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  I needed to dig further and continued my search, reading many white-papers and downloading PDF documents to help me gain a deeper understanding into Snake. Specifically, I was searching for press releases on militia and other army commanders who had taken to terrorizing people, with rape, torture and murder. At about 10 pm I realized that I had an early day tomorrow and that sleep was needed. Packing up my stuff, I went to the college dorm and found the room that had been used by Alex. He had to leave urgently due to the death of his mother in Europe and I had very kindly agreed to look after the place in his absence. It was just after 12 am when I opened the door to his room. I was trying as far as possible to stay in different places and when I had heard that my classmate was looking for someone to look after his room, I had readily agreed. It also seemed like fun, to actually live in a dorm. I had been very excited to experience all of this for myself. My parents had a lot of money and were paying for everything - so no dorm for me; college, board and apartment were paid for by my parents. I was forced to take money from them, although in my possession there used to be a few bags of money; I did not want them to get suspicious of anything.

  ***

  Brian had been out with his mates and returning home to Jackie, when he had been bumped by another car accidentally reversing in the wrong direction. Getting out and checking for damages, he saw that it was very minor and not wanting to cause a scene, let the two mean looking men in the black Jag go. Head filled with beer and trying to catch another high, he lit up and continued driving. He had not realized it, but he was being followed. That Jaguar had not disappeared into the night; it was tagging him from a distance.

  He reached her house and pulled up into the driveway. He had by now gotten used to staying at her place, in time he would give up his rented apartment and move in with her. They had been able to stay strong in-spite of his many temptations; Jackie was a force to be reckoned with. She had a quiet and confident exterior that belied an inner self, full of fire and belligerence. Plus their lovemaking was on the level of epic.

  He fumbled for the keys and was finally able to open the front door, staggering over to the refrigerator, found himself another beer. A single lampshade was on and this mellow light was making him feel all cozy and warm. He was missing Jackie though, but when duty calls, one must respond. Switching on his favorite hard rock station, he leaned back on the couch and began to enjoy the added high that the fresh bottle of beer had begun providing.

  He heard a metallic click that brought his mind out of the cloud and back down to reality. The door opened slowly and he saw those two evil looking men again. They had gained entry into the house and were now advancing menacingly toward him, taking their time with blades in hand. He got up and took a swing at Mamba, who caught his hand and just held it there. Adder with his left hand punched him in the stomach. Brian keeled over and was pushed back onto the couch. Adder raised his knife to plunge in into his chest but was stopped by the big ape. ‘Snake said throat,’ He said. Without thinking twice Death Adder found Brian’s throat and stuck the knife into it. Brian’s body went into spasms as he slowly started to bleed out and die.

  When they were satisfied that his body was showing no signs of life, they threw a small plastic card beside his body and left. These were Snakes’ venomous serpents from hell, and had never ever questioned their master. They were not born in the country, but had been imported. They were trafficked into the United States by Snake and there was no tracing them. They had nothing - no passport, no social security, fake driving licenses, no bank accounts. Snake took care of everything - every job done by them meant that their families in their home countries, received money. All the payments to them were at foreign banks in faraway countries. There were now living in a nation that had nothing to track them down with, this was a brilliant move by Snake and ensured that he had two serpents that could not be linked back to him, if push came to shove, Snake would kill these two and leave them to rot. He was a ruthless motherfucker and only his life mattered to him. He was doing everything now to make sure that his heart would keep beating for years to come. He knew I was out there vying for his blood. He could use them freely and if the time did come, he could easily dispose of them, for now though, they were his baby venomous cobras. Even if they ever got picked up by the cops or the FEDs, there was nothing to connect them to Snake, they had no documentation and could just as easily have been existing as a number, nameless and faceless.

  And just like Snake they also liked blood - women, drugs, and other intoxicants meant nothing to them. They were born killers and got their highs from each kill. They were addicts, addicted to blood, and merciless killing. Cold-hearted, cold-blooded and cold-minded; frozen by Snake, who converted these men into mean killing machines. These two were his elite force and had been flown all over the world on fake passports, lovingly provided by Snake, their master and God-man.

  They left as silently as they had come and quietly drove away into the night. It was a little after 1 am when Jackie got home, her car began pulling in to the driveway. She was in a rush to get to bed and get to Brian. It was going to be another early day tomorrow and she needed some solid sack time.

  She opened the door and got the shock of her life. Brian was lying on the couch arms spread and a knife buried deep in his throat. ‘Phantom,’ she said out loud. Dropping whatever was in her hands she held them both to her face and began to cry. Her police instinct prevented her from flinging her body over his, to cover and protect him. She began to blame herself, if she was there, she would have offered her body in exchange for his. She loved him enough to die for him, and now the love of her life was dead, brutally butchered and she had not been there to save him. As she stood sobbing and choking, she realized that she needed to steady herself and do the right thing. She took out her radio and with a voice that was shaky at best, ‘Attention all units, Code 187, officer down, officer down, Sergeant Jackie’s residence, it’s Brian, he’s dead. After which the radio went silent - you could literally feel the disturbance that was being felt all over the police radio waves. There was no answer until finally Ellen’s voice came softly over the radio, ‘We’re on our way.’

