Chapter 6: Purple aconites

I feel better when I know I helped someone out there, every time I go on a mission a help someone I feel like I'm useful again, I need this dose of killing criminals and helping others every day.

Today, I put on my gym clothes because it's time for my workout.

I went down and started jogging, earphones in my ears and music high but not high enough to block all exterior sounds. I could still hear people's blabbering and cars whirring, brakes squealing, kids screaming.

After a one hour and a half jog I took a break in a nearby café. I heard people talking about something and it sounded serious like a fight is about to begin. I keep my earphones in but turn the volume down.

The voices were behind me, on the walk side on front of the café where I was sitting, I could see them from the reflection of the glass in front of me. Cops were called because things are about to get tough.

"Why the fuck to the support that shit? People are fucking dying, and the police don't know anything, they don't even have suspects or leads."

"You are so clueless, this is the angel of death you are talking about, they don't just kill anyone, they target really bad people the police can't get rid off in society!"

The hell?! Are they talking about…me? They're fighting over who's with or against the angel of death. Are they serious? I am not a political party or some soccer club to fight over. What's wrong with society?

Even though that guy that opposes me is clearly a criminal or is just stupid, here I am risking my life to help innocent lives and get rid of he bad ones and he thinks I just kill anyone?

"The police just found a body by the angel of death's doing, and they think it was over a month ago, plus it's some guy who just got out of prison. Like what if he was going to be better this time, but that monster just killed him."

"He got out of prison then it's clearly that he is a criminal and deserves to die, whatever your opinion doesn't matter the angel of death is always gonna kills those bloodsuckers and they are right to do so, you're just too stupid to see it."

As soon as he finished the sentence the other guy punches him in the face, I could hear the punch and people's screams reaction to it. I didn't move an inch waiting to see what happens. The police finally arrived and tried to calm to situation, while taking in the guy that assaulted the other "You! All you care about is little mistakes we do, why don't you do your jobs correctly and keep our streets safe, from all criminals, and that angel of death, all you can do is found the body it has killed, when that monster is running around killing people-..."

That is all he could say before they shoved his head inside the police car, and took him to the station. I know not all society is going to accept my purpose and support me, but the moment I started this I never cared if people are going to support the idea, some of them just did, because I was taking revenge for them and all they had to do was pay, I was the one getting my hands dirty in their blood, I was the one serial killer known around the country, heck around the world and being hunted by the government.

I spend the rest of the day at the gym, working out, I was exhausted. I got back home, and walking down the street, there he was, Kieran, ten feet away, talking on the phone, air running through his light brown hair, minding his business, I continued walking to the big entrance of my building, he saw me smiled and waved at me, I made eye contact for a few seconds smiled back and entered the building. I didn't want to smile but his smile was so genuine that I just felt like it.

I opened my front door and the smell of loneliness and wine filled up my lungs, this is what my apartment usually smells like, void, darkness, nothing, even if I'm home, it doesn't feel like there's life in there. I wish I could go back to the town I grew up, reading a book in my tree house, then the sound of my mother calling us for lunch, I can't even remember anymore the sound of my mother, the sound of the people I took their life is louder than my mother's, I can hear them screaming, begging for their life, but what life? When they rape, kill, torture other people what life do they want to get back to? Isn't what they did enough, or do they thirst pain more? My sister's screams for me to run, escape is slowly fading away too, my father's voice giving me advice and teaching me is banging on the door trying to get out again, just one more time, but it just can't, I can't let the past haunt me again, I got past that.

I grabbed a new bottle of wine, from the wine cabinet and sat in front of my Tv.

"No Sariel, you're not doing this again, just last time you finished a bottle, just go to sleep, you worked out hard today." Blyke echoed through the walls.

"Oh C'mon don't start acting like you are my father right now, or worse you sounded like Amber, plus I'm not in the mood for sleep."

"Then do something useful and put that bottle back." He ordered. Those two would be really annoying parents if they would get married.

"Fine then, I'm going to Amber's, I heard they found a body from a month ago of the angel of death's doing." I announced defeat.

"That angel of death, always killing and annoying the police with work." He said sarcastically.

I took a shower, got into a grey crop tracksuit, and rode my motorcycle to Amber's. I told Blyke to text her that I'm on my way to hers.

This time I wanted to knock on her door, but Blyke told me she didn't text back, so I entered slowly with my gun in my hands, guards up I walked inside her house, when I saw a little light coming out of her office, I entered pointing the gun at her sitting on the chair head rested on the desk, sleeping and the desk lamp was on.

I walked towards her, and she was slightly snoring, I put back my gun slowly, my eyes focused on the paper she was reading, it was about the body they found the past days and all the details about the crime scene.

There was a photograph of the body with a purple aconite on top of them covered with their blood. That's the how they find every angel of death's crimes. After I finish a mission, I leave the body where they died with a purple aconite flower on top of their body covered with their blood.

Purple aconites signify caution, misanthropy and death. We had a lot of them in our garden back home when I was young, my mother always warned me to stay away from them, it is a beautiful flower, but it holds a deeper meaning and is poisonous. I have never used this flower to kill anyone… yet, because none of those disgusting criminals deserve to die by that alluring yet deadly flower.

