48 Hours to Die (4 page)

“Home!” Tasha said with an attitude. It was going to take some time for her to forgive him for this.

“Baby can we talk about this please?” Anthony Stone said blocking Tasha’s path so she couldn’t leave. He loved Tasha with all her heart and the last thing he wanted was for her to leave.

“We don’t have nothing else to talk about!” Tasha snapped. Anthony Stone went to respond when out of nowhere he heard loud banging on his front door.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Anthony Stone whipped his gun out of his holster with a snap. “Go back into the bedroom and don’t come out until I tell you to,” he waited until Tasha was in the bedroom safe and sound before he made his way towards the front door. Anthony Stone snatched the door open and stepped out into the hallway. Again, it was empty. He held a two handed grip on his 9mm as he inched his way down the hall towards the staircase. He snatched the staircase door open and saw a figure in all black jetting up the stairs heading towards the next level.

“Hey stop!” Anthony Stone yelled. The man in all black quickly turned and fired two reckless shots over his shoulder as he continued up the stairs at a fast pace. Without thinking twice, Anthony Stone took off after the gunman. He ran up the stairs skipping two at a time until he heard the staircase door open and close on the floor above him. Anthony Stone cautiously inched his way up to the next level and snatched the door open. With a two handed grip on his 9mm he stepped out into the hallway. An apartment door opened and an older woman stuck her head. “What the hell is going on out here?” She asked nosily.

“Ma’am go back into your apartment!” Anthony Stone yelled as he continued on down the hall.

“I’m calling the police,” the old lady said stepping back inside her apartment.

Anthony Stone eased his way down the hallway when another apartment door swung open from behind him. He spun around just as the gunman dressed in all black sprang from the apartment and tackled Anthony Stone down to the floor. The gun accidentally discharged as the two men went crashing down to the floor. The gunman bent Anthony Stone’s wrist backwards forcing him to release his grip on the firearm. Anthony Stone quickly hopped up to his feet and took a fighting stance. There was no way he was going to let the gunman escape. Anthony Stone moved in and threw a hook, the gunman ducked the punch easily and scooped Anthony Stone’s legs from up under him and dumped him on his head. The gunman quickly got on top of Anthony Stone and delivered a vicious combination of punches and elbows. Anthony Stone bucked his mid-section wildly and got the gunman off of him. He crawled back to his feet but the gunman was on him. The gunman grab the back of Anthony Stone’s head and delivered a knee to the detective’s rib cage, then followed up with a sharp hook to Anthony Stone’s temple. It was obvious that the gunman had some mixed martial arts skills. Having no other choice Anthony Stone rushed the gunman and tried to tackle him down to the floor, but the gunman used his momentum against him and slung the detectives head first into the wall. All the commotion had caused several tenants to nosily stick their heads out their doors to see what was going on. Anthony Stone dove down to the floor and grabbed his 9mm; he aimed it at the gunman’s departing back but didn’t pull the trigger. There were too many innocent by standers standing in the hallway being nosey. “Damn!” Anthony Stone yelled as he quickly hopped up to his feet and ran after the gunman. He reached the staircase and stopped. He had no clue if the gunman had ran upstairs or downstairs.

“Damn!”

Missed Opportunity

Anthony Stone sat on the couch in his apartment as a paramedic tended to the small cut that was right above his eye. His entire apartment building was now crawling with police.

“Are you okay baby?” Tasha asked with a worried look on her face. After everything that had happened, she felt stupid for starting an argument over something so small. She now realized how serious her man’s job really was and why he had to spend so many hours away from home, it took something like this to happen for it all to start to make sense to Tasha.

“I’m good baby but I’m going to need you to go stay at your mother’s house until I get to the bottom of this situation,” Anthony Stone told her. There was no way he planned on letting Tasha stay in his apartment especially after what had just happened.

“How long will I have to stay over there?” Tasha asked with a disappointed look on her face.

“Not sure,” Anthony Stone said honestly. He still didn’t have a clue how the gunman had found out where he lived. That was something that was going to bother him until he figured it out.

