NOTE: Don't forget, this is the last flashback chapter. In the next chapter, time will go back to normal, and the story will continue right from where it stopped, after Camila and Lauren fucked wildly in her warehouse ;)
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*Flashback still On*
POV Camila Cabello
"Sir, I'm telling you, things are complicated." I said, pacing back and forth, hearing the heels of my high-heels echoing in the office.
"You date the suspect, it's not possible that you haven't found anything." Mr. Prado, time or another, slapped his hands on my desk, startling me. The man was visibly nervous.
"Robert is a very clever man, he used another person's name on the website, and it's the name of a dead man, there's not much I can do with that." I said, heading to my desk, sitting on my chair.
"Camila, either you find something more plausible, or they'll remove us from the case, and this is a very big case, we need answers." Mr. Prado said and got up, making me get up as well to see him out.
"Alright, sir." I closed the laptop where was open the website used by Rob to entice minors. "I'll figure something out, I'll solve this case."
"That was exactly what I wanted to hear." The man held out his hand, and I reciprocated with a rather rough handshake. "I trust you, Deputy Cabello." I just nodded with half a smile and watched the man leave my office.
I sat back on my chair, rested my elbows on the desk, and buried my hands in my hair. God! I needed a solution, Rob could not get away with this. He'll pay for every bad thing he has ever done to people. And I'd make sure I was the person who'd make him pay.
I grabbed my phone and dialed the number of the only person who has been there for me lately. Halsey.
"Hey, Mila." She said, yawning.
"Oh my God, you're still sleeping?"
"Things were rough last night at the club, Lauren didn't show up, so I had to cover for her and ended up staying late."
"Whatever!"
Lauren probably had a new little girlfriend. That was the only reason for her not to show up at the club, she loved that place.
Lauren was such a delicate subject at the moment, I was feeling like crap for not being by her side throughout all she was going through. All the family problems she was living, required at least some support from me. But no, instead here I was, focused on my personal revenge against Rob, and I would succeed.
"How can I help you, Camila?"
"The meeting with Mr. Prado just ended..."
"How did it go?" She asked excitedly.
"It wasn't very exciting, well, I showed him everything we found out, the real identity of everyone and the website, however, it's not enough proof, at least for Rob to be arrested as well."
"Yeah, I figured, they want to catch everyone." Halsey said, and then let out a sigh. The poor woman was exhausted.
"I need you to find out where Walter will be tonight."
"Hehe, we're in luck, I was going to save this surprise for later, but I can't stand to see you stressed." She said. "I heard Britt scheduling to meet someone today, and that someone may very well be Walter."
"And when were you going to tell me that?" I asked, irritated.
"As soon as I woke up, but you ruined my plans to sleep another fifteen minutes."
"Ugh! Since we already know where he lives, I'll wait to approach him when he's on the way, this way it's safer, I don't want to be in the vicinity."
"Well, it's your call, I'd approach him even inside his bathroom if I had to." She said, earning a laugh from me.
"Oh my God, you're helpless!"
"But why do you want to approach him really?"
"I'm going to offer him protection, and a very reduced jail time, if he hands over his partners."
"That's a little risky, don't you think?" She asked.
I got up and started pacing back and forth, thinking about the myriad of things that could go wrong with this approach. Maybe Halsey was right, but I'd have to take a chance.
"Maybe, but we need to try. And it will happen today."
"Camila, it would be easier if you went with a team, with a warrant, everything well organized."
"And miss the chance when he gets scared? He has a lot of money and can have many alibis. The bureaucratic way complicates things too much, because it almost never works. So no, I want to approach him in a calm and clear way, I want to do it my way."
I ended my call with Halsey as soon as she said she wanted to sleep more. I have to admit that Halsey has been an excellent partner, and most of the time, a great friend, at least she hears my whines and comforts me in some way.
