Author's Note: Happy birthday, Seiji! I got the idea from the short story, Thank You for Calling, on the podcast, The Grey Rooms. Plus, a little bit of it comes from the show, Inside No. 9. I enjoyed how this turned out. I figured this series needed another serial killer in the mix. Let's see we have the Dante Killer, Niko, and three unnamed ones. So now, we have a total of six serial killers. I will get into more detail about each of them in the near future. You will see this one again real soon too. Anyway, the next birthday up will be Masaomi Kida's on next Monday. I already have that one planned. Plus, there are going to be two more original goodies being posted on Wattpad and AO3 tomorrow and Thursday. And season twevle will start two weeks from now. In the meantime, enjoy this new bite.
I Can See for Miles
"I told you I don't have the money!" a woman complained in distress on the phone. A man about thirty boredly looked at his nails.
"Then you must want your family and your coworkers to see those photos you took with your ex," he said. The man turned to his laptop and opened up another folder on his desktop. He gave off a whistle.
"You've got some steamy stuff here," he said.
"No!" she whimpered. "No! That could ruin me!"
"Then you'll find a way to come up with the money," the man said, smirking. "Come on, Princess. I know you have the money. You're a trust fund baby at all."
"But my father's starting to ask questions," she said.
"Yeah, yeah," he said. "You'll just make up another excuse to get the money. I know how you are." The woman only whimpered in response. The man leaned back in his chair.
"We'll be in touch," he said. He hung up before she could say a word. The man all but laughed to himself. This had become too easy. He could do this in his sleep. He opened up his spreadsheet file. Let's see… He just got finished with talking to Hattori. Who was next? The man scrolled through the list. Oh, there was one more woman tonight and then he would call it a night.
Suddenly, his phone rang. He didn't recognize the number. Probably another business partner.
"Hello?" he asked. At first, he could only hear soft whimpering. The man narrowed his eyes.
"What?" he asked.
"My ex gave you some racy photos of me," a person whispered. The man had an odd look on his face.
"Okay…" he said. The man opened another file. There were so many folders with his victims' names.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Tsuneoka Kotoyo," the voice said. The man scrolled through the folders but came up with nothing.
"No," he said.
"You do," the voice said. The man was still looking. There was no folder with that name.
"No," he said. "I do not have your photos."
"You do," the voice said.
"Look, lady. I don't have your photos," the man said. "You must have me confused with someone else." He was about to hang up when the caller said something that caught his attention.
"Yoshida Nozomi," the voice on the phone said. Before the man could say a word, his monitor changed to live footage. He whipped his head around to see himself looking at the laptop. The man jumped back.
"What the…?!" he shouted. There was laughing on the other line.
"Hello BlackSinnerLord69," the voice said. "Or should I say Oshiro Kazou?" The voice was louder and an actual man. Kazou froze as he stared at himself with the phone in his hand.
"Who is this?" he asked.
"Yoshida Nozomi. Does that name ring a bell?" the voice asked.
"No…" Kazou said.
"Okay, we're going to try something different," the voice said. Kazou watched as the curser on his laptop took control. The folders of all of his victims and photos. Each of the folders and documents was opened. Kazou tried to take control of his mouse but the curser wouldn't respond to him.
"Who the fuck are you?!" he shouted. Kazou was about to hang up the call.
"Ent!" the voice shouted. "I wouldn't hang up if I were you." Kazou sneered.
"And why is that?" he asked.
"Your neighbor, Tomi. She gets home around this time, doesn't she?" the voice asked. The man had an odd look on his face.
"Why?" he asked.
"Does she get home around this time?" the voice asked again. Kazou rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, what of it?" he asked.
"Go look outside and see if I am right," the voice said. "I will know if you are lying." The man's nostrils flared. He could hang up on this idiot and end it there.
"Is this some kind of a joke?!" Kazou asked.
"No. This isn't a joke," the voice said. "Go look outside and you will see that I am being serious." The man frowned and rolled his eyes. He really should hang up by now. Kazou groaned.
"Fine," he grumbled. He walked out of his room and made it to his front door. The man didn't take the chain off the door. Sure enough, a woman about forty years old was walking up to her apartment on the path. She looked like she was ready to pass out on a new comfy bed. The woman pushed her bangs out of her eyes.
"Is that her?" the voice asked. "Don't lie to me. I will know."
"Yes," Kazou said, annoyed.
"Call her name," the voice said.
"Huh?" he asked.
"Just do it," the caller commanded. Kazou rolled his eyes as his neighbor walked closer. Was he really going to do this? He could just hang up.
"Tomi," Kazou said. The woman kept walking, not looking up.
"Come on, Kazou," the caller said. "You can do better than that. Call her name louder."
"Tomi," the man said a little bit louder. She still didn't respond as she got closer.
"Try a little bit louder," the voice said. The man clicked his tongue with unease.
"Tomi!" Kazou shouted. This time, Tomi looked up at him.
Boom!