  Everything went silent after that, she was standing quietly with tears streaming down her face. She could hear or feel nothing as she stared at Brian. In the distance there was the sound of police sirens, but it seemed really far to her. The cops had finally arrived and the entire house was being cordoned off. Ellen walked in and hugged her, allowing Jackie to cry on her shoulders. The rest of the team had also arrived and were performing their duties mostly in silence. He was a well-loved and respected detective of the PD and this was sad and shocking to the lot of them. Just went they though the case was over and everything was going to blow over, they had received the biggest shocker. The entire case had now shifted to another plane.

  ‘You can come over to my home.’ Ellen offered Jackie and she nodded in acceptance. Both of them left and Greg was made to temporarily take charge of the investigation. A great weight had fallen on his shoulders and the previously jovial Greg had now become very serious. A hit on one of them was a hit on all. His face was flush with anger, all he wanted was revenge. They could get fingerprints and other forensic evidence but it was not going to lead anywhere. Mamba and Adder were not on any police records, their names, pictures, fingerprints - nothing. They had been carefully chosen by Snake their master and brought into the country over the border. They had crossed the river and entered safely, all under the expert guidance of Snake. They were literally ghosts without a trace.

  ***

  It was late afternoon the next day and we had classes’ post-noon. I was finishing up and just about getting ready to leave, when the door to the classroom opened and in walked Jackie and Greg. I was too stunned to react and it was almost impossible to make a run for it. But instead of flight I decided to stay and fight. She walked straight up to me, ordering me to stand up. Greg was standing behind her and pointing his gun at my forehea
d. ‘Turn around very slowly with your hands behind your back,’ I did as ordered and felt her cuffing my hands. She held onto the handcuffs now, preventing me from trying to escape and pointed me in the direction of the door. ‘Walk very carefully,’ She commanded. I remained quiet and obeyed every instruction of hers. The news of Brian’s murder had not yet been released to the public, and I was unaware of the previous nights’ tragedy.

  I was made to sit in interrogation, while my feet were being bound in chains and my hands cuffed to the table, after a long wait both Greg and Jackie entered the room. She sat bang opposite me and Greg a little to my left. ‘You’ve been arrested for the murder of Detective Brian Miller.’ My look must have displayed utter disbelief and shock. I knew this couple having spied on them many a time. I did not understand love but knew the meaning of longing and companionship. I kept staring back at her as she started with the usual questions.

  ‘State you name and age for the records.’ I was not going to open my mouth, they already knew everything. ‘I did not kill your detective,’ I said. ‘I was in the dorm room last night,’ ‘We’re not buying it,’ Greg said, ‘You could have jumped out and escaped. ‘Not a chance in hell,’ I said. ‘You can check the security cameras at the college and see for yourself.’ ‘Okay, humor me,’ Greg continued ‘why are you being framed?’ I did not know what to answer, should I tell him that Snake wanted me to be put away… No. That would be foolish. Should I tell him the truth, ‘Because I am a serial killer and I like to kill? Fortunately I have been killing all the bad people in the city. I keep this motherfucking city safe.’ Just then there was a knock on the door and it was Matt, calling the both of them out. He told them that the student ID that they had found at the scene of the crime had a very glaring mistake. The name on the card was Lemuel, but the student ID number belonged to another student - a female student named Stacey Graham. She had also been brought it and was waiting now in interrogation room No. 2.

  ‘What does this mean Matt?’ Jackie asked, ‘The killers want to point us in the wrong direction. I think that this is just some random ID they created. They could have got the student names and numbers from public records, or by easily hacking into the college database.’ ‘I think we should let them go and not make fools out of ourselves.’ Greg said. ‘Fine, let them go. Greg you talk to the girl and I’ll talk to the Phantom, I’m sorry Lemmie.’ ‘You need to go and rest,’ Greg said. ‘Ellen is anyways going to ask you to take a few days off. You’re tired Jackie, don’t stress, all of us want to bring this fucker to justice. You’re too close, too close to this case. You need time out.’ ‘I will… soon,’ Jackie said as she came to tell me about my imminent release.

