What They Deserve

FOUR

Positioned to see their every move, he watched in boredom.

They were so naive to think they were safe inside Willow's house. As usual, she had left the blinds open, giving him and any other intruders the perfect view right into her "not so private" bedroom. Any neighbors that were interested in watching her undress or emerge naked and wet from the adjacent bathroom, had a free view. This proved his point that they didn't care who they taunted. He'd spent many nights planning different ways to punish her. The perfect one hadn't come to mind yet. But he still had plenty of time.

Tonight, they both flounced around in their skimpy pajamas for the world to see, neither showing the slightest amount of shame.

He could see them lounging on the bed, eating while they watched something on the flat screen tv. They laughed, tossed food at one another, and he assumed, talked about stupid things. At some point, they even did some dorky dance that he figured was an inside joke. They alternated turns for replenishing their drinks which varied between water, soda, and mixed drinks.

So. Very. Boring. The one thing he hadn't planned on was that they would watch girly movies all night. He hadn't even expected Raven to stay. That wasn't their normal forte. In fact, they never spent more than a few hours together. If they weren't at work, they were stringing men along. Or at least making jokes about doing so. That was it.

The thought was starting to drive him mad. He narrowed his eyes at the women, willing them to feel his wrath from afar. They, however, remained oblivious to his death glare.

After a while, he decided that it would be better for him to locate Raven's final resting place instead of continuing to spy on them. While it was something new for them, it was pointless for him. He was starting to feel like he was behind his intended schedule, considering that he was going to take care of two women. Instead of the normal one building, he needed to find two. To top it off, they couldn't disappear with too much time in between. He didn't want to be around when people started to look for Raven. That would make it that much harder to get rid of Willow without attracting any extra attention.

Being in such a large city, there were plenty of places for him to use. While it would be so much easier to give them both the same final home, he felt not only would it be a stupid move, but each woman deserved the right kind of place to receive her punishment. It was imperative that he find the perfect one for Raven before he did anything else. She was feisty and he feared she might drive him to complete the job before he was ready. There was something that told him his self control was going to be lacking with Raven whereas he would be able to keep the other one at bay.

He forced himself to think of Raven leading some guy on, of the comment she'd made in the restaurant those few months ago and focused on how pissed it made him. This was his fuel as he got up and started thinking about where he wanted to punish and torture her.

The night had a sharp chill, prompting him to zip up his jacket as he made his way down the street. His hunt for Raven's end was going to begin near the center of the city. There were a lot of places for him to inspect, but he wasn't sure any of them would offer the qualities he needed in order to keep things under wraps.

People scurried to their destinations, oblivious to others around them. This was one of the many reasons he preferred to target large cities; it was easy to get lost. Hiding in plain sight allowed him to find the perfect places to give women their due comeuppance without drawing unwanted attention to himself.

The first building he inspected had a dated grace to it despite the dilapidated appearance. He didn't have high hopes that it would work, but felt drawn to it.

Several arched windows lined the front of the stone building, each with a decorative crescent stone jutting out at the top. The place screamed "art deco" before he even stepped inside.

The front door hung from rusty hinges, giving a small gap big enough for someone to squeeze through. He shimmied his way in and stood in the front entrance for several minutes while his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Not daring to use the flashlight on his phone, he left it in his pocket. Even with the idiots roaming around, he wasn't prepared to start flashing lights throughout the place to broadcast that he was trespassing.

Before him, a massive counter stood, once regal and slick. Now it sagged at one end and splinters jutted out in every direction. The key holder hanging on the wall behind the front desk still held keys tarnished from years of neglect, covered in cobwebs and layers of dust. Just to the right, there was an elevator with bold lines coming from the edges and corners to form a circle in the middle of the door. Above was a silver arched dial showcasing the floor numbers. Further to the right stood a grand staircase that curved as it ascended to the second floor. Thin bars of metal formed boxes that filled with various geometric diamonds, some solid black while most remained open.

He continued to turn to his right to appreciate the rest of the decor, in awe of the beauty of the lobby. Worn down, wide velvet chairs and couches adorned the corners of the room, round metal coffee tables separating the furniture. The faded carpet showed faint blue lines that matched those on the staircase.

His trek through and around the lobby showed that there were just the stairs leading up. Even as he walked behind the counter to investigate the back rooms, he found that there were no stairs going to a basement. It didn't bother him that he wouldn't be able to use the location since he felt it was too special for either of his targets, but he did decide that he wanted to come back to explore it in the daylight.

After trekking through several more buildings, he found the perfect one near the rail yards. There was enough noise, even in the night, to disguise any possible screams that might escape. And he was sure even a gag would be too little to keep Raven quiet.

Once inside, he saw that the desolate structure housed several beams that he assumed had been used on the railroads around. Any few windows there had been, were now covered with plywood. The floor was open and spacious, with various rooms branching off in several directions. Most of them had been offices, still housing desks and chairs. Others were storage spaces filled with old files. Another led to a large cafeteria with a kitchen. The last room led to a set of stairs that descended into the ground. This piqued his interest.

The stone steps led down to a concrete room. No windows kept the area pitch black. He pulled out his phone and used the flashlight to look around. There were old filing cabinets cast off to a corner and broken furniture in another. Other than that, the room was empty. He looked up to see that the ceiling was low and smooth, metal beams crossing the surface. There was enough space to drill a hole and loop some chains through so he could have her suspended. The only problem he saw was that she would be able to stand rather than hang. Unless I gave her a reason why she couldn't stand.

Envisioning Raven in the middle, receiving whatever punishment he desired to give her, he decided this was the perfect place for her.