This was the longest block I’d written at once. 1,436 words. It makes sense. I’ve seen this scene pretty much from a few days of starting this project, so I had a good idea of how it was going to go. Although one part of it surprised me as I wrote it. That’s what I love about this process. You can map everything out, but you will still end up surprised at times by what your characters decide to do in the moment. As I’d mentioned, I’d been hoping the reveal would be at the 25k mark, but I was about 2k short. Which means either the second half of the book will have to be longer than I expected, or I might have to come back and add something more to the beginning. We’ll see what happens as I get closer to 50k. I’m planning on another writing session today, so 25k should be achieved before the end of the day. Almost halfway there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cHow do you know that name? You\u2019ve been in contact with Jack?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alistair smiled again, but this time, it had even less of a trace of humor or humanity behind it. \u201cYou still don\u2019t get it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had to agree. I was at a loss for what was happening. In just a few minutes, my world seemed to have turned completely upside down. People who should not know anything about my past were turning up unexpectedly everywhere I turned. But, Captain Alistair. He knew about Jack. He knew about our past encounters. How could he possibly know all that? Unless he had been in touch with Jack. Or unless\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stared intently at Alistair. Take out a little definition in the cheeks, soften the chin, change the shape of the ears\u2026I tried to picture a dozen small modifications and rebuild Alistair\u2019s image. And then I saw it. How had I missed it for seven years?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re\u2026Jack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBravo!\u201d Alistair\u2013Jack\u2013cheered, applauding. I reached for my gun and he quickly said, \u201cI would not do that. Your fellow officers would not take kindly to you killing your captain in plain sight of them. You would not get out of this room alive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt would be worth it if I manage to take you down before that,\u201d keeping my hand on my revolver, but not drawing it just yet. Jack would not let me this close unless he had a contingency plan. And sure enough, he confirmed it with his next words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTrue enough, but would you be willing to kill me at the expense of more innocent lives?\u201d He turned his phone over, pressed a button and spoke into it. \u201cLondon, can you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLoud and clear,\u201d Xavier\u2019s voice confirmed through the speaker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat is it you\u2019re supposed to do if you hear Leonidas kill me, or if you don\u2019t hear from me at regular intervals?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m supposed to kill the three girls I have tied up. Slowly. And painfully.\u201d Xavier\u2019s delight oozed through every word he spoke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow,\u201d Jack said, \u201cwould you be so kind as to remove your hand from your holster and talk like two civilized men?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had no choice. Jack had painted me into a corner. The only thing I could do at this point was listen. I glanced out the office\u2019s open window, where the rain was starting to fall. \u201cSo talk. What is this all about?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had seen enough movies to recognize the moment when the villain would spell out his evil plan to sense I was about to see that moment in real life. I would have expected no less from an egomaniac like Jack. He wanted to be recognized for what he believed he had accomplished. He wanted to be feared. He wanted to be famous. I knew without a doubt he would talk. Especially as he completely had the upper hand right now. But I could bide my time. I could wait for my chance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI can\u2019t believe I have been afraid of you for so long,\u201d Jack said, chuckling. \u201cSpending all my days looking over my shoulder, waiting for you to come along and ruin my fun, forcing me to move, to run. And I was tired of it. So, I decided it was time to disappear completely. Like my new face?\u201d He asked, turning from side to side, posing as if he were some magazine model. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing how far medical technology has come. The facial reconstruction cost me a small fortune, but now I see it was worth every penny.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I did have to begrudgingly admit that it had indeed been very good work. Just enough change to throw me off enough. And I imagined those were brown contacts hiding his ice blue eyes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut,\u201d he continued, \u201cthen you show up. Again. Seven years ago, you walked into my precinct. By the way, thank you for that trick. What better place to hide than right in the middle of the law? You walked in, and I was sure I was done. But instead, instead, you ask me for a job.\u201d At this, Jack let out a long laugh. When he was done, he had to wipe tears from the corners of his eyes. \u201cYou looked right at me. Right at the face of your worst enemy. And you did not recognize me. I could not have asked for a better outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf course, I had to be sure you weren\u2019t playing me, so I did give you that job. What better way to keep an eye on you? I studied you, worked on figuring out your weaknesses, and most importantly, worked on a plan to get rid of you once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou had plenty of opportunities to kill me or get me killed, as evidenced by the photos you had your man take. Why not take advantage of those opportunities?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKill you? Oh no. Oh no no no. That would have been over quickly. There would have been no satisfaction in that. No. I wanted you to suffer. I wanted you to linger painfully in the knowledge that I had outsmarted you, that you had been rendered unable to stop me from my mission in life. That was what I needed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd Xavier? What\u2019s his role in all of this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, I have you to thank for that one too, Leon. You see, while I studied you, I learned that you preferred to work alone, that you would not let anyone help you, which, frankly, is what\u2019s gotten you into your current situation. Had you been the type to partner up, it would have been a lot tougher to get pictures of you in your\u2026compromising positions. Seeing that weakness in you made me rethink how I was living my life. That killing that brought you here?\u201d He leaned forward again and paused for dramatic effect. \u201cThat\u2026was not me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I furrowed my brow, taking in that revelation. \u201cThe murder was a textbook Jack the Ripper case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMurder. Such a harsh word. But yes, it was. Turned out I had a fan. Unfortunately, he was not as good at covering his tracks as I was, so I was able to find him in less than a week. Mr. London, who changed his last name as a small homage to my work from so long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGuilty as charged,\u201d Xavier said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cImagine his delight at meeting the actual Jack the Ripper. You had already shown up to the station by the time I tracked him down, and I imagined it might be good to keep him close at hand for any assistance I might require. I managed to find a poor sap who would take the fall for that death, and tasked Mr. London with keeping an eye on you while we figured out what to do with you. And then, I realized, I had managed to frame one person already for a death, why not you as well? You go to prison, maybe for life, for a long, long life, and Mr. London and I get to go somewhere else, where you can\u2019t follow. But we\u2019d make sure to be as public as possible so you would know we were out there, taking these evil women out of the world without your interference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jack put his arms out, palms up, signifying the end of his rant. \u201cSo, there you have it. And here you are. You kill me, you die. Mr. London is free to continue my work. Granted, he won\u2019t have as long as I would, but every death will still be one you could not prevent. So, you see, you are currently in an unenviable position.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was right. I was stuck. No matter what I did right now, innocent people would die. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd now, I think it\u2019s time I call in your fellow officers to tell them about the monster in their midst. I\u2019m sure they will be happy to know you will be off the street and safely behind bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He looked over his shoulder and caught the attention of a passing officer. Within moments, I would be arrested and powerless to stop Jack. I had only moments to react. I looked out the window again. Rain was starting to pool on the floor and it was coming down faster. Jack was still looking over my shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I ran forward and before Jack could react, I snatched his phone and jumped out the window into the rain. A two story fall might be a bit painful, but one I could easily manage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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