Author's Note:

I do not own any of the Twilight characters that may appear in this world that I am painstakingly building. Stick with me oh dear readers… we will get to familiar territory soon. Good story building takes time and careful planning.

Chapter 3: The Pleasure of a Job Well Done

"So…" I eye Bill from my seat on the kitchen counter, a cheeky smile on my face.

"So…" Bill replies suspiciously. These games between us never get old. Making Bill uncomfortable has become my new favorite pastime.

"Are you ever going to make my mom an honest woman Bill?" I catch him right as he is taking a drink of milk and get the pleasure of watching his spit-take hit the cabinets 6 feet away. 'Yes! Score!'

"Excuse me?" Bill chokes and sputters as he grabs a washcloth. "Its been almost 15 years Lex, why would I want to change anything?"

Not that I care or anything. He's right, Bill's relationship with my mom as a permanent live-in boyfriend is pretty damn ideal. Matter of fact, this may be the most comfortable household I've had the pleasure of 'growing up' in. But, now that I'm 17 and life on my own is calling… again… I feel like I can tease Bill a bit.

"Oh come on old man… if you like it you should put a ring on it!" I laugh.

"Real classy Lex" Bill responds good naturedly. "I just hope that you don't fall for the first boy who brings you a ring." He laughs, pointing a finger in my direction.

"Oh don't worry dad, you know I like my drama free life. Who needs boys anyway?" I watch Bill's eyes tear up a bit. He loves it when I regard him as my father. Truth be told, it gives me the feels as well. After a brief moment of somewhat awkwardness, I break the silence as I hop down and grab my keys. "Well, another day, another dollar! See you after school Bill!"

"See ya Lex"

Stupid calculus. Stupid AP courses. Why do I have to be so damn smart all the time? Every single life, I make this same mistake. Show off a bit too much, teachers take notice. Oh, you ace every test we give you, time to stick you in even harder classes! Sometimes, I hate my lives. I mean, yeah, sure, it's easy to remember the stuff that gets taught pre-high school. But I rarely make it through advanced classes before my time is up, so I actually have to work for good grades now. It is so frustrating!

With a growl, I get up to take a walk. One of the rare advantages of taking AP courses in this school is a lighter class load, so I have study hall this hour and next. The teachers and faculty don't mind if I browse the halls for a bit as I de stress, as long as I don't make noise or be disruptive to other classrooms. The walks are a definite perk.

I am just about ready to head back to study hall when I spot something that sets my nerves on edge. The janitor. I've had my eye on this one for a while now. He is an ordinary enough looking man. Salt and pepper hair, medium build, low voice tone… Nothing to set him apart from the crowd. But there is something… something that you can only feel with a massive amount of experience. There's… a pressure of sorts that comes from those who prey on their fellow man. It is almost like the more evil a being does, the more the pressure inside them builds, until it becomes an almost palpable force. This man is exuding waves that I can almost see. I have no doubt, he is a monster.

I also have no doubt that whatever ill will this… thing… is up to, I'm going to stop him.

Homework forgotten, I hide in an alcove by the restrooms and keep an eye on the man as he finishes sweeping the hallway. With a flourish, he disposes of the dust that has been collected, and unlocks a door labelled Boiler Room. With a thought for how cliché this is, I hurry over to catch the door knob just before the door closes fully. Waiting until I can no longer hear the "plink, plink, plink" of shoes hitting metal as the janitor descends what must be a set of scaffolding stairs inside the room, I wait another 10 seconds, then enter the room.

It is stuffy and dark inside. There is light, of a sort, from some small windows high up on the walls, and dirty fluorescent lights hung sporadically about the room. As the name on the door suggests, there is a large cistern looking contraption right in front of me, blocking my view of the rest of the room. There is enough noise coming from the contraption and a few fans in the room to cover the sound of my own light footfalls as I descend the steps, being very careful with how much of myself I expose at once. It wouldn't do to be caught. Well, actually being caught is sometimes the best way to get the job done, but I like this life so I think I'll try to keep it for as long as I can.

