by J. A. Faura
Apex Predator
J.A. Faura
Barola Press
DALLAS,TX
Copyright © 2013 by J.A. Faura
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
J.A. Faura/Barola Press
6038 Jereme Trail
Dallas, TX 75252
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Book Layout & Design: Brash Looks
Ordering Information:
Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the “Special Sales Department” at the address above.
Apex Predator/J.A. Faura – 1st ed.
ISBN: 978-0-9908991-0-5
To my wife and children, you are my life.
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.
—Friedrich Nietzsche
We don’t protect our young, and we tolerate predators of our own species.
—Andrew Vachss
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Prologue
Los Angeles, California
Les Martin sat in the lavish waiting room and looked out the window at the San Fernando Valley through the haze of rush-hour smog. This was his fifth appointment and Les knew better than anyone else that he was a new man.
He had been referred by the CEO of his company who had in turn been referred by the chairman of the board of a major movie studio in L.A. Like his CEO, Les had been wildly successful in his professional life, rising to his current position of executive vice president of global operations for a major technology company, but he had been a disaster in his personal life.
He had been an awkward child, in spite of having parents that were supportive and loving, and he had continued to be awkward through high school, college and into his career.
He had absolutely no sense of fashion or style and his posture and countenance reflected his almost constant anxiety. He had always been an introvert and unable to maintain any relationship socially.
Before seeking counseling, he had always believed that his inability to form relationships was a result of his intellect; he had tested well above the genius level in every standardized test he had ever taken.
All that had changed six weeks ago when he first came to this office and met the man who had given him his new life.
Now, as he sat in the waiting room, he stood and walked over to the big mirror that hung on one of the waiting room walls. With a smile, he straightened his tie and plucked at his hair, making sure it was just the way he wanted.
It was remarkable, really, he had gone from being someone with dated and ill-fitting clothes and a horrible bowl haircut, a nerd if he was to be honest, to a man sporting a two-thousand-dollar Hugo Boss suit and a Piaget watch worth more than most people’s cars.
He had handsome Nordic features and was just under six feet tall, which combined with his new look attracted a fair share of female attention. Les had been a virgin until four weeks ago when he had met a woman at a bar and ended up spending the night with her.
He smiled at the memory. Everything had indeed changed for him the day he came for his first appointment. His therapist had listened to him share his most intimate thoughts and fears, allowing him to go on until he felt like he was drained.
He had told Les to share everything with him, no matter how awful or horrible he thought it might be, and he had let him know he would not pass judgment or think any less of him. He did as he was told and shared everything with his therapist, even the dreams and ideas that had seemed to haunt him since childhood.
Before seeking help, Les had thought there was something wrong with him, that his intimate thoughts and impulses were the product of a sick human mind.
Over their time together, his therapist had let him know just how wrong he had been. He explained why it was that Les felt the way he did and had let him know that there was nothing wrong with him.
Spending as long as he needed to, he had slowly revealed to Les the real reason that he’d had so much trouble fitting in. It had truly been a liberating experience for Les.
He finally understood who and what he was. Les had always believed there was something fundamentally different about himself, but he had thought those differences were an indication that he was simply inadequate. Now he knew different.
As he thought back over the last six weeks, the door behind the receptionist opened and his therapist, a neuropsychologist, appeared with a smile on his face, “Are we ready, Mr. Martin?”
Les stood, “Ready, doc.” The therapist turned and Les followed him into his office. He lay down on the small sofa in the office and the therapist sat in a chair facing him. “So, how have things been since we saw each other last?”
Les put his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling, “Well, doc, I have to tell you, it’s getting easier and easier for me. I can’t believe how easy things are now. To be honest with you, I find myself looking for ways, nothing big you understand, but just little ways, to make things more challenging.”
The therapist nodded thoughtfully and took a few notes, “I see. You need to be careful with that. We don’t want to go too far too fast with this. It’s the type of thing that can derail everything we’ve been able to accomplish.”
Les looked at the doctor and then back at the ceiling and shook his head slowly, “I know, I know, it’s just that it feels like I wasted the first 35 years of my life. I can’t tell you how many things come to mind that make so much sense to me now, things that would give me the shakes before.
“It’s hard, doc, it’s like a kid not being able to ride a bike and then suddenly finding out he can not only ride the bike, he can do backflips on it. That’s what you’ve done for me, doc, and it’s hard not to do flips all day long, you know what I’m saying?”