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I practically spent the whole afternoon hiding near Walter's house, the man would only go out at night, like Halsey had said, but I didn't want to risk it, so I remained firm and strong while I waited for him. It was dark already, and it wouldn't take long now for me to approach him. My phone rang, and I leaned back to grab it from the back seat.
"Where are you?"
"Still here, Halsey."
"He hasn't left yet?" She asked anxiously.
"Not ye... Halsey! Halsey! Wait, he's leaving now! Bye!"
"Be caref-" I didn't hear Halsey complete the sentence, I just hung up my phone, tossed it to the passenger seat, and watched Walter leave his house.
POV Lauren Jauregui
Even though his clothes weren't the best, even though his suits weren't exactly tailored, and even though his car wasn't one of the best, Walter seemed to be a very busy and important man. I've been watching him for a long time.
I threw the cigarette away, letting all the smoke out of my mouth, and with my eyes always attentive, I started the van again, slowly following him, as far as possible. I spent a short time following him until his car drove into a garage in a middle-class neighborhood. I stopped the van in front of the garage, while the man took his time to come out. I adjusted the mask on my face and soaked the cloth with a lot of chloroform, enough for the whole drive. It was already late at night, there was not even one person present to tell the story, just a car parked nearby, but it had been hours since the car was parked there.
As soon as Walter came out and turned to lock the garage, I got out of the van without making too much noise, and in quick and cautious steps, I approached him and grabbed him from behind, lifting the soaked cloth directly to his face, covering the area of his mouth and nose. Walter was startled and tried to hit me with an elbow, but I held him tighter, pressing even more the cloth on his face. He kept struggling until he blacked out for good. I relaxed my muscles, still holding the heavy body. My breathing was breathless and my heart was beating fast in my chest. The feeling of fear made me more alert, my eyes swept around the area as I dragged the body to the van. It wasn't easy at all to drag him there, but the worse was to put him inside the vehicle.
I tied him up with a reinforced rope and closed the van's double back door. I looked around one more time to make sure that there was no one watching me, or someone who had witnessed something. The parked Mercedes caught my eye, and I thought about approaching it just to be sure that there was no one inside, but I gave up, I didn't have time for that. I needed to get out of here as quickly as possible. I ran to the door, getting into the van, and with my hands a bit shaky, I turned the key in the ignition, driving out of there, leaving behind the neighborhood and the mysterious Mercedes.
It may even be a paranoia of mine, but even though I was on the practically empty road, the bad feeling of being followed was still present. That Mercedes made me more paranoid than ever, it seemed that every car I saw around me was the damn car. I punched the steering wheel, cussing myself for having been so careless. I lifted the mask a little from my face, taking a deep breath, but my breathing remained heavy even after I tried to relax, the damn nervousness left me like that. I stretched out my arm, turning on the radio and reaching for my pack of cigarettes. Without further ado, I lit one up and brought it to my lips, taking a deep drag, one way or another, that paranoia had to go away. And it did, I had already taken the turn to the narrow and discreet dirt road, and it had been a good while since I was driving on it, and no sight of any car. I needed to be faster though, before the effect of the chloroform ended.
"True, Eliza, the situation of the Miami Police Department is not one of the best, even with the disappearance of the Maniac Polaroid, the police have been under a lot of pressure." I arched my eyebrows, and stretched out my arm to increase the volume of the radio, but without taking my eyes off the road. Only a few more minutes for me to reach my destination. "The families of the victims of the Maniac Polaroid demand the case not to be closed without being solved, they want the Manic to be arrested and to pay for his crimes. So far, Deputy-" I turned off the radio before the name of that woman, who I've been trying to get out of my thoughts and my heart, was spoken.
"This can only be a joke, I did society a favor and yet they keep calling me that ridiculous name." I let out a nasal chuckle, shaking my head.
I made a sharp turn, getting out of that road, driving past a few trees that blocked the view, finally reaching my destination.