I'm almost to the bottom of the steps when I see the janitor again. He's got his back to me, bent over a workbench with greasy tools all over the place. He is humming to himself. Unfortunately, he isn't the only one in the room with us. Just to the janitor's left, there is a girl manacled to a section of chain link fence. She is dirty and emaciated, and looks to have been down here for some time. Her head hangs down to her chest, and her hair is wet and filthy from a leaky pipe above her. I don't know if she is alive or dead. It doesn't matter. All I know is that one way or another, I'm killing this asshole. I'm killing him right fucking now!

Looking around quickly, I spot a few viable weapons. Hammers and wrenches of various sizes litter the small room. With a rush, I bolt for the nearest large screwdriver I can see. A good screwdriver works just as well as a dagger, if you apply enough violent force. The trick is to hit as many vital organs as you can in as short a time as possible. Luckily, this is not my first rodeo. Or tenth. Or even hundredth.

I grin viciously as my tool punctures the man's side. Kidney first. One, two, three, then lung, then go for the heart. The monster's first reaction is to bolt upright, the body's natural response to a punctured kidney. He is up on his tip toes and arching away from me before the second and third shots land. Unfortunately, he gets an elbow around and glances a blow off my head before I can get all my power into the swing at his lungs, but the damage is done. I bounce off the stairs and reach for another weapon. A hammer this time. When all else fails, blunt force will get the job done.

The janitor has turned around, and I can see that the screwdriver has not penetrated his rib cage. The blow almost missed altogether, but caught enough of him to drive under his skin across his chest for its full length. Blood has already stained the front and side of his shirt by the time he reaches to pull the weapon from his skin. He is in a massive amount of pain. Good. I hope it hurts like hell, because Hell is where he is going.

With a grunt, the janitor pulls the screwdriver out and brandishes it at me, but we both know he's finished. He can't even stand up straight. Bending at the waist, trying to protect his decimated right kidney, his head is at the perfect height. I put everything I've got into an overhand swing, the only shot I'm going to need as I put another monster down.

"Mrs. Stephens, please. We need to ask your daughter a few more questions." The officer is a good cop. I can tell. He is just trying to figure out how the hell all this happened. I can't exactly come out and say that I could 'feel' that the janitor was evil. So, I did the only thing that made sense to me… claimed curiosity and the need for a little stress relief caused me to wander where I didn't belong. Kids sneak around all the time trying to find trouble, why should this be any different? The rest is pretty easy. Fight or flight. Crime of passion. I saw the girl, saw red, and attacked in blind rage. The evidence supports my story, and the body in the boiler room is evidence enough. I know there won't be any charges pressed against me. Texas allows a person to protect themselves or others from predators, by any means necessary. I love this state.

Thank god the paramedics got to the school in time to save the girl. She was in pretty bad shape, and she will have nightmares for the rest of her life, but she is alive. That's more than I can say for the man that I put down.

I can tell without seeing him that he's gone to a much worse place. There's a… euphoria I guess is the best word for it, that comes over me when I put one in the ground who truly deserves it. It isn't from me, this feeling. It is a reward. A gift from Dice herself. Justice has been served, the balance kept. Normally, I would die with the monster, and then my reward would be the long row down the River Styx… although I'd be more happy if we took the Phlegethon for this particular asshole. Fire would serve my mood perfectly right now. The entire trip, I would get the pleasure of watching the soul in my boat beg for mercy. But, mercy isn't my charge. I care not for mercy. Mercy is an idea of man to con those with a conscience out of serving Justice. This is one of the few points where Hades agrees with me.

"Miss?" the officer prompts me again. I have nothing further to say, and honestly the euphoria is hard to hide, so I squeeze my middle as hard as my arms will allow, and fake shock. It isn't hard.

"We have to move Bill! Everywhere I go, all I hear is whispers. The people in this town… honestly! I've heard all I can take of these stupid rumors!" I love my mother, I really do. She is a good one. Its so hard for me to see how much this is hurting her. Good deeds never go unpunished, as Gaudia likes to say.

"Ok Sue, ok. I'll put in for a transfer. Where would you like to go?"

"I've always wanted to see what Washington is like."

With a sad smile, Bill enfolds my mother in his arms. "Washington it is," he whispers softly into her hair. I smile. Washington it is.