Dark Luck (A Suspense Thriller) by Tim Kizer

Luckily, it was only half an hour before the chick that matched the
profile walked in to get her car. 
    “Let’s keep it clean, man,” Jeremy said. “We’re not
spilling blood this time. Strangle her. It’s not that difficult, I know you can
do it.”
    For a few seconds Zack debated if he should strangle
her from behind or face to face. His choice fell on the latter since he was
very curious to see what the woman’s face would look like while he throttled
her.
    “Excuse me, Miss, can I ask you a question?” Zack said
in a sweet voice as he approached his prey.
    “Sure.” The woman turned to him and smiled. Yeah, being
a skinny fifteen-year-old boy had its advantages: no adult usually took you as
a threat.
    “I was wondering if they have a Cheesecake Factory
here.” By the end of this phrase Zack had the woman pinned down to the driver’s
seat, with his hands squeezing her throat tightly. Honestly, he barely
remembered how he had found himself in this position; the previous five seconds
were a blur to him. The woman’s face quickly turned red as her hands were
pushing against Zack’s shoulders. Tightening his grip, Zack could physically
feel the life leaving the chick’s body. He also noticed he was having a rock
hard erection. Half a minute later, the woman’s eyes began to roll up; soon her
irises disappeared under her half-closed eyelids and you could only see the
white, which, if you asked Zack, was a revolting image.
    He was still choking the woman when Jeremy said, “She’s
dead, buddy. Let’s haul ass.”
    With surprising ease, Zack lifted the woman’s corpse
and stuffed it in the trunk. All this adrenaline must have given him additional
strength, he thought. He didn’t want to leave the body in the parking structure
because the longer it remained undiscovered, the longer the car theft would go
unreported. How much time did he need? Around five hours if he drove the speed
limit.
    Then Zack put on the driving gloves (Jeremy had warned
him against leaving fingerprints inside the car), picked up the car keys from
the ground, and quickly surveyed his catch before getting behind the wheel. He
was pleased with his new ride: it was a lightly used Toyota Camry, a vehicle
that blended into the crowd perfectly.
    “I’m still not sure what the point was of killing that
chick,” Zack said, driving out of the parking structure.
    “Are you serious, man? I hope you’re not having second
thoughts. Well, what if I told you that a week from now this woman would have
run over and killed three young children with her car? Would you be more
comfortable with taking her life if you knew this tidbit of information? Would
this justify her death?”
    After a short pause, Zack responded, “I guess so.”
    “I’m glad to hear that. You see, Zack, there are people
that deserve to be eliminated and it’s your mission to take care of some of
them. I'm going to provide you with guidance to make your job easier.”
    “Can you see the future?”
    “It’s quite possible that I can.”
    “This is awesome, man!”
    “But would you be upset if you found out that the whole
running over thing was bullshit?”
    “I would wonder why you lied.”
    “Would you regret murdering her?”
    “I would kinda feel weird that I killed her without a
reason.”
    “No, no, buddy, there is a reason. It just might be a
bit different from the one I gave you, but I suppose that’s okay with you,
right?”
    Zack shrugged his shoulders. “Why wouldn’t you just
tell me the real reason?”
    “It’s too complex. And somewhat controversial. I prefer
not to burden you with it right now. Is that okay?”
    “I guess so.”
    “I’m glad you understand, buddy.”
     
    9.
    Yes, Zack was an understanding person. For example, he
could see why his parents had been so adamant about amputating Jeremy. Wouldn’t
you be shocked if the finger removed from your child’s hand over fourteen years
earlier began to grow back? And wouldn’t you be