No way to punish dead people

While Emma was enjoying a warm bath, across town, a group of black suited men stood trembling before their boss.

They were in Mr. Long's spacious office, deep inside the organisation's compound. Mr. Long was seated in an armchair, casually reclining as if it were a throne. His subordinates were arranged in front of him, like loyal subjects before an emperor.

The men, who were all hardened killers and proud to belong to one of the most mysterious and powerful criminal organisations in the country, were reduced to terrified boys under the deadly stare of their boss. Mr. Long's expression was deceptively calm, but his men knew him well enough to know that a thunderstorm was brewing beneath the surface. He was not a man prone to yelling and swearing when mistakes were made. Instead he had a quiet, smouldering fury, which his subordinates knew to recognise and fear.

Their boss had just been informed that two of his men had been found dead in an alley, reduced to lumps of flesh and bone, and the woman who they were supposed to bring in had vanished into thin air. Additionally, a full team of the organisation's best trained men, who had been standing by just a block away from the alley in case any complications arose, had all been found dead inside their transport, their throats ripped clean off.

Why their boss wanted to capture this woman so badly, the men didn't know, and they didn't dare to speculate. Also they were much more concerned about their heads at the moment. They stood with heads bowed, awaiting judgement.

"What traces were found at the scene?" Mr. Long addressed a man at the front of the group, with short cropped hair and a nasty scar running down his left cheek and neck. The man raised his head just a fraction at being addressed, and his black eyes dared to shift high enough to look at his boss' polished shoes.

"The heavy rain washed away most traces. However, we found a gun at the scene, which had been discharged, but no bullet. Presumably the unknown assailant was shot by our men. As for the remains..." The man hesitated for a second, thinking about those torn apart limbs. "The wounds were not inflicted by any weapon or tool. They appear to have been attacked by an animal. Best guess is some sort of canine."

The bafflement of the man was obvious in his tone. He knew that his explanation made no sense, who would believe that some dog could do that to the two men? But his professionalism demanded that he report the findings to his boss, no matter how strange they were.

Luckily, Mr. Long made no comment about it, and asked instead about the murdered assault team.

"No weapon appears to have been used there either, their throats were simply... ripped off."

The man with the scarred face waited uncomfortably for his boss to make a reply, but Mr. Long remained silent, contemplating the information just reported to him. Finally, he waved the man away, turning to address a the tech-specialist standing to one side. The man was lanky with tufts of oily hair sticking to his forehead.

"What about surveillance footage?" Mr. Long asked.

"The woman was recorded leaving her building," the lanky man answer promptly. "She was obviously dressed in an attempt to disguise herself and carrying a backpack. Our two men followed her, and when she became aware of their presence, the woman ran off into the alley. Unfortunately, there are no cameras in there. No one was seen entering or leaving the alley," the man said, not quite able to keep the quiver out of his voice. "Until our team arrived," he continued, his eyes flitting to the group of black suited men.

The man with the scar spoke up again. "We searched the entire alley and the surrounding area. The alley is a dead end, and the walls are steep and not suitable for climbing. However, it's not impossible that she escaped that way."

Mr. Long's face was an unreadable mask, but the deadly aura eminating from him, made everyone present shake in their boots.

"So none of you have any idea what happened to our men, or know how she escaped?" Mr. Long whispered icily. "I didn't know I had such incompetent people working for me."

His subordinates shifted nervously and bowed their heads, hoping they would stay attached to their necks.

"Go over everything again," Mr. Long said, addressing the man with the scar. "And you," he snarled, looking at the tech-specialist. "Scour every available surveillance footage across this entire city, I want her location."

They all nodded in acknowledgement, relieved to be given another chance, and at the same time scared out of their wits. Because all of them knew, that if they could not bring forth any results, they were done for.

"Dismissed," Mr. Long hissed, waiving a hand.

The men bowed deeply, and hurried out of the room as fast as they dared. Mr. Long stared at their retreating backs, his face full of disgust. He had decided to spare them for now, because of their impeccable service so far, and because the real mistakes had been committed by his dead subordinates. Unfortunately, he had yet to find a way to punish and murder dead people.