The doctor chuckled, it was not the first time he’d heard such thoughts, “I’m sure it is, but you are right in the sense that for a great part of your life you lived an existence of confinement, which kept you from evolving naturally. Now that you understand how things are, it’s understandable that you want to spread your wings and you want to test yourself, it’s only natural.
“This is precisely when you have to be most careful, because this
is the time when a lot of individuals like yourself make mistakes and end up in an even more confined existence. As you grow and continue to understand your own capabilities, you will learn that there will be plenty of opportunities to be challenged and to test yourself.
“Understand, Mr. Martin, that the world is full of opportunities for those like you, and if you are patient and continue to hone your skills, you will find many ways to grow further, but you must be patient.”
Hands still behind his head, Les responded, “I know, doc, it’s just hard. It’s just incredible to me that the world is so unprepared, it really is. They walk around, completely oblivious to their surroundings, to the millions of tiny shifts going on around them. I just can’t believe I didn’t see it before, that it was all around me and I didn’t notice.
“Honestly, now that I know better, now that I know the truth, dealing with those around me is like a game. It doesn’t matter who it is or what it’s about, I get what I want when I want. It’s too easy, almost unfair if I’m being honest.”
The therapist nodded, “I know exactly how you feel. It is a very common experience among those like you, but like I said, it’s also this type of situation that can lead you to make a mistake that could prove to be disastrous. Now, tell me about your last experience.”
Les smiled and took on a faraway, wistful look, “She was beautiful, doc, and I don’t just mean her looks. She was smart and quite funny. We met at a bar on Sunset. There’s dozens of girls like her in those bars, all looking to make it in Hollywood. She was different, though, educated and very well traveled. That’s why I picked her, I thought she’d provide a bit of a challenge.
“But it was like you said in our second, or was it our third, meeting…anyway, it was like you said, once I knew her soft spots, her vulnerabilities, she was putty in my hands, and after that it was, like I said before, just too easy. That’s what I mean, doc, they are just clueless.”
The doctor took some notes and then looked at his patient, “I understand. Today, why don’t we talk about different ways you can continue to grow without taking unnecessary risks? Don’t try to rush this. You have a lifetime ahead of you, a lifetime to test yourself in a variety of ways.”
Les sat up, “I guess you’re right, doc. I’ll work on being more patient.”
He lay back down and the doctor proceeded with the session, “I assure you we will find a way to make sure you remain engaged.” The doctor was pleased with his latest patient. He never grew tired of witnessing as one of nature’s wonders blossomed before him.
Besides personal satisfaction, his unique practice had made him a wealthy and resourceful man, and it was that wealth and those resources that had allowed him to establish and grow his practice in the United States and around the world.
The neuropsychologist also knew that it wasn’t just wealth and resources that had allowed him to accomplish what he had. Power and influence had always been a key part of his objectives early on, and he was absolutely certain that he had attained both.
He was pleased with his last project and wanted to ensure Martin was on track before leaving for New York. The therapist smiled at the thought of a potential new project waiting for him there. Another soul waiting for his guidance, waiting to be led into the light.
Chapter 1
Manhattan, New York
It was a cool night, not quite cold, but just at the point where people were beginning to think about wearing their scarves. Christmas season was just around the corner and the streets of New York were packed with early Christmas shoppers.
Not that anyone would be able to tell the difference, New York streets were always packed. People here never needed a reason. Trinity was just beginning his stroll.
He always liked to start at Central Park. He loved picking up the scents that so many people just took for granted. The dewy grass, the perfume of any one of thousands of women walking by, the mustard on the hot dog vendor’s cart, so many delights that it could be overwhelming.
Never overwhelming enough for the scent he truly craved, the one he actually allowed his nose to hunt for. Children. Like everything else, children gave off a distinct smell and Trinity could pick up that scent for miles.
Here at Central Park, however, he never needed to wait too long to pick up the scent. The smell of children’s shampoo, candy, ice cream smeared on a sweater, he could smell each and every one almost immediately. During his evenings of indulgence he did not like to stay around the park for long, lest someone get a clear look at his face.
That was another of New York’s gifts to his purpose, no one looked at anyone else past a cursory glance, and if they did it was more out of annoyance than curiosity.
