Butcher Part 1
“For many years I’ve worked on Butcher off and on, like any novel its changed over the years. This is a glimpse of where it is so far.”
McArthur City waits, a hungry beast ready to swallow you whole
Naomi didn’t remember much. One second her and most of her family had been relaxing and enjoying their cookout. Then it became a muddled blur. There had been screams, her mother hid her, and told her not to come out.
But that had been hours ago, and Naomi’s body was becoming cramped and sore from hiding so long. She braced herself and unfolded her aching body. The first thing that she noticed was the smell. It assaulted her nostrils. Though she didn’t know the smell yet, she would come to know it intimately, the smell of death. She walked tentatively through the park picnic area and befell the carnage that had been visited upon her family. She wanted to cry, to find her parents but the sound of sirens scared her. Naomi quickly hid as the cops approached, at first, she wanted to run to them. Even though she and her family were black, both of her parents taught her to trust the police. A vexing concept, as she also saw her parents both protesting police brutality. But then she overheard them speaking, and Naomi knew she couldn’t trust them, they spoke in thick Russian accents
“Damn! I’m tired of cleaning up the Beshenyy pes’messes!” Pavel spat angrily
“Do you want to end up as one of his messes? If not, then shut up and gather these bodies! We need to get them to the soupovarka so he can dispose of them.” Nicholai hissed
The two cops got to work, gathering up what was left of Naomi’s family. She wanted to stop them, but she knew she wasn’t strong enough. So, she cried silently in her hiding spot. It had been difficult to keep her composure, then they found her mom. They picked her up and Naomi couldn’t contain herself,
“Put her down asshole!” Naomi screamed
“There’s one still alive! Quick grab her!” Nicholai shouted
Naomi tried to run deeper into the woods, but she wasn’t fast enough. The cops subdued her with minimal effort and threw her in the back of one of the squad cars. Then proceeded to gather the rest of the bodies Naomi wanted to weep for her family, but she had cried enough, and she refused to give these assholes the satisfaction. Instead she sat in silence and attempted to listen to what they were saying, maybe if she could hear what they were talking about she could find out what they were planning on doing with her, she did everything she could to focus, but all she kept seeing and hearing whenever she closed her eyes was gunshots, and her family screaming. It filled Naomi with a feeling she had never experienced, she felt the need for vengeance like never before. These cops had to pay, whoever they work for? They had to pay! She made a vow to herself right in the back of that cop car that her family would be avenged, whatever it took. Naomi started to maneuver herself to get free from the car
Kim had been drawn to the park tonight, but she wasn’t sure why. It was a rare night off for her. She should have been relaxing but the night had been too beautiful, so instead she decided to take a walk. For a place as chaotic as MacArthur City it was quiet, that made Kim uneasy. A part of her thrived on the chaos. Walking along Kim thought she heard something. She couldn’t discern what it was, but she attempted to follow it. As she walked the sound grew louder, so she quickened her pace. Kim saw the flash of sirens, so she quickly hid behind a nearby tree. As she eavesdropped Kim noticed two police officers loading corpses into the back of a truck.
“Hm, well that seems ominous.” Said Kim pensively, slowly moving closer to the scene. She made sure to stick to the shadows. They didn’t need to know she was here yet.
Instead of moving directly for the truck she moved towards the patrol car, Kim had a devilish plan. She removed her tools and got to work on the door. Before long, Kim had made it in, that was when she heard the faintest whisper from the back seat. When she looked back, Kim realized that it had been fate that led her to the park tonight. Looking back, she motioned to the girl to remain silent. Kim moved quickly to free the child, trying to stay silent. She couldn’t let her plans be ruined.
“I’m going to the car, all this work has me craving a smoke. You want one Pavel?” Nicholai asked
“Yeah, I’ll have one. But hurry back, I’m ready to leave, Nicholai” Pavel responded uneasily
Leaving the other cop to continue working Nicholai headed for their patrol car, upon arriving he immediately saw something wrong: the survivor they had arrested was missing from the back seat. He moved in for a closer look, as he prepared to open the door, a pain erupted from his foot, however before he could call out for his partner’s help a black bag found its way around his head and Kim quickly choked him out and hid the body. Then Kim and Naomi hid and waited.
Pavel loaded the last of the bodies into the truck then looked around for Nicholai, one of them could drive the truck then the other could follow in the squad car but his partner had yet to return. He sighed exasperated then headed for the car, he had some water. He would rest with Nicholai then they would decide who would drive the truck. Pavel was wary as he approached, he couldn’t see Nicholai. The door of the squad car stood open; Pavel moved slowly as to take in his surroundings.
