Infringement Page 5
Around twenty minutes later, a couple of girls, whom Declan presumed worked at the club, came out with a heavy-set guy, who looked like a bouncer. The girls walked to their cars as the heavy-set guy watched from the club’s entrance. The first girl got into her car, which was parked a few spaces from Declan’s, started it up and drove through the parking lot, and out onto the access road. Declan glanced over to Stanton’s SUV, but nothing moved.
A moment later, the second girl, an attractive brunette who looked like she was in her early twenties, reached her car, which was parked under a light in the center of the lot.
“Goodnight, Quentin,” she yelled to the heavy-set guy still in the doorway.
“Goodnight, Nikki,” he responded.
Once Nikki was in her car and had turned on the ignition, Quentin went back inside the club and the door closed behind him. Nikki put her car into gear and proceeded toward the access road. When she’d just about reached the access road, Stanton turned on his SUV, but not his lights initially, and began to follow her, just as the door opened again and Quentin came out with three more girls.
Declan quickly hopped back into the front seat of the Mustang and readied himself to follow Stanton, who had finally flipped his headlights on once Nikki’s car had turned out of the parking lot. Quentin noticed Declan’s movement in the Mustang and went quickly toward the car in a very protective manner.
“Hey, you’re not supposed to be out here,” Quentin yelled as he approached the Mustang.
Declan turned the ignition and rolled down the window as he began to pull the car out, not wanting to lose Stanton and Nikki.
“It’s okay, I’m FBI,” he said, flashing Quentin his badge.
“Yeah right. Get your ass out of here before I kick it all over this parking lot and call the real cops, pervert.”
Declan drove quickly out of the parking lot and turned right onto the access road, hoping he hadn’t lost Stanton. He saw two sets of taillights sitting at a red light at the intersection, both with their left turn signals blinking. As he neared the intersection, it became clear the two vehicles were Nikki’s and Stanton’s.
The light changed to green just before Declan reached the intersection. Nikki turned left, crossed over the interstate and waited to turn left at the next light, in order to get on the highway heading back toward the city. Stanton followed her and Declan reluctantly followed him, fully cognizant of the fact that he was no longer exactly inconspicuous, but unwilling to lose Stanton.
The light finally changed and Nikki merged onto the interstate. There was enough traffic on the highway that Declan was able to fall back a bit and blend more comfortably into the background.
Chapter 12
December 22nd
Stanton stayed focused on Nikki’s taillights like a laser, so much so that he hadn’t once noticed Declan’s Mustang behind him. He’d never seen Nikki before and knew nothing about her. In fact, he’d only barely caught a glimpse of her before she’d gotten into her car, but who she was or what she looked like were of no concern to him. Nikki fit the profile he was looking for, which was a woman (whom he could presumably easily overpower) who was alone. The basis for his decision to follow her had truly been that simple.
A hunger had been growing inside Stanton since he had taken his first life only two short nights earlier. He’d tasted blood, literally, and longed to taste it again before making his presence known to the world. Since watching Nikki step into her car, he’d envisioned himself taking her somewhere quiet and private, someplace where he could take his time with her and take her life artfully, with the patience and deliberation befitting his labor.
The hastiness of his first kill was Stanton’s only regret. While successful, it had been messy and rushed. Yes, he’d tasted the blood of life, but he hadn’t had time to truly savor its texture and flavor. He hadn’t had time to enjoy the kill to the extent he’d hoped.
The kind of satisfaction he sought would take time, which meant privacy and a person whom, hopefully, nobody would miss for a few days. That’s why he’d chosen a girl, any girl alone, from the gentlemen’s club. Stanton figured, to be working in a place like that, to subject oneself to that environment, a girl had to have some issues. Maybe, hopefully, she lived alone. Maybe she’d be drunk or high, or just jaded enough to make her vulnerable for the 30 seconds Stanton needed to take her captive. Maybe.
