10. On the Road to Infamy
For the first few days, I scouted out Baker Street to see if I could catch John Watson stopping by. Literally, I’d stand near a corner on the opposite sidewalk, pretending to do different things while looking for him. The first two days didn’t give me any luck, which frustrated me. The only results I got were horny guys trying to ask for my number. I’d thought about having some fun with them. I mean, hey, they didn’t know who they’d be dealing with. I could have possibly killed them, that would definitely catch Sherlock’s attention, but I wasn’t after his family—I was after his blogger’s.
Today marked day four of scouting out 221B Baker Street. I was glad nobody noticed how I spent days on end in the same exact spot minus the times I had to leave to go eat or use the bathroom. People were so oblivious to things sometimes. I wonder if Sherlock’s noticed my pattern yet. He’s got to have better things to do than notice a killer watching his flat.
I’d spent all day doing nothing, with the occasional checking my phone. Since Jim had his own things to do, I left him alone. He didn’t like to be interrupted when it came to work; I learned that the hard way once. I never again made that mistake.
Once night had settled in, London’s nightlife came out. Lights lit up the city, giving it a beautiful makeover. It looked much better at night than it did during the day. During the day it was mostly dreary with barely any sun to be seen.
I looked across the street again, only to find success. Finally. Lithely, I grabbed my pocketknife and put the blade out. I could see the duo now, hailing for a cab. I wasn’t going to let them speed off into the night, I wasn’t up for staking out Baker Street another minute. I looked around, quickly selecting a victim. The only way I could get their attention was by causing a scene, and nothing caused a scene like a stabbing.
I detached myself from the wall, walking in the opposite direction that many people were. Once I located my prey—a middle-aged, graying man—I took action swiftly. I delivered a low stab to his abdomen. He cried out in pain. As I removed the knife, he buckled to the ground. I walked away without a backward glance, hearing panicked voices behind me.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Sherlock and John hurry across the street all while trying to avoid getting run over by traffic. I smiled. Time to leave a trail. I picked the person closest to me—a young woman—and struck at her. I let the knife stay in her just a bit longer before I yanked it out. Her cries were louder.
Another breadcrumb to the trail.
Come on, chase me already. I thought of the chip that was in my other pocket. Jim had given that to me after I told him what I planned to do. It hadn’t been hard to get the tracking chip. Whether or not he paid a price for it or killed someone to get it, as long as I had it and could place it on John Watson successfully, I didn’t care how he got it.
I picked my third victim—a rather striking young man. It was a shame I had to stab him just to leave more of a trail for the consulting detective and his blogger to follow. Oh well, wrong place at the wrong time, I thought nonchalantly. You’re in my way.
“Help!” cried a high-pitched voice. “That woman there stabbed him! She went that way!”
I didn’t even look back as I broke into a sprint. I wielded the knife still, slicing into people along the way. Let’s see how many people I’ll wound or kill just to get their attention. I should have gotten it at that party. This will definitely get me noticed more. Hopefully I’m not The American after tonight.
I could hear two pairs of feet pursue me. I knocked into people, causing obstacles for the pair. I turned sharply left into an alleyway. There was barely any lighting, and a gate placed itself nicely in my way. I grimaced, put the knife sideways in my mouth, and began to try and climb the gate. I didn’t plan to get caught; I just wanted to get their attention. Come on, John; get to me first so I can tag you.
I let out a strangled cry as something grabbed me around the waist. I looked down to see John was the first to get to me. I cackled with the blade between my teeth, quickly reaching for the chip. I grabbed a hold of him, making sure the chip secured to his clothes. It was very miniscule, practically impossible to detect. It also had a camouflage feature, allowing it to blend in with whatever it was attached to. Technology these days, it was changing every second.
I threw a fierce kick to John’s stomach. It was enough to throw him off and allow me to climb over the gate successfully. I stumbled on my landing, spinning around only to see Sherlock climbing madly over the fence. John still remained on the ground, trying as fast as he could to get on his feet.
I spun around again, taking off. As I rounded a corner, I pulled out my phone; dialing one person I knew who would come get me. I spat out the knife, holding it once again.
“Heidi!” I panted.
“Raine. Where are you?”
“You tell me, I’m sure my phone is chipped. Grab a car and come find me. I’m on the run.”
“Lucky for you I’m not at the mansion. I’ll come for you, just don’t get caught.”
I ended the call, shoving my phone back into my pocket. I hoped Heidi wasn’t far away; I couldn’t outrun the pair forever. Everyone runs out of gas sometime.
The alley ended, bringing me back into the busy night. I dove right into the busy streets, having angry honks thrown my way. I nearly missed a double-decker bus. Once I crossed the street, I panted, waiting to see Sherlock and/or John emerge from the alley.
