Hunting duty

Daniel understood the line of thought of his employers when they began to shift his role in the organization, though that didn’t mean he wouldn’t miss the splendid meals served during each target’s last moments. Despite not being as celebrated as the other divisions in their association, it was an essential part of their work, something which the prior assigned individuals in hunting duty failed to understand.

Looking at the woman he’d been following for quite some time now, the cold, calculating part of his mind quickly took over.

He’d read the charges by which she had been sentenced to death, as well as heard the testament of their contractor at the time of the sentencing, nothing of which painted a pleasing portrait of what she might actually be. Needless to say, it disgusted him to the core, but it also reminded him of why they existed in the first place. Chaos was so that order may come to be, and order is as long as there is chaos to prevent.

They were the Leviathan in a world reigned by Behemoth.

With silent footsteps, he imperceptibly grew closer to his target, possessed by the cold yet righteous justice he believed in. Cruel as it may be. Yet as he grew closer to his prey with each painfully eternal second, the less composed and logical voice began growing anxious, begging for him to reach into the bag and pull out the steely instruments granted to him. It took much of his will to restrain that beast, quelling its desires by promising it a fulfilling kill.

Noticing the slowing pace of his target, Daniel quickly hid in the shadows with practiced moves, completely disappearing in its darkness as if he were nothing more than smoke. Working for as long as he had on hunting duty he quickly picked up on the small things about those unfortunate enough to be stalked by someone like him. Be it the nervous tics they fall into as their mind grows ever so certain that something is watching with ill-intent from the darkness, waiting to strike as soon as their guard is down, or their growing anxiety and shifts in pace they resort to the instance they know he is there, he has familiarized with those responses well enough to act accordingly to every scenario.

As she turned around, eyes scanning the empty street, he could see that same fear he had witnessed on every one of his targets and could not help but feel a small amount of satisfaction at the horror he induced in her. Despite her best efforts of finding who it was that awoke in her such primitive fear, to personify the man who made her feel like a cornered animal, no matter how much her eyes trailed back at the dark alleyway, how many times her blue eyes unknowingly met his own dark eyes, she found nothing.

Both predator and prey remained in place, drowned in the tense silence that anticipated the screams to swiftly come. Daniel cared not how long he would have to wait, patience was a virtue of man, and he liked to think that he himself was a patient man above all else.

So when she began to walk away, a slight increase in her steps as she rushed back home, he allowed her to create that distance between them, not bothered if she ever escaped his line of sight, after all, their contractor had been kind enough to share with them her current address. The only reason why he was stalking her, was none other than to satisfy his sadism.

He did his job, placed it as the main priority, but as a human, there were cravings that needed to be filled if he didn’t want them to control him. Be it witnessing harm being brought to others or he himself provoking that harm, it was all euphoric to him.

Stepping out of the darkness, he continued following behind her, now a larger distance placed between them. The entire street seemed devoid of any life safe for the counted cars which passed him as he continued walking, and it gave him enough peace of mind to enjoy the city lights painting the dark sky above in an orange hue. In that peace he recounted everything he had come to collect about this recent hit, as well as how said hit would be conducted.

Her ex-husband seemed upset, but also terrified. A rarity in personality compared to the vengeful and resentful men and women that walk through the doors of their establishment. So of course curiosity overcame them, and upon hearing the events that had lead him to their doors that curiosity turned to wrath. Rightly so, Daniel thought at the moment.

People were cruel, that much he was taught at an early age and ever since that knowledge had become fundamental in making the man he is today. All those morals taught at school were nothing but empty words with no really value other than to create an idealistic utopia that went against the very nature of humanity in his honest opinion, he was more a believer in cold reasoning than in hollow words because what he did had an actual effect on the world.

There was no right or wrong, only facts and reality everyone conveniently forgets whenever it suits them. As far as he needed to be concerned, there was only him and her, and he knew who it was leaving the scene alive. And as he neared his destination, eyes spotting the feminine figure walk up the stairs of the apartment complex to her room, he knew that said outcome was drawing near.

Staying in the darkness for a while longer, he simply scouted the area, ensuring that the layout of the building matched the description given when he was handed the task. Upon spotting the cameras in their described places, he finally allowed the vicious part of his brain to take over and enjoy the feel of his favored knife once more.

It was all simple from this moment onward really. Break into the house, trash it in an effort for it to like a robbery, steal anything of value to increase authority’s focus as just another crime in the city and not a targeted murder, and most important of all, kill her. The media will try martyrizing his victim, condemning his work as targeted hatred to the opposite gender when it was the horrors she hid behind that mask which had led to this. With everything they knew about her, her sins revealed to them, they would not allow that to happen.

However, that line of thought was completely cut short in a moment. Not because of a sudden sense of regret or cold feet at the moment of the kill, he was too much of a monster to feel any of that. No, the reason why he’d stopped was due to the sight of the colorful mask tenderly hidden behind blades and ropes in his bag, its hollow eyes bearing into his own.

His hand hovered over it, tentatively reaching for it, fingers aching to grab its rugged surface and don the mask once more. Even he could not escape the sentimentalism he felt towards that mask and what it meant to him, how he had turned something so childish into a symbol of terror. The urge to let go and put it on were too tempting to ignore, too alluring not to give in, but he was supposed to be better, be something more than blind savagery. What he ached to be was an impossible in their world, in the rules he had let himself be bound to.

