by Melody Adams
The elevator stopped and I looked at the display. Tenth floor. The doors opened and a tall man entered the cabin. Although the man had shoulder-length, black hair and a beard, I knew immediately who he was. He still wore sunglasses. He seemed to look at me impassively from behind those glasses, while a hysterical scream crept up in my throat, but never made it out. The doors closed and the elevator started moving again. I backed away as far as I could and stared at the killer. Why was he here? I was sure he wouldn’t risk killing me here in the elevator because he made no move. He just stood there and seemed to stare at me. It made me really uncomfortable. In the confines of the elevator, I became even more aware of how massive the guy was. His presence gave me a claustrophobic feeling. I swallowed nervously and clung to my bag to prevent my hands from betraying me with their trembling. I didn’t want to show him how much he scared me. Suddenly he leaned forward and stretched out his arm. I cried out softly, but he just pressed a button next to me. I looked over at him. A grin played around his sensual lips. The bastard enjoyed scaring me. I felt like a mouse in the presence of the cat. Cat? Fuck that! Make that a lion! He toyed with me. The elevator stopped and the doors opened. With a short nod in my direction, the man left the elevator. It was the ground floor. Shocked, I stood there as the doors closed and the elevator began to move again. There were three lower levels. The police would wait for me on the level P2, where I parked my car. I was relieved when I finally left the elevator. Two officers were standing a few feet away, waiting for me.
"He's in the building!" I exclaimed frightened. "He ... he was in the elevator and ..."
Breathless, I arrived at the two policemen.
"Calm, lady. What did you say? The suspect drove with you in the elevator?" Asked the older of the two officers.
I nodded.
"Yes, he climbed on at 10th floor and then out on the ground floor. He's wearing a black wig and a false beard, but I'm one hundred percent sure it’s him!"
"Damn!" Said the younger officer and looked at his older colleague.
The older officer picked up his radio and informed the police headquarters about the incident.
"You stay with Miss McDonald!" Came the order over the device. "We sent Parker and Allison, they're nearby. Blackwell and Stone are on their way, too. You get Miss McDonald home safely!"
"Understood!" Replied the older officer.
"Do not be afraid, Miss," the younger officer reassured me. "We accompany you safely home and there are already two more officers monitoring your home. The guy will not get to you. Maybe the colleagues will even get him this time."
"He seems to be pretty cocky if he turns up here," the older one said. "Don’t worry, Miss. Guys who feel too safe usually make a mistake and then we grab them."
I nodded, but the bad feeling in my gut did not vanish over the officers' assurances.
"Come. We escort you to your car."
The two officers escorted me to my car and examined it thoroughly. Apparently they feared that the killer might have manipulated it. When they were apparently satisfied, they nodded and I got in. I drove the car out of the parking space and waited for the police car to show up behind me, only then I drove off.
ICE
She had recognized me. Of course, I had expected nothing else. X wanted her dead. I could have done it in the elevator, but everything in me was rebelling against the idea of doing something to the little woman. The fear in her beautiful eyes had sparked strange feelings in me. I wanted to protect her. I grimaced at the irony of this thought. Protect her? From whom? I was the killer here! I was the one she had to be protected from! Even the two ridiculous figures waiting for her downstairs in the parking garage would not be able to protect her if I really wanted to kill her. The two officers were no challenge for me. I could only hope that X had put no one else on the job, because if Strike or Player came into play, no police force would be able to protect her. It would be all up to me, but first I had to find out if and who was still in the game and, secondly, what I really wanted to do about her. I could do the job and make sure she died quickly and painlessly. Should she fall into Player's hands, her death would be slow and agonizing. Player loved to play with his targets, which earned him his name. Strike, on the other hand, was a kill-quick-and-painless kind of guy, like me.
