A 'Normal' Day

"Alright class have a nice lunch."

As the students filed out of the classroom, the chatter of their conversations filled the air. Laughter and the occasional sound of lockers slamming echoed in the hallway. Daniel moved deliberately, his backpack slung over one shoulder, walking alongside Aren and Ron.

"Finally Freedom!" Aren groaned as he stretched. "I swear if I was even a second longer in there my brain would melt."

Ron glanced at Aren with a smirk. "Maybe if you were not such a slacker she'd be kinder to you."

Daniel walked slightly ahead, only half-listening to the chatter behind him. His mind was elsewhere, still fixated on the tenth grader he had seen outside. As they passed by a window overlooking the courtyard, his eyes instinctively sought the boy again.

There he was, leaning against a tree, scrolling on his phone while his friends joked nearby. He had his headphones on. Daniel gave a faint smirk as he turned his attention to his friends and planned his next move.

"What are you thinking about?" Ron asked, noticing that Dan's mind was somewhere else. 

Daniel turned his head slightly, his expression unreadable. "Nothing," he said with a faint shrug. "Just watching people go about their day."

Aren leaned against the wall. "You're acting weird, man. Are you sure you're not secretly into McCarter? You've been zoning out since class ended."

"Into Mrs McCarter?" Daniel asked with a confused grin. "You think I'm into women twenty years older than me?"

Ron sighed. "Can we just eat our food we might lose our usual spot and I don't like that."

The three of them continued down the hallway to the cafeteria. He smiled faintly as he followed his friends. He had a plan but that plan needs to wait a little. 

******

"I saw Mia and that guy chatting; I think they were talking about a date or some sh*t."

Collins jotted down notes, glancing up briefly. "Did anything about their interactions seem unusual? Were they arguing or acting nervous?"

"Not really. I mean, Mia always looked a bit stressed lately, but who wouldn't be with everything going on? Bob, though... he seemed like he was trying to calm her down. Like he knew something she didn't." The coworker said as she cleaned the counter.

Hensley leaned in, his brow furrowed. "Did they ever meet outside of the café that you know of? Or did Mia mention anything about Bob or someone else she was worried about?"

"I do remember when her shift was done... I think she met him outside and he looked like a f***king raccoon running away from a dog."

Collins's attention was captured by that detail. "Do you know what they were talking about? Anything a whisper even a syllable?"

The waitress stopped for a moment thinking. She shook her head. "Nothing. They just went to the back alley of the shop and that's all."

"F***k," Hensley muttered under his breath. "Thank you ma'am for your time."

The two detectives headed out of the shop unsatisfied with the answer they got. Hensley ran a hair through his blonde hair and groaned loudly. "Great a f***king dead end. Half-working cameras and vague observations aren't going to get us anywhere."

As they walked toward their unmarked car, Hensley glanced at Collins. "What now? We could try pulling Bob's phone records again, see if there's anything we missed."

Collins opened the passenger's side door, pausing to look at Hensley over the roof of the car. "Phone records might help, but I'm more interested in that alley. If those cameras aren't working properly, we'll have to see it for ourselves. Maybe there's something the staff missed."

Hensley got into the driver's seat starting the car. The engine roared as Hensley pulled away from the curb. As he drove, he added, "We should check with Elli. The CODIS is probably done."

Collins nodded as he buckled his seatbelt. "Good idea. Elli might have something useful. If the blood spatter analysis or any DNA comparison turned up a match, we could finally have a solid lead."

Hensley glanced at Collins, his grip tightening slightly on the steering wheel. "Let's f***king hope we can catch the b*tch before he kills another person."

Collins goes through his messages app. He sees that his dad has left a message. The family's ready when should we start packing? Collins thought for a moment and typed By 28th November. 

Hensley looked over at Collins's phone. "Moving the family here?"

"Yes, time for a change." Collins turned his phone off and put it in his pocket.

"So who is in your family?" Hensley asked as he pulled over to the parking lot of the station.

The two of them stepped out of the car and made their way up the the stars and stepped into the police station. "Four members my dad Dean Collins, mom Lucia Collins, brother Evan, and sister Emma."