What is even more interesting about aconites is that they are not easy to find, they are special in every way. I was looking through the papers she had in front of her and it seems like there are lot of complaints of harassments and assaulting happening in a cabaret next town. As I dug deeper in this file, this looks like more than just harassment, and it says here that a girl was raped there, but the guy who did it got away easily. I wonder who he is that the police turned a blind eye on this, also they say that the girl only wanted attention and accused this guy of raping because her skills are off and men doesn't like her as much as her colleagues.

This is bullshit, no woman would put on herself that she was raped only for attention. I'm going to go there when I'm free and figure this all out. I took a photo of the file, wrote a note that said seen it all, thx left it on her desk, turned off the light desk and left her sleeping. She might have had a long day.      

I get back home, "She was sleeping, I took this from here it seems like she wanted to show it to me at some point" I send him the photos I took of the file. "I'm gonna sleep now, if you want you can check them all and tell me in the morning." I threw myself at the bed, I spent the last thirty minutes trying to sleep, but my eyes were wide open and gazing at the ceiling, I was wondering about that file, then my mind went straight to Kieran what was he doing now? I didn't see him after our 'date' and I kind of want to see him again, that day it was fun, it's been so long since I went out and hang out with someone like that, my mind kept me awake thinking about all kinds of stuff, until I eventually dozed off. 

When I woke up, I took a shower and got my daily reports from Blyke "So about this cabaret case you told me to research, the owner is the man who the girl accused of raping her, and she was fired and he labeled her in all town a whore, now no one is accepting her to work for them in fear of that owner Cletus Cameron, and I checked him as well, he is the mafia boss of a well known gang in their region 'the dominant'."       

I took a second to let all the information sink in, "Well, then, this is a serious case now, add it to my new missions." I put on some comfy clothes, and sat of the sofa taking a deep breath.

"Sariel, we learned this before, do not mess with any kind of gang, especially if it's a big and serious mafia" Blyke said in a worried tone.

"I don't care, if this so called man thinks he can anything he wants because he is rich and has a gang, then he is wrong, when this mission is on, I'm gonna tech him a lesson." Before Blyke could begin to argue with me, the phone rang. The angel of death's phone.

We went silent for a minute and let it ring. This phone doesn't usually ring, because people are scared to call, usually we reach out first, or we just take missions we heard about and no one does anything about it.

And this phone hasn't rang it has been weeks. I approached the phone and answered, a deep voice suddenly said "I'm sorry I don't have time to talk, I have a target for you, I wish you could take into consideration and dispose of him, his name is Arthur Miller, he committed a huge crime 10 years ago, and killed a whole family, he is being set out of prison by the end of this week, if you will consider taking this target angel of death please confirm by saying yes, thank you."

This sounded nothing like all the phone calls I've had over the years, it's the first time I feel like the caller is in control and not me, by giving me all the information I need and the strong appropriate language, this seems wrong, but I will dig deep into it, so for now I'll just accept so he calls me back and doesn't find himself another assassin "You intrigued me, yes I will consider it."  And the moment I finished my sentence he had hang up. This person's voice seems close to me but far at the same time, I feel like I've heard it before, like it's almost familiar, yet unknown.

"Woah, this is weird, why does it seem like this is not his first time ordering for a kill?" Blyke broke the silence. That must be it; he must have been a client before, that's why I feel like I've heard this voice, but something inside my mind keeps telling me something still seems wrong.

"Give me everything you have on this guy and if we know this caller."   I ordered, I'll be back.

I got up and went for a run. As soon as I got out the building, the sun hit my face, my eyes went blank and I couldn't see in front of me, as I kept walking and bumped into a familiar figure.

"Well, can't tell me this isn't fate." Kieran's hands were on my shoulders keeping me standing still, "Oh, it's you, how lucky I am to have bump into you... again." I pushed away, "What are you doing here?"

"I was on a call and saw you walking your eyes closed, thought you might want to bump into me instead of some random stranger." He winked.

"You are a random stranger you know that?" I crossed my arms, the sun still burning my eyes, could hardly look up to him with my eyes half closed.

"Strangers don't know each other's names and didn't go on a date, cupcake, and let's move so you can at least look at me." He took my hand and started walking.

"I would rather not look at you, the sun is doing me a favor here." I marked sarcastically.  He laughs slightly, then his face went back bitter, something was wrong with him, he was acting normal but something's bothering him, so I inquired without thinking twice "What's wrong with you? Are you okay?" Then I realized it sounded like I cared for his state.

"What is that? It looks like someone is worried for a mere stranger." He smirks at me like he achieved something, he added "I'm fine." But his voice cracked, and it was obvious he was anything but fine.

We kept walking in silence, until he suddenly stopped, and stepped in front of me, close. "Glad I got to see you again, I missed that face of yours," he took my hand out and with a pen he wrote a phone number. "That's my number, just keep it with you in case you miss me, hope to hear from you soon, now if you'll excuse me I have to go, bye cupcake." I stood there in silence as he strode off into the crowd, with my hand still mid air, and my palm facing the sky.