“Did you get a look at the guys face?” Tasha asked.

Anthony Stone shook his head as he noticed, Captain Fisher enter his apartment.

“You alright?” Captain Fisher asked.

“I’m still alive,” Anthony Stone chuckled.

“Looks like you have a fan,” Captain Fisher smiled. “This should get interesting,”
 

“Detective?” A uniform officer said entering the apartment, in his hand he held an envelope. “I found this out in the hallway,” he held the envelope out towards detective Stone. Anthony Stone grabbed the envelope and saw that the envelope had his name written on it. He opened the envelope and began reading.

“I heard you were out here looking for me, so I figured I’d make your job easier. The next time we meet, I’ll make sure I’ll bring my brand new ax with me. I spared you tonight, the next time I won’t be so generous. Oh and by the way, tell Tasha I said happy birthday.

Yours truly: Uncle Sam”

“I’m going to kill him!” Anthony Stone growled as he handed, Captain Fisher the letter so he could read it.

“Is everything okay baby?” Tasha asked with a nervous look on her face.

“Yes everything is fine,” Anthony Stone said quickly, and then turned to face the uniform officer. “You mind taking her to her mother’s house?” There was no way he was going to tell, Tasha what was in that note.

“No problem at all sir,” the officer replied.

“Also, I want a patrol car outside of her mother’s house twenty fours a day and seven days a week,” Anthony Stone ordered, then turned and faced, Tasha. “Go with this officer and I’ll call you in a little while, and I’m sorry again about your birthday,” he apologized.

“It’s okay baby, I love you,”

“Love you too baby,” Anthony Stone said as he watched Tasha exit the apartment with the officer.

“Stone I know you are upset but you still have to think with a clear head here,” Captain Fisher reminded him. “When people go off emotions that’s when they usually make mistakes.”

Anthony Stone nodded his head. “You’re right,” What really bothered him was how Uncle Sam had figured out where he lived and had gotten so close to him.

Serious Business

Reggie sat behind the wheel of his vehicle parked two blocks away from Anthony Stone’s apartment. He enjoyed toying with the detective, and was just getting started. Reggie watched closely as a uniform officer escorted Anthony Stone’s girlfriend in the front seat of his squad car. Reggie chuckled at how sloppy the police were. “This is going to be easier than I expected,” he smiled as he pulled off and tailed the squad car. Reggie planned on turning detective Stone’s life upside down. He followed the squad car to a plain looking house. Reggie quickly pulled out a note pad and scribbled down the address. “Got you,” he smiled.

Catch Me If You Can

The next day, Anthony Stone sat at his desk stuck in his own thoughts. He still couldn’t believe that Uncle Sam had actually shown up at his home and violated his personal space. Anthony Stone had decided to still remain in his apartment in hopes that the serial killer tried his luck again. There was no way he was going to let someone run him out of his home. What really bothered Anthony Stone was how shaken up Tasha was. She was trying to be strong, but Anthony Stone could tell that the situation had really shook her up.
 

Anthony Stone sipped on his coffee when he felt his phone buzzing on his hip. He looked down at his screen and saw that whoever was calling him had took the time to block their number. “Hello?” He answered.

“Hello detective.”
 

Immediately, Anthony Stone waved and got another detective’s attention, then gave him a hand signal to trace the call. “Uncle Sam?”

“The one and only,” the caller said arrogantly.

“I was expecting your call,” Anthony Stone began. “We have some unfinished business to discuss why don’t you come on down to the precinct so we can talk.”

Uncle Sam chuckled. “Sorry but my hands are a little full at the moment,” right then and there Anthony Stone heard a muffled scream in the background. “I’m sitting here with a beautiful young woman named Mya, in exactly twenty minutes I’m going to cut her open like a fish!”

“Listen Uncle Sam, that won’t be necessary,” Anthony Stone said trying to buy himself some extra time as several detective’s and officers surrounded his desk and listened on through his speakerphone. “Tell me where you and I’ll trade my life for the girl. Let the girl go and take me instead,” he offered.
 

