Chapter 6: A New Profession

Cody slept late Saturday morning. He was up well past midnight the previous night reevaluating his strategy for randomizing his targets. With a new enablement he could now travel much further and much faster. He realized that not only did this widen his hunting grounds, but it also provided him an alibi. How could he be in two places a hundred miles apart at the same time?

Cody sat at his kitchen table and ate cold pizza. It was eerily quiet in his apartment. He had not turned on a television, radio, or other music. He blankly stared at the wall as he contemplated the past three weeks. He was responsible for the deaths of twenty people. He tried to rationalize his actions by telling himself that he was targeting only “bad” people – drug dealers, gang members, criminals. But he knew that not all twenty of his victims fell into these groups. His ex-fiancee and her husband were prime examples one and two.

Another thought pressed heavily on Cody’s conscious. With all of the planning and execution of his commitment to The Onyx, he had not spent any time job hunting. The stipend from his parents was good but not enough. What money he had in savings was practically depleted and he would need to get a new income revenue quickly. Moving back into the house with his parents was not an option.

As he ate, an idea started to germinate. He carried his half-eaten pizza to his bedroom and collected the map he was using the previous night. He took it back to the table and opened it on the table. As he stared at the map he was getting excited. He may have a solution for his income problem, as well as a target for the day’s kill.

Cody finished eating, then cleaned his apartment. All of his dirty laundry, including his bed sheets, were washed and put back in drawers on in the closet, dirty dishes were cleaned and stored, the bathroom was scrubbed clean, and he even dusted and ran the vacuum cleaner. He showered, and in the spirit of keeping everything clean, wiped down the shower’s walls before taking the towel off the rack.

“Hello?” he asked when his phone rang a few minutes after he finished getting dressed.

“Hi, son, your dad and I are in the area and thought we would drop off some goodies. Are you home?”

“Yeah, mom, I’m here. Come on over.”

He hung up and smirked. She was going to freak out when she saw his apartment.

Minutes later there was a knock at the door. Cody opened it to find his mom holding a potted plant. His dad was behind her loaded down with several stuffed grocery bags.

“Come in,” Cody said quickly. He reached for the bags his dad was holding by his pinkies to lighten his load.

“What have you done?” shrieked his mom. “Are you really my son?”

She was standing in the middle of the room twirling in a slow circle admiring the spotless apartment.

Cody shrugged. “It’s not always this clean, but sometimes I get motivated.”

“You get motivated?” asked his dad skeptically. “Or do you have a girlfriend we don’t know about and she cleans? Or do you clean for her?”

Cody laughed. “No, it really is me. I spent several hours this morning cleaning.”

“I’m impressed,” said his mom. She started to unpack the bags left on the counter.

“You have a clean apartment, but an empty refrigerator and pantry. You’re going to starve.”

“I was going to go shopping this afternoon or tomorrow,” said Cody.

“Well, we saved you the trip.”

“I see,” said Cody as he surveyed the mountain of food they brought. “You really didn’t have to bring so much.”

“Most of it is canned or boxed and not fresh so it will stay good for months. There are a few vegetables which I hope you get through and don’t throw out. Then there is ice cream which I know will be eaten quickly.”

Cody helped store the food then followed his parents into the living room. He had started to stream music from his phone to the receiver and light pop rock was playing. His dad cocked his head.

“Is that Thriller? I haven’t heard this song in years.”

Cody bumped up the volume and they listened to the rest of the song. They spent the next hour just talking. It was the first time Cody could remember having an “adult” conversation with his parents.

“Well, we need to get going,” said Cody’s dad. “We told the Lettermans we would be over in time to help cook. They are hosting a neighborhood party.”

Cody saw them off and promised he would come over the next day for lunch.

When they left, Cody sat in front of the television and leaned his recliner all the way back. He set the alarm on his phone for two hours and closed his eyes.

Brrriinnggg.

The alarm rang, waking Cody. He shut it off and stared at the ceiling. He could tell by the elongated shadows that the sun was setting and it would be dark soon. It was time to put his latest plan into motion.

He changed into dark clothes. From his secret stash he took a mask and gloves. He used his phone to confirm what he found with his printed map earlier in the day and nodded his head. The bar where he would start tonight’s adventure was eighteen miles from his apartment. That should give him plenty of leeway.

Cody was pleased to find that the combined dance hall and bar was packed. He ordered a drink and wandered around the perimeter of the dance floor. He easily found a large group of men and women about his age and he sat on the periphery of their group. He started to chat with one of the women.

“Hi,” he said casually as he took a sip of his drink.

“Sorry, not interested,” she said automatically.

Cody chuckled. “It’s cool. I’m not interested either. I’m meeting some buddies in about an hour.”

When the young women learned that Cody was on not on the prowl for a one-nighter, she opened up and said, “My name’s Jewel.”

“Nice to meet you, Jewel, my name’s Larry,” said Cody. They chatted easily as he waited for his imaginary friends to arrive.

“Oh, shit,” Cody exclaimed. He turned his head downward and away from the dance floor.

“What’s the matter?” asked Jewel.

“My ex just showed up. Her new boyfriend wants to kick my ass. He thinks we hooked up after they started dating.”

Cody saw the look Jewel gave him and quickly added, “We didn’t. She did sleep with someone else after they started to date, but it wasn’t me.”

Jewel shook her head.