She didn't even get a chance to respond. Kazou stared on in shock as his neighbor's head exploded. Drops of blood landed on the wall and ground. The body dropped to the ground as everyone came out of their apartments to investigate. Kazou's eyes widened as the color drained from his face.
"What the fuck did you do?!" he asked.
"Did that look like I was joking?" the caller asked. "Do I have your attention now? How many more neighbors am I going to pick off?"
"Who the hell are you?!" Kazou shouted. Laughing came over the phone. The man moved his hand to hang up.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the voice said. "I can see you, remember?" Kazou froze as he looked around. The laughing suddenly stopped.
"Enough with the games," the caller said stern tone. "Now let's get down to business." The man gulped.
"What do you want from me?" he asked. His voice was trembling.
"First, you are going to give all those women their money back," the voice said.
"What?!" Kazou asked.
"You heard me," his captor said. "Give the women back their money. All of it." The man opened his mouth to speak.
"Don't lie to me," the voice said. "I know you have the money. You've racked up quite a pretty penny over… sixty-plus victims? Man! You've been quite busy. I don't know how you do it." Kazou was too helpless as he watched the cursor move to bring up his bank accounts.
"Go on," the voice said. "Get to it." The man hesitated as he reached for the mouse.
"Remember, I can see everything you do on your computer," the voice said. "So don't try anything stupid." By now, Kazou could hear sirens in the distance. His captor was probably watching from the webcam or something. Maybe he could…
"Quit stalling and get on with it!" the voice snapped. "And do even think about covering up your webcam. I can still see what you are doing on your computer."
"Okay, okay," Kazou said. He started to transfer all of the money back to his victims. He took his time to go through all of his victims and their families. His captor kept his eyes on all of the payments being returned. It hurt to see all of that money disappearing.
"Yoshida Nozomi," the voice said again. "Do you remember who she is?" Kazou had an odd look on his face.
"No?" he asked.
"Well, you should," the voice said. "She was one of your victims after all."
"I don't know a Yoshida Nozomi," Kazou said. "Look man, I have so many targets that I can't keep track of them all."
"Bull shit!" the caller snapped. "You keep track of all your victims. Surely, you must know who Yoshida Nozomi is."
"I don't," the man said. "I'm not lying, I swear!"
"Okay, I believe you," the caller said. "Must be hard to keep track of all the girls that you blackmail all the time." Kazou sneered and rolled his eyes. He muttered something under his breath.
"What did you say?" the caller asked.
"Nothing!" Kazou said aloud, lifting his chin. He paused when there was silence on the other line.
"Hello? Are you still there? Hello? Hello?" he asked. A chat box popped up on the screen. A confused look came over Kazou's face. What was it now? A user named Quantum was inviting him for a chat. The man frowned and sighed. He might as well do this.
His captor was the one to choose for him.
The curser clicked "accept". The chat box became open. There was only one message waiting for him. It was a link to a live-stream video. The cursor clicked on it. It didn't take long for Kazou to recognize the address. His jaw dropped.
"No…" he said. The footage changed to the inside of a girl's bedroom. A girl about fifteen years old lay asleep on her bed. Kazou's stomach dropped.
"Let's see…" the caller said. "Could I blow up her pretty little head from here?" The man shook his head in a panic.
"You can't do that!" he yelped.
"Want to test that out?" the voice asked. "I know you don't give a shit about your mother. But Kimiko…" There was a pause over the other line.
"Or maybe I could explode that little girlfriend's head," the caller said.
"You wouldn't!" Kazou snapped.
"That all depends on you," his captor said. "Speaking of which, do you remember who Yoshida Nozomi is?"
"No!" the man said. "I don't know who that is! Why do you keep asking me about her?!"
"Let me give you a little hint," the caller said. A picture popped up in the chat. Kazou looked at the screen to see an enhanced picture of a black and blue butterfly tattoo. Suddenly, it all clicked.
Yoshida Nozomi had a bright and promising future. But she got herself mixed up with the wrong man. He was a controlling and verbally abusive asshole. They wound up in a nasty breakup. The ex turned to Kazou for help in his plan to ruin her life six months ago. The blackmailer remembered his victim had that same black and blue butterfly tattoo inside her right thigh. She got that tattoo when she took a trip to Italy on her twentieth birthday. This scheme lasted for three months. By the end of summer, Nozomi hanged herself in her bedroom. She was only twenty-two years old. Her mother was the one who found the body.
"That wasn't my fault!" Kazou protested. "She was the one who hanged herself!"
"But who put her in that situation?" the caller asked. The man froze.
"You might as well have been the one to slip the noose around her neck and kick the stool from under her feet! Face it, you killed her!" his captor said.
"And what was she to you?" Kazou asked.
"No one," the caller said. His hostage's hand began to tremble.
"Then why are you doing this?" he asked. The caller laughed again over the phone.
"Because I hate scumbags like you," he said.
"Huh?!" Kazou asked.
"What gives you the right to ruin a woman's life because of some asshole whom she rejects? You wouldn't want this to happen to Kimiko, would you?" the caller asked. The man sat quiet.
