Hunters

Hunters

 Claire clipped the badge to her belt, adjusted the holster under her arm, and pulled her jacket down. The ritual always centered her. “So you’re Simon? Nice to meet you. I’m Claire.  Bring me up to speed,” Claire says. 

“Nice to meet you, Claire.” Simon pulled out his notebook and flipped it open. “

“The first three guys, the original team, had a camera, some flash gear, and a reflector. They even had a fake boom, long handle with a fuzzy cover. Even if not legit, goofy enough to be a fun story. Basic college bros out to get some action. 

“These guys look for a kind of pretty girl, but with flaws. Bad teeth, birthmark, a limp, lopsided boobs, whatever. Add in a couple of drinks, or pills, or both, and then they do their thing. You get the picture from there.

Claire did get the picture. But it didn’t explain why she was brought in.

Simon continued, “It was small-time hijinx until Bobby found them. They started giving the girls MDMA. At first the three would ask. Now they just give the girls the pills. We’re pretty sure that was Bobby’s influence. Then they started selling the pictures and movies. Bobby knows guys there, too. Guys that pay good money.

And there it is. She was brought in to get Bobby. It’s the perfect job for “The Lioness.”

Simon continued, “When the money started coming in, Bobby brought in Mason. Mason appears to be the enforcer, definitely not the brains.”

Claire didn’t take notes. Notes are Simon’s job. Claire’s job is different. She knows that Mason and Bobby are the real criminals, and the other three are just Tad, Brad, and Chad; the ‘ads.

***

Claire reads through the stack of reports Simon gives her. He has been chasing the ‘ads for a while. If he sees them out trying to do business, he breaks it up and gets the girl away. But Simon’s too obvious, he worries about saving the girls more than busting the ‘ads. He hasn’t gone after Bobby or Mason at all, figuring that he’ll turn the ‘ads against their leader once he catches them.

Simon has already tried the usual stuff, undercover female officers, but the ‘ads always sniff ‘em out. He tries to follow the ‘ads, but these guys are really good at spotting surveillance. Those three are idiot savants at dodging Simon, and Simon doesn’t know what to do about it. Claire shakes her head at his incompetence.

“Stay on them,” Claire tells Simon when he shares his frustration, “They’ll get theirs eventually.”

***

Not long after Claire’s arrival, they catch a break. One of the ‘ads is found murdered, his neck broken. Simon brings in the other two ‘ads for a talk.

Claire watches through the camera as Simon “grills” the two Bros. He doesn’t even separate them. Not that it matters, the two clearly don’t know anything. And now they’re too scared to talk about Bobby and Mason. She shakes her head and stops watching. “How did Simon ever get this job?”

Simon comes out 15 minutes later. He drops his notebook on his desk and pulls out an Interview Report to fill out and add to the pile.

What Simon doesn’t do is remember to watch the two men left alone in the interrogation room, but Claire does.

***

“This was a sweet deal,” Bobby said. “We had three kids making porn, and we kept all the money. We were even making money from the MDMA on the back end. All you had to do was keep the kids in line. Scare them a little, sure, but keep them working. I even started a couple of other kids doing the same thing.

“Then you beat one of them to death? What the hell were you thinking Mason?”

“I swear I didn’t kill nobody Bobby. I did like you said, just tuned ‘em up once in a while. I’m no killer.”

“He must have fallen off the back of a truck then, huh?” Bobby said.

“I don’t have a truck, Bobby. You know I drive that Chrysler 300.”

“What?”

“Maybe one of the girls’ dads caught him and threw him out of a truck,” Mason continues.

Bobby threw a pencil at Mason’s head, “You’re an idiot.”

***

The two ‘ads are too scared to miss their friend. 

“This isn’t fun anymore, Bro,” Brad says.

“Forget the boom, you’re the lighting guy now. We’ll use the mic on the camera.”

“Tad was the lighting guy, and he’s dead, Bro. Don’t you even care?”

“I care that Bobby doesn’t send Mason to do us, Bro,” Chad says.

Chad spots a girl up ahead, “Let’s try her next.”

Chad tries chatting her up, but he’s too rehearsed, too desperate. She flips them the finger.

“Well that’s just unfriendly,” Chad says.

 Their fear is affecting their work. Their desperation is scaring the girls away. And coming back empty-handed gets them a beating from Mason. 