“Nicholai?” Pavel called nervously
Suddenly a body dropped from a nearby tree, startling Pavel. He slipped dropping his gun. He angrily cursed his clumsiness. He got up and dusted himself off. He headed over and prepared to investigate the corpse, he dreaded this. He saw the police uniform he already knew who this was. But he removed the bag anyway so see the tortured face of his deceased friend, Pavel felt a pang of guilt. He shouldn’t have let Nicholai out of his sight. As he wondered what to do, he saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye, whoever had killed Nicholai had to still be here.
Naomi sat in her perch she watched the cop stumble around blindly. She felt an exhilaration that currently she couldn’t explain. All that Naomi knew was that in all her thirteen years of life she had never been this excited about anything as she watched the stranger toy with the cop the way a cat toys with a mouse. Watching this deadly dance in action, Naomi knew that whatever world this woman came from, she had to be a part of it suddenly as quick as the game began, it was over. The cop had tripped on an outgrown root. In the split second that he stumbled the stranger was upon him. Naomi noticed that the stranger didn’t kill him, instead she tied him up. Naomi was intrigued.
Kim quickly tied up the cop. Hunting him hadn’t been fun, he was too damn dumb. But it was time for Kim as well as the young girl she saved to make a choice. Kim dragged the cop to the trunk of the squad car. Upon opening it, she noticed the drugs and the money. These were contract killers, drug dealers, the world wouldn’t lose any rotations if she killed him like she did his friend. But that wasn’t her choice to make. Instead she motioned to the girl. As Kim showed Naomi the bound cop, Kim could see the rage in her eyes.
“What’s your name? I never got to ask.” Kim said casually
“It’s, It’s Naomi.” Naomi responded nervously
“Well Naomi, I’m Kim. And this scumbag is Pavel. He killed your family.” said Kim kicking the cop savagely in the ribs
“I know.” Said Naomi barely able to contain her rage
“I’m going to give you a choice. I can find you a new identity and send you somewhere safe. Or, you can come with me. And I can teach you the skills you need to make sure Pavel and the people he works for never break another family like they’ve done to yours ever again.” Kim offered
“I want to come with you. The things I’ve seen you do, if I left now? I’d only have more questions. I need this. No, I want this.” Naomi said quickly
“There it is.” Said Kim, slamming the trunk of the squad car. She then motioned to Naomi to sit in the front seat.
As Kim headed for the driver seat, she pulled out Pavel’s phone and called the DA’s office. Her boyfriend worked in the office. He was one of the few people that McArthur City hadn’t corrupted. She left him an anonymous tip about the bodies, she bundled up Nicholai’s corpse so that it could be disposed of properly. Then she got in the driver’s seat of the car and sped off into the night.
Naomi had fallen asleep in the car. She knew she shouldn’t have, but for some reason Kim made her feel safe. When she woke back up, they were pulling up to a warehouse, it looked as though it had been abandoned for years. It made Naomi extremely uncomfortable. Noticing the girls worried expression, it was Kim who spoke first trying to reassure the girl.
“Oh good, you’re awake. you can relax, I own this warehouse. I keep it because I don’t like people prying in my business. This is where we’ll start your training. Do you trust me? I don’t want you to feel afraid.” Kim said reassuringly
“I’m not afraid!” Naomi said a little too quickly
“Well, that’s good.” Said Kim chuckling
Kim motioned over to a chain hanging from the ceiling at the end of which was Pavel looking battered and terrified. He was a bloody mess covered in lacerations and bruises. Upon seeing his state, Naomi could barely keep herself from vomiting. Kim handed her a bottle of water, before strolling over to Pavel and shoving an adrenalin needle into his arm.
“I hope you don’t mind but I went ahead and got started without you. You were sleeping so peacefully I’d have felt guilty if I disturbed you. But now that you’re awake, I feel ready to formally start. Grab that scalpel.” Kim said coolly
Naomi tentatively picked up the scalpel and looked nervously at Kim.
“That’s good now have you heard of the concept of Death by a Thousand Cuts?” Kim asked
“No what’s that?” Naomi asked intrigued
“it’s a process called Lingchi essentially it’s the act of killing a man by making several small cuts over a long period of time. Pavel here? He has information that we need, and we’re gonna keep cutting till he tells us what we need to know, or he dies. I’ve decided to start with this to gauge exactly how much self-control you have.” Said Kim in an even tone, as though she had done this countless times
“Ok I understand.” Naomi said through gritted teeth
“That’s good to hear, now I want you to make your first cut in his arm, deep enough so he feels it, but not so deep that you hit anything vital.” said Kim calmly
“Ok” Naomi got started, Kim watched her intently. She remarked to herself how quickly the girl took to torture, she hoped that seeing her family slaughtered hadn’t caused something to snap in the girl. She needed a protégé not to be training a serial killer.
