Rumble! Splash!
Night had fallen, and Hoburn City was once again drenched by a heavy downpour.
Inside a narrow alley, a dozen Enforcers in black raincoats crouched unseen in the darkness.
Over the past two days a string of murders had broken out across Hoburn; the death toll now stood at seventy-two.
With so many dead in so short a time, the higher-ups had taken notice; every Enforcer in the city was now scouring the streets for the killer.
Among the group, a woman gripped a revolver, shivering as the rain lashed her.
She leaned toward the middle-aged man ahead of her and whispered, "Captain, will the maniac really show in this cursed weather? I'm freezing."
The captain answered without turning: "Haven't you heard 'murder loves the darkest night'? The wind's howling and it's pouring—most people are indoors; killing's easier now."
She pondered his words, then nodded slowly.
Out on the street beyond the alley stood another woman, umbrella in her left hand, glancing left and right as if waiting for someone.
Though she herself was an Enforcer and had more than a dozen teammates behind her, her darting eyes betrayed her unease.
Even with her right hand thrust inside her coat clutching a pistol, she felt no safer—this was Hoburn's most dangerous murderer in history.
Tonight, not just here but in every secluded corner, Enforcers lay in ambush. To catch the killer they had pulled in every Enforcer from nearby cities and towns under their jurisdiction.
Rumble!
Lightning split the sky. The woman leaned against the wall; after hours on her feet they had gone numb.
Behind her, inside the alley, the captain watched the rain taper off and muttered in disappointment, "Rain's almost stopped and the killer's still a no-show—guess he's not in this block."
"Then let's head back. If I don't get a hot shower soon I'll catch cold," the woman behind him whispered eagerly.
The captain was about to agree when a hooded figure in black appeared at the far end of the street and walked straight toward the woman outside.
The figure headed directly for her.
"Someone's coming—everyone stay sharp!" the captain hissed to his team.
The officers, moments from relaxing, snapped back to full alert.
Night, rain, and a hood—three red flags rolled into one.
The woman outside noticed the approaching stranger; her breathing quickened and she clenched her pistol white-knuckled.
Sensing her tension, the hooded man flipped his hood back, revealing a handsome face, and called warmly, "You're out here alone—are you in trouble? Need any help?"
His gentle tone and good looks eased her wariness a fraction.
She smiled. "I'm fine. I'm waiting for a friend. With a killer on the loose, how come you're strolling around?"
The young man stepped naturally across from her, grinning at her question. "Why would I be afraid of myself?"
The words took a second to sink in; then she yanked her pistol from her coat.
Thud! Faster still, Taut straightened his right hand and drove it like a blade into her heart.
She screamed, slumped against the wall, and slid down in despair.
It happened in a heartbeat; barely a second from words to strike. Inside the alley the other Enforcers had only just raised their guns.
"Shoot him!" the captain roared, seeing his teammate impaled.
Bang-bang-bang!
A volley cracked from the alley. Without pause Taut seized the woman's body and charged the alley mouth using her as a shield.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Still clinging to life, the woman was riddled by her own teammates' bullets; the slugs, spent after passing through her, lodged harmlessly in Taut's muscles.
"Aaaargh!" Pain didn't slow him—his eyes reddened, a mad grin split his face as he barreled into the Enforcers behind her corpse.
"Agh!"
"Get back—he's a monster!"
Bang! Bang!
"Captain!"
"Don't kill me!"
"Ahhh!"
Thud!
Screams and shrieks filled the alley; none of the Enforcers had ever seen an ordinary man fight like this.
The cries lasted barely a dozen seconds before falling silent.
"Huff... huff..." Seconds later Taut emerged, clutching his belly, blood streaming between his fingers.