Watcher’s Prey

Livewire Bar, downtown Oaksville, 10:00 p.m.

Leslie Duncan is having a drink at her favorite bar on a Wednesday night. Livewire is not exactly the craziest bar to journey to after hours, but it is certainly not the safest place to be after hours. While sipping her martini Leslie looks over and catches a man in a blue denim jacket staring at her with a vacant expression across his face. She quickly dismisses his look and goes back to viewing the mounted television above the bar.

Though Leslie looked away she can still feel the eyes of the onlooker in the denim jacket staring at her in the short distance. “Can I get you another martini, Les?” The female bartender asked. “No, I’m good with this one” Leslie responded. “Say Deb” Leslie started. “Do you know anything about the creep who keeps staring at me across the bar?” “Who? Carter?” Debbie said while looking back and chuckling. “Girl he’s harmless. He comes in once a week to get a drink then he goes home. He’s kinda a hermit.” “What do you mean?” Leslie asked. “Well he recently got fired from his job for misconduct. Word has it he was a cop or detective or whatever”.

“With a grimace like that I’m not surprised he lost his job” Leslie laughed. “Oh, cute drink of water at twelve o’ clock” Debbie began. Leslie turned around and saw a well dressed man in a three piece suit. As soon as he walked through the door his eyes wandered before eventually locking with Leslie’s. He slowly walks over to the bar with a big smile on his face as Leslie turns away in a shy manner. “I’d offer to buy you a drink, but I guess your girlfriend here already has you taken care of” the man said jokingly. “Gee, ain’t never heard that one before. The girls must all fall head over heels for you” Leslie replied sarcastically.

The man smoothly takes a seat right next to Leslie at the bar. “Im Jeffrey” the man begins while extending his hand. “Hi Jeffrey” Leslie responded. “Well that’s no fair” Jeffrey continued. “What’s not fair?” Leslie asked sarcastically. “Well I told you my name, but you didn’t tell me yours” Jeffrey answered. Leslie turned around and locked eyes with Jeffrey with a smile on her face. “I’m Les” she began while shaking Jeffrey’s hand. “So Les, what’s a place like you doing in a girl like this?” Jeffrey asked. “You and your puns” Leslie laughed.

“I try anyway” Jeffrey added. “So what do you do, Jeffrey?” Leslie asked while sipping her drink. “I’m an account manager for AT&T” Jeffrey replied. Leslie raised her eyebrow with a crooked grin. “Interesting, what led you to that line of work?” “I guess I just couldn’t stay off the phone with telemarketers when I was a teenager” Jeffrey replied sarcastically. “So what do you do, Ms. Les?” “Well I’m a receptionist at the Biltmore Hotel”. “I guess we’re both kinda in the same business” Jeffrey joked.

Mid conversation Leslie looked over and saw that she and Jeffrey were being watched by the hermit Carter from across the bar. “Oh gosh, I can believe he’s still staring” Leslie exhausted. “Who?” Jeffrey asked. “Carter the hermit over there. He’s been eyeing me since I got here.” “Well, can’t say I really blame him” Jeffrey replied jokingly”. “How bout I walk you to your car?” Jeffrey suggested. “I guess that’ll be ok, mr. Jeffrey.” Leslie concluded.

Thirty minutes after their introductions Leslie and Jeffrey made their way outside of the bar and headed to the parking lot. “So would I be too straightforward if I asked you for your number?” Jeffrey asked. “I don’t know, would you be?” Leslie rebuttaled sarcastically. As Leslie reached her hand out to grab the door handle on her car Jeffrey grabbed her arm. “I think not” he uttered lowly. Jeffrey then forcefully grabbed Leslie from behind. “What are you doing?” Leslie asked while struggling to break free from his grip. Jeffrey then pulled syringe out of his coat pocket and injected what was inside of it in Leslie’s back as she struggled to pull away.

Leslie opened her mouth to scream, but found that her voice was faint and weak. As she started to grow fatigue from what was injected into her arm, Jeffrey picked Leslie up with both arms and carried her over to his car which was just a few spaces over from Leslie’s. He opened the back door behind the driver’s seat and sat Leslie down in the back seat as she continued to lose consciousness. As Jeffrey reached for the driver’s door to get in he was suddenly tackled from behind.

Jeffrey fell to the ground without catching a sight of his attacker. When he turned around and came to he looked around and identified his attacker as Carter the hermit. Carter stared down at Jeffrey with contempt. “I knew I’d catch you slipping you piece of trash” Carter said angrily. Jeffrey quickly rose up and lunged at Carter who quickly caught him by the arms and kicked him in the gut. As Jeffrey fell over he grabbed Carter by the shirt taking him down with him.

As Carter and Jeffrey fell to the ground a gun fell out of Carter’s coat. As the two men wrestled around on the ground for the gun, Leslie slowly started to come to in the back seat. She slowly rose up weakened in her seat and looked out the window to see the two men fighting. Leslie looked ahead of them on the ground and saw Carter’s gun and stumbled out of the back seat, making her way to the gun. With all her might Leslie fell in front of the gun. Carter stuck his hand out in her direction and Leslie usher the gun towards him.

Carter briefly looked behind where he was laying and saw an overwhelmed Jeffrey pull a knife from a holster hooked on the back of his pants. Carter then quickly grabbed the gun in front of him and pointed it at a rage foul Jeffrey. With his knife him his hand Jeffrey readied himself to stab Carter as Carter squeezed out one round from his gun, hitting Jeffrey in the chest. Jeffrey fell on his back as he slowly started to lose breath. Carter stumbled to his feet and looked down at the dying Jeffrey. With his eyes briefly glancing over at the barely conscious Leslie and then back up at firm standing Carter, Jeffrey took his last breath and slipped into death with his eyes wide open and his mouth agape. Witnessing his dying breath, a weak Leslie slipped into unconsciousness.

While slowly coming to Leslie opened her eyes and found herself laying on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance. She looked out the back of the ambulance door and saw a group of people standing around while being blocked off by a group of police. She also saw Carter talking to one of the police officers. When Carter glanced over and saw that Leslie was awake and walked over to check on her. “Are you alright” Carter asked softly. “Yeah I am” Leslie began. “Carter you saved me. Who knows what that creep was planning”. “I know what he was planning” Carter interrupted.

“Jeffrey was a predator, Leslie. I had been watching him and a group of other sickos for over a year now. See I used to be a cop Leslie and when I tried to build a case against Jeffrey and his well connected predator friends I was suspended from the force because my sergeant thought I had become too problematic, which I sorta did. I kinda became a recluse, but there was no way I was letting this bastard get away with this again. He knew I was watching him, but he and his friends had never seen my face so it was easy to track him without being noticed. I knew he’d strike here tonight.”

“As bad as it sounds I’m glad you were right, you saved my life Carter” Leslie said gratefully. “The whole time I was in there I thought of you as a creep, “Carter the hermit” I said and it turns out you are a good man, a hero who just saved my life, a friend I didn’t know I needed” Leslie cried with joy. “It’s nothing, I was just doing my job, ma’am” Carter said with a smile. Leslie took him by the hand and they embraced each other with a smile, thankful for their newfound friendship.