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  ‘But why now,’ asked Jackie. ‘What was the hurry?’ Greg responded, ‘Something big is going to go down. This was just a killing of deceit, triggered to fool everyone involved, done to send everyone in an erroneous direction. Those college kids had nothing to do with it. They were just random names taken off of the internet and used, all for us to follow a path that would lead down into a rabbit hole. My suggestion is to stay away from the obvious and dig deeper. There is something else being covered up and Brian had to pay for the sins of someone else.’

  ***

  It was only later that night that I learned that Brian had been done-in with a knife to the throat. This was shocking as I realized what Snake had done. When we met the first time in the log cabin, he had said that our relationship had been built on trust and to prove it so, had left the sixth knife where he had found it. I was positive now that - this was not the case. He was a motherfucking backstabbing snake. He had lied, having taken the sixth knife and replacing it with another. The blood on the knife in my possession might have come from a chicken for all I care. It was not the real deal; the real knife had been buried in Brian’s throat. The plan would have worked to perfection, had not Snake screwed up while creating the student ID. He had my name and picture alright, but the student number itself was wrong. ‘The biggest mistake of his life.’

  Snake had been watching TV with his two slaves, hoping to hear of my arrest for the murder of detective Brian. This information however, that he was waiting to hear was not going to come over the airwaves. He had tried and failed. This was his best shot; he could not risk anything else now. The cops were on the lookout and everyone had been triggered. Anything suspicious anywhere was immediately being called into 911. ‘Serial Killer City,’ was on edge and ready to boil over. The city had developed a very apprehensive unease. The cops had failed them once again, what could the cops do about masterminds that roamed in their midst. It took one killer to catch another. Fight fire with fire, iron sharpens iron. One makes the other brighter, Snake and me had both learnt from each other. He was truly a master - a master of subterfuge and deception. His work was worthy of praise; had we not been locked in battle, I might have taken time to study his work and his mind. Instead of a factory of murder, he should have joined one of the world’s leading companies, or started one of his own. No - that was not enough for him, he had to take life and spill blood. He had to play God in this world. I did not think that he had an inflated ego though, always remaining level-headed and real, required the loss of stupid thoughts and fancy notions. I know that from personal experience. I did not suffer from excess ego and grand thoughts of splendor. No, far from it, killers knew how to keep all of this in check. Once a target had been identified, then it was all guns go. Creeping, dodging, investigating, studying, and then finally, the moment, that very precious moment, when everything settles down and becomes quiet, the moment of the Kill, when the victim succumbs, and blood begins to pour out of the body, that moment of sweet release, welling up from somewhere deep in the universe. This was the only world that I've ever known and the rush it provided more than settled my darkness.

  I was still trying to work out a solution to bypass the dead man's switch on his PC and was not having any luck as yet. I needed to get into his system and fast. Having him roaming around alive and free was not something I wanted. He had to come under my blade, this was important, if not I wasn’t going to get any ROI on this investment. I had promised to tear his heart of his chest and feed it back to him, and I was intent on keeping my word. I was not given to lying and was always a man true to my word.

  Snake had expected to see my name all over the news but that had not happened. He had many a dirty cop on his payroll, but he could not risk calling anyone of them. Just in case one of them showed up with a conscience and in turn ratted him out. He had to remain low-key and hidden in the shadows, but for how long? I kept thinking about and all the blood that he had been spilling over the years, trying to gain entry into his mind and the web that it had been spinning, about his years in Africa and the beginning of his career. There was something nagging me and just didn't want to let go. My mind kept going back to Jackie - she had gone back to living in that house of murder. Ellen’s house had been good but there was nothing like home, even though everything kept reminding her of Brian.

  News channels were speaking about the latest tragedy to have hit the city. About how the detective had been overpowered in his home and been done to death in a most grotesque way. So Snake still had a team working for him. It was the news channel that had finally alerted me to the presence of other people with Snake, which could only mean that the situation had become much more dangerous. I checked my bag and found my knife roll, there was an assortment of knives to choose from and my very handy gun. Everything was in my backpack, now strapped to my back; started the car and drove over to Jackie’s place. Parking further down the street, decided to wait and watch her home. My instinct was telling me that Snake would try to get back into her home. His plan had not worked and he would want to know why. I was now familiar with the workings of his mind; he was given to keeping a watch on his kill spots. This had been authorized and planned by him, and so I expected him to at least drive by. As this was far from over and a lot of the anger he was going through, was directly in one way or the other related now to Jackie’s home.

  It was my plan to wait around till after 3 am, and then return to the college dorm where I’d taken up residence for the next few days. At about 1:30 am, I noticed a black Jaguar making a second pass around her home. Someone was indeed keeping a watch on the house. I began to follow from a distance, the guys in the car were big and broad – of course Brian didn’t stand a chance.

