Once the initial adrenaline rush had worn off, I was able to think clearly about the events of the last 24 hours. I'd killed a man, using deceit and treachery to get myself there. What was this making me? I'd murdered Robert Willis single-handedly; did that make me as bad as him? I shook my head rapidly.
"No." I said out loud. I could never be compared to him. I had a motive for what I did; he had just raped and murdered my mother (and other people from what I'd heard) for fun. That made me feel slightly better about myself.
I suddenly realised that I needed to make some arrangements. I made a search on the internet and then picked up my mobile.
"Hello, Peaceful Rest Funeral Care." I knew this was what she'd want. This was where she'd arranged the majority of the funerals in our family.
"Good morning, I'd like to book a funeral."
"We're terribly sorry for your loss. May I just take your name please?"
"**** ********."
"Ok, and may I just ask the name of the deceased?" I took a deep breath. This was going to finalise it. The realisation that my mother was dead would finally hit home.
"Emma ********." There was a pause.
"I'm sorry sir, but there is already a funeral scheduled under that name."
"That can't be possible."
"I'm afraid so sir. The funeral was booked two days ago, by someone from the Sicarius Company."
"I see. Thank you for your time anyway." I disconnected the phone call. So some company I'd never heard of had arranged my mother's funeral. Part of me was glad that I didn't need to go through that emotional pain yet, but another part was angry that I was denied the chance to prove that I was capable of taking care of everything. I didn't have too long to be angry though, because my mobile rang in my pocket. I took it out and looked at the screen. It was Cass. I quickly answered it.
"Hey Cass."
"Hey ****, did you hear? They found some guy dead in our apartment building!" I allowed myself a brief moment of self-satisfaction before I responded.
"Really?"
"Yeah, apparently one of the waiters spiked his drink with bleach and drain cleaner and stuff. Nasty way to go."
"I can imagine."
"Listen, would you mind coming down here? I really need somebody to talk to." I sighed. I'd made it a personal vow never to return after that night. But if I refused she'd know something was up. So against all my better instincts I sucked it in and headed towards Rocky Falls Apartments.
After giving the passcode to the overly-muscled security guards, I phoned Cass to ask where she was. She gave me her room number and I soon stood outside her door. I gave a short, hesitant knock. After a few minutes she answered.
"Oh good, you came. Come in." I stepped inside warily. I suddenly realised this could easily be a trap. And as a valuable mentor had once told me, I wouldn't know I was walking into a trap until it'd been sprung. In the end I decided to act innocent. After all, Cass could just want a perfectly innocent chat. I was just being paranoid.
I took a seat on the sofa and Cass sat beside me. She waited to make sure her parents were out of earshot before she turned to me.
"I know what you did ****." I gasped.
"What do you mean?" She laughed then whispered.
"Don't play the innocent with me. I know you killed Robert Willis. Don't worry, I won't say a word. If anything I'm grateful. I haven't told anybody this, but I came extremely close to becoming another of his victims. I never told anybody because I was scared nobody would believe me. I didn't know about his history at that point. Now I'm glad you put an end to it. Now if I know you, you'll have already created an alias for yourself. You're not stupid enough to keep your original name." I nodded. "So, care to introduce yourself?"
"Sure, my name's Ronnie Valentine." She nodded her approval.
"Nice. One small flaw in your security though: people will recognise you. And balaclavas don't go well in this weather, trust me." I clapped my hand to my forehead in frustration. I'd completely forgotten about that. She smiled. "I can help you. I can make you a professional mask, just give me a design and I'll see what I can do." I thought for a second before I grabbed a pencil and paper and drew out my design. It was quite simplistic in my opinion. But then that's all I wanted. I just wanted it to disguise myself; I didn't need it to be extravagant. I handed her the design and she appraised it for a few seconds.
"I like it. I'll get to work this afternoon, I'll call you when it's done."
"Thanks Cass, how much do I owe you?" She smiled at me again.
"Nothing, think of it as a favour to a friend. Besides, you're using it to do good, I can't charge you for that."
"Thanks. I'd best be off, I've got things to do."
"I understand. See you soon Ronnie." She hugged me gently. I returned the hug before I made my escape.
Alone again, I settled down to read the newspaper. I skimmed through all the headlines about how well our local football team was doing and how many shops were closing this week until something caught my eye. A local man was awaiting trial for multiple counts of sexual assault. Almost immediately I knew what would become of him. He'd go into that courtroom and would be proven innocent, breaking the hearts of the poor girls and their families. I knew, because that's how the world works these days. It sickened me to think that but it was a sad truth. In a matter of days another scumbag would be free to walk the streets. Unless...
No. It was too risky. And I had no right to involve myself in this. Robert was different because it was personal. But this man was nothing to do with me. My mobile rang in my pocket, distracting me.
"Hello?"
"Ronnie? It's Cass. I've got your mask finished. Want to come and see it?"
"Wow, that was quick! Sure, I'll be there in a few minutes."
When I got there, Cass dimmed the lights.
"Ready?" I nodded. There was a noise like somebody clicking a lighter, and then two eerie orbs of light shone through the darkness. Cass must have sensed my shock, because she turned the lights on and smiled. "You like it?"
"I love it!" It was made exactly to my design. It was moulded to fit my head perfectly; not too loose but not too tight either. The mouth was a few narrow slits, large enough for me to comfortably breathe but small enough for me to remain anonymous. And, as I'd requested, it was personalised with the initials R.V. It was painted darkest black to help me blend in to a night time environment. It was simply perfect in every single way. I couldn't resist the temptation, and I slipped it on. It felt strange against my face; it was quite clearly made of metal, yet the inside was soft to the touch.
"I'm glad you feel that way about it, that's an aluminium alloy. It's light so you don't get weighed down, but it should protect you against virtually anything." I threw my arms around her.
"Thank you so much Cass, it's amazing." She touched the cold metal of my cheek gently. She pressed a button on the side of my head, and everything I saw went green.
"Night vision. Thought it'd be useful for you." Cass pressed the button again to reveal my normal eyes. She looked into them for a solid thirty seconds, before she took a deep breath and leaned towards me. She twisted a dial by the side of my jaw to widen my mouth slits, and softly kissed my lips. "I love you Ronnie Valentine." She whispered.
"I love you too Cass."
