The high noon sun shown down harshly onto a young woman standing near the side of the road, behind her was a powder blue Honda that obviously had seen better days. The hood was up and smoke was rapidly billowing out from the engine. Definitely not a good sign on any type of vehicle. The young woman stuck her thumb out and sighed heavily. Frustration and a never ending string of problems seemed to have made her trip anything but enjoyable. The last straw was the Honda. Looking down the highway in both directions, seeing no vehicles in sight she walked back to the car and kicked the tire as hard as she could.
As if the car had been waiting for just that moment, the tire shuddered and then suddenly went flat, the entire undercarriage falling out from under it and the engine crashing to the ground. The woman stared at the car in disbelief, frustration and anger raced through her entire body as she pulled at her dirty blond hair and cursed loud enough and explicitly enough that it would make a hardened sailor blush. Taking another long calming sigh, she mused to herself “Well, at least it stopped smoking.”
“Have some car trouble there miss?” The voice was deep and manly. The young woman turned around and smiled.
A rather large man in a brand new red Ford F-250 was smiling at her. He wore a trucker had, overalls and a plaid shirt, if he was anything but a typical redneck she wouldn’t be surprised. The young woman put on a soft but flirtatious smile and nodded.
“I have been sitting here for over an hour and you are the first person to even come by, let alone stop. This stupid thing suddenly started to smoke and now the whole thing has fallen apart.” she fluttered her eyes at the man.
“I can see that. Can I give ya a ride anywhere?” the stranger asked.
“Oh that would be just wonderful!” the young woman bounced from one foot to the other. “Maybe you could take me to a hotel, I need to use the phone and call my folks. I’m sure they are worried about me.”
“It would be my pleasure little lady.” he opened the passenger door offering her a seat next to him.
The young woman climbed in and closed the door. She turned and looked at the large redneck and smiled again. She fidgeted enough to make it look as if she was nervous and then looked forward.
“Seat belt.”
“Huh?”
“You need to put on your seat belt.” The stranger pointed to the shoulder strap that dangled just past her shoulder.
“Oh! Sorry.” she quickly snapped herself in.
The truck rumbled forward and headed down the highway. The cab was quiet as the two strangers tried to think of anything to keep the conversation going and even less awkward then it already was. The young woman was about to speak when the driver spoke up.
“So what bring you all the way out here? There ain’t nothin out here but North Valley and forest.”
“Oh, I am visiting a friend. He doesn’t know I’m coming though, so it is a bit of a surprise. So I couldn’t call him, and not only that, my cell phone has no reception out here.”
“Yeah, that happens. So is this a boyfriend or family?”
The young girl blushed, “A friend that hasn’t seen me since I was knee high to a grasshopper.”
“Well I am sure he will be glad to see you. I myself am goin to bring my wife a few things. She got into an accident a few days ago and had to have surgery to correct her spine. Big operation, she’ll be in traction for quite some time. I haven’t been able to get away from the garage for long enough to drive out here. My son is runnin’ the place right now so I can bring her a change of clothes.”
“Aw that is sweet.” the young girl said reaching into her pocket. “Too bad you won’t get to see her ever again.”
The man blinked and turned to look at the passenger he had picked up. Aimed directly between his eyes was the barrel of a gun. He started to say “No please!” but the gunshot cut him off and sent him slamming into the driver side window quite dead. The truck lurched to the left and the young woman grabbed the wheel and tried to straighten the careening truck out. She reached over the man’s body and opened the driver side door and moved to push him out onto the highway. At the last second she unhooked his seatbelt and then with a hard push the lifeless body rolled out onto the highway.
The young woman grabbed the door and closed it and then buckled up getting the truck back under control. As she drove, her feminine features melted away to reveal Kenneth Kain’s angered expression. He cleared his throat and his voice box changed from female to male once again. After making sure he was himself again he reached up and adjusted the rearview mirror.
“That is the second time in under a week I have had to play a dumb blond…” he fumed as he looked at himself in the mirror. “I hate having to do that. Men are such easy targets when you have a firm a*s and a perky rack!” he shook his head in disgust.
Kain punched the gas on the truck and forced the speedometer to touch the edge, bringing the truck up to speeds that it was never meant to go. He needed to get to North Valley Hospital and see a doctor. It wasn’t that he was sick, or that he was hurt in any way. No he needed to talk to this doctor about Project Chimera. Kain figured that the good doctor wouldn’t mind having another one of his old creations drop in, since he was so forthcoming with Chance.