  With his plan not having playing out the way he wanted, he was now searching for another way in, some other way to pin the blame on me or someone else, and get the fuck out of here. Things were too hot and if he should stand any chance of survival, he had to get rid of this investigation and then he was free to crawl away to another godforsaken black hole somewhere.

  Starting up my car I began to tail them from distance. The car did not seem to be in any sort of hurry and was driving around slowly; this was being done so as to not draw any attention to it. They drove around for some time and finally went to an all-night burger place. The fuckers needed food to keep their large muscled bodies fed and content. I casually parked a distance up ahead and waited for them to come out. Suspecting nothing they began to drive, eventually heading in the direction of the airport. This was getting fucking weird, but I kept at it and parked in a place where I could observe them without being noticed. They got out and walked towards the entry gates. A cab had pulled up and sitting inside was Snake, he got out and both of them went up to him and began to wish him goodbye. I had to stay hidden and for once it wasn't difficult, with all the arrivals and departures happening at this ungodly hour, it was easy. Snake was fleeing, getting the fuck out of this place that had now become too hot for him to handle. I could see that he was giving them either last minute instructions or reminders, I wasn't sure. They bid farewell to their boss and were heading back to the Jag. I had kept followed from a distance and was by now back in my own car.

  They had started up and were now heading towards the center of the city, which they crossed and were now heading to an area that I had become familiar with. They were driving to the mayor’s house of that I was sure. They did indeed pass his house and continued on, reaching the outer edges of the city, finally making a stop in front of an empty looking house. Parking a short distance away I waited - by this time I was sure that Snake was trying to draw me out. He was beating me once again, brilliant planning I must say. Hey, I like to give credit where credit is due. I had been searching for a way to find him but he had done the opposite and figured out a way to find me. I was pretty sure by now that he had anticipated my every move. His blood snakes knew they were being followed by me and had been acting like they hadn’t noticed. They were leadin
g me now, showing me a way, a way to reach Snake. Kind of like pointing me in the right direction, Snake must have figured that even though the murder of Brian had not been pinned on me, I was still at his mercy. He was setting-up a meeting. There was no doubt in my mind now as to what was going to happen next. They would come out of the house and head back to the airport.

  27. Hunting

  They did indeed come out and started to head toward the airport. I took a different route in order to reach before them and was waiting at the gates. There were still a lot of people outside the gates and I was casually standing among them. The two big monkeys were walking up to the check-in gates when I cut them off. The big ape was huge - but you know as they say ‘The bigger they are the harder they fall.’ ‘Where is Moses?’ I asked him. ‘Fuck you,’ he replied with a growl. The small three inch blade in my hand was sticking is his gut before he had any time to react. They might have been big and strong, but I was as quick as fuck. ‘Tell that backstabbing, miserable, wretched boss of yours - when we meet, his heart is going to be beating in my hands.’ The big fuck was going down now and his partner was helping him by holding the wound. They could not attract any attention and at the present moment, could not do anything, but shut the fuck-up and turn back. My movements had been slick and nothing out of the ordinary. No camera would have been able to pick up anything unusual. He had a three inch blade sticking out of his gut, but covered it up with a big coat and went back to the vehicle.

  I was of the intent to take them out now, but it might attract sudden unwanted attention. For now, they would go back to that house I saw them come out of. This I was sure they would do; that bloody Snake and his fucking men. It was obvious now that he was calling me out to the log cabin. If there was going to be a meeting, it would happen out there, that’s what he’d been trying to tell me. All these airport visits and all these calculations on his part had worked. That bloody snake was making things so fucking difficult, he could have allowed me to open his chest cavity and take his heart out right here, why did he have to go so far? Wait… what… bloody snake, blood snake, bloody snake… no that was not right. It was close but did not have the right ring to it. Blood… BLOOD… Blood Snake… yes that was it. THAT WAS IT! I had done it, this was it. I hurried back to the dorm and took Snake’s laptop in my hand and headed out onto the large lawn. I did not want his computer to automatically connect to the internet. Reaching a place where WiFi was not available, switched on his laptop while simultaneously switching off my phone.

  His laptop was now asking for a passcode and I confidently typed-in ‘BloodSnake.’ Boom! I was in, that Snake had been too wrapped up in blood; even his passcode reflected his nature. Once in, located the dead man’s switch and turned it off. Next I disabled all the possible ways that the laptop might use to connect to the internet, BlueTooth, WiFi, and all other connecting options. I was in and free to roam around his world. This was it, I had struck gold, and everything that I needed was here. I now needed a secure broadband connection to backup all the files. There was no other choice; I had to drive out to the farm. It was already 4 am but that was ok, if I needed sleep, would crash for about two to three hours as that would be more than enough.

  With little or no traffic, I was able to cover the distance in about an hour and a half or even less. I had to upload all the files after having encrypted them first. I found all his bank records, ongoing chats, client list, and photos of him and Marcus. There was also a family picture of the both of them from when they were really small. Their parents looking like such nice people, did they ever find out what kind of offspring they had produced? ‘Fucking ugly children, only a mother could love.’