***

“Claire, this seems to be escalating a lot more than normal. I thought these were just a few pimps, not murderers,” Simon said.

“That’s because you’re not a woman, Simon. Just pimps? Really? They’re not pimps, they are rapists. They’re drugging and raping women in your jurisdiction. These guys aren’t pimps turning out sex workers, Simon.  Rape steals your sense of self, security, self control. How can you be so oblivious as to think that rape is “just” anything?”

At this point, Claire is standing over Simon at his desk.

“I’m sorry, Claire. I didn’t mean that. I know. It’s just that, they’re different crimes, you know? Murder is a pretty major escalation.”

“I don’t know that Simon. They’re violent crimes. Rape isn’t sexy fun times, even if it’s pretty boys with funny toys.”

Realizing that he’s stepped in it, Simon holds his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. You’re right.”

***

Brad’s a little drunk and walking home. A goth girl walks next to him and says she’s heard he can get some molly, and would he get her some? She leads him to an alley and snuggles up on him, but he barely notices and reaches into his pocket for the pills. He feels a sting and wonders what he had in there when he pulls his hand back all wet. She leans in and covers his mouth with hers as she twists the knife and runs it up under his ribs into his heart. She lowers him to the ground and covers his mouth until he’s gone.

When it's over, she stands up, shrugs the hoodie straight, then pulls it down into place.

***

The third ‘ad, Chad, reaches out for help, and gets Claire. 

Claire has been waiting for Chad. She has been watching him and his friends for weeks. Chad was the baited hook the three used on the girls. Handsome and charming, the girls were drawn to him.

Claire isn’t charmed. She knows exactly how to use a scared boy like Chad. She’s going to use Chad to hook Bobby.

“Come on, Chad. You know what Bobby’s going to have Mason do to you. You have to give me something if you want me to help you,” Claire says.

“My name isn’t Chad. It’s *****. And I don’t know anything, honest.”

“You’re a rapist, Chad. You are the bad guy. Why do you think we’re going to help you, unless you help us? Come on Chad, what about Mason? Do you know Mason? Is he a rapist, too?”

“I’m not a rapist. And I ain’t Chad! I don’t know who Mason is. I mean, I know who Mason is, but I don’t know his last name.”

“Okay, rapist Chad. Where do you meet the other two rapists? How do you get the drugs and the cash from the other rapists?”

“I’m not a rapist. I just…” Chad gives up. “Fuck, at a motel on the North side. Up on Basil St.”

“A motel? Kind of cliché for a rapist, Chad. Let’s see, a rapist motel on Basil. Must be Captain Bob’s? Across from the diner?”

“Is that what it’s called? I know there’s an anchor out front.”

“Yeah, that’s it. But I still need more from you. How about their car? Have you seen the car? Is it a rapist van?”

“It has 4 doors. Gray, with a dent in the passenger door. I don’t know cars, but it’s a piece of shit.”

“A dent huh? Must be where your rapist friends crushed your friend Tad’s skull. Did they rape him, too, Chad? Were you in on that you rapist piece of shit? Did you rape and murder your two “friends?” Claire even made the air quotes. 

“Simon, I think this is all we’re getting from the rapist. After you finish the interview report, go over to the motel and see if you can spot that car. And try not to be obvious. Don’t be such a cop. I’m going to take care of Chad.”

“Are you sure, Claire? You seem pretty worked up. I could take him home,” Simon said.

“Don’t worry about me, Simon. I’ve got this.”

***

The next morning, Chad is found in the parking lot of Captain Bob’s. Both of his hamstrings had been severed, and his neck was broken. The police put out an APB for Mason and Bobby.

**

“I thought you took him home,” Simon said.

“I did. They must have been watching for me to leave,” Claire said.

“Yeah. They must be a lot more organized than I thought they were. I thought they were just dumb thugs,” Simon said.

“Not just anything, Simon. Rapists. Murdering rapists,” Claire said.

***

“I’m telling you, Mason, it ain’t the cops. Cops don’t kill people.”

“Is it the guy in the truck, then?”

“Jesus, you’re an asshole. We’re being setup. The cops found Chad in our parking lot this morning. We have to get out of here fast.”

“Why am I an asshole? You know I didn’t kill that kid. I was with you the whole time.”

“I said we were being setup, Mason. Pay attention. Now, is your car ready to go?”

“The Chrysler’s solid. I keep the tank full, like you said. It burns a little oil, but it’s not time to top it up again, yet.”

