Chapter 24 - Hero

"Ahhhhh...!" a blood curdling cry echoed through the warehouse. The two men holding down Alex had smashed one of his fingers with their hammer.

"Let's see how you hold a knife from now on!" the heavier guy on the left said with his husky voice.

"We like beautiful women too, but we would never do something as disgusting as you!" the skinnier guy on the right said as he spat on Alex. He then proceeded to smash another finger.

As the second scream echoed through the warehouse, the guy that stepped out from the shadows, walked over to turn off the music that was still playing. As soon as it stopped, Halia frowned. With her shirt unbuttoned and white lace bra showing, she ran over to the man and pouted her lips, "Turn it back on, I was dancing."

The man looked down at her and furrowed his brows. "Look at you! Didn't you learn your lesson the first time?" he asked as he quickly helped her button her shirt.

Halia stood still, like a little girl being dressed by her mother.

"From now on, you need to be more careful. I can't save you every time."

Halia stared at the man and hooked her arms around his neck. "It's you again," she smiled.

The man's lips curved upwards slightly. "You'll forget me again when you come to your senses," he said. He then checked his watch, "I called the police for you, they should be here any minute. Sit here and be good until they come. I can't stay around. The police don't like me."

Halia sat down obediently on a chair and nodded.

The man picked up Halia's coat off the floor and covered her with it. "I hope we never meet in a situation like this again," he said before he glanced at his men and gestured it was time to leave.

By this time, Alex had two broken fingers on each hand and had already fallen unconscious from the pain.

Not long after the three men left, the police arrived. They had received an anonymous phone call about a suspicious car parked outside an abandoned warehouse. When they checked the number plate, they realized the car belonged to Alex Li! So, they immediately rushed to the scene.

But...when they walked in, they were surprised to find Alex unconscious on the floor and Halia sitting safely on a chair facing him.

...

A couple hours later, Alex finally awoke to find he was at the police station. His fingers were wrapped in bandages and they hurt like hell. He groaned in pain as the senior detective walked up to him and threw a wrapped up knife on the desk.

"We've already run tests on this knife and confirmed it was the same knife used in 6 brutal killings. Your finger prints are all over it. Are you going to tell us why you did it?"

Alex sucked up his pain and smirked, "I guess God wanted me to..."

He looked up at the clock and it was just past midnight. He didn't make it to April.

"Did you catch the guys that broke my fingers. I want to sue them?" Alex asked, trying to change the subject.

"There were no signs of anyone else in that warehouse. For all we know, you fell and broke them yourself," the detective smirked. He quite enjoyed this poetic justice. This man would never be able to pick up a knife again.

"Well, I saw him clearly! Halia saw him too," Alex yelled.

"I told you already. There were no signs of anyone else. You have no evidence. Plus, Halia isn't sober enough to act as a witness. You'll just have to accept that your killing spree is over," the detective said as he returned the conversation to the main point.

"Now, tell me why and how you killed these 6 women," he said as he placed 6 photos on the desk.

Alex leaned back on his chair. He wasn't afraid of getting caught. If this was his fate, then he was going to accept it. Plus, he was proud of what he had done.

So, he cleared his throat and began telling his story; about how he was kicked out of medical school and shunned by his ex-girlfriend; how he watched a daughter visit her mother dressed like she was going on a blind date, just so she could impress the doctors; how the girl from the IT department almost knocked him over as she ran to catch a glimpse of Dr. Su's lecture. How they ignored him like he didn't exist!

He then told him about the waitress at the cafe near the hospital. He had visited that place often, but she only ever served the doctors and never once asked him where he worked or what he did. In fact, she didn't even recognize him when he appeared at the bubble tea shop she visited every morning before work and poured something down her straw.

"I had to teach her a lesson," he said as he stared at the woman's photo coldly.