At first, Kim was pleasantly surprised, aside from light shaking in her hands Naomi seemed to be getting on well with the torture. But as Kim watched, the shaking in Naomi’s hands was getting worse it was getting harder for her to contain her emotions
“Who hired you! You son of a bitch! Tell me or I’ll cut your damn eyes out!” Naomi shouted
Naomi dragged the scalpel across his chest. Kim wanted to step in, but she kept watching, she was morbidly curious to see how far Naomi would take this. Naomi jabbed the scalpel into Pavel’s chest, she didn’t know what she was doing, she just knew that she wanted to hurt him, he had to suffer, he had to answer for her family.
“Who hired you?” Naomi screamed in Pavel’s face in a voice ragged with emotion.
Kim stepped in; she hugged the girl. And took the scalpel from her. they hugged for a long time as Kim let Naomi grieve. After Kim let her go, Naomi looked at her longingly
“Let me do this, please. I can do it.” Naomi pleaded
“It’s ok, I know you can. You’ve done great, now go get some rest. I’ll take care of this guy.” Kim reassured
Kim watched as the girl walked deeper into the warehouse, she hoped that Naomi would be alright but the level of loss the girl had suffered was enough to break even the strongest of people. Then she looked back at Pavel, he stared defiantly at Kim. As if to say neither of you are strong enough to break my will.
“Well Pavel, are you ready to give me and that girl what we need? Or are you going to keep being difficult?” Kim inquired
“Ptuh” Pavel spat bloody mucus in her face as a response.
“I’m glad you’re so tough, that will make this all the sweeter. Just remember, you pushed me here. I want you to keep this same energy.” Said Kim darkly
Pavel noticed the slight change in Kim’s voice almost as though two people were speaking through her at once. He felt a deep primal fear in his stomach, he tried to remain strong, but what Pavel saw next? It was unimaginable, it was impossible. All he could do was scream.
“No, no, no. Don’t scream now, you pushed me here. Now this can all end. You gonna tell me what I need to know?” asked Kim in a voice that wasn’t her own
“Yes-yes-yes! Just please. Make it stop!” Pavel whispered
“Good, good, well I’m waiting.” Said Kim, malice twinkling in her eyes.
Pavel began to tell Kim everything he knew. The more he spoke, the more uncomfortable Kim got. The corruption this guy was apart of ran from McArthur City’s deepest darkest sewers to its highest ivory towers. The wheels started turning in her head. Before her she saw several accomplishable goals. She could help Adonis clean the city up in her own way and she could fast track Naomi’s training. It was something to consider. But now that she had all the information, it was time to clean up. Kim looked balefully at Pavel. His eyes widened in horrified acceptance then Kim brutally snapped his neck. She then removed the body and cleaned up the blood. She returned to the warehouse and found Naomi, the girl was drenched in sweat, and sleeping fitfully. Kim carefully picked Naomi up, after the night she had? Naomi needed every minute of sleep she could get.
The morning sun woke Naomi up sometime later. At first, she had hoped that the events of last night had been a horribly vivid dream, but then she looked around at her surroundings. This was an unfamiliar room, and this wasn’t her bed. The realization that last night was real, and that her family was gone hit her all over again and Naomi wept. As she looked around the room, Naomi’s stomach grumbled. She found the door and decided to explore, hoping to find either a kitchen or maybe that lady Kim from last night. As Naomi walked out into the hallway, she noticed how beautiful the house was. She approached a huge staircase, then the smell hit her. The aroma of bacon wafted into her nose, beckoning her down the stairs. Naomi moved closer to the smell and stepped into a massive kitchen; Naomi was awestruck. There was two people in the kitchen, one was Kim the other was a guy. Naomi was nervous, but she was also hungry, so she walked further into the room.
“Oh good! You’re awake. You had a bad night and looked as though you could use the rest. Good morning by the way!” Said Kim cheerfully
“Um good morning. Where are we? How long have I been asleep for?” Questioned Naomi
“This is my house; you didn’t think I actually lived in that warehouse, did you?” Kim laughed
“Oh, ok.” said Naomi flatly
“Um anyway, I figured you’d be hungry, so I made breakfast. I didn’t know what you liked, so I made a bit of everything. Dig in.”