“Then we’re going tonight. Someone’s coming for us, and I don’t want to be here.”

That someone is closer than they know.

***

The uniforms are in place up the road, ready to put the road block in place. Everyone agrees these two killers should be taken outside of town, safer for the public. These two are probably going to run tonight on their own, but if necessary Claire and Simon will flush them. 

Claire and Simon are on stakeout in the diner across from the motel and decide to eat while they can. 

Claire can tell Simon is caught up in the hunt, now. He has forgotten his doubts. He’s talking non-stop over his meal, waving his fork around like a knight with his sword. He is barely paying attention to anything else. He’s shoveling food in, not even aware of what it is. He’s talking with his mouth full, while Claire slowly pours syrup over her pancakes. He barely notices now that she also covers her bacon, feeding her sweet tooth. He doesn’t even think twice about her slipping a few extra packets of syrup and honey into her jacket pocket.

She excuses herself from the table for a trip to the bathroom. “You never know when you’ll get another chance,” and he waves her off.

She slips out the back door, and across the street. She only needs a minute with the car. It’s nothing to pop the hood on the old Chrysler. It’s so easy, she even allows herself a smile.

Simon finishes his meal while she’s gone, thinking that all that sugar must finally be getting to her. She settles back in, and smiles as she finishes her meal.

“Okay, remember, the plan is that you pass them and let the uniforms know when these two are coming. And keep track of how many other cars are on the road. We want to avoid collateral damage. I’ll follow behind to make sure they don’t deviate,” she says.

“I know. I got it,” Simon says. His knees are bouncing under the table.

Claire and Simon watch Bobby and Mason leave the motel and head to their car.

“Here we go,” Simon says as he drops a couple bills on the table and practically sprints out the door. She watches as he climbs into that damnable blue Plymouth of his that has turned out to be useful as an undercover vehicle.

She’s still opening the door on the Crown Vic when she sees him pass the Chrysler on the road out of town. “Right according to plan,” she says to herself. She keys the ignition and rolls out behind them.

About 5 minutes later, Claire passes the Chrysler herself as they start to slow down. A mile ahead she pulls off and kills the lights. She steps out and slips on her running shoes, and starts a light jog back. It’s a little further than she planned, their car must be a bigger piece of shit than she thought, or she got overexuberant with the syrup and honey. See, cars overheat pretty quickly when you thicken their oil.

Claire takes out her phone and calls Simon. “Their car died. I’m heading back now.” She hangs up before he can say anything. Then she swaps the depleted battery into her phone, wipes the other battery down, and jams it under a rock. 

Now Claire lets her rage loose and uses the adrenaline to run into the woods, looking for her ambush spot.

She is already well hidden when she sees the lights from the police cars through the trees as the uniforms come back down the road looking for the two men. A couple of minutes later, she hears Bobby and Mason crashing through those same trees towards her.

She can hear the uniforms pushing through the underbrush. But they aren’t here yet. She still has a few minutes to get it done. She can see Mason and Bobby, right where she knew they’d be. She wants Bobby, but it isn’t his turn yet. First, she takes Mason. The Lioness takes the weak one first. Bobby will get away tonight, but Mason will die now. 

Claire slips the knife handle into her hand, the back of the blade resting against her wrist, the point against her forearm, and stalks forward. Bobby and Mason argue in harsh whispers, gulping air, accusing each other, foolishly making it even harder to hear her. It doesn’t matter, there is nothing to hear. None of them have ever heard her. None of them ever know what they are up against until it is too late. She has nothing but contempt for Mason’s choice to waste his last breaths on nothing. 

She draws air in through her teeth and leaps on Mason’s back and bears him down. She flexes her wrist pulling the blade to the side of her arm and into his soft underbelly. When they land, she lets the earth push the blade the rest of the way, until the hilt stops on his skin. She grimaces at Bobby’s fleeing back as she rides her target to ground She cups her hand over his mouth, silencing him and closing off his breath. Claire feels the righteousness of her power settle over him. She rides his body as it kicks and jerks beneath her, fighting for a breath it will never find. This one wouldn’t have time to bleed out, she made sure of that. That breath was important, and he wasted it.

Just then Simon arrived. She feigns exhaustion and points the direction the last one ran. “Stay on ‘im,” she said, savoring the breath she had stolen from her most recent prey.