"Huh?" the caller asked.
"No!" Kazou shouted.
"So why would you do this to someone else's sister or girlfriend?" the voice asked.
"This won't change anything!" his captive said. "There are others out there who are doing the same thing."
"How do you think I found you?" the caller asked. His captive froze as the last payment to the victim was completed.
"Oh look, all of the money is paid back," the caller said. However, Kazou had a feeling.
"So you're going to let me go now?" he asked.
"You're not done," the caller said. Kazou thought he was going to be sick.
"Now what do you want from me?" he asked.
"You're now going to delete all of your pictures and your databases about your victims," the voice said. Kazou stared at the screen like an animal about to get hit by a speeding truck."
"What?!" he shouted.
"You heard me," the caller said. "Who do you want me to kill next? I bet your girlfriend is home from her hostessing job now. Want to check in and see?" Kazou quickly shook his head.
"Don't do that!" he said.
"So are you going to delete everything?" the caller asked. "And don't mean just the files. I want your laptop and hard drives deleted too." The man snorted.
"That's not going to change anything!" he said. "There's always going to be others like me!"
"Well, you will be a good start," the caller said. The sirens were getting louder now. It wouldn't be long before the police came to his apartment to ask questions. That thought made his stomach turn. Could this night get any worse?
"Tick-tock, Kazou!" the voice shouted on the other line. "Tick-tock!" The man about jumped in his chair.
"Okay, okay!" he said. Kazou selected all of his folders and files and hit delete. It would take a while. The man sat back in his chair as he chuckled to himself.
"I didn't really want to do this, you know?" he asked. "I was in debt and needed the money. I wasn't really good with college. I ended up dropping out after my first semester. I'm really good at the tech stuff but I couldn't get a job. I just wanted to make a little money for me and my sister. When a buddy of mine said that I could make some easy money, I jumped at the chance. He never told me what the job was. By the time I learned what it was, it was too late." All of the files were deleted.
"I told myself I was going to get out, but the pay was too good," Kazou added. He hung his head in shame.
"I guess I got addicted to the money," he said.
"Look, I understand how that happens," the voice said. "But you could've chosen a different path."
"You don't know that!" Kazou argued back.
"You didn't even bother to try!" the voice shouted. "Did you?" The captive sat back quiet. The cursor moved on its own to check the files.
"Okay," the caller said. "Now destroy your hard drives and your laptop. I will walk you through what to do." By now, Kazou had lost all of the fight in him. He just wanted this nightmare to be over. The man gathered up his tech and put them in the middle of the room.
"Do you have a hammer?" the voice asked. Kazou gulped.
"Yes," he said.
"Good, go get it," the caller said. Kazou walked out of the room and into the kitchen. The man remembered that he still had a hammer that he borrowed from one of his neighbors and forgot to return. He came back into his room with a heavy heart and the hammer in his hand. He stood over his laptop and hard drives.
"Smash them into little pieces," the voice commanded. "Remember, I am still watching you." The man took a breath and began smashing the first hard drive to pieces. Each smash was painful to him. The voice on the other line had to be enjoying this. The man gritted his teeth when he got to his laptop.
Before long, everything was in pieces. Kazou breathed out.
"There, I did it," he said.
"Good," the voice said. "Now, flush it all down the toilet." His victim opened his mouth.
"Ent! Don't ask questions. Just do it," the voice said. Kazou gathered up all of the pieces in his arms and walked like he was about to be executed into the bathroom. This took several trips and many flushes. In the end, the toilet was backed up so much that it started to flood the bathroom floor. As soon as the bathroom started to flood, Kazou ran to his room. He gathered what he could in an overnight bag and ran out of his room. He didn't turn around to see if the apartment was still flooding from the bathroom or not. The man didn't care if he hung up on his captor or not. To hell if his sister, girlfriend, or other neighbors died because of him.
Kazou finally made it to the elevator. He pressed the down button. The man sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Maybe he could get out of Ikebukuro and start again. He could get himself a better job in a small town. For now, Kazou would stay in a family restaurant with what little money he had on him.
The man looked up when the doors opened. Kazou wordlessly walked into the elevator. He noticed a man standing in the corner of the elevator in a hoodie and jeans. He kept his eyes on the floor and said nothing. Kazou tried not to pay any attention to him as he stood in front of the closing doors. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. In a couple of hours, he lost his money, security, means of survival, and probably his apartment. Kazou dropped his hand to his side. Was this how his victims felt? He didn't want to feel this ever again.
His phone rang again. The man sighed and rolled his eyes. What was it now?
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Oh, there's one more thing I forgot to mention," the voice said.
"What?" Kazou asked, flinching.
"Nozomi has an older brother who's been in the US Army," the voice said. "I told him about you and what you did. And I may have told him where you live. Oh, and he's got a gun." Kazou turned to see the man in the corner pull out his hand gun and rush toward him. The last thing he would ever hear was the voice saying, "Thank you for your service. Have a nice day!"
Bang!