Zero wasn’t excited about killing a woman.
He’d done it a couple times in the past. Though he found separating his emotions more difficult than when ending a man’s life. Two previous killings to his name. A woman who’d broken off an affair with a powerful man and then threatened to blackmail him. The second, a woman who worked in management at a crooked casino in Reno, the fear she would talk to the FBI. Those beautiful female faces continued to haunt him. Their soft eyes glared back in death. The proposal to kill a woman always gave him pause. Finalizing the details and completion of the act required a larger cash layout. The bonus of additional money, motivation to overcome the sour taste the job gave him. Whereas none of the men he terminated were ever given another thought. Their faces forgotten the second the kill was completed.
The lock was easily defeated with his pick kit, and he turned the knob slowly. Zero stepped into the apartment and immediately surveyed the layout. Kitchen on the left, master bedroom straight ahead. From there a left took you to the dining and living room, a second bedroom beyond. He walked the entire space, understanding no one was home. The two parties had left for the airport, leaving him plenty of time to prepare.
In the kitchen, he opened the fridge with his gloved hands, finding it mostly empty. A couple bottles of beer, water, bread, and a few condiments. In the meat drawer was sliced cheese and ham. He grabbed a slice of ham, smelling it first, finding no foul odor and swallowed it whole, the meat enjoyable to his taste buds. In the freezer was ice, a quart of strawberry ice cream, a couple of frozen meals, a package of chicken breasts, and two rolls of ground beef. The food cabinets were nearly empty; a box of rye crackers, barbeque chips, and three cans of various soups. Zero concluded the residents weren’t home much.
In his search of the living area, he found a sofa, chair, tables, lamps, and a desk. Light came in from the outside deck, the curtains drawn to block the sun. He opened the drawer on the desk and spotted a thick folder. Flipping it open, he found numerous documents on an investigation, including pictures of crime scenes, one a kill shot Zero had fashioned. A folder he was supposed to retrieve. He tucked it away into his backpack.
From there he continued his search, going from room to room, finishing with the master bedroom. A work desk with a notebook computer sitting on top. The unit closed, Zero opening it to a log in screen. The background with a picture of the two occupants of the apartment. One being the woman he waited to return, knowing the man would be on a jet to Ohio. He closed the notebook and left it on the desk where he’d found it.
A survey of the room showed a messy bed at the center, while clothing littered the floor. The bathroom the same; with towels and under garments randomly tossed. The walk-in closet lined with clothing and shoes. Mostly attire for a man, though a quarter sized section of ladies’ garments hung from the rod. Zero decided it was as good a place as any to hide and wait. The darkness and isolation of the space provided him cover. He sat on the floor, legs crossed, rested his mind, an internal debate on what to spend his haul of money on. Strong consideration of purchasing a new car for his wife. Any cash left over possibly spent on a few new tools for his garage, the man loving to work on his old showroom-quality, classic cars.
Nearly an hour had passed when he heard the front door open. Noise of someone who entered, sounds from the kitchen, the woman whistling to herself. A tune he didn’t recognize. Zero wondered if she was making herself lunch, it being around noon. Her on hand choices limited, but maybe she had stopped and picked up takeout.
Zero closed the closet door partway, leaving a gap so he could see the bedroom. Biding his time, the patient man never in a rush. Letting the target come to him. Sounds of footsteps getting closer, heading into the bedroom. A short glimpse of her passing by, going into the bathroom, followed by the sound of water running. Strolling past the door again, positioning and fluffing pillows, pulling up the comforter to straighten the bed. She sat on the end, removed her socks wet from the snow, and tossed them to the floor. She stood, unbuttoned her shirt, and headed to the closet for another. Zero opened the door, his suppressed gun aimed with a steady hand, as he paused to stare into her surprised eyes. An instantaneous gaze of terror on her face. The woman stepped backward, not getting a word out, her mouth agape, no time to react. The slight hesitation on Zero’s part replaced by instinct. The finger on the trigger squeezed, the bullet striking her dead center. Violently falling back to the bed, only a slight twitch in her body, life leaving her in an instant. Zero moved forward and stared at her shocked expression, blood soaking the comforter. He took aim again, a second shot in the chest to be certain. A moment of remorse for killing the beautiful woman, another face burned into his psyche.
He removed his phone from his back pocket, walked to the front door, started up the video application, and began recording. Moving through the apartment slowly until he arrived at the bedroom. The lens focused on the dead woman, zooming in, and leaving it there for nearly a minute to get the point across. The file was saved and then securely sent off to the parties who paid for the hit. Proof of the kill wanted by the client. Their plans to show it to Hunter Divine.
After turning off the water in the bathroom with his gloved hands, there remained one final task to complete. Zero grabbed the notebook computer and power supply, sliding it into the backpack, saying his goodbye to Nicole. The last person to see her alive. The assassin walked out of the apartment—a ghost no one would remember—another successful kill added to his lengthy list.
***
Hunter’s flight had been long and tense and didn’t arrive at DIA until late in the evening. He took a taxi to Broomfield, rushed up the stairs and through his door and witnessed the horrible scene in the bedroom. He stared at her dead body longer than he cared to admit. Hunter wiped the tears from his eyes, her murder hard for him to comprehend. He hated to leave her, but there was nothing he could do. A fact that pissed him off to no end. The desire to punch holes in the wall, the wish he could picture Zero’s face as the target. Alas, he had little idea of the assassin’s appearance. Devil horns and a pointy tail were a strong possibility. The devil doing the devil’s work is how Hunter saw the notorious killer.
After he grabbed as many things as he could carry in a large gym bag and backpack, Hunter drove to the nearest ATM to get as much money as the machine allowed. Cash needed to go on the run. Trying to stay as much off the grid as possible to decide what his next steps would be. An extra burner phone he had with him, where he sent a message to Amari. Straight and to the point.
“She was murdered. I’m going dark. H.”
Hunter needed time to think. The death of Nicole had shaken him to the core. Along with the haunting words from the eerie fox character on the video screen in Ohio, the female voice calling him her son and claiming to be his mother. Even though he knew his mother had died long ago. Not certain what to think or feel. His life turned upside down.
With a full tank of gas in the Charger, he drove a long time, heading south for now, no destination in mind, driving until exhaustion overtook him. He pulled over at an exit on south I-25 near the Colorado border, then did his best to sleep in the car. The seat reclined, slumber taking a long time to come. His mind a jumble of images he couldn’t shake. Finally, he slept for a short time, until the cold of the fall night awoke him. He started the car with the heater on high. Back asleep once more, dreams and nightmares consuming him with violent, deadly images of the past and present. Ones he may never be freed from.