  ‘This might be a case of mistaken identity. But I still don’t know why they chose your name.’ ‘Who chose my name?’ I asked innocently. ‘Look we’re sorry for embarrassing you in front of your classmates.’ ‘It’s okay, I’m really sorry to hear about Brian.’ I said accidentally and she looked at me strangely. ‘Before you go,’ she said. ‘Since your name has come up, if you notice anything strange on or off campus, here’s my card, call me.’ I took her card and she left, while two other cops came in to release me. I was now free to go out and find that Motherfucker. He had tried to frame me, but for one small mistake, had almost succeeded. That motherfucker needed to die, and I could not wait to sink my knife deep into his wretched heart. There was just one lingering problem though, how was I to find him?

  Later that night the news broke on TV, that the bright young detective who was in charge of the ‘Cop Killer’ case had been murdered. There was now much speculation and uncertainty. News Rooms were not going to let the cops off easy.

  26. Leveling

  Later that night Jackie was in her bed staring at my student ID card, she just couldn't help herself, as she just stared, she had no idea why, but it had her captivated. Her phone started to ring disturbing her concentration. It was Andrea, ‘I am so sorry to hear what happened,’ she was saying. ‘This is so upsetting for all of us.’ ‘I wish it had never happened,’ Jackie replied. ‘If you need me to do anything, feel free to ask,’ Andrea said sympathetically. ‘Sure will,’ Jackie replied. ‘Later then,’ Andrea said. ‘Okay,’ Jackie replied as she disconnected the call. She was now once more all alone in her bed, free to stare at my face again. Something had connected her to me. Maybe it was the time Brian and her: the time they had tracked me down in the alleyway or maybe it was the time that I had stabbed her. Knives leave scars and she was already carrying a scar left by me.

  Snake was following the news on TV, waiting to hear about the culprit’s arrest. He was sure that I would be picked up and tried for Brian’s murder and all the other murders that fit the M.O of The Phantom. The press did not know much about phantom, the ghost. This was more police-only-knowledge - something that was too deep for the public to even understand. These were the kind of cases that have multiple departments involved. He had correctly surmised that everything would lead back to me.

  The next morning the lab tests had reached the team. Jane from forensics was briefing the team. ‘The knife is the sixth knife.’ She said bluntly. ‘We were wondering when and where it would show up; unfortunately it turned up in one of us.’ She quickly gulped on realizing what she had just said, had come out wrong, and it wasn't going down well with the rest of team. ‘Please forgive me, I didn't mean for it to sound that way. Anyways moving on, six working girls were murdered and five knives were recovered in the throats of various criminals, involved in one way or the other with the murders. This knife revealed blood traces to the sixth girl that was killed. This is the sixth knife. Also, prints lifted from the scene show two individuals, the deep depressions of the prints prove that both were well built and strong.’

  Jackie spoke up now, ‘We have known for a long time about this guy called Phantom. He was always killing other killers, but this is the first time he’s touched one of us. It does not make any sense to me, there most certainly is something else going on. For now we don’t have any active leads other than those two college kids. We will need to keep an eye on them, follow their movements and make sure that they are innocent, before certifying them ‘Clear of charges.’ Nothing else strikes me as of now, Greg.’ Greg from tactical was more the kind of officer who was used to handling hostage type situation and confrontations. He was not too much of a detective; nevertheless he was feeling the pressure to state whatever it was that he’d been deducing. ‘I agree with Jackie,’ he began. ‘This whole situation makes no sense. Why would this Phantom turn all of a sudden against the police, The M.O being followed is pretty much the same, but the way it was done and the choice of the victim remains absolutely confusing. ‘Susan has completed her crime scene investigation; tell us Susan… what transpired?’

  Susan took her time and after a deep breath began, ‘As far as we can tell, there was a struggle but not too much. He might have been easily incapacitated due to the fact… it was the liquor.’ She said. ‘The lock was opened by an expert, maybe there was a third individual, but no prints have been found as yet. I would also like to clarify that these two sets of prints do not match any of our existing records. These two individuals are newcomers on the scene. They walked in and with little or no resistance, were able to overpower Brian. The carpet and couch did not show any signs of a struggle… mostly a victim being overtaken by strength and power. He was pushed back on the couch and then a knife was driven through his throat. The victim did not really stand a chance and went down without being able to defend himself. After committing this horrendous crime, they just walked out the door. Nothing else was touched, nothing was taken. It was not a crime for gain, neither was it a crime of passion it was “Murder with malice and clear intent.” It was committed with hostility and willfulness. Pre-planned and chalked out clearly, it was something that was sketched out to the T. It was intent with devilment and revenge, most likely done to achieve a goal. The killer or killers as we now know… expect to gain something from t
his murder.’

  ‘It is most likely that the killing was done to point the police in a certain direction,’ Jackie observed. ‘Yes,’ Matt the profiler replied. ‘The killers are definitely executioners; this is not the work of amateurs. It was carefully planned and executed by more than one individual; it is definitely organized crime of some sort. The intent was to point us in the wrong direction. The use of a random college ID was to send us scampering in the opposite direction. Even the fake ID has not been done well, clearly done by someone in a hurry.’