Chapter one

I was working on a tight wire without a safety net underneath me. Justice sometimes was blind and dumb to the plight of others. Criminals fell through the cracks once again on the street wreaking havoc for everyone. It wasn’t my job to police the police. Their numbers were scarce with not enough manpower to make a difference.

Sitting in the nondescript black sedan drumming my fingers on the steering wheel in the shadows was where you would find me at midnight. Answering phones was my day job. When the night surrounded the city in a blanket it opened up many windows of opportunity.

“After you finish your night shift, come by for a few minutes to talk. I know the stress is getting to you. I can see it in your eyes. You don’t sleep and it takes a lot to get you to open up.” Copeland was on the speakerphone of the cell.

He was my next door neighbor living with the god complex. I befriended him when I moved in looking for somebody to carry those heavy boxes. He was fascinated by some of the literary masterpieces in my collection.

They were trophies. Like a serial killer, I kept mementos of those who felt my wrath firsthand.

“I might be a little later than expected. Keep a light on for me.” Dressed in black and carrying the tools of my trade had become just another night in many.

“Rachel, you have been burning the candle at both ends. It’s a wonder you haven’t passed out from exhaustion. I might have to consider giving you a full physical.” He was a first-year resident skating through on his photographic memory.

“No offense, but I’m not really looking for your bedside manner. We talked about this at length and we’re better off as friends.” His blond hair and body of Adonis made me fantasize with my fingers doing the walking.

“I think the woman doth protest too much. Get a few drinks in you and we’ll see what I look like with beer goggles.” He was a good-looking man, but drawing him into my gravity was only going to hurt him in the end.

“I’ve never been drunk and I don’t plan to start now.” The business at hand demanded my full attention and to have full control of my faculties.

The man in the army jacket was pacing back and forth in front of the liquor store. The gun in his hand was lying at his side. He had already taken a few slugs from a concealed bottle in his pocket to give him liquid courage. Only a few hours out of lockup and he was already content with doing the very same thing.

“You don’t know if you’re going to like it if you haven’t tried it. You have a good heart. The path of a humanitarian can’t be easy.” I had let slip during one of our lengthy conversations how half of my income was earmarked for several different charities.

“You know what happened to my father in that alley when I was eight years old. My mother was institutionalized lost in her own head. I was raised by my grandparents who were a stickler for details.” My grandfather was a cop.

I saw the heavy burden he carried of those victims who demanded justice.

“An only child makes for a lonely existence. Trying to get anything out of you is like a time bomb about to go off. I can’t pretend to walk a mile in your shoes.” He was a bad ass Physician in the making.

His unorthodox methods had been used to save several different victims. We were both doing our part to make the world a better place in vastly different ways. Listening to him tell the tale of heroism made me swoon like a lovesick teenager. He didn’t notice my lingering glances of seduction. Copeland was oblivious. It wasn’t part of his charm.

“There’s really nothing that interesting about me. I have to go.” I waited for his telltale call sign.

“The Dr. is out.” The deathly silence was thick in the air.

I had a piece of black tape over the light above me. Slipping out and mingling with the dregs of society was easier every time. I could hear the noise of the police sirens in the distance. The smell of takeout assaulted my senses. A switch was turned and I became decisive in my thinking. I was in no hurry and patience was a virtue.

My soft-soled shoes made me sneak up on him without alerting him to my presence. These were the little things I had learned from trial and error over the years. I had gotten into a few tough spots and managed to weasel my way out of them. Each one was a learning experience never to be repeated twice. I was becoming surgical in my approach.

The electricity making him dance on the sidewalk was running through his body with 1000 volts. He collapsed into my arms and I dragged him unconscious into the darkness. It would’ve been so easy to slit his throat. It wasn’t like anybody was going to miss a piece of excrement like him. I’d found myself on the brink of insanity.

I checked his pulse by pressing my two fingers on his wrist and found that it was strong. He was breathing steady. I dropped the bag at my feet and found what I was looking for in the dark.