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After roughly fifteen minutes, the right turn signal on Nikki’s car began blinking and she exited the interstate onto 45th Street, which was only a few exits north of Stanton’s neighborhood. Stanton followed a few seconds behind, and Declan exited shortly after Stanton, still far enough back so as not to be too obvious.
A few blocks and turns later, Nikki’s car pulled into the driveway of a small apartment building and parked in one of the open spaces near the front. Stanton slowed down and pulled his SUV over to the side of the street where he could see Nikki getting out of her car. Declan drove past Stanton and past Nikki’s apartment building and, after seeing Nikki enter one of the first floor units in his rearview mirror, turned at the next intersection, which was less than a block away from the building.
He quickly parked his car on the street and hurried on foot through an empty parking lot to a bushy shadowy spot where he could see both Stanton’s SUV, with Stanton still sitting inside, and Nikki’s first-floor apartment. A few seconds later, the lights in Nikki’s apartment came on.
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Stanton sat in his SUV, in the dark, watching the lights in Nikki’s apartment come on. His eyes patiently followed her slim silhouette as she moved behind the drawn shades. He waited and focused on the apartment until he was relatively certain Nikki was alone inside, although he knew he couldn’t be absolutely sure of that until he’d committed himself by going in.
When he was finally ready, Stanton turned on the ignition again, drove slowly into the driveway and parked in a space on the side of the apartment building, only ten feet or so from Nikki’s front door. He picked up his 9mm handgun and slid it into his jeans, where it would be concealed under his jacket. Opening the glove box, he took out a small bottle of chloroform and a white hand towel and stuffed them into one of his jacket pockets.
“Abaddon, master, look upon your servant with favor and again bless my work,” Stanton whispered. “More blood will flow tonight in your name.”
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When Declan had seen Stanton pull into the parking lot, he quietly moved from his position in the bushes, around the back of a neighboring building and crept along in the shadows until finally crouching low behind a parked car not far from Stanton’s. From that position, he was ready to intervene if necessary. When he saw Stanton step out of the SUV and approach Nikki’s front door, Declan’s pulse began to race faster.
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Stanton slowly approached the first-floor apartment. It wasn’t evident from his blank expression, but he was teeming with energy and excitement. His mind ran through his plan again, which was to simply knock on Nikki’s door and quickly force his way inside when given the opportunity, however brief it may be. He’d subdue her with the chloroform, carry her to his SUV, and be out of there in under three minutes. The real fun could begin when he got her home.
As he approached the front door, Stanton could hear music coming through a slightly open window to the left of the door. It wasn’t anything he recognized, something with a peppy pop sound, which wasn’t the kind of thing he liked. Just outside the door, Stanton stopped and readied himself. Deep slow breath in, long slow breath out, deep slow breath in, long slow breath out. Finally, he closed his eyes and envisioned one last walk through. In and out in under three minutes, he thought again. No problem. With that, Stanton knocked on the door, just as two headlights appeared in the parking lot heading in the direction of Nikki’s building.
“It’s open, babe,” came Nikki’s voice from inside. “Just come in, I’
m too tired to get up again.”
The headlights drew closer and Stanton froze, not sure whether to go in or abort the mission. A second later, his decision made, Stanton bolted back down the walkway, jumped into his SUV and shot out of the parking lot, just as the headlights came to a stop in the open space next to Nikki’s car.
Chapter 13
December 22nd
The morning sun rose and traces of its light slowly penetrated David Stanton’s apartment, each ray illuminating his utter shame and undeniable failure. Stanton stood naked in the growing light, staring at his wretched miserably inadequate face and body and watching the blood trickle from the self-inflicted gashes on his arms, chest and legs. How could he have failed so pathetically? At the moment of truth, he’d frozen and allowed himself to be scared away by the arrival of a pathetic mortal, whom he should have simply sliced open and left for dead. Abaddon had gifted him with an unlocked door, a veritable open invitation, and yet he’d failed.
