I lunge, stabbing him between the ribs at an upward angle that should get him right in the heart before he has even considered that shadows might descend on him. His stream stops thankfully instead of spraying everywhere for me to clean up, and I would have, at least if any ended up in too strange of a place. I rip the knife free and stab it into his carotid artery next, turning him as I do, so the spray aims into the plastic.
The knife isn’t mine. I always use a weapon from the person’s own home or belonging to my hotel if the kill happens there. If the murder weapon is found later, this lessens suspicions that it was premeditated and more an act of immediate passion. Isuppose how Walker has made me feel does make this an act of immediate passion. With more to come.
A death croak and gurgle are all Curtis manages before he is beyond saving, leaving a nice dark puddle beneath him. I prefer to be this efficient. No embellished theatrics to let someone know why they were targeted. What I do isn’t aboutmyvictims. It’s about theirs and setting those victims free.
Given I will be in the city for at least a week, I do intend to keep my eyes open for other potential targets. Maybe I’ll even return to my original target early if the mood strikes. But I can’t be too overeager. As important as what I do is, to continue providing this service it is far more important to be clever.
As soon as Curtis stops twitching, I start on cleanup. I almost enjoy this part more than the kill. It’s therapeutic in its way, the catharsis, especially when dealing with a target I have watched for a while—or one who filled me with the sort of righteous fury that Curtis did.
Certain elements of cleanup require more care, such as disposal of cellphones and wallets. They will be dismantled and dumped in separate locations from Curtis’s parts. Going through his wallet first reveals the usual items, such as credit cards, membership cards, and ID. What surprises and delights me is an unexpected photograph.
It’s of him and Walker. Quite candid, as the pair is caught in a shared laugh as if unaware someone is taking a snapshot. The photo is smaller than one from a disposable camera but low quality, like something taken with a phone and then printed on photopaper. I’m surprised someone like Curtis would keep it on him, but I am glad he did.
I pocket the photo. For a smile like that and the laugh I can easily imagine accompanying it, a tiny risk is worth it. One needs to enjoy life after all, and today I had a blast.
It’s how beguiling Walker is. How fiery. How seemingly innocent in some ways and yet not fragile given how much he railed against Curtis. It makes me want to get him on his knees, have him put his faith and trust in me, and call me Daddy again while I give him what he needs.
I would be such a good Daddy to Walker. I know enough about what makes a bad one, but such a good boy like him deserves someone who can protect him. Care for him. Direct him. I don’t know how long this new fixation will last, but for as long as it does, that is exactly what I am going to be for him.
Chapter four
WALKER
“Doctor Hammond! What a surprise. And what are you doing here today?”
Crap. I should have known Doctor Aldrin would catch me.
I spin around in the hallway of the rheumatology ward with as innocent a smile as I can muster.
“Doctor Aldrin! Hey! Oh, you know, there’s some credentialing paperwork I need to handle, make sure I’m ready for all the right certs coming up, grabbing my, um… onboarding packet?”
She raises a naturally ginger eyebrow at me above the rim of her glasses, and I know I have failed her bullshit meterspectacularly. Doctor Aldrin is in her usual wine-colored scrubs and white coat. Her ginger hair is chin-length and mildly wavy, and while she has a youthfulness about her and can be as soft and kind with patients as anyone I have ever worked with, she is a forty-seven-year-old mother of three boys and takes no shit from anyone.
Being in civilian clothes in front of her makes me feel like a first-year resident again, especially when her voice drops as she replies.
“I am fairly certain all of that is either already taken care of or available for virtual access and submission.”
“Yeah, but, um… I wanted to double check.” When she stares at me silently, I blurt, “And to see Noah! But a friendly visit! No doctoring.”
Doctor Aldrin eyes me for a moment longer but eventually relents. “I am sure he will appreciate that. But Walker?” Urg. First name basis from Doctor Aldrin is like full name treatment from your parents. “No doctoring, seriously. Noah is my patient, and you need this downtime. Not only for certification study either. You were close to burning out at the end of your residency. Pushing yourself to exhaustion does not help your patients. Or your social life.” She really is the best mentor, because as badass as she is, she knows how to push that work-life balance thing everyone is always raving about. “Wouldn’t your boyfriend prefer to have this time alone together? He was saying all these same things to you, wasn’t he?”
And then some. “Turns out he isn’t suited to be partners with a doctor. And before you say ‘I told you so’ because I work too hard, believe me, there were other issues.” I try to not reach for my cut, which is healing nicely but still visible. My hand flinches toward it anyway and Doctor Aldrin notices, drawing her eyes to my sliced cheek. “All for the better! I have a date tonight. See, Ican people normally outside of work. And I am taking it easy. I promise.”
“Good.” She eyes my cut one moment longer but then pats my arm and continues down the hall. “See younot too soon, Doctor Hammond!”
“Will do, Doctor Aldrin!”
She wasn’t my direct attending physician during my residency but still ended up being the doctor I most turned to for advice, given she is head of the rheumatology department where I’ll be doing my fellowship. I’ll finally be shadowing her long term, which is all I wanted for this next stage in my career. She is the best when it comes to immunology, but there is also a personal element to why I would have done anything to have her as my mentor.
She did her fellowship here with the doctor who saved my life when I was six. She was in the room when I flatlined. I didn’t grow up in this city but outside of it in one of the suburbs. My family doesn’t even live there anymore, but I always knew I wanted to work at this hospital. Some people might find it weird to work in a place where they technically died for one and a half minutes, but for me, it’s invigorating. It reminds me that while you can’t save everyone, you can always try, and there is always more we can learn to save more people down the road.
The crazy thing was when I started my residency Doctor Aldrin remembered me. She remembered my name, knew the age worked out right, and asked the first day we met:
“Were you that little boy who almost died from child aspirin?”
I'd had the flu persistently for way too long, and my asthma attacks were getting dangerously bad and more frequent. My parents were at a loss and took me to the best immunologist they could find: Doctor Weiland. Here. We didn't know the specifics yet of how immunocompromised I was or what my triggers were. Then I started to have my worst attack yet. Doctor Weilandsaved my life, but it was Doctor Aldrin who realized the aspirin my parents had been giving me to reduce my symptoms was the cause of my worsening asthma. It wouldn't trigger an attack for everyone, but it was making me worse instead of better. If it hadn't been for both of them, I wouldn't be here.
Noah is one of Doctor Aldrin’s current patients, who I got to know during my residency. While deciding on my fellowship and specialty—though I had long since been set on my path—I shadowed Doctor Aldrin for a couple days and met Noah while he was in for a checkup. He’s six, just like I was. A six-year-old boy with lupus, which wouldn’t normally be life-threatening. Even after ten years with that autoimmune disease, the survival rate is upwards of 90%. But they caught it later into its onset, thinking it was other things before it finally clicked for physicians at another hospital and he started coming here.
