Before Death

London: a bustling megacity with an abundance of rich history, influential figures, and criminals seeking to build an intricate and impenetrable web of deception - and no one knows this better than detective mastermind Alexander Pritchard. Alexander is offered an opportunity to apprehend a dangerous suspect with a reckless motive that will make him rich beyond his wildest beliefs. But he can’t pull it off alone...

A former special force sniper on a mission for revenge

A woman with her eye on the target

A bloodthirsty man who would do anything to be the highest-ranking criminal

A jovial man who appears to be carefree and merry on the surface

An odd woman with a hidden secret

Alexander’s accomplices are the only ones left that can cope with this kind of firepower, a stand between authority and lawlessness- that is if they don’t destroy themselves first.

(Before Death)

Alexander

Alexander had two problems right now: his coffee and his horse.

He had just woken up from the most delightful dream, his alarm clock piercing its shrills of agony right into his bleeding ears. He had been in the middle of Newcastle running for his life, an army of mercenaries blasting a volley of bullets at his escaping figure.

If only he had been successful in his attempt to steal the prized jewels of Preston Churchill, the richest man in Newcastle for miles, and possible the entire United Kingdom, he would have been at his manor right this moment sipping his beloved coffee and waiting for the next procession of admirers to fall at his doorstep. Instead, he was running through the shadows of the expansive gardens located in the manor trying to shrug away from his pursuers . The trees in here were colossal in size. The sort only an extremely wealthy businessman could boast of. “Shit,” he exclaimed, looking for any hidden crevices to hide in. How did I get myself into this mess?

He heard footsteps trailing him, accompanied by heavy breathing. He ran into an open courtyard and spun around waiting for the recipient of the footsteps to emerge. Eventually, a mammoth of a man came into view from behind the shrubs. He wore a denim blue jacket with a blood red bandana tied around his head. He was hefting an M249 machine gun menacingly in his meaty hands, and his shiny bald head was a pool of sweat and oil.

“Hello there my good man!” Alexander greeted him. “You were really struggling to catch up there. It is a terribly awful idea to be carrying guns around at this time of the hour, Don’t you have a care for the damsels of this abode?”

The meaty bodyguard gave a pig-like snort, his eyes straying to Alexander’s gun holstered by the side of his hip, “I care only for your head on the stakes tonight, I shall rip it off and dispose of your brains in someplace convenient and I will be rewarded very nicely indeed. “Come, and let us see who shall emerge successfully.”

Alexander glanced at the man’s hands reaching under his jacket . He braced himself and responded, shaking his head in sympathy. “You still have an opportunity to leave here tonight with your life, back down and lower your gun to the ground where I can see it”.

The man gave a roar of anger and charged, brandishing his weapon with an apparent lack of skill. It would be the last action he would attempt in his life. A quick bullet to the head from his tommy gun sealed his fate. Alexander watched as the man slowly toppled to the floor, the thud a reverberating sound that reached his feet in flowing waves. The man’s eyes were expressionless and distant, his gun still clutched tightly in his hands. A hole the size of a penny was imprinted in his forehead traveling all the way to the other side. Alexander walked up to him and checked his pulse. Nonexistent. Hmm, I guess I still have some tricks up my sleeve, he thought to himself as he vanished into the night, his footsteps barely a whisper in the eerie darkness.

The morning rays were just creeping through a slit in the curtains, signaling the start of a new day. He got out of his bed and went out to his private balcony, breathing in the sweet scent of dew and honey. His eyes swept across his massive property, taking in the lush fountains and the expansive courtyards that connected to each other through cleverly designed walkways.

He sat down on his cushion, sighing in content, as he reflected on the scene that had just played out in his head. He remembered it like it was yesterday, the adrenaline rush, the thrill of death lurking around the corner. The good old days. He got up and walked back to his bedroom with lazy steps and picked up his private phone.

“Morning Cedric, how are you this morning?” he asked.

“Very well sir, did you have a good night’s sleep?”

“I had as good of a sleep as I’ve been having the last couple of weeks,” he muttered to himself in annoyance.

“I’m very sorry to hear that sir.” “What can I do for you this morning?”

“Anything to report?”

“Nothing at all sir”

“Good, let me know when you have anything”, he said, placing the phone back on the table with a loud clang.