Naomi cautiously approached the table; it was true she was hungry however she was also wary of her situation. Naomi didn’t know if she could trust Kim yet, McArthur City was full of monsters. For all Naomi knew Kim was just one that hadn’t shown her fangs yet. Naomi looked over at Kim to see what she was doing. Kim had joined the man and kissed him, Naomi figured he must be Kim’s boyfriend or something. Naomi was still thinking about what she should do.
“I really hope she eats something. But after what she’s been through, I don’t blame her for being so cautious. I’m worried about her Adonis.” Kim said to the man thoughtfully
“Babe, it’ll be ok. I promise. Just give the kid some time.” Responded Adonis reassuringly
“Actually, I have an idea.” Kim said excitedly.
Kim approached Naomi, loading up a plate of food and sitting across from her. Kim began to eat, trying to be sure to get Naomi’s attention. As soon as Naomi looked up at her, Kim used her fork to fling grits at her. Naomi looked at her bewildered, only to see Kim grinning at her widely. Naomi flicked some grits back at her. Laughing for the first time in what has felt like ages.
“FOOD FIGHT!” Kim exclaimed.
The two women launched into a frenzy, picking up all the food they could carry and tossing it at each other. The kitchen was filled with laughter as the two made a massive mess of things. Naomi was distracted from her grief for a fleeting moment, and Kim fur her credit felt good in being able to help Naomi start to pull herself out of the darkness she was in. It was the beginning of a long journey, but this was a step in the right direction. After the food fight was over the two women sat shoulder to shoulder up against the kitchen island. Though they were both winded every time they made eye contact, they couldn’t stifle their laughter.
“That-that was really fun.” Said Naomi breathlessly
“Yeah, you looked like you could use a bit of fun.” Said Kim happily
“It just hurts so much. I can’t believe they’re gone.” Naomi said sadly
“I know. I lost my sister and my father under similar circumstances. It keeps me up at night when I think about how the last conversation, I ever had with my sister had been an argument. If I could see her one last time the first thing, I think I’d do is apologize.” Kim said somberly
“I’m sorry.” Naomi said wistfully
“No, you don’t need to be sorry. Though I appreciate your sentiment. I guess I should get down to it.” Kim said perking up
“Get down to it? What do you mean?” Naomi asked, confused
“Well, what we did last night, I asked you if you wanted to be apart of it. I just wanted to ask again now that you’ve had some rest and some time to consider my offer?” Kim asked
Naomi stood up and walked out to the balcony where the mystery man was. She stared out at McArthur City, from this house that city looked beautiful. It looked hopeful, like it didn’t chew people up and spit them out like a meat grinder. Naomi had options. She could willingly throw herself into the grinder, and be another statistic. Or, she could go with this Kim lady, and help her fix the city. Hell, last night they got rid of two dirty cops. They were off to a good start already in Naomi’s eyes. So honestly, what did she have to lose?
“I’ll come with you. But I have conditions. That city is a monster. It creates people like me every day. If I’m gonna come with you, we have to help this city.” Naomi said resolutely
“That’s actually, it’s actually a good idea. I never introduced my boyfriend to you. This is Adonis, he works in the District Attorney’s office. Before you woke up, I was talking to him about how we can fix McArthur. Babe, do you have any ideas?” Kim asked Adonis excitedly
“I do actually. I figured that I’d be the positive face of law in the city. Then Kim, and I guess you Naomi can move in the shadows dealing with the scum in the city. I think this can work.” Adonis said pensively
“Does that work Naomi?” Kim asked extending her hand
“It does. I’ll be your apprentice. Let’s fix this city.” Naomi responded, shaking Kim’s hand firmly
After that, Kim began Naomi’s training almost immediately, combat, espionage, weapons, everything that Naomi could learn Kim threw at her. And she absorbed it voraciously. For Kim’s part, she was impressed but at the same time she was cautious. Kim knew what drove Naomi, she had seen it before in herself. It was vengeance that drove Naomi. More than anything Naomi wanted to see all of the men that had destroyed her life bought to justice. All those years ago in Perdition Falls, she had wanted the same, it took her mentor Esmeralda to keep her focused to make sure she didn’t lose her way. Now it was Kim’s turn to do the same for Naomi. They had trained for six months and every moment when Naomi didn’t have Kim’s attention, she would do research on the inner workings of the city. In time Naomi knew the major players intimately, well as intimately as she could anyway without actually meeting them. So it was that Kim decided she would take Naomi out into the city for the first time. But first, she would need to test her apprentice.
“Naomi, hold up a minute.” Kim commanded as her apprentice started to leave Kim’s dojo.
