The Shark and Red Cape

A vacation, that's all I needed. How did I end up here working again? His blade is long and sharp, he wields it with extreme precision, I have to be careful. I grab his arm to try to take control of the knife but his strength is uncanny. The only chance I have now is to use his foreword momentum to throw him on the ground. Shit, all I wanted was to relax.

Finally I can get away. I don't want to quit going about the path I've chosen, I just need some time to think and get my head back in the game. My last job was way too sloppy, made too many mistakes and almost got myself killed.

As I check into the cheap hotel, something on the tv behind the clerks desk piques my interest. "Excuse me Mam, can you turn that up?" "Sure!"
"Another bizarre incident has occurred surrounding the Red Cloak case. A strange letter was sent into the police department supposedly sent by the suspect this morning and we have been granted permission by the authorities to read it live on air. Keep in mind that this is also a rough translation as the original letter was written in Japanese. Parents should ask children to leave the room. The letter states;

'Tomino’s Hell

The older sister vomits blood, the younger sister spits fire. Cute Tomino spits treasured jewels. Tomino died alone and fell into hell. Hell, darkness, with no flowers. Is it Tomino’s older sister that whips? The number of red welts is worrisome. Whipping and beating and pounding, The path to eternal hell is only one way. Beg for guidance into the darkness of hell, From the golden sheep, from the nightingale. How much is left in the leather bag, Prepare for the endless journey into hell. Spring comes and into the woods and valleys, Seven turns in the dark valley of hell. In the cage is a nightingale, in the cart a sheep, In the eyes of cute Tomino are tears. Cry, nightingale, for the woods and the rain Voicing your love for your sister. The echo of your cry howls through hell, and a blood-red flower blooms. Through the seven mountains and valleys of hell, Cute Tomino travels alone. To welcome you to hell, The glimmering spikes of the needled mountain Stick fresh punctures in the flesh, As a sign to cute Tomino.'

If anyone has any information regarding this case, the police have asked you to contact....."
I quit paying attention after that. I can't get involved, I'm relaxing. That poem though...I know it...its an old urban legend. "This town is going to hell I tell ya," the old clerk mentions. I snap to and respond, "How long has this been happening...these Red Cloak attacks?" "Oh for a few months, the police think its the work of a cult. Don't let this bother your stay, other than this, our town is rather peaceful and safe." "Ha, yes Mam, thank you. Rooms this way?" "Yessir...and sir, stay away from abandoned buildings if you want to live hahahaa." "I'll try to." Crazy old coot, I like her.

Sitting in my room, I can't help but think about that broadcast. No, I'm on vacation. I'll just piddle on the internet to distract myself. I reach into my bag and see my mask, why did I bring my equipment?

After looking up random sites, I find myself drawn to looking up information about the murders in this area. Every single one of them have been in abandoned buildings, desolate locations, old parks, and strangely enough, all have been in the women's bathroom. First instinct is that this would be the work of a pervert looking for a thrill, but none of the female victims had been raped. In fact, half of the victims either had their throats slit or wind pipe crushed, suffocating them. This is too big for me to handle, but I have to do something about this.

The Shark's Sting

The rain just stopped hitting my mask, finally I could light one. The rain didn't bother me since the alley behind the supermarket I chose as a meeting place provides no cover. The hours long wait with no smoke did. This was a perfect vantage point though, one entrance, two exits. The street perpendicular to the alley in front of me and behind me, a ladder to the roof where the rooftops led to my vehicle a few blocks down. My plan was flawless in my own mind.

As I finish my last smoke, the suspects arrive in a red 4x4 pickup. I grab the satchel next to me and watch as three young men stepped out. "Get a load of this faggot in the mask!" "Yer too early for Halloween!" Clearly highschool dropouts. I charge my knuckles to let them know I'm here for business, not pleasure. They seem a little startled by the electricity arcing from my hand, not enough though. "Hey man we were just..." I cut him off, "Do you have the goods?" "Yeah, man..." "Slide it over here and when I know you aren't ripping me off, I'll give you payment," I say holding up the satchel. "Wait! How do we know you aren't a cop?" "You don't but this paycheck is bigger than your fears." They look at each other for a moment and we do the exchange as planned. I watch and gauge their reactions carefully as I slip quietly to the corner where my bat was concealed.

"Aaah! What the f... is this?!" It worked, the old garter snake in the bag of 100 dollars trick. All they saw was a snake and tossed the bag, causing enough confusion for me to charge them. I take the leader out with one well placed hit. The second ,still focused on the snake was another easy takedown. I feel metal on the back of my head. Shit. I was too careless to not notice the third guy reaching for a gun. "Turn around man. You think this is a f...ing joke?" I need a plan though nothing comes to me. I face the guy with the gun, dropping the bat, hands in the air. I notice he is tweaked out of his mind, another complication. I look at his shaking arm holding the gun. That's when it hits me. "You do realize that a gun is only useful if the safety is off?" "Eh?" His moment of confusion as he looks at the gun gives me a small opening to plant an electric punch to his throat. The tweaker was so blitzed, that he didn't even realize that that specific model handgun has a trigger safety. I was lucky, too lucky.

