The Specialist

Sitting in the corner booth at Big AL’s Takeaway, Patrice couldn’t help but notice how empty the usually bustling place was. As far as a burger joint went in the quaint little town of Napier, situated in the north island of New Zealand, This one was the most popular. Especially for the teens, young adults demographic. Patrice had to book her booth in advance if she wanted to be seated in her favourite spot! “Everybody wants to rule the world”, Tears for fears was droning away, quietly on the duke box situated at the back of the room by the kitchen entranceway. “Speedy” the best burger chef in town, and the fastest, hence the nickname, usually had the grill fired up by now. Something was not right…

Nikki didn’t dare move or even breathe too loudly, for fear of being spotted by the burly looking man with the strange ghoulish mask covering his face. The one day that she picked to actually come into work early, this had to happen! It wasn’t even her usual shift! She had jimmied it with Clyde to do a swap for a few weeks, while he finished his EIT course in social science. Clyde was a natural with people, so it only seemed fitting that he would further his skills to gain employment in the social worker sector. Working at Big Al’s was how he paid for his course fees.

Delano was furious! He had been paid to do a job and somehow someone had managed to mess up! The guy he was supposed to “make disappear” was not where he was supposed to be! So Delano had targeted the wrong man! He realised the mistake when it was too late. Now he had a dead body to dispose of, of a person that would probably be noticed as missing! Not to mention the lone customer sitting out in the eating area waiting to be served.

Just as Patrice was about to get up and walk towards the kitchen, her phone made a loud “beep-beep!” sound, indicating that she had a message. Of course she could have ignored it, but as she was waiting for a reply from a possible buyer for her classic 1979 VW Beetle convertible, she chose to stay seated to read her text. That simple action just may have saved her life!

Nikki had known Patrice since kindergarten. They had grown close when Patrice started dating Nikki’s older brother Gerome, or “Geronimo” as he liked to be called, just over 6 months ago. Once a month, Nikki and Patrice would get together for a girls night out. Whether it was going to the movies or out dancing, they always had a lot of fun together. Patrice was becoming like the sister Nikki had always wanted. Geronimo encouraged them to hang as Patrice had that energy about her that made everyone feel good in her presence. Nikki definitely needed more of those good vibes after having had a toxic friendship with Moana Roberts that almost destroyed her!

 “Leave now and don’t look back!” Nikki had managed to text to Patrice while trying to remain hidden from sight. She knew that Patrice would understand the meaning behind the text. Their ever-growing bond meant they could communicate on a much deeper level. Like Esp you might say (extra sensory perception).

Patrice tried to keep her wits about her. This was definitely not the time to fall apart like a blubbering mess! Acting as casually as she could, Patrice gathered up her phone, handbag and sunglasses in both of her hands. Pretending to be focused on her phone, she slowly rose from her seat and headed out the front entrance of Big Al’s. Not once did she give in to the urge to look back. Although it took all of her strength and will power not too! Nikki was in danger, Patrice could sense it!

Delano almost seemed relieved to see the blonde girl leave. He really didn’t like to kill innocent bystanders if he could help it. To make sure no-one else got caught up in this mess, Delano headed to the entrance door, locking it and placing the “closed” sign facing out. Delano couldn’t afford to have anyone walk in while he was in the middle of “clean up duty”.

Nikki was struggling to breathe! Seeing her boss lying on the floor with glassy eyes staring straight at her, and blood oozing out from the left side of his now caved-in skull, was just too much for her to stomach! Closing her eyes she slowed down her breathing and tried to push the visual of Speedy’s corpse out of her mind.

Patrice was exhausted by the time she arrived at the Napier police station. She had practically sprinted all of the way without stopping. Making doubly sure that she was far enough away from Big Al’s to avoid being discovered by the unknown danger that lurked within the takeaway kitchen. Thank goodness she wore her running sneakers that day!

Nikki knew she needed to find a way out in case the masked man decided to look around for witnesses. In the movies, the “bad guy” always checked in the toilet stalls and surroundings, just to be sure. And Nikki really didn’t want to take a gamble when it meant she could die! Carefully surveying the space around her, Nikki turned her attention towards the low lying vent a few metres from where she was currently located. If she could create some kind of distraction that shifted the masked man’s focus to another part of the kitchen well away from her, she might just stand a chance at escaping.