“Yes ma’am.” Naomi replied turning to look at Kim
“Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble. How long have we been training now?” Kim asked
“It’s been about six months. Why am I doing something wrong?” Naomi asked nervously
“God no! you’re doing great! I actually want to reward you.” Kim said reassuringly
“Reward? Wait you don’t mean….” Naomi began excitedly
“Yes! Tonight, I’m going to take you out on the field for your first patrol!” Kim exclaimed
Naomi was brimming with excitement as she ran over to Kim and hugged her tightly. Naomi had been longing to hear those words since she started her training six months ago. Now she could finally start making sure that what happened to her never happened to another child in McArthur City. Naomi would do whatever it took, kill whoever stood in her way, nothing would stop her. For now, Naomi would keep the darkest of her plans to herself and listen to what Kim had in mind for a patrol.
Naomi was tense for the rest of the day; all she could focus on was tonight. All the things that she normally focused on all seemed so trivial compared to what she was doing later. Kim could see how tense her apprentice was. She was tensed, coiled up like a spring and ready to burst. Kim knew that she had to find a way to get Naomi relaxed otherwise she would be useless in the field. Kim stopped eating her dinner to gauge where Naomi’s head was
“Naomi, are you alright?” Kim asked
“Um, yeah why?” Naomi asked nervously
“You seem extremely tense. Are you nervous about tonight?” Kim probed
“Maybe a little.” Naomi said
“I have a gift for you.” Kim said.
“What is it?” Naomi asked
“Here.” Kim said handing Naomi what looked to be a phone
“But I already have a phone.” Naomi said in confusion
“Before you say that, come with me.” Kim said
The two women got up from the table and Kim led Naomi to a bookshelf. She removed a book and an elevator opened up. It was cliché as hell, but Kim loved it. It let them out into a sub-basement. This was where Kim kept all of her equipment. But now there was a second room.
“Is that for me?” Naomi asked
“It is. Go in there and suit up and I’ll explain everything to you.” Kim said, nudging Naomi towards the room
Naomi approached tentatively because she didn’t know what to expect As soon as she stepped inside however, all her tentative feelings melted away and gave way to excitement yet again. She grabbed her suit and quickly got dressed. As Naomi stood there, in her assassin suit she felt like a badass. She couldn’t help preening in front of the mirror and flexing like a superhero. For the first time in a long time Naomi felt like a kid again.
“Naomi, lets go. The sun will be setting soon. We need to get out there.” Kim called to her
“I’m sorry, I just look so cool!” Naomi said bounding back out into the antechamber
“Yeah, you’re cool. But come over here.” Kim said chuckling and beckoning Naomi over to a wall of weapons
“Ooh, awesome.” Naomi said reaching out for a dagger
“Aht aht! You’re not ready for lethals yet. These are yours.” Kim said leading Naomi to the nonlethal weapons
“This is it? When do I get my own sword like yours?” Naomi said disappointedly
“You’ll get a sword like mine when you become a master assassin in our order like I am. However, I will give you this.” Kim said pulling out an ornate dagger
“What’s this?” Naomi asked twirling the heavy dagger in her hand
“It’s a gift passed down from master to apprentice, Esmeralda gave it to me, I’m now giving it to you. But since you’re fourteen I only want you using it in emergencies.” Kim intoned
“Ok, I promise.” Naomi replied
“Oh, last thing before we get out there. Pass me that player I gave you.” Kim asked
“Here you go.” Naomi said handing her the device
“Its loaded with all the streaming services so you can build up your own sound. Also its volume will automatically lower so that you and I can stay in contact.” Also, it integrates wirelessly into the suit so no wires.” Explained Kim
“Thank you for this Kim.” Naomi said with tears in her eyes
“Its, no problem. You ready to go?” Kim asked
“I’m ready.” Naomi responded
“Ok then, lets get out there.” Kim responded heading to a tunnel.
“Where’s this lead?” Naomi asked
“To the garage, you didn’t think we were walking to McArthur did you?” Kim said Jokingly
Naomi said nothing as Kim led her to the garage, inside was a sleek black car. In a word the car was sexy, and if she had a license she’d want to drive it everywhere. She wondered why Kim would hide such a beautiful machine. Maybe later she would ask, but as they drew closer to the car, Naomi’s mind was focused on her patrol. It was killing time and she needed to be as sharp as she could be. Instead she settled into the passenger seat, turned up her music and zoned. Kim watched the look of determination on her apprentice’s face. The kid who was just bouncing around was deep in her psyche, she was ready. Kim knew all that was left was to get Naomi into the shit to see what she was really made of. That’s all that was on her mind as she sped off in the night towards McArthur City.