I open the bag of dope, meth, lots of meth. I go to my bag and let the harmless snake go, leaving the money. I take into account what has happened and snap pictures for evidence. Each brick and every dollar. After this, I make my way to the roof. Once up top, I make a 911 call on an old trac phone. "Please you have to hurry," I say in my most convincing voice, "I saw some thugs in the alleyway behind the market get beat up! One of them had a gun! Looks like a bad drug deal!" "Sir, get back in your house, officers are on their way." The bait is set. Now to wait for my true target.

Ten minutes it takes the county's "finest" to show up. I lay on the roof watching, camera ready. I see them move stuff around. Two cops total with two different vehicles. I watch the one counting the drugs. He signals to the other to go to his car for something. There! SNAP! I got it. He put 3 bricks into another bag. Clearly not evidence. I keep watch. SNAP! Money going into pockets. The hubris these civil protectors have is astounding. Laughing as if they hit their own payday. I snap a few more and leave. They are too caught up in "police work" to notice. I go home and print out my evidence and wait till the next night to deliver it to the courthouse. I know the cops won't be tried, corruptions tendrils go too far up. However they now know that someone is watching.

The people say they want a hero, instead they elect corrupt officials. These public servants show that fact. I thank God that they aren't all like this. These scumbags ruin the name of those who actually want to do good. For them I feel justice, no, retribution is to be payed by bringing the evil to light. A famous vigilante once said, "The whores and politicians will look up and shout save is...and I'll whisper 'No." At first I thought it was typical comic book style writing to instill emotion. Now, with eyes opened, I understand the weight of that statement. The people need to see the lies they are fed. The true monsters of this world need to be revealed. Hopefully I can make it happen in atleast one person. Then I would know my sacrifice is for nothing. I am no hero, just a person sick of seeing this joke passed off as justice. I am The Shark.

The Shark Bites (inspired by true events)

His cellphone rings, an old friend. Not averting his eyes from the dark road, he answers. "Yeah. Just now?....On my way." He hangs up and grabs a cigarette, the flame from his lighter only illuminates his lips. This was a moment he had long been preparing for.

The man opens the trunk of his car to see his tools of destruction. A baseball bat, specially crafted gloves, Kevlar vest, Buck knife, leather trench coat, and mask. Reaches in, putting each layer of armor on. He slips his gloves on and flips a switch on the side. Sparks emit from the tazer built into his knuckles. Last he pulls the mask on, a grim sight to behold. A grimace of a shark's smile adorns the mouth in read, solid black eyes on front, dark black Mohawk protrudes from the top. Everything else is black. His weapons and gear ready, he shuts the trunk. He leans against his car for a moment to light another one up. The poison in his lungs helps focus himself on the task at hand.

He arrives at the destination the informant told about. He knows this place. A friend lives here, the informant.  He stealthly makes his way to his friends window. He knocks 3 times and the curtain peels back to frightened face of a woman. "Its me, were is he?"

She opens the door for the man. He gazes across the room and see a punk laying in his own filth "Is this him?" I ask of her. She nods with tears going to her face. "Sweety, I want you to go into your room and lock the door. Nobody is coming in there unless its me." "Yes sir."

He puts his hand over the punks mouth in case he screams. The punk wakes up to see a flash of blue then unconscious. The man scans the room to see if any was disturbed by his actions. All gone to drunken dream land. Too bad he wont be staying, he's coming with me tonight.

"WAKE UP!" THWACK
"Oh look it seems that have defecated and pissed all over yourself not to mention puke."
The punk dangles from the crossbeams in am old barn. Bloody and naked. A gag in his mouth. The punk is confused to what is going on.
"Robert McDervis of County Road 6, yes I have pulling your records. Seems to me that you can't keep your hands off of women. You know something Bobby, if you don't mind I call you that, there are two things I hate most in life; vegetables and scumbags who hit women." Bobby tries to resist his restraints when the masked man gets in his face. With a stern voice, "You are definitely not green and filled with vitamins, so you must be the other."

Bobby tries to scream. "No use Bobby, that's the great part of these small towns, I have Metallica blaring outside the door, so even if you could scream, people around would think that there is a damn good party going on over here. So save your strength if you want to get out of this alive. The man walks over to his bag of tricks, pulling out a knife and bat. He throws the bat down and flips open the knife, the mask outwardly showing the inner smile. "You see this knife? It was special to me. I knew it would be her for my first time." The man twirls the knife against his fingers. "You my new friend Bobby will be her first taste of blood." Bobby starts to struggle and scream. "Oh no no no Bobby....you have the wrong idea. I am not going to kill you. I am just going to leave you a mark to commemorate our first talk."

With that he walks over to the punks body and starts to carve a giant X across his chest. Bobby grunts as the pain is fierce. The man continues, "Now everytime you look in a mirror, you will remember me. Everytime, you force yourself onto a girl, you will remember me. Our next encounter wont be as peaceful as this one."
Done with his work the man looks at the punk. "I have eyes and ears everywhere. When they ask who are you afraid of, tell them 'The Shark.' Now its time for sleep."

THWACK

The Shark left the punk across down with a not saying "Be Careful Who You Trust like this women abusing rapist. Have a good day."

He felt good. Saw the sun rise, a friend by his side. He decided to get in bed himself before he had to start his shift at 11.