Still, he wouldn’t take the risk when it was so unnecessary. On nights like tonight, it would not take him long to find what he was looking for. In fact, in the time it took for him to form that thought, he found exactly what he was looking for.
A mom, walking along with two children and a stroller, was just rounding a corner. And as if luck was truly smiling down on him tonight, they were headed for the ice rink.
Marybeth Loomis had a long day by any standard. After doing what early Christmas shopping she could do, she ran errands that had been on her to-do list for over a week.
It was just bad luck that the sitter had cancelled on her tonight, because she had planned on being home by noon, making dinner and waiting for her husband to come home. Christopher was also starting to get cranky.
She really couldn’t blame him after three hours of sitting in a stroller. Tracy, all of six now, wanted to stop at every window and tell her mother what she would be asking Santa Claus for, but Bethany had shown remarkable restraint in the things she had asked for the entire day.
So when the two girls asked to go skating, even just for a little while, Marybeth could not bring herself to say no. As usual, Bethany, unable to control her excitement, ran far ahead to the rink in order to ‘pick the best skates.’
Marybeth did her best to keep up, but pushing Chris along slowed her down. Trinity watched from across the street and saw all the things he needed to see. He made note of exactly what the mother was wearing, the names of the children, listening for the names of the girls as she called after one of them when she was running ahead. His van was not ideally parked, but it was hidden by a dumpster and near an intersection, which would allow him to do what he needed to and to get out of the area quickly.
As he watched, the expected scenario unfolded in front of him almost exactly as he had predicted. Mom, pushing Christopher and running and calling after Bethany, would glance back every few minutes to make sure that Tracy was following along, which she was, but at a farther and farther distance from her mother. She was stopping at every other store window to look at dolls or toys.
The group crossed the street to Trinity’s side and began making their way back toward the rink, still in their disorganized procession. As mom rounded the corner, Bethany tripped and cried out.
Her mother rushed to catch up to her, leaving Tracy around the corner. Distracted by Bethany’s skimmed knee and Chris’s crying, she did not realize Tracy was not with them.
Trinity made his move, “Did you see how pretty that doll’s dress is when it lights up?”
Having been taught not to talk to strangers, the six-year-old hesitated for all of half a second, “No, which one?”
Trinity now covered her with his own form as he answered, “The one in the blue, like the one I have in my van.”
Tracy looked suspicious, “You really have one like that in your van?”
He smiled a disarming smile, “Yes, and many others with other dresses. Would you like to look at them? The van’s just right there.”
Tracy had been warned at school and by her parents about bad men, men who would hurt little children. Like almost every child who heard the stories, Tracy thought of monster-like creatures that would come and steal them in the night.
The man in front of her was wearing a suit like her father wore, his hair was combed and he wore glasses like her mother. She looked her mom’s way, but Trinity knew how to seal the deal, “Don’t worry about your mom, she’s wearing that bright blue coat, so we’ll be able to find her and we’ll be right along. Besides, she’s probably just catching up to Bethany right now and you know how hard that is, pushing your little brother along.”
Tracy smiled at that, “Yeah, she gets really upset. Okay, but only for a minute.”
And in just a blink of an eye they were lost in the New York bustle, walking to his van hand in hand. He knew not to look hurried or nervous and instead looked down at Tracy as a father might look at his daughter, with care and concern.
To anyone who might have seen the two, it was simply a father and daughter out for a stroll. When they got to the van, Trinity made sure no witnesses were around and opened the back where there were indeed many different dolls with pretty dresses.
Tracy’s eyes lit up as she saw the dolls, but Trinity stopped her, “Oh, honey, you have a runny nose. Here, let me wipe it.” Completely unfamiliar with chemical odors, Tracy never recognized the chloroform he used to put her to sleep. The whole process had taken just under three minutes.
He looked around and, seeing no one, put her in the van. He taped her ankles and wrists and bound her mouth, although she shouldn’t be waking up for another few minutes. Now that she was accommodated in the van, Trinity could take pleasure in the fact that he could begin working on his true mandate, his calling, just like he had done time and time again.
Marybeth did not notice Tracy was not behind her until she had caught up with Bethany. Expecting to turn and see the bright red overcoat as always, enthralled, looking at windows. Failing to find her sent off the first of many red flags in Marybeth’s head. She hoped she had walked close to a window that had flagstone around it, which was why she couldn’t see her.