m not naïve, though, and I know Max’s new job with me could mean professional jealousy from some local media pros. Journalism is very competitive and when the local reporters see they have outside competition, things could get real nasty real quick. But I’ll be there for the kid. I’ve got big shoulders to carry the load for her and that’s exactly what I plan on doing.

“Three skanky whores, all tied up in a row, now it’s up to me to decide, which will be the first to go?”

It’s not like they’re going to have much to say about it, considering they’re all mildly sedated. Now that,
that
takes expertise, knowing just how much sedative will achieve their compliance without numbing them to the point that it ruins my fun. I can’t risk them fighting me, there’s still far too much left to do. These bitches have yet to serve their true purpose, but I am here to make sure they do. Really, I couldn’t do it without them.

“So, in the time we have left together,” I begin serenely, noting that I now have the full, if a little groggy, attention of my new little China doll, who has started to rally after the heavy sedative I gave her earlier this evening. I direct my question to her as I hold my knife in front of her face like it’s a microphone that I’m using to conduct a whore-on-the-street interview. “I wonder…what are your thoughts on the meaning of life? Anything? Hmm? No? Tell me, then, did you ever think that it would come down to this, the four of us here, together, pondering all of life’s inequities?”

When I’m met with only her glazed stare, I lower the knife to my side and smile. “You see, I knew. I’ve always known. I’m sure you’ve figured out truth by now, haven’t you, that I’m unlike anyone you’ve ever met. I’m special. I didn’t need anyone to tell me that when I was growing up; I’ve always known. It’s just going to take a little more time to make sure others know to take me seriously. So good of you to help.”

Her eyes narrow at me, a faint frown the only indication that she’s catching some of what I’m saying. “It’s such a shame we won’t have more time together. I would so enjoy breaking the spirit I see shining in your eyes. As it is,” I say on a sigh, “I’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way.”

I waste no time plunging the knife into the China doll’s chest. My pleasure comes from knowing just where to make my mark, depending on how fast or slow I want death to come. I savor a sublime jolt of adrenaline as I slowly force the knife between her third and fourth rib, ultimately piercing her heart. I push the knife in slowly to give myself a few more precious seconds to savor the lightning-quick series of emotions that pass over her features: horror, panic, pain, disbelief, acceptance and, finally, the emptiness that is so beguiling. It’s a good death, I suppose, as deaths go.

I step away and repeat the process two more times, giving each woman her moment alone with me before her eyes glaze over and the light is snuffed out.

Then the real work begins.

I toss the knife in the porcelain, lime-stained sink. It’s going to take something much stronger than a knife to do what I have planned. I walk over to the closet and put on a clear raincoat I use for just this purpose. I lift my welder’s shield off the shelf and put it on, pulling the plastic shield down over my face. Things are getting ready to get very messy.

I reach down and pick up my circular saw and set it on the counter. I then pull the medical cart over that holds the rest of the tools and medical instruments I’ll need. Surgical saws in different sizes are lined up in a tidy row, ready to do my bloody, savage will. This is my game; I’m in control and I like the fact that I’m getting ready to fuck up more lives than just those of these three whores.

Since the China doll was the first to die, she should be the first to receive my attention. I release the restraints and her lifeless form flops over into my arms like a beautiful, bloody ragdoll. I pick her up, laying her down on the stainless steel operating table. I special ordered it from a medical vendor. Other smaller items I obtained from the local hospital – it’s amazing what you can walk away with when it’s a busy night in the E.R. and you know how to blend right in. Anything can be accomplished with the right planning, even what many would deem impossible.

I pull back, starting the saw, and once again I brace for the rush of adrenalin-charged pleasure that always comes when the blades meet flesh and bone. My hands vibrate as I take on the task of cutting through joints one by one. It’s the precision that’s called for at times like this that can be so difficult for some to achieve. It takes a master like me to get it right. Piece by piece, I’ll take these whores apart and then I can begin the next phase of my plan.

I’m a patient man, methodical in how I approach my work. For the sequence of events to play out the way I want, patience will definitely be a virtue.