I stopped the van in front of the big warehouse and got out of it, removing my mask. I drove the whole way with the mask on my face, the fear of being caught screamed inside me, even after being fully sure that no one was following me and that no one would find me. I feared the bad feeling that still surrounded me.
Walter gave me a lot of work, from dragging him inside, to suspending him from the chains on the ceiling of my warehouse like slaughtered meat in the butcher's shop. I left him hanging, tied up and gagged, while I waited for the effect of the chloroform to pass. I grabbed my bottle of Whiskey, and without even grabbing a glass, I savored it from the bottleneck itself. With a cigarette already trapped between my lips, I sat down in front of the pig, and that was how I waited for him to wake up.
Gradually, Walter's eyes began to open, blinking slowly. I lowered the chains a little.
Time to play. – Whispered my subconscious, and I nodded my head as if I were answering it. I got up and walked to my stereo system. The noise of the chains suddenly became present, and I looked back, Walter struggled in desperation, his eyes were wide and looked everywhere, his scream was muffled by the tape that gagged him. It was what I loved most about them, seeing the desperation because they were helpless. In their eyes I could see all the evil that they caused, and deep down, I could see the end that I would give them.
"You wanna know something, Walter? I took a big risk for you today, because I will hear nothing besides your groans of pain." I smiled devilishly.
Walter's eyes widened more and more with every slow step I took. I walked over to my tool rack, and brought the bottle to my mouth, taking big sips while my eyes ran over the sharp objects. The liquid heated my body and burned my throat. I could be more creative if I used one of my toys tonight, but no, I wanted to end everything at once. I left the bottle on the table and the cigarette trapped between my lips, and unhurriedly, I grabbed a pair of Martial Arts gloves and put them on as I walked again, but this time towards Walter.
"Wanna know another thing, Walter? I had the pleasure of learning a little bit of Martial Arts when I was younger." I stood facing the man. "That was very useful, I learned to defend myself, to immobilize people, and especially to let out all the anger I feel right here." I pointed to my heart before punching him hard in his stomach. Walter groaned in pain, and it was like music to my ears. "Of course that I don't really follow to the letter everything that Martial Arts preaches." I clenched my jaw at the memory of the reports in his file. I shook my head and gave another punch. I laughed at the tears that started falling down his face, his crying was barely audible due to the gag. "Should I feel pity because you're crying?" I asked, not getting an answer. I got even more angry, and with all my strength and anger, punched several parts of his body. My hand shook along with his flesh with each precise punch on his stomach, ribs, chest; and I couldn't stop, it was all like an escape mechanism, everything I had been feeling was released with every punch on the pig's body. I only stopped when I started getting breathless and tired. "I..." I took a deep breath, putting myself back together. "I asked you a question, you pig! And when I ask something, I want answers, understood?" I asked again, and this time Walter made an effort to nod his head, he was tired, the pain had already taken over him.
I pulled the tape from his mouth with all my strength, making him groan in pain. Walter had blacked out more than three times, trying to make me end things right away, but I wouldn't let him.
The pig had already confessed his crimes. With sheer shamelessness, he told me in detail exactly what he did to his victims, and although he knew of his near end, it was visible in his words and in his features that there wasn't a single bit of regret in his actions. So I tortured him, I cut him, stabbing my dagger as close as possible to his body's lethal spot. I wasn't okay, I've never been like this. None of them ever were as explicit in their words as Walter was. Walter could be more sadistic than anyone, and there was more to be dragged out of him, but I couldn't bear to look at his filthy face anymore.
I covered his mouth with tape again. The blood of the dagger trickled down my hand, so I placed it on the table, along with the other tools, and without further ado, I grabbed the chains and pulled Walter's body up.
"Enough of this, Walter, I'm tired of looking at that filthy face of yours." I grunted, grabbing the bottle of Whiskey.
