“So, what are you going to do now?” The man directed his question to his companion, the only other person in the room, but the man didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he stood, as though transfixed; staring at the photo of the last woman he attacked. The picture stared out at him, mocking him with the undeniable sense that he would never had another chance to do what he needed to do…to feel her pulse pounding beneath his hands. He would never get the chance to watch as she lay gasping on the ground, willing her body to live, even as the crimson tide poured forth from a slash against her throat that would make even him avert his gaze. It would be too terribly beautiful to stare upon. He twirled a blade in his hand, his blue eyes reflecting back at him as though from another place. “They’re going to look for you harder now…you attacked one of their own. You’ve got to—”

                At this he turned, his face contorted in an unmistakable mask of fury, “I know damned well what I have to do,” the blade bit into his palm, scarlet drops falling and disappearing in the shadow, “I’m going back…what would Jesus do?”

HLF

                “Do you think that shit is funny?” Ashley stood over the suspect, straddling him, shoving the barrel of the gun roughly against the side of his head, “say it’s funny now! I dare you to say it’s funny now!” She leaned over him, her nose grazing his, the look in her eyes something wild, inhuman, and unstable. “Why so quiet?” The sneer that pulled at her lips would have terrified her had she been able to see it.

                “P-Please,” he whimpered out, trying to string together something that would make sense, something that would get the gun away from his head, “you can have the purse back! I-I’m sorry!”

                “Ashley!” Spencer ran up, having trailed her partner by several hundred feet as they had chased down the purse snatcher. Why? Spencer didn’t know, this wasn’t part of their detail. A stolen purse would be an inconvenience but they were undercover and finding leads on the Rainbow Strangler who had disappeared from public view took precedence over some woman getting her purse snatched, and Ashley has just seriously blown their cover. She’s stressed…she doesn’t know what she’s doing. “Davies lower your weapon!” Ashley either didn’t hear her, or was purposefully ignoring her. “Davies!”