[ WP ] `` There are three things a wise man fears , a storm at sea , a moonless night , and the anger of a gentle man ''

There would be no loud bang, no screams ringing out in the streets. That was the realm of the blood thirsty, the mongrels drooling for an opportunity, a reason to drown themselves in the atrocious. He felt the anger of the moment, threatening to show itself on his face, to bring flush emotion to bear on the men smiling at him. He swallowed it, but the act calmed his face far more than what was appropriate in the context of their joking. Johnathan noticed. Brooke street, second house on the right, two story, no dog. The large man ’ s broad smile wavered for a moment, and then avoided his gaze. A new smile had taken its place, dead eyed and nervous. He might be a problem. 
 
 Three months had past and the man in the suit walked his dog, played games with his child, and picked up trash at the local park. He watched the man waiting for them to come. They did of course. Took their time about it, but they always get their man. Simple trick. He ’ d cloned his Tor program to rebroadcast his entire traffic clear channel. Slowed connection, but to a man of primal desires, well, he persevered. He ’ d removed it a month ago. More than enough time for the ISP ’ s to send it on. 
 
 He never saw them take them; he didn ’ t want to see it. He ’ d no interest is seeing what would happen. He knew it all. The foster care for the little girl, he ’ d already made sure that her only other relatives would be deemed unfit with the most cursory of investigations. Every good deed he ’ d done would be tainted as a cover story for his terrible urges. His lawyer would ensure his bank accounts were bled out, and if he wasn ’ t complete shit, he ’ d get him off. Obvious tampering with his PC, no way to prove he wasn ’ t framed by another party, or the police themselves. Didn ’ t matter, he ’ d live his life exposed, with everything that comes with it. Who knows, maybe he ’ d get convicted and killed instead. The world ’ s funny like that. 
 
 The thought of it was enough; it amused him on the long walk back to his car. The voice came from out of nowhere. “ You ’ ve been busy Jake. Five men ’ s lives ruined over what? A fucking drunken joke over a 10 year old missing persons case. ” “ Hello Johnathan. You still don ’ t understand, do you. ” “ I understand, I understood well enough that night. I was seven drinks in and the look in your eyes sobered me to my core. Didn ’ t take much digging. Simple enough case, missing daughter, grieving father. Left unsolved. ” “ Not unsolved. He had tortured her. Took me six weeks to find them. I wasn ’ t as careful then as I am now. My rage got the better of me. There was so much blood. She…she tried to stop me. She came to that filth ’ s aid. And I ’ d cut her with the blade. My baby died in my arms, by my hand. ” 
 
 “ It was an accid- ” “ And your friends joke about how the father probably did it. How he probably killed her to cover abuse. Like its fucking funny! ” “ Why all of them. Why not only the one who joked about it. Hell I gave them a nervous laugh, am I as guilty as them? ” “ Yes ” “ So are you going to fuck up my life too? ” “ No, you are going to die. ” “ Huh, now you ’ re a cop killer Jake? You ’ re a smart man; you know they ’ ll hunt you down for something like that. You might reconsider. ” 
 
 “ It ’ s far too late for that, too late for me. I couldn ’ t trust myself to go through with it otherwise. ” “ Jake, what did you do? ” “ How are the headaches Johnathan? Mine have been interfering quite a bit. Nearly crashed my car on the way over here. Thought I might have to break form, and accelerate that prick ’ s downfall myself. ” “ Jake, answer me now. What did you do to me? ” “ You laughed John. You encouraged them. Did you think I could let that go? ” “ You ’ re screwing with your life. I haven ’ t reported you; you can come back from this, still. ” “ All my passion, my joy, any scrap of future happiness, everything I was died in that shed with my little girl. There ’ s no coming back from that. You ’ re looking for hope John. As observant as you are, you look to me for hope? ” “ How…how much time do I have? ” “ Couple weeks, maybe a month. It ’ ll feel like flu for a week, and then it ’ s done. ” “ Did you do anything else? My family? ” “ You live a good life John. You ’ ll pay with it, nothing more. ” “ Is there a…never mind. I guess it wouldn ’ t do any good to beg. ” 
 
 “ You were a risk, John, but one I accepted. Had you been quicker to act you could have saved them. So, are you going to do what I expected you to do months ago? ” “ You mean put one in your bread pan with the unregistered piece I have tucked in the back of my waistband? I ’ m not sure yet. ” “ Well, better decide soon. Due to the nature of the beast, I infected myself a couple weeks before I mustered up the courage to do you. I was planning on kinda walking off into the sunset here on this last one when you popped up. ” “ So now I get to decide if I ’ m going to murder a dying man, is that it. Is this part of your screwed up story? ” “ No, John. You haven ’ t been listening. My story ’ s over. Yours is soon to be. I had a plan for my remaining time. It ’ s up to you to plan out the rest of yours. Sorry you don ’ t have much of it left, but well, I ’ m a bit of a bastard. ” 