I turned into the park and cut my way across the lawns. My thoughts kept spinning in circles and I was no further in deciding what I wanted to do. All I knew was that the woman had gotten me into trouble. I would never have thought that I would even think twice about carrying out an order. I had killed women and felt no remorse, for these women had been monsters. There had been nothing innocent about them. Nothing that was gentle or good. My new target was not like the others. I had made some inquiries about her. Her name was Miriam and she was an orphan. She worked hard, lived in a cheap apartment and donated a good part of her poor income for the child cancer aid. I also found out that she performed as a clown twice a year for the sick children. No! She was not like the others. She didn’t deserve what X had planned for her. What I had to do. Cursing, I jumped over a low hedge and turned down a narrow path. A ball rolled in front of my feet and I stopped. My eyes roamed around searching and stuck to two little boys, who were standing at a distance and looked at me undecided. My sinister appearance scared them. I was used to such reactions. Slowly I bent down and picked up the ball. I tried a smile as I threw the ball back to the guys. The smaller of the two kids caught the ball and both turned hastily to run away. I sighed. I always felt so empty when my appearance triggered such reactions in people, especially children, but now I felt more than just ordinary emptiness. I felt pain.
Miriam
The phone rang and I jumped from my thoughts. I had thought about the killer again. Would they catch him? And if so, would I be safe? Or would his boss simply send another killer. I strongly believed that the albino was not working on his own account. There had to be a man in the background who gave the orders. Maybe there were even more. A conspiratorial society?
With a beating heart, I accepted the conversation.
"Yes?"
"Miss McDonald? Officer Green here. Unfortunately, I have to tell you that the suspect has escaped us again. He is still out there. I think it would be better if you stay home tomorrow. That the guy intercepted you in the elevator today tells me that we cannot protect you enough when you're not in your house. If you have errands to do, one of ours can handle them for you, but I would like to keep you safely at home. We have initiated a large search. I think we'll catch the guy sooner or later."
"I appreciate your concern for me, Officer, but I have to get to work tomorrow. I'll lose my job if I don’t go!"
"You could lose your life if you leave your apartment, Miss McDonald!"
"As I said, I appreciate your caring, but I have to live my life. I would be grateful if I would receive police protection on my way to work and back, but I cannot stay in the house for days!"
"As you wish!" Officer Green said clearly indignantly.
After the phone call I was even more aggravated. I couldn’t sit on the sofa anymore. Restless, I wandered up and down my little apartment. I thought feverishly about how I could get my life back. I really was not willing to hide in my little apartment. I would go crazy here. No! I wouldn’t allow that my fear of the killer ruined my life; fucked up everything I had worked for so hard. I had to fight back! I had to find out who the mysterious albino was and who was the mastermind behind him. I also had to find out what was going on with the participants of the Alien Breed conference. Only the fact that they all sat in the same row did not make them victims. Something they had done or knew, something that made the evil mastermind want them to die. If I knew who the mastermind was, I might have a better idea of the whole thing, but for now I was still in the dark. I stopped and turned to my desk. My laptop seemed to be calling me. Determined, I went behind the desk and sat down. I got the laptop started up and went online. I thought for a while, then reached f
or my cell phone and called Teddy, a good friend who had helped me a lot. Teddy was a seventeen-year-old hacker genius.
"What's up?" Teddy said. The music in the background made his voice almost unrecognizable.
"It's me, Miri. Can you turn the music down? I don’t want to shout."
I waited a moment, and then the music in the background became quieter.
"Yes? What is it, Sugar?"
I chuckled. Teddy always called me Sugar, which sounded pretty silly out of his mouth. He was quite the typical nerdy teenager, lanky and pimpled. His thick glasses made his blue eyes appear unnaturally large. I could almost see him crouched in front of his computer, his curly red hair disheveled, the glasses on the tip of his nose, and his faded Spiderman shirt with ill fitting jeans.
"You shouldn’t call me that," I admonished him with amusement.
"I'll grow up one day, Sugar, and then you will not be able to resist my charm," he replied, and I heard the grin in his voice. "So, what gives me the honor this time? I have not heard from you in a long time."
"I need your help with a little research. I got into something big and now I have a killer on my heels," I explained and then I told him everything that had happened. Teddy listened attentively.