I stashed a bag of cocaine in his jacket. The gun I had found in his apartment inside the wall vent would give the authorities more than enough to prosecute. They didn’t need a search warrant.

The sirens were getting closer. My anonymous call had been picked up on the wire. The press would swarm into the area. I was handing him over on a silver platter with the evidence to put him away for a very long time. I had an amazing upper body with my shoulders formed into the kind of muscles to carry somebody of his dead weight.

The clerk had died at the scene several months ago with his family heartbroken. It was all circumstantial evidence. The address for the search warrant was a clerical error. Nothing was admissible. Somehow they had missed a crucial piece of evidence inside the wall vent.

I took a few tentative steps backward watching as the police arrived. There was no reason for them to search the area. He wasn’t dead and I made sure the cocaine was visible to the naked eye. The handle of the gun was sticking out of his pocket with his fingerprints making him the only one that handled it.

I called and was put through to the detective in charge at the scene of the crime. My blonde hair was hidden underneath my black cap. The form-fitting black jeans and sweater were hiding my natural attributes. I was a natural blond.

“Who is this?” I had given him more than enough, but I felt it was necessary to guide him.

“Detective Rodriguez, the man you are looking at is Ronald Grover. You might recognize him from the news report this afternoon. Have the gun tested. There’s no wiggle room this time. Possession of the cocaine is the icing on the cake. Don’t screw this up.” My voice was modulated to be the baritone of a man’s voice.

“I don’t look fondly upon vigilantism. I will make sure this is given the utmost urgency. I’ve heard of you. They call you the guardian. Some vilify you and others shout your name from the rooftops. I don’t know where I stand. Don’t make a mistake of getting caught in the act. I won’t show you any kind of leniency.” He was by the book and I didn’t expect it any other way.

“I clean up the mess and make it possible for the victims’ families to find closure. A child should not wake up without his mother. A father should not outlive his son. You have a hard job and the system is flawed. I make it easier for all of you to look at yourselves in the mirror and like what is looking back.” I didn’t consider myself a saint and actions had consequences.

“Get yourself a badge and see how you feel when a perp walks. We are trained to enforce the law. What you are doing goes against everything I believe. There’s a part of me that hopes they never catch up with you.” He was close to where I was standing and then he made his way back to where Ronald was being read his rights.

“I will leave the real police work to you and those in blue. Call me a contingency plan when things don’t go according to plan. I’m the last line of defense. He was planning to rob that convenience store. One wrong move and the clerk would be just another statistic. I couldn’t have that on my conscience.” I was living on borrowed time.

“I hear real concern for a fellow human being. Where do you cross the line? I get the feeling killing isn’t your first option. Keep true to your values. It’s the only thing separating you from becoming one of these animals.” Talking to him made me feel better, but being with Copeland would bring me solace.

I felt like I was walking in two different pairs of shoes. It was hard to differentiate between the two. They were bleeding in a little more each day. My personality was changing. I blew up at my boss at work with hardly any provocation. I was made to go to anger management which was a waste of my time.

“I know where to stop. It’s different when you don’t have your hands behind your back by legal red tape. I can work independently of the law. I don’t do anything that you don’t fantasize about in the middle of the night. I’m not a Caped crusader. I don’t jump from rooftops and swing from one building to another. I do what is necessary to make sure others don’t suffer the same fate.” I knew I saved a lot of lives.

“The law is there for a reason. I uphold it with a long tradition of police officers in my family. This isn’t the right way. The badge is something I carry with pride. What you do undermines our authority.” The detective made some valid points and I couldn’t dispute him.

“The fact remains criminals will always find a way to take away your power. The feeling of satisfaction from a job well done is something we have in common. If I stop to think about it, I might realize the mistake I am making by putting my life in peril. I don’t have the luxury of letting this go. It might sound a little self-righteous, but I’m doing what you can’t do.” He was scrutinizing those beyond the yellow tape.

The assumption was that I would be there to see my handiwork. He wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t going to be that upfront with my intentions. I was snubbing my nose by being within spitting distance of his authority.

          I walked away with my hands in my pocket, keeping my head down low and not making the mistake of looking back.