Stanton’s shame was amplified by his fervent knowledge that, had he only trusted Abaddon, no obstacle would have stood in his way and the girl would have been his. Instead of staring at his own pathetic bleeding nakedness, he’d be looking into hers at that very moment, quenching the undying lust for blood that had built up within him.
“Master Abaddon,” he wailed into the mirror. “Please, forgive your servant’s ineptness. Forgive my failure and grant me the opportunity to redeem myself in your eyes, to bring myself back within your favor. Please, forgive me. Please.”
Stanton’s lips and tongue were desperately dry, but he didn’t deserve to quench his thirst. How could he move forward with the ultimate work, the final phase of the mission that was before him when he was a picture of failure? His confidence was lost. He stared into the mirror, desperately searching his own eyes for an answer, for a way to rectify his failure and regain his rightful place at Abaddon’s table.
“Damn you, you worthless piece of crap. Damn you. It was there for the taking and you froze, you froze you miserable undeserving fool. How could you freeze? How could you screw it up? It was so easy, it was perfect. It was perfect and a real man wouldn’t have run away like you did. No, if you were truly worthy you would have exerted your power, the power your master has provided, and you would have taken that girl, whatever the cost. Look at you, you’re still as pathetic as you’ve always been, still the boy who did nothing and just allowed them to torment you.”
Looking deep into the reflection of his own bloodshot eyes, intently following the tiny lines of blood running through them, Stanton slowly came to know what he had to do. Abaddon didn’t tolerate failure. His ultimate task still lay ahead, but if he was to have any hope of success, his pathetic debacle had to be rectified and the only way to satisfy Abaddon, and restore his place at the table, was a sacrifice, a blood sacrifice. Abaddon had sent Stanton for blood, and blood he would deliver.
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Declan awoke from a meager two hours of sleep on his sofa, thoroughly exhausted. He showered, made some strong coffee and left for the Bureau field office intent on finding whatever he could on Stanton. Megan’s flight was due in the evening and he planned to pick her up at the airport and spend the next few days with her, but Declan was convinced Stanton had very bad intentions and he had to get a surveillance detail in place.
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Stanton exited the No. 86 bus a block from Nikki’s apartment complex and cautiously, but deliberately, made his way back to her ground-floor unit. The car which had prompted him to abort his mission in the dark hours earlier that morning was still parked outside, yet Stanton’s determination didn’t waver. There was only one way back into Abaddon’s favor. Turning back was not an option.
It was still early enough that very few people were out and about. Stanton approached the front door, keeping his eyes peeled for an open or seemingly unlocked window. He assumed Nikki and her companion would still be sleeping and hoped to find a way into the apartment that wouldn’t wake them. In the event no such path existed, he’d have to knock on the door and force his way in without making too much noise and commotion.
Seeing no open window on the front-side of the apartment, Stanton walked quietly to the front door and, fully expecting to find it locked, gently turned the knob. To his absolute amazement, the unlocked door opened. An enormous grin appeared on his face as he very quietly and quickly slipped through the front door into the warm dark apartment and gently closed and locked the door behind him.
The apartment was still and quiet, and Stanton could hear the heavy rhythmic breathing of two people coming from the bedroom. All the shades were drawn shut, letting very little morning light into the living room. Stanton scanned the tiny living room and the adjoining small dining area and kitchen. Nikki’s apartment struck him as being very much like his own, which gave him a certain sense of comfort and ease.
He put down the backpack he’d brought with him and quietly removed his boots, so that he stood in his thick white socks, which would make substantially less noise. Stanton put on a pair of latex gloves, removed the small bottle of chloroform and white hand towel from his jacket pocket, and pulled the large hunting knife from its sheath.