“I just emailed the address to where she is, if you’re not here in twenty minutes the girl dies!” Uncle Sam said in a calm tone, and then hung up in the detective’s ear.

“Shit!” Anthony Stone cursed as he quickly checked his email, and just as Uncle Sam promised there as an address in his inbox. “We have to move now that address is about twenty minutes from here!” He said which meant he didn’t have much time He quickly rushed outside to his car. Anthony Stone pulled out of his parking spot like a mad man. The last thing he wanted was another dead body on his watch, whoever this Uncle Sam guy was, he was really starting to become a pain in the behind. Anthony Stone zoomed through the streets jumping from lane to lane, time was running out, and he knew it.

Out of Time

Anthony Stone pulled up in front of the address and glanced down at his watch. Twenty-two minutes had passed since the phone call with Uncle Sam. Anthony Stone hopped out of his car and sprinted towards the front door of the house. He removed his 9mm, and noticed that the front door was left slightly ajar. He eased the door open and slowly stepped inside the house as the sound of loud sirens could be heard just outside the door. As Anthony Stone eased his way through the house, he noticed a trail of blood leading towards the back room. He reached the back room, paused, then came forward, and kicked the room door open. Inside the room, Anthony Stone found a woman’s body parts chopped up and thrown all around the room. Over on the window seal he spotted an envelope with the number five written on it in blood. Anthony Stone opened the envelope and began to read the letter.

“If you’re reading this then that means you ran out of time. Another woman is dead because of the police, what is it going to take for the police to start doing their job the proper way? I guess you pigs like doing things the hard way. That’s cool with me because I’m just getting warmed up.

Sincerely yours: Uncle Sam.”

Anthony Stone tossed the letter down to the floor and exited the room. This serial killer was really beginning to piss him off. The apartment was now flooded with officers and EMT workers.

“Detective!” An officer called out getting, Anthony Stone’s attention. “This blood is still warm; it’s possible that our killer may still be close by.”

Anthony Stone nodded, and then exited the apartment. He needed some fresh air and to clear his mind. He stepped outside and the first thing he spotted was a huge crowd standing behind the crime tape. Right now, he could really use a drink. Uncle Sam was toying with him and making him look like a fool. Anthony Stone noticed the media pull up to the scene when he felt his cell phone vibrating on his hip. He looked down at the screen and saw that the number was private. “Yeah,” he answered.

“Ran out of time I see,” Uncle Sam chuckled.

“Why are you doing this?”
 

“Because I can,” Uncle Sam countered. “It’s sad that I have to go to this extreme to get you pigs to do your job.”

“That’s no excuse for what you’re doing!” Anthony Stone snapped. “Meet me one on one like a man and let’s settle this.”

“Detective, you don’t look too good,” Uncle Sam chuckled. “And aren’t those the same clothes you had on last night?”

“You’re watching me?” Anthony Stone asked as the line suddenly went dead. He quickly looked out into the crowd of people that stood behind the crime scene tape.

“Detective is this the work of the same serial killer?” A reporter asked shoving a microphone in Anthony Stone’s face. Anthony Stone ignored the reporter as he searched the sea of faces that flooded the sidewalk.

“Detective Stone can you tell us what happened here tonight?” Another reporter asked. Anthony Stone ignored the question and continued to look out into the crowd. Anthony Stone stopped when he locked eyes with a man standing across the street dressed in all black with a black hoodie on his head with the strings drawn tight making it hard to see his entire face. When the two made eye contact the hooded man quickly turned and began to walk off.

“Detective Stone do you have anything to say to the people?” A reporter asked. Anthony Stone tuned the reporter out as he slowly began to follow the hooded man down the street. He wasn’t sure if the hooded man was Uncle Sam or not, but his gut was telling him that the hooded man was indeed the man he was looking for. As Anthony Stone followed the hooded man, a downpour of rain suddenly began to fall from the sky. Anthony Stone pulled his 9mm from his holster and held it down by his side, as he walked not wanting to scare any innocent bystanders that may have been lingering around. He quickened up his pace and when he was in a close enough distance he yelled, “Freeze!”