  The next afternoon I was outside the police precinct. Walking around parking was finally able to find and locate Jackie’s RAM. She drove a big car, she was a quiet woman given to thinking things through, but her car however said something else about her. Her outlook on life was large and colorful and definitely very playful. Her beautiful big truck came with all the latest bells and whistles and it was going to be difficult to get the windows down. I had to risk it and so I smashed-in the window beside the driver’s seat with my hand. I had my gloves on and these strong leather gloves would prevent any cuts and bruises to my flesh. Throwing the laptop into the driver’s seat as the car alarms went off; I made a quick and silent getaway. The team would discover Snake’s laptop and would have all that they needed on him. All the proof was there; they could follow the money trail from now and get him. He had no chance of survival after this. He was done for, he was finished.

  I was going to meet with him at the log cabin and even if I did not make it back out alive, neither was he. He was ruined and the police would eventually pick him up and those other two burly apes that were his ‘Kill Men.’ Catching a mid-afternoon flight, was on my way out into the American Midwest, and from thereon into the pine forests of the Jemez Mountains. From the airport I needed a ride and the easiest way was to steal a car. This was easier said than done and I had to search at the end of the parking lot to find a car that was easy to get into, and start without much trouble. A Honda Civic caught my eye and this would have to be the one, smashing the window, pulled up the vertical lock on the door real quick. The door opened and I was in, broke the plastic covers on the steering column, got the ignition wires out and started the car. The steering lock was easy to break with a few hard tugs on the wheel. The car was now in my control as I drove away. Along the way I needed knives and stopped-off at a local Wal-Mart to replenish my supply of knives. Topped the car up with gas a little further and sped away. It was a long drive up into the mountains. Reaching Bernalillo, went left from there, so as to avoid driving through Santa Fe. The mountains themselves were very beautiful and I believe many a Western was filmed out in these mountains. This was so typical of the Old Wild West - You could half expect to see John Wayne come riding a trail in the distance, followed by the cavalry. There was no John Wayne here at the moment, just two serial killers vying for each other’s blood.

  As I was nearing the location of the log cabin, I ditched the car. Driving it off-road and leaving it behind in the midst of all these beautiful tall pines. From here I was going to hike to the cabin and if the opportunity was provided, ambush Snake and finish his story. I had made a mental note on the location of the place, using the mountains, which came fairly easy to me; Old Man Jim had indeed done a good job in training me. The cabin was closer towards the road, hidden among the trees. I was going to reach the stream the flowed in the valley and come up on it from the rear entrance. This was going to be a long hike and should take me a little over an hour to reach. I found the steam and followed it to just below the cabin. The land from the back door sloped gradually into the valley. It was not a very steep or deep valley, but the land did slope downwards and there was now a slight uphill climb that lay before me.

  I started my accent and the cabin should have come into view by now. Nothing… it was gone. That Motherfucker had tricked me once again. Right from the beginning he knew that if things should go south I would come here searching for him. It was all a setup; everything had been planned with an end in sight. There was just grass growing in-between the trees, right in the place where the tiny cabin should have been. It was really becoming difficult now; maybe I was not smart enough to catch him. He had thought through everything and was clearly beginning to emerge the victor. Maybe he was a better killer than I, and sure as hell now seemed to be smarter than me. ‘Fuck you Snake. You slimy slithering serpent’

  I sat down to drink some water and think about my next move - all of Snakes’ moves had been winners. I was finally at a loss, sitting all alone here in these forests, holding a fucking bottle of water. Fuck this. Maybe I should just go back and let Jackie and the cops follow up on this one and finish it off.

  Unknown to me at this time was that Jackie was not in possession of the laptop. It had found legs and walked right out of the precinct. She was also sitting there and wondering wha
t had happened. The laptop she had placed on her workstation as she had gone into the interrogation room that had not lasted for more than fifteen minutes. In that short span of time, the laptop had disappeared. Greg was showing his disappointment and looking all around the bullpen, trying to spot the dirty cop that might have stolen the laptop. The PD had been ordered to be in complete lockdown, just in case the laptop was still in the building, this did not help as the computer had long gone.

  If I was to leave now without anything, nothing would be the same on my return. It was now my blood that was on the line. It was now my heart that might get pulled out of my chest and eaten. Fuck… FuuuuuuuuCCCCCKKKK!!!!

  Notwithstanding my bitter disappointment, I began to walk around; around and around where the cabin should have been. The day had begun with so much promise and now this…

  It was then that I noticed a piece of paper lying on the ground, must have been there for two or three weeks as it showed signs of wear and tear, owing to the weather. ‘Fuck your mother,’ I whispered as I unfolded the piece of paper and looked at it. It was a map of a locality in the city that I had come from. There were also GPS coordinates on the paper and it was now time to get back fast. I walked down the road and picked up the car hidden in the woods, took the other way around and ditched the car at Santa Fe, hiring a taxi service to get me back to the airport.