Hensley chuckled. "Well, I was in an orphanage for as long as I can remember no one picked me up."

"That's sad, so do you have anyone else with you?" 

Hensley glanced at Collins with a small smirk. "Just my wife Linda other than that I ain't got no kids."

"Well, if you ever decide to start a family, you'd probably make a pretty cool dad," Collins said with a small smile as they entered the station. The buzz of activity filled the air—officers on calls, others discussing cases, and the faint hum of keyboards in the background. 

Hensley scoffed lightly, though there was a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "Cool Dad? Me? Nah, I'd probably scare the kids off with my temper."

They reached the second floor, where Elli's lab was situated. The scent of disinfectant and a faint chemical tang greeted them as they walked into the forensics office. Elli was hunched over her computer, her curly hair pulled into a messy bun, her glasses perched on the edge of her nose.

"You two look like f***king sh*t," Elli remarked without looking up. 

Hensley smirked. "Yeah, well, chasing ghosts does that to you. Tell me you've got something to make my day a little less sh*tty."

Elli finally looked up, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Depends. Do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

"Bad news," Hensley said without hesitation. "Rip the band-aid off."

"The plastic? No usable fingerprints, and the DNA we recovered was inconclusive—too degraded to get a solid profile except for the splatter," Elli said, her tone apologetic.

"F***ing fantastic," Hensley muttered under his breath. "What's the good news, then?"

Elli's grin widened as she spun her chair toward a different monitor. "The CODIS results just came in. We got a hit from the blood found at the crime scene. Matches a known felon—Robert 'Bobby' Lynne. Assault charges, theft, and a sealed juvenile record. A f***king experienced criminal."

Collins leaned over to examine the screen. "Bobby Lynne... Wasn't he on our list of persons of interest? He worked with Mia, didn't he?"

"Yeah," Hensley said. "If his DNA's at the scene, it could mean he's more involved than we thought. Or he's another pawn in whatever game this killer's playing."

Elli leaned back in her chair. "I also pulled his recent phone activity. He made several calls to an unregistered burner number. Could be worth tracing."

Collins nodded. "Send us the details. We'll check out his last known address and see if we can't get answers directly from him."

Hensley's expression hardened. "Let's hope Bobby's ready to talk. If he knows something, I'm not in the mood to play nice."

Elli glanced at Hensley worried. "Dude do not f***king rip his ear off like last time."

Collins widens his eyes in surprise. "He did that?"

"Oh yes, a murderer was trying to run motherf***ker got pinned down and got his f***king ear bitten off."

Hensley glanced at Elli, shrugging nonchalantly. "Hey, I didn't bite his ear off. I just... used a little excessive force. F***ker should've stayed down."

Collins stared at him, half in disbelief and half amused. "Excessive force? That's putting it mildly. You didn't think to just cuff him like a normal cop?"

Hensley smirked. "It worked, didn't it? He talked after that, didn't he?"

Elli sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You've got to stop using your teeth as interrogation tools, Hensley. One day you'll get fired."

"Oh, so you're babysitting me now?" Hensley said, with a smirk.

Collins shook his head, muttering, "Remind me to never let you near a suspect unsupervised."

Elli snorted, spinning back to her computer. "You two better go. Bobby's not going to wait forever. And Hensley, please try to keep your teeth in your mouth this time."

Hensley grinned, grabbing his jacket. "No promises." He turned to Collins. "Let's go make Bobby our new best friend."

As they headed out of the station, Collins couldn't resist one last comment. "You know, I'm starting to think your wife deserves a medal for putting up with you."

Hensley laughed, his grin widening. "She married me for my charm. Now let's get this bastard."

******

Daniel is eating his sandwich and chatting with his friends.

"Dude, did you watch the new Hunger Games movie?" Aren asked as he leaned in. "It's so f***king good."

"I prefer Godzilla," Daniel replied taking a bite of his sandwich.

"Whatever dude," Aren scoffed.

Ron looked at them both and shook his head. "Anyway I liked it... could've been much better."

As they continued eating. The tenth grader which Daniel had marked as 'Victim' was talking with his friends.

"Where are you going dude?" one of his friends asked.

"Yo, I'll be in the sports room."