He made his way to the shower and entered, setting the steam level to the highest temperature. The scalding temperature that would have probably unimpressed anybody else didn’t have any effect on him. He wanted to let the droplets wash away the last remnants of his dream, flowing through his mind and cleansing it with its soothing melody. Fifteen minutes later he emerged from the blanket of steam, wrapping his lower body with a cashmere towel as he reentered back into the bedroom

Alexander stepped out of his bedroom and went down the hallway taking in his luxurious surroundings. Ornaments littered the hallway as far back as the eye could see. They were complimented with an array of expensive chandeliers high up in the ceiling. He was very lucky to be able to afford this house, and he knew it. Working as a freelance detective for the past twenty years, he had been able to pick and choose what kind of cases to look into, giving him the freeway to set a price that suited him fairly.

“You would be surprised how much people would pay to solve a difficult case,” he said, chuckling to himself. Working as a detective for the last twenty years definitely had its rewards, that is if you didn’t get killed in the process. He entered his office, breathing in the soothing smells of leather and incense. What a beautiful day.

“Sir, you have visitors,” the intercom beeped,” Cedric’s voice coming through with a slight static in the connection.

He would have to fix that later.

“Who is it?” he asked.

“Two gentlemen, sir. They stated their names as James and Carlos, and they have a very important message to relay to you.”

Alexander wondered who these gentlemen could possibly be. He had never known anyone called James or Carlos ironically enough, but he knew there were plenty in this side of town. He had just finished thinking about this, when Cedric walked in, two men in his tow. They appeared to be twins judging from the shape of their eyes and the fact that they were both wearing leather jackets with matching necklaces. They looked to be in their late thirties judging from how weathered their faces looked.

Alexander ushered them in with a sweep of his hand. “Gentleman, please have a seat,” he said, gesturing at two empty seats by his desk. “I see you both have LMP identification cards around your necks, so I’m guessing this is an important message, yes?”

“Rightly so sir,” one of them said. “My name is James and we’re from the LMP. Sorry to disturb you this early in the morning but we need to inform you about something dire that just occurred yesterday night. My colleague will inform you of the details shortly.”

“My name is Carlos and…”

“I know your name sir,” Alexander interrupted him with a grunt. “If your colleague’s name is James, then you must be Carlos. It’s a simple connection. Could you just skip all the introductions and go to the important bits then? I don’t have a lot of time,” he said pointing at his watch in annoyance.

“Very well sir,” Carlos responded. “Yesterday night, at exactly 10:00 pm, we received a phone call from an anonymous individual who claimed to have seen a woman lying on the side of the road. When that individual approached her, he noticed that her stomach was cut open and she was missing some vital organs like her intestines, heart, and liver.”

“The individual also stated that the woman had brown hair and appeared to be in her 30s. Obviously, due to the severity of the crime, it is our number one priority at this moment.”

“You know I don’t do anything for free,” Alexander said. His hands tightly clasped on the mahogany table.

“We are aware of the situation sir and are willing to offer you any amount of compensation that seems reasonable and fair to both parties.

“I’m not interested, Alexander responded, standing up and pacing around. In reality, he was very much interested and intrigued by this case, but he couldn’t let them know that. He wanted to know how far they were willing to go to get what they wanted.

“This is like any other case that is offered to me, ″ he said standing right in front of them. “What are the stakes, how far are you willing to go?”, he said eyes boring into both of them

“10 million pounds high”, Carlos said.

“I’m listening, Alexander responded, sitting down and cracking his fingers.

“You’re absolutely right in one department Mr. Pritchard, ″ James said. This seems like any other case, but it’s not I can assure you. This is not the first murder call we’ve received from individuals, multiple calls coming, all of them saying the same thing. Women murdered brutally with organs missing. This is not an ordinary murder pattern Mr. Pritchard. It seems very likely we have a serial killer on our hands, and we’ve got no better individual than you to solve this case.

“You are very well aware that I’m retired, Mr. Carlos, ″ Alexander responded. Look around you, he said, his hand sweeping the surrounding area. I live a very comfortable life, all those years risking my life are behind me. Despite my reputation as an accomplished detective, I’m not a robot and you are very familiar with my limitations and capabilities.

“20 million pounds, final offer”, James said “Make that 50 million pounds, and I’m all yours. Alexander retorted, folding his arms and leaning back in his seat.

“Done”, Carlos said, rising up with his partner and shaking his hand.

“Pleasure having you onboard, Mr. Pritchard”

“Pleasure’s all mine.”