"And what exactly do you want me to do?" Teddy asked after I had finished. "Should I find out something about this Alien Breed conference?"
"Exactly!" I confirmed. "I need to know what connects these people, except that they all sat in the same row. I also need to know more about the Alien Breeds, DMI, and the circumstances of their rescue."
"OK! I'm getting right on it, Sugar! But I really think you should listen to the police. The guy is obviously very dangerous. You are lucky that he didn’t kill you in the elevator. The bastard probably likes to play a little with his prey before he strikes. I’ve read about it. Psychos like him want you to be scared. That’ll give him a boner!"
"Nonsense! I think he just didn’t want to risk it in the building where the police were waiting for me downstairs. I think he spies on me to wait for the best opportunity."
"One more reason to stay home!" Teddy objected worriedly.
"I can take care of myself, Teddy," I tried to reassure him. "The officers escort me to work and accompany me back home. And at work I will be even more careful than before. I'll get a can of gas and always carry it with me."
"As if you could do something with that shit against a professional hitman. I'm not even sure your officers will be able to protect you if this guy messes with them!"
"Bullshit! Now you're exaggerating!" I said declining, but his words made me think.
He could be right. The albino was a pro and he was ice-cold. When I thought about the officers who had accompanied me home today, I could hardly imagine that they could really do anything against a determined professional killer like my stalker.
The next day at work was hell. I just could not concentrate on anything. Again and again I had to think of the killer. I felt watched even when I was sitting alone in my little office. Slowly, I began to develop a veritable paranoia. Sighing, I looked at the clock. Almost an hour before I could finish work. There was a knock on the door and I jumped in alarm. My heart was racing and sweat broke out on my forehead.
Get a grip, girl! My inner voice admonished me. You are really paranoid! The guy will not knock on your door for sure!
"Yes?" I called and the door was opened.
Sandra stood in the door with an elongated box in her arms and smiled at me.
"This has been delivered for you," she said cheerfully. "You didn’t tell me you had a secret admirer!"
I stared at the box and a bad feeling crept up on me. I didn’t have an admirer, but I had a stalker! A killer who was after me! Was the gift from him? It had to, because otherwise I had no idea who would send me something.
"I don’t have a secret admirer!" I said flatly.
"Oh! But some man seems to like you!" She came closer and held out the box. "Here! Look!"
I took the gift carefully. Would the guy send me a bomb? Shouldn’t I let the police open the thing? Sandra looked questioningly at me as I still hesitated. I took a deep breath and, with a pounding heart, reached for the bow to open it. After this was done, I carefully lifted the lid. A long-stemmed red rose lay on black tissue paper. There was a card and I took it out to unfold it. I was aware of Sandra's curious gaze and opened the card so, that Sandra couldn’t read whatever was written on it. Intently focused on everything, I glanced at the message, but I couldn’t stop myself from turning pale and my stomach from turning. There were only four words written on the card:
We have a rendezvous!
I awoke with a strange feeling in my stomach. My heart was beating restlessly. Slowly I sat up in bed and listened to the silence of the night. I had shut down the blinds completely and it was pitch dark in the room. Only the digital display of my radio and the LEDs on the TV and receiver gave off a weak light. I looked around the room and froze as my eyes landed on a dark figure to the left of my bed.
"Who are you?" I asked anxiously.
My mind told me to scream, but I couldn’t make a sound come over my lips after I’d squawked out those three words.
"I think you know who I am," a dark voice replied softly.
Goosebumps crawled over my skin. Yes! I knew who he was. The sinister man I had repeatedly come across, who had been following me for days and who had sent me the rose. The albino! The killer!
He moved and came slowly closer to the bed. I sat rigid, my heart pounding wildly, not daring to move. He was here to kill me. That much was certain. He was standing right in front of the bed now. The bed moved under his weight as he sat down. He was a giant of a man, but I had already noticed that on our first meeting, when I went up to him without thinking and confronted him so boldly despite my fear. I’d had to put my head back to look up at the giant of a man. Now this giant was in my apartment. In my bedroom! He was sitting on my bed right in front of me! My mind was trying to process that fact. I was scared to death! Still, it wasn’t just fear that made my heart beat so hard. It was crazy and devoid of any logic, but I found myself drawn to him from the first moment like a moth to the flame. He was fascinating, scary, mysterious and exciting!