The nicotine mingled with the Whiskey in my mouth. The lit cigarette burned in my fingers as I took another big sip of my Jack Daniel's. The only sound that could be heard was the one from the chains clanking under the dead weight of the body that swayed slowly from one side to the other. A smile graced my lips as I slowly ran my eyes over each object, the tip of my fingers sliding over them, helping me find the one that would quench my damn thirst... Yes, I was thirsty, very thirsty.
"You could help me choose, Walter. What do you think?" I asked, without diverting my attention from the objects in front of me.
I brought the cigarette to my mouth, pulling as much smoke as possible. My vision became blurred. I was waiting for the man's answer, which I knew wouldn't come. I turned, circling his body until I was facing him. I let out all the smoke through my nose along with a nasal laugh.
"The pig blacked out again." I grumbled, bringing the bottle up to my mouth, tilting it, drinking the last two sips.
Without any hurry, I placed the empty bottle on the table, and the cigarette that occupied my hand, I moved it between my lips. Then, I crouched in front of the man, and my right hand went up to the gray tape on his mouth. The tip of my fingers grabbed it, pulling it roughly.
The man woke up startled, letting out a shrill scream. I laughed at the scene, stood up and walked away. The noise of the chains clanking, along with his screams, became my background music. The fact that the pig had blacked out several times was understandable, I had already had a lot of fun with him. At the moment, I just wanted to be able to see his blood leaking like water in a cracked bucket.
"No more games!" I said, silencing him.
I circled his body again, facing the table now. I needed something very sharp to finish that. I closed my eyes and let fortuity guide me. My hands slid over each object, until they stopped unconsciously. They stopped over a 'Katana Tanto'. I smiled devilishly as I grabbed the so delicate object, but that, nevertheless, could cause great damage.
I walked towards the man again. Walter was still struggling and crying. I analyzed his body, which was hanging upside down, like slaughtered meat in a butcher's shop. It was already bleeding due to all the cuts. I held the handle of the Katana and pulled it, sliding it out of its sheath.
"WH-HAT A-ARE Y-YOU GOING TO DO?" The man cried out, as he got more and more desperate.
I ignored his grunts and continued to analyzing the object in my hand attentively. Even with the dim illumination, the blade still gleamed.
"You know what, Walter?" I threw the cigarette on the ground and stepped on it with my combat boot. "I'm tired of playing. Tell me your last words." I raised the Katana just above his genitals.
"NO, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!" Walter began to struggle like a fish out of water. The chains clashed against one another at a frantic frequency.
Motherfuckers, always begging God in their last minutes on earth. But God didn't exist when they committed their cruel acts of perversion.
"YOU DIDN'T THINK OF GOD IN THE LAST FEW DAYS!"
"YOU PSYCHO BIT-"
With all my strength, I stabbed the Katana in a considerable depth. It didn't take much strength to tear his flesh to his chest. The blood splashed across my face as his body struggled. Walter screamed and cried in pain; his screams were like an anesthetic to the past that will never leave my mind.
Gradually, the man ceased his screams. My eyes were closed. My heart thudded in my chest, in the ecstasy of that moment. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of my heart and the chains, until everything went quiet. I opened my eyes and came across the body in front of me. It still held the Katana, it was stuck in Walter's chest, the cut was big, his guts were almost overflowing through the opening. I pulled the sword and lifted it to the light. My eyes observed the layer of blood gleaming along the blade. So beautiful.
When I finally stopped paying attention to the Katana, I looked around. There was blood everywhere, and I'd have to clean up all that mess before getting rid of the body. I put the sword on the ground and looked again at my 'work of art' before fetching my machine to take the picture. Now, with the Polaroid in hand, I was choosing the best light for the final part.
"Miami Police Department! Drop whatever you're holding and put your hands behind your head!" A feminine voice shouted, echoing throughout the warehouse.
*Flashback Off*
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NOTE: Finally! Lauren really has bad luck, of all the people in Miami, they were after the same one XD Now, the next chapter will be a normal one, no more flashbacks. It will continue right from where it stopped. Let the games begin ;)