Chance!
Kain’s eyes narrowed. Chance De’Graveoux that over grown excuse for a vampire bat had become a thorn in his side a long time ago. Always being compared to him, Even Deshez had said how much cleaner Chance’s jobs had been. No one understood Kain’s artistic nature when it came to death. He was a true genius when it came to extracting the pain needed to get what he wanted. Most times it was a scream or a spurt of blood from an arterial vein. No matter the situation, if the people would just stand back and look at the time it took him to accomplish his work they would see him as a painter. An artist in pain.
“Damn close minded thugs.” Kain whispered to himself as he stared at the road.
Just as he was about to see what type of music he could get in this area, his cell phone started to vibrate. He needed to make his story believable when he told it to who ever showed up, so he had turned it on silent as soon as he had come up with the back story. He dug it out of his pocket and looked at it questioningly. It was a number that he was sure wouldn’t be trying to call him. It was almost stupid for them to call, but seeing as they had taken the time to call, he might as well oblige them and answer.
“Kain’s butcher shop, we kill’em and you cash in. How may I direct your call?” Kain said as upbeat as he could.
“Did I dial the right number?” there was some shuffling about and then silence. “Yeah this is the number he gave me.”
Kain sighed and shook his head. “What is it Freddy?”
“Oh it is you!” Freddy Wenzara didn’t sound too happy that he had actually reached the killer. “I thought I had dialed a butcher shop.”
“What is it Freddy?” Kain asked again, this time a little more forceful.
“Oh sorry, right. You aren’t the talkative type. Look I thought you would like to know that Chance isn’t in Montana anymore.”
“I knew that much you little weasel. I also know you didn’t dare call this number with something as small as that.”
“R-right. I called you with something that you might find interesting. Maybe interesting enough to pay for it?” Freddy asked more than a little hopeful.
“Pay? You want me to pay for information? How about a bargain instead?” Kain asked, a vein in the middle of his forehead throbbing.
“A bargain?” Freddy asked very intrigued. He was always one to haggle, and he had gotten good enough at it to always come in ahead. But he didn’t know how well his skills would work against Kain.
“Yes, a bargain. You tell me what information you have, and I don’t hunt you down and cut out your tongue to shove into the open cavity of your chest after I rip your heart from it!” Kain yelled into the phone. “Does that sound like a good deal?”
Freddy whimpered slightly as all thoughts of making any profit flew out the window. He had dealt with Kain before, and just like now, he felt that if he escaped with his life it would be payment enough.
“Sounds good t-to me K-Kain.” he managed to whisper out. It was taking everything he had to not just hang up and hope the killer would be too preoccupied to remember anything about him. He also knew that was as unlikely as him becoming the Pope.
“Good. Now tell me what it is you know.” Kain said flatly, all his anger seemed to have vanished.
“Well, my friend in the Detroit Police Department said that there was an individual matching Chance’s unique description being held up in a hostage’s house.”
Kain thought for a moment and chuckled. “I doubt it is a hostage. What else?”
“The house belongs to Bernard Greer. One of the names I had given to Chance. This was all new as of yesterday. Now my friend tells me that they lost track of Chance, Bernard, and if she is still with him; Dessa.”
“Do you know where they are going?” Kain asked, more than a little intrigued at this new piece of information.
“My guess is they are heading to Miami, to find the fourth name I gave him. Castizo Presura. He lives in Miami with his wife and twelve kids.” Freddy said quickly, wanting to be off the phone with the madman as soon as possible.
“This is great news Wenzara! Maybe I won’t kill you after all. Doesn’t that sound great?”
“Wonderful.” Freddy said with a hint of sarcasm.
“Keep me informed Wenzara, and when this is all over I will make sure I only torture you a little bit.” Kain then hung up and a large and evil smile pulled over his lips. Things were coming together quiet unexpectedly. Chance was going to meet Castizo, another Chimera, and he was bringing Bernard with him! All three in one place would make it a lot easier to eliminate them. As soon as he was done paying Dr. Hienzen a visit he would make his way east. Not only that, but Kain figured; that if all went according to plan, he could catch some sun while he was there as well.
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