"Do you know why I'm here?" He asked hoarsely.
I looked at him. Shadows hid his features. I could only see the outlines. My stomach knotted in fear and an invisible hand closed around my throat. I could not answer. I could only nod.
"And you are not trying to plead for your life?" He asked with a touch of astonishment in his voice.
"Would ... it even ... help me?" I whispered.
He raised a hand and stroked my cheek. I shivered. His hand was rough, but it felt good. Apparently I had lost my mind, because I suddenly wished he would kiss me. His hand went under my chin. I could feel, if not see his intense eyes on me.
"Maybe!" He whispered softly.
It took my brain a while to realize that he had responded to my previous question, which I had already forgotten in the emotional confusion.
"You know what I did. You put your pretty little nose in things that are none of your business," he said, running his thumb slowly over my lips. A shiver made me tremble. "You told the police about me! My boss wants you dead! Do you understand that?"
"Yes," I breathed, hypnotized by his rough voice.
"What should I do with you?" He asked, and it almost sounded as if this question was addressed to himself, not me.
Again, his thumb stroked my lips. My heart was racing and I felt a tug in my lower belly. My breathing was heavy and my chest rose and fell under my heavy breath.
"Sleep with me!" I said to my own astonishment.
"Why would you want that?" He asked, slightly confused.
"I ... I'm still ... I do not want to die as ... as a virgin!"
He let out a growl that made me flinch.
"Pl-please ... do-don’t hurt me ...!" I stammered. "Be ... be gentle with me ... and ...
and if you ... kill me, then ... let it be quick."
He growled again, but this time I didn’t flinch because his hand stroked me tenderly as he uttered the frightening sound and I had the feeling that his growl didn’t necessarily have anything to do with violence. I still had the suspicion that he was an Alien Breed. Although his head looked normal, the scars on his skull suggested that surgery had corrected it.
"You want me to fuck you and then kill you?" He sounded incredulous. "Is it that what you want?"
"Y-yes-yes!" I stammered, nodding.
I slipped my hands to my short nightgown, untying the lacing with trembling fingers. Slowly, I pushed the open shirt down over my shoulders and he let out a low growl again. His hand slid deeper and covered one of my breasts. I shivered as his rough hand stroked my tender flesh. My nipples got hard and I felt that pull in my lower belly again. My killer got up from the bed and began to undress quickly. There was no turning back. This giant in front of my bed would take my virginity – and after that? After that he might kill me. I tried not to think about it. I didn’t want to spend the last moments of my life being afraid.
ICE
My heart pounded madly and I was painfully hard. Damn it! I was an emotionless killer and I never messed up an assignment! I should kill the little woman. Fast and painless, because I didn’t want to see her suffer. The last thing I needed right now was that I felt something! That never happened to me before. But I couldn’t deny that I wanted her, more than any of the call girls X had sent to me. This was something else. She was MINE!
Damn it! Where did the thought come from? I wondered, startled by the strange feelings that came over me. After I had dropped off the last piece of clothing, I crawled on to the bed with her. She lay backwards in the middle of the bed and I slid gently over her. Her big eyes looked up at me with a mixture of fear and desire. My heart raced and my cock twitched. Fuck! I wanted her! I wanted to slam my cock in her warm soft tightness and fuck her hard. But she had hinted that she was still untouched. I had no experience with virgins, but I could imagine that she would need time to get used to my big cock. The lovemaking with the call girls had never had anything to do with tenderness. I had never kissed them either. But I had seen the one or the other kissing-scene in movies and now thought about how I should proceed with the little knowledge that I had about women. Considering the fact that I had the job of killing her, it didn’t make sense to worry about her feelings, but deep inside of me I had already known that I couldn’t kill her. I leaned on my forearms and looked into her beautiful face.