I barely got a full minute’s rest, because there they were, searching for me. I saw John point in my direction, and Sherlock bolted into traffic. With an irritated, labored grunt, I took off once again.
My legs were starting to burn and feel like jelly. My lungs wanted me to rest a good five minutes before I collapsed. Everything was almost worn out except for my mind. Come on, Heidi.
I struck at a few more people before I felt someone grab my right arm. I swung around with my left, knife slashing at them. Whatever I’d hit made the person release my arm. I looked back to see Sherlock holding a hand over one of his cheeks. I smiled. You’re not really invincible, are you, Sherlock?
A loud honk of a car horn made me turn my head. A car had come to a jarring halt near the curb, almost rolling over it. I saw Heidi was in the driver’s side, popping the passenger’s door open.
“Come on!” she urged.
I slipped in, shutting the door. I rolled down the window to see Sherlock and John just about to reach us. I threw a smug smirk their way.
“Sorry, boys, another time!” I sang as Heidi sped away. I waved to them as we weaved our way through London traffic.
I rolled up the window, laughing hysterically. I slumped down in the seat, feeling very victorious and tired.
“Did you get it on him?” Heidi asked.
“Oh yeah. All I have to do is track him now.”
“I could have helped you if you’d asked me to.”
“Nah, you were a good help with just this. I can cause a scene; I just had to time it right.”
“You gave away your face, Raine. Now people will know who you are.”
“If people snapped pictures,” I reminded her.
“You do realize that they can describe you to Scotland Yard and me, if they can remember both of our faces.”
“Heidi, there are a lot of blondes in the world.”
“Yes, but we aren’t all identical now, are we?” she retorted. “We’re not Barbies.”
“If anything, I think they’d be more likely to describe me over you. You’re safer than I am. And we won’t flee the city or the country unless we absolutely have to.”
“I wasn’t going to suggest flight, not yet. There are a lot of dark places we could hide in if we really needed to.”
“See? There’s not much of a reason to really worry.”
* * *
“You clever girl,” Jim crooned in my ear. “It took you long enough, though.”
“Hey, I had to stakeout that place for days. It’s not my fault it took John so long to visit Baker Street,” I retorted lightly. “By the way, I’m hardly a girl, Jim. I’m thirty.”
“You’ll always be a little girl to me.” He kissed behind my ear. “Nice touch with the bodies as breadcrumbs. You’re starting to think like me now.”
“Hope you’re not threatened by that.” I said this playfully.
“Oh, I’m not in the least bit.” His fingertips stroked my back. I looked at the closed windows that led to my balcony. “Nobody can touch me. Nobody can hurt me. I’m the king, remember?”
“The king of crime?” I laughed.
“I do love the new name they’ve given you, though.”
“They gave me a new name?” How come I didn’t know about this?
“Yeah, they said it on the news.”
“We don’t have a TV in this mansion. How would you know?”
“I do go out, Raine. You have your reasons, I have mine.”
“Well, it must be an upgrade.”
“Oh it is. They’re calling you The Viper now.”
“Mm. I like it. The Viper. It sounds so badass.”
“It suits you better. My little viper.”
“Careful, I bite.”
“Oh, I know you do.” He chuckled lowly. “You’re on your way to becoming as infamous as me, darling. Nobody will want to mess with you.”
“I’ll be as powerful as you?”
“Close, maybe, but definitely not more.”
I rolled my eyes. Jim could sometimes be so arrogant.
“Isn’t this the best you’ve ever been, Raine?” he purred. “No worries, no fears. You are the fear now. Whoever planned to come after you probably gave up at this point if they know you’re behind all this chaos.”
“I wish I knew who they were, I could give my father justice. I wouldn’t care if their allies came after me, I’d kill them too. They murdered my father; they’ve got to pay for it. A life for a life. It’s only fair.”
“When you’ve got some spare time, you do some digging. I don’t want you to get distracted.”
“Right. You know, we should do more things together, like how we did with the party.”
“You had fun with that?”
“Definitely.” I turned in bed to face him. “I live for danger now. I don’t know why I hid from it, it’s so thrilling. You must never get bored of being a consulting criminal.”
“There’s never a dull day. Don’t worry, once your agenda opens up, I’ll start including you.”
I smiled. “Good. Say, what are we doing about the girl once she’s here?”
“Figure it out when it comes. Focus on getting her first.”
I shook my head. “Right.”
Jim grabbed my chin gingerly. “You, Raine Whitmore, never cease to amaze me. Who knew you would turn out to be this in less than a decade?”
“I’m just full of surprises.”
He planted an aggressive kiss on my lips. “That you are.”
**Rather exciting, isn't it? Truthfully, I've had to tap into my inner dark side for this entire book. You'll see more of it very soon in the chapters to come. To whoever is reading, please keep up the support! I know in time this book will gain more traction!**