He crept noiselessly down the dark hallway, past the bathroom to the open bedroom door, where Nikki and a male companion lay naked, sleeping next to one another. On a nightstand next to the bed were four empty beer bottles and a small pipe, with a lighter and an empty Ziploc baggie next to it. He stood in the doorway, taking in the scene and listening to the rise and fall of the slumbering couple’s peaceful breaths.
Again, Stanton closed his eyes and said a silent prayer. Then, he moved swiftly to the sleeping male, who looked to be in his very early-twenties. Stanton jumped on top of his torso, while at the same time forcefully pushing the companion’s head into the pillow, which startled the man awake, with a violent but tardy shake. Within seconds, before there was even time to scream or realize what was happening, Stanton drove the hunting knife directly into the man’s exposed throat, killing him instantly, and causing his blood to spray wildly from the wound.
He immediately shoved the dead bleeding body to the floor and turned his attention to Nikki, who had woken in a haze, not entirely comprehending what was happening. Before she could make sense of it all, Stanton had straddled her body, with his knees pressed firmly into each of Nikki’s arms, and shoved the chloroform-doused hand towel into her mouth, muzzling her until her eyes finally closed again.
Chapter 14
December 22nd
The sound of music woke Nikki the second time, who despite her technical state of consciousness, was still in a haze. Her head throbbed and her vision, at least initially, was blurred and glassy. She couldn’t move her mouth, as it was held tight by something uncomfortably stuck to her face, forcing her to breathe through her nose. She was still naked, but sitting upright in what she recognized as one of her dining room chairs. Nikki tried to move her hands, but like her slightly open legs which were tied firmly to the front two chair legs, they were bound tightly behind her and she felt a heavy metal object, which she suspected to be handcuffs, squeezing each of her wrists.
Initially, the music, which sounded like some sort of opera, filled most of Nikki’s dulled senses. It was a man singing, with a very deep voice, but she couldn’t understand the lyrics or even make out what language was being sung. As she slowly became more and more cognizant, she began to recognize and understand the depths of her exposure and vulnerability. This realization was accompanied by an immediate sense of fear and terror.
Nikki looked around, as her head seemed to be free, and realized she was still in her own bedroom, apparently alone and bound to the dining room chair which had been placed next to her bed. To her left, on her dresser, she saw what appeared to be a video camera on a small tripod pointed at her. She looked to her right, towards the bedroom door, and saw another video camera, standing atop a tall tripod, watching her. When she lo
oked down at the bed and saw her boyfriend’s blood which had sprayed onto the white hotel-style sheets, she tried to scream and began to shiver in panic and cry uncontrollably.
Nikki violently shook her body, trying in vain to free her arms. The panicked rocking motion only served to knock the chair, and therefore Nikki, over sideways onto the floor. The new position did nothing to loosen her bindings or improve her situation.
Upon hearing the chair fall over onto the floor, Stanton came back into the bedroom, with a third video camera in hand. The video camera was on and filming Nikki, who startled when she saw him walk into the room and jostled even more furiously against the carpeted floor trying to free herself. Stanton set the rolling video camera onto the dresser for a second and went toward her. He leaned over, picked up the chair with Nikki in it, and reset it to an upright position.
“Shhh,” he whispered to her, which only served to make Nikki tremble more fervently. “We’re here to help each other. So, shhh, no crying.”
Stanton set Nikki back up in her chair and scooted her back to her previous location, next to the bed. Then, he walked over to the HD video camera mounted on the small tripod on her dresser, and readjusted the camera such that it was zoomed in on Nikki’s still tortured face, and her terrified light brown eyes filled the frame. He walked past her over to the other mounted camera, and checked to make sure that camera was zoomed out enough to be filming a fully body view.
He picked up the third unmounted, HD video camera, and left the bedroom for a minute or so, only to return with another dining room chair which he placed directly in front of Nikki, and sat down opposite her. Nikki sat trembling and confused, waiting for Stanton to say or do something, but for what seemed like an eternity, he simply sat across from her with his camera focused on her face.