As luck would have it, the masked man made his own distraction. Placing the earbuds of his iPod into each ear canal, hacking and chopping body parts to the sound of “psycho killer”(Talking Heads), blocking out any outside noise so he could concentrate on the task at hand. To make the clean-up less messy, he had laid out large plastic sheeting over the chopping bench and all over the kitchen floor to catch any fluids or body parts that may fall to the ground. Dressed in what looked like a hazmat suit and white thigh high gumboots, Delano used his specialist skills to make a fully grown man into tiny little bite-sized pieces of “meat”. Easy to transport to his warehouse where a huge vat filled with acid, would finish the job of leaving no physical trace whatsoever.

Patrice was shaking as she sat in the small interview room of the Napier police station. Constable Tim Givens offered her a glass of water to help calm the nerves. Obviously this young girl was in shock and needed to feel “safe” so she could speak clearly about the cause of her distressed state.

Nikki wasted no time in taking the window of opportunity that had opened up for her. She laid herself down on the cold linoleum covered floor. Ever so slowly and carefully, she slid her body as though she was a slithering snake, across the floor towards the vent. If her memory served correct, the vent would lead to the waste bins out in the side alley of Big Al’s. Then it was just a short walk towards the main street that would be flooding with people walking about town running errands and shopping. She figured that by sliding along the floor, it would enable her to press down flat, if the masked man happened to glance in her direction. And the lighting was dimmed down low, so she could stay hidden in the depths of the shadows. Speedy would have put the lights on full if he had not been bludgeoned to death! So Nikki was well aware of how close she could have come to being another victim!

“I’m s-so sorry Constable Givens! Patrice blurted out after managing to spill her drink of water all over the table in front of her.

“It’s quite all right dear, I can see you have had quite a scare!

Mopping up the spillage with a cloth he managed to find in the breakroom, Constable Givens reassured Patrice that it was no bother to clean up a little water. He could see she was close to tears and needed her to keep it together long enough to get her statement. Finally after a few minutes of wringing her hands and taking slow deep breaths, Patrice managed to compose herself. Sounding a little croaky to begin with, Patrice showed the Constable the text Nikki had sent from inside Big Al’s. Constable Givens had done enough interviews over the years to know that this simple yet alarming text, meant more than what it said. Under duress you didn’t have time to text a full explanation for fear of being caught out.

Nikki was sweating profusely and her heart was beating so fast, it felt like it was about to burst out of her chest! “Get it together girl”, she spoke in her mind. At last! She had made it to the vent! Luckily for Nikki, the vent cover was a “flip top” and not screwed in. Now that would have posed as a real problem! Very slowly and gently, Nikki lifted the cover up, carefully pressing it up against the wall using the hook to keep it in place making as little noise as possible. She knew it was going to be a little dirty and perhaps greasy sliding on through. But at least it was straight through rather than on an incline.

Delano considered his work an art form. It wasn’t just about killing and chopping up body parts. You had to know exactly how to end someone’s life in a way that would be as quick and painless as possible. He wasn’t a complete monster! He didn’t like his victims to suffer! After this morning’s cock-up, he was seriously considering retiring. It wasn’t about the money anymore. He had more than enough to live out the rest of his days, on a tropical island or in the forest as far away from civilisation as he could get. He wasn’t much of a “people person” and despite his choice of career, he struggled with the violence and mayhem that flooded streets all over the world. He needed some peace and quiet.

Constable Givens stood before his team of brave and accomplished police officers, men and woman he would trust with his life. They were used to “running blind” in crime scenes, so this latest one would not phase any of them. With no time to call in the task force, Constable Givens briefed his officers and how to approach the situation, with the little information he had. He was running on instincts and always trusted in his gut feelings.

Freedom! Nikki had never tasted air so sweet! Oh how good it felt to breathe! Like really breathe! To passers-by she probably looked like one of the homeless bums who frequented the alley behind Al’s, rummaging around the bins looking for scraps to eat. Covered from head to toe in dust bunnies and grease, clothes and hair dishevelled and smelly, she definitely resembled one!

And just like that, the tactical team swooped on in to save the day! Nikki was whisked away into an awaiting van while the other officers sprang into action once they knew what they were dealing with. Delano was just heading out the side door towards the bins to distribute the many little bags of human remains in amongst the food scraps and trash, when he found himself completely surrounded by armed officers. With nowhere to run, he surrendered peacefully and without a fight. He was getting too old for this crap! Sitting in a cold dark prison cell until the end of his days, was not his idea of retirement. Still , a much preferred option then dying….