Daniel's ears perked up as he heard the tenth grader mention the sports room. He casually glanced over, noting how the boy's friends waved him off, clearly unaware of the fate Daniel had already imagined for him.

"I'll go the toilet." Daniel excused himself and left for the toilet.

"Don't take too long," Aren remarked as Daniel moved to the toilet.

He stepped into the bathroom, taking a moment to adjust himself, making sure he looked casual as if he was just taking his time. But inside, his mind was sharp and focused.

The boy wasn't going to last long—he could already picture the situation in his head. He wouldn't make it out of this school day unscathed.

Daniel took a piece of gum out of pocket and ate it. Then he pulled out his phone.

Daniel's fingers danced over the screen of his phone with practiced ease. He opened the app he'd developed himself—a tool designed to access and override the security cameras throughout the school. The app wasn't exactly legal, but it had served him well in the past. 

As the phone screen glowed in the dim light of the bathroom stall, he navigated through the interface, tapping into the camera system near the sports room. The live feeds from the various cameras flickered briefly before his app took control. He now had eyes on the hallways and entrances around the sports room.

Daniel leaned back against the bathroom wall, chewing his gum and watching the feed with a cool, calculated expression. He couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation—he knew exactly what was coming.

His mind started to race through the possibilities, each one more fitting for the "victim" he'd marked in his mind. The plan was set, the pieces were in motion, and Daniel was ready to play his part.

He glanced at his phone again. The tenth grader had just entered the hallway leading to the sports room. 

"Perfect," Daniel muttered under his breath, a small smirk forming. 

He then walked outside the room and made his way to the sports room. As he walked he glanced up at the cameras to make sure that they were turned off. Until he was finally there in front of the door.

He turned the knob slowly, the faint creak of the hinges slicing through the silence. The room inside was dimly lit, the only light spilling in from the hallway behind him.

The familiar scent of old leather and sweat lingered in the air, mixed with the faint metallic tang of something... else. His eyes swept the room as he stepped inside, his movements cautious.

Rows of lockers lined the walls, their surfaces scratched and dented from years of use. A rack of basketballs and other equipment stood against one corner.

He spotted the 'Victim' sorting out the equipment, Daniel stepped forward slowly pulling out a white garrote. His mind raced with thoughts.

Poor guy doesn't even know he's got less than three minutes left to live. Hah, if he did, would he move differently? Would he run? Scream? Or would he stand there, frozen, like a deer in headlights, pretending there's still some way out of this?

I've seen it so many times—this moment, this ignorance. The blissful stupidity of people who don't even realize how fragile they are. Walking around with their plans, their routines, their little rituals, thinking they're going to have a normal day. But when it comes down to it, they're just... meat. Fragile, breakable, disposable. This is no different than a butcher butchering a pig. 

He monologued to himself as he got closer and closer to the boy. Then when he got close enough he just waited for him to notice something was off. The boy oblivious turned and saw Daniel.

"What are you doing here dude?" the boy asked startled by the sudden appearance of Daniel.

Daniel didn't answer. Instead, he moved with calculated precision, stepping closer, the distance between them shrinking rapidly.

The smirk widened into something darker. "Just making sure you don't miss your appointment with fate... it'd be a shame if it had to come find you instead," Daniel said, his voice low and dripping with menace.

Before the boy could react, Daniel's fist shot forward in a devastating uppercut. The blow connected squarely with the boy's jaw, the impact echoing through the room like a thunderclap. The boy's head snapped back, his legs buckling beneath him as he crumpled to the floor in a heap.

Daniel loomed over him, his breathing steady, his eyes cold. "Three minutes," he muttered, crouching down to inspect his handiwork. "Guess I overestimated. You didn't even last thirty seconds."

The boy tried to get back up but Daniel pushed him back and wrapped the garrote around the boy's neck and started to strangle him. The life slowly left the boy.

One...two...three... and dead. Then the boy slumped down lifeless. Daniel then took out a small owl figure and placed it down right next to the boy's dead body. Then he simply adjusted his shirt and walked out. 

As he arrived back at the lunch spot, everything seemed back to normal; everything that had just happened was the past. He sat back down, chatted with his friends, and ate lunch like it was a normal day.