As I was dashing through the familiarized alleyways and back-streets, I flicked up my hood and began decreasing my speed to remain undetectable in the current of people hustling through downtown New York. I was paced at a steady haste moments before swapping the seclusion of the alley for the openness of the streets. I quickly concealed my weapon, a small pistol, and circled the block looking for the perfect area to kill swiftly but escape unnoticed. I located a tiny diner on the corner of Alabaster Avenue and a minute alleyway. While I approached the diner, I spotted my first two victims of the night, a couple taking shelter from the drizzling rain. “Once this weather stops, we’ll head down the avenue and straight home,” said the man in a light colored jogging suit who took short, intermediate pauses for breathes when he spoke, an indistinct sign that they had been running.

The perfect target to kill. “You’re right,” replied the small, petite looking woman. “We should get out of this rain before we get sick. That’s the last thing I need, is to miss...”

Just as she abruptly stopped speaking, a giant bus zoomed around the corner and doused the couple in a coat of mud-filled water.The bus veered right, causing it to graze a parked vehicle and send a large cloud of smoke and sparks into the air. I noticed the perfect time to strike. I rushed ahead, flicked out my revolver, and shot both in the head in a matter of seconds. I holstered my weapon and began my sprint down the alley to search for a spot to be hidden from witnesses. Moments later, I heard the distinct sound of police sirens, news helicopters, and screaming bystanders calling for help. I smirked as I opened a manhole covering and dropped into the dark, shadowy abyss.

As I stepped down the first few rungs, I heard the words of a young man screaming into a phone saying, “They’re dead...yeah...both of them!”

“Hello, this is Detective James. What do you need?” I announced calmly into the large rotisserie phone. “Yes, I’ll be right there, bye,” I stated excitedly while preparing mentally for my first crime scene investigation.

I yelled abruptly at my new teammates, “We got a call about a murder, grab the gear and lets move quickly!”

I couldn’t believe that on my first day joining the North American Investigations group, that I would get to track down a bloodthirsty killer and make the streets safer. I realized, however, that later this week, I would regret ever making the decision of joining the team and wanting to ever help stop crime. As we approached the scene a few minutes later, I quickly realized how much gore the crime scene really contained. The wall and several windows had skull and muscle fragments from the lower neck and skull, the ground was drenched in dried blood and rotted flesh, and to make matters worse, the whole scene was crawling with small worms and birds scavenging for a good meal. I brushed them away as my teammates searched for a shell casing or weapon that could’ve done such a terrible thing. He found two shells and turned the bodies over to try to identify who the poor, merciless victims were. Their distorted faces still gave me nightmares as one top portion of the skull was blown out. However, the other remained intact in the front but was horribly misshapen in the rear. I prayed for the poor joggers, both non-deserving of such an abrupt death. We gathered as much clues, details, and remnants of facts as we could and headed back to headquarters, an abandoned but renovated police building. We circled around every detail, trying to figure out the rest of this insanely difficult puzzle of a murder. After days of research and problem solving, we came to a dead end. I was surprised to be so confused and lost about the killer. We wondered how, why, and when did he do this horrific crime. We seemed just barely struggling through a maze of clues and riddles, finding out one puzzle piece just to be rewarded by another mystery. Until one cold night, we got a phone call changing the whole face of the operation.

“I just witnessed a killing!” blurted a jittery woman. “The man matches the description of the other killer, but I lost sight of him.”

“Ma'am,” I calmly stated, “we will be down there as soon as possible. Don’t panic they probably left the scene, but just in case, stay in the open and don’t move until we get there. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she replied, “I’m on 31st Street in front of the theater.”

I thanked her, quickly gathered my team and equipment, and rushed to the scene. For a strange reason, I had the urge to bring my small sidearm and concealed it into my secure holster along with two clips of ammunition. After arriving a few minutes later, I immediately compared the similar death scenes and realized the woman was right. The killer had returned with identical headshots and two similar bullet casings. I was analyzing clues when I caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure emerging from the shaded street. I turned to recognize a hooded figure staring back my direction. All I could think about was dropping my gear and taking off after the apparition. I reached for my gun, skidded over our car, and sprinted down the side street as I realized I was in pursuit of the killer.

“Get back here!” I screamed as I chased down the assailant. I cornered him in an unlocked warehouse where he opened fire. Under the dimming lights, every shot echoed through the building, strobed the room in light, and worried me even more. I was pelted with chips of concrete and metal as bullets and shrapnel reigned down on my position. I regained my courage as the bombardment of shells halted, probably due to reloading, and I seized the opportunity. With courage and uncertainty, I charged his position where I saw the masked man for who he was, a scared, worried, but nonetheless, dangerous man. I shot him twice in the legs where he winced in pain and crumbled to the floor. I pulled away his gun and ammunition as he screamed in agonizing pain and worry. Then, I called for the team as I rejoiced the thought of this murderer finally being put behind bars and away from the innocent public. I rested, stricken from the small firefight and chase. I closed my eyes trying to regain strength. I rested for what seemed like seconds before I looked over to the spot the killer had been injured and was scared as the body was gone with nothing left but a trail of blood and ripped clothing. I got up, panicked, and bolted back through the rickety doors to the safety of the street. I refrained from looking back, in fear of the killer who was lurking moments behind me.