He was Leviathan only in name but like so many in the world, his blood was that of Behemoth.

Quickly grabbing the black balaclava, he zipped the bag up before the desires became too much even for his own self-control.

Cold logic and ever burning desire of blood mixed into a concoction of anxious anticipation as he made his way to the specified room, pristine hunting knife glinting beautifully in the pale moonlight. The moment he was standing outside her door, he let the mix of emotion take over, guiding him through each instance of the kill.

With a strong kick at the door, both splinters and doorknob were sent scattering across the floor. The sound was loud enough to echo across the entire apartment, and Daniel didn’t doubt that the neighbors would be quick in calling authorities due to the ruckus. But he was unbothered by it, because he’d be long gone by the time patrols even arrived at the scene.

Rushing past the hallway and living room, just about to turn the corner and see the kitchen and dining room, David barely dodged a meat tenderizer mallet aimed at his head. ‘At least trashing the house will be easy now,’ He joked to no one other than himself, evading another strike from the woman in front of him.

Trying his best not to be struck with the wild motions from his prey, he continued dancing their dangerous waltz of hatred and death, hoping for the other to make the first mistake. In what Daniel believed to have been that mistake, he rushed forward, tackling her and forcing the mallet from her hands. Though he did underestimate the strength she possessed, especially when driven by sheer adrenaline and will to survive, because no matter how much he would have wanted to bury the large blade into her abdomen, she did everything she could from even being touched by it.

Too focused in stabbing her, he was surprised by a knee directed straight to his groin, making him drop his blade and fall to the floor in that flash of agonizing pain. The agony was so much that he was at the verge of throwing up, the feeling of warm vile already at the back of his throat, yet because he knew the risks of leaving behind anything that could be traced back to him he did the next best thing.

Regaining his composure, a punch was quickly thrown directly to her stomach, forcing the air out of her lung while also brining her down to his level. And while he may not look like it, Daniel was strong in his own respect, needless to say that his strike was beyond effective.

Before she could even recover, he grabbed a fistful of her long ebony hair, and violently bashed her head on the side of the counter. The violent attack didn’t last long however, having to evade the hunting knife in his target’s hand. Despite it being shaky, Daniel couldn’t bring himself to get cut by it.

Catching a glimpse of the mallet just at his feet, the vicious voice came back with full force, and for the first time since so long, he allowed it to influence what happened next. As he raised to his feet, everything about him changed. His posture, the weight of his stance, and even the general aura around him shifted into something more feral, something entirely cruel and sadistic, and she laid witness to that horrible transformation with her bare eyes.

That was the last thing she ever saw.

When Daniel came to, the entire living room, kitchen and dining room were completely destroyed, blood splattered across the walls in violent streaks, in both of his hands were held both mallet and knife. Looking at the scene he’d create, the voice of violence made no comment at all, quite possibly satisfied in the means by which it was created.

Breathing deeply, he checked the kitchen for plastic bags, quietly filling them with any and all valuables he found. When he felt he’d gotten enough, he threw the bag on the counter before moving to explore the rest of the apartment, yet he already knew what he was looking for before seeing it.

Out of all the doors, this was clearly tampered with, a series of locks and bolt hastily placed on the frame to kept them locked away. Daniel didn’t hesitate in unlocking the door, making quick work of the many locks before opening the door with care.

The room was completely dark, drown in a horrible stench of iron and feces, yet it was the sound of weak shuffling which he focused on the most. Soft naked footsteps made their way to him, to the light.

What Daniel saw could have been a kid no older than ten, skin marred with sickly yellows, reds and blues from clear strikes with belts, planks or fists, he tried not to focus on the nasty burn scar on the boy’s palms as he tentatively reached out of him. There was something very different between hearing something horrible and imagining said picture in your head from actually witnessing how the scene you had created paled in comparison to how brutal humans could be. It made him want to seek out the bitch’s corpse and further brutalize it, only to be reminded that he was running of an ever shortening window of time.

Without any words between them, he simply grabbed the boy’s hand, tenderly as possible, and guided him through the mess in the living room, picking up the bag of valuables left on the counter on their way out. The lack of resistance or fear we concerning, but that issue would be sorted out in time.

Once outside, Daniel became a shadow once more, even with the boy by his side. As siren’s grew louder, closer, both hid inside the alleyway where he’d left his bag. Looking from his hiding spot, he saw as a patrol pulled up on the complex, an officer hesitantly walking up the steps to the room he was in just a few moments ago. Watching intently, a twisted smile spread across his face at the sight of the officer rushing out of the room, hurling in repulsion.  

Daniel understood why he was selected for hunting duty. He was cold, yes, but also brutal unlike anyone else. But really, the only way you could deal with monsters, was by unleashing monsters yourself to deal with them. Who better than someone capable of stopping and restraining those desires, but also equaling that horrible nature buried in their black hearts.

He was the Leviathan in a world bound to Behemoth.

Satisfied with himself, he merely threw away the bag in a dumpster, burying it in trash to ensure no one were to find them.

Not a single soul that night saw the man clad in dark clothes, dripping in blood, nor the clearly beaten boy clinging to him with so much desperation. It was as if they never were there at all.