Messenger of the Reaper
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About this ebook
Jimmy Straley
I was born 11-06-1960, in Sherman, Tx, but spent most of my life in Ft Worth, Tx. I have two grown children, Elizabeth-27, and Jimmy Jr-29, who also reside here in Tx. I also have two teenage stepchildren that live at home with me, Francisco-16, and Kristofer-15. I have been divorced once, but I am currently remarried to my wife Angelyn Straley-34, who did the editing on this book. I first started writing this book back in 2008, but circumstances and lack of support prevented me from continuing. It wasn’t until 2015 when my new wife inspired me to restart and continue my pursuit in finishing the book. Since then, I have worked diligently in bringing the reaper to life (so to speak) which has been a figment of my imagination for some time.
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Messenger of the Reaper - Jimmy Straley
© 2016 Jimmy Straley. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.
Published by AuthorHouse 01/19/2016
ISBN: 978-1-5049-7346-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-5049-7347-2 (e)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016900832
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,
and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
All characters and names in this book are fictious and are not meant to resemble or impersonate any persons alive or dead
I would like to
dedicate this book to my wife Angelyn, without who’s help and support this book would not have been possible
Chapter 1
The night was calm and still except for the flies that were buzzing around my head from the dumpster that I was crouched behind. I had been out on many jobs before but this one seemed different. There was still plenty of time before Mr. Dead Man
would show, so I sat admiring how bright the moon had made the alley, and the stray cats kept climbing in and out of the trash, coming out with an occasional mouse or prize catch. There was also an evil chill in the air as if someone was watching me and I couldn’t afford to have anyone see what I did for a living. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The place was gloomy in its own way, the only thing missing was Him, and I knew he would be here because he always was. I think I am one of his best representatives, because I always have business for him.
After about an hour I noticed Mr. Dead Man
was coming down the alley towards me, but there were other people close by on the street so I had to be fast and quiet. I would use my 9mm but, it made way too much noise, so that only left my knife. I positioned myself behind the dumpster, and waited as he strolled leisurely down the alley coming closer. As he came past me I sprang out, clamping my left hand over his mouth and shoving my nine inch steel blade between the third and forth rib, so that I could reach his heart. His eyes were wide open when I looked into them. As I turned the blade you could hear his ribs crack and break. Upon jerking out the blade his eyes became even wider as he fell to the ground and blood gushed from the wound like a fountain. While he lay on the ground looking up at me he asked in a muffled voice why
to which I replied I don’t know, I was only hired to deliver this message.
Then I wiped my blade off on his shirt and he was gone. I then thought to myself perfect, no witnesses and no sound. Then I heard something behind me, and as I turned I noticed it was Him, he had came to collect what I had for him. But this time was different. I had always been able to see the reaper when he came for the souls that were waiting for him, but it was the deal I had made with the devil. As I looked into his face all I could see were two glowing red eyes, then he looked towards me and whispered Soon, I will be back for you.
A cold chill went down my spine; he had never talked to me before. Putting away my knife I needed my proof so, removing my cigar cutter I snipped off the right index finger, wrapped it in a plastic zip lock bag, and left as fast as possible. That encounter had put me on edge.
My car was parked about two blocks away and I had to get to it without being seen. Upon reaching the street I noticed the wind was whipping around, and that there with tiny ice shards in the air. Turning the collar of my jacket up, I made my way down the street to where I had parked my car. Fortunately because of the wind, and my jacket collar, I was able to get around without any one seeing my face but, my car is a different story. A 69 Dodge Charger with a 426 hemi and a blower sticking out of the hood, high gloss black and not a dent on it. I have had it up to 215 mph a couple times, but I was in a real hurry then. I was just hoping that no one was standing around admiring it when I got there. As I rounded the corner I noticed that my wish had come true. There was no one around so I would be able to put away my tools without anyone noticing. As I opened the trunk lid a soft red light came on exposing the blood red interior of the car, and the seats shined from the crushed red velvet that covered them. You could also see the arsenal that I carried around in the trunk. It was a cop’s worst nightmare in there. Two M11 machine pistols, a couple pounds of C4, three RPGs, an M25 and a 30.06 sniper rifle and in case I was in a no win situation, a vile of the most deadliest anthrax virus known to man. I wasn’t going alone. My 9mm and my knife kind of looked out of place in there but that’s where they belonged. After putting away my tools, I made my way around to the driver’s door, unlocked it and sat down behind the wheel. Placing my belt on, I put the key in the ignition. Slowly turning the key, the engine turned over a couple of times and fired to life. The deep rumble of the engine made the ground shake. It may be a little flashy but it is the only place that I feel safe. We were one and we would not let each other down. Heading towards the interstate I had to get home to collect my pay. I had five hours to get from Oklahoma City to Dallas, and she was purring down the road. We would make it with time to spare. As I rolled down the highway towards home, my phone started to ring, looking at who was calling I decided it was best to answer.
Hello.
Yeah this is Jenkins is this Mr. Problem Solver?
Yes it is, have you heard the news yet?
I don’t care what the news says, I need proof that the job is complete, they will say anything on the damn news.
Would the right index finger do for you, because I am bringing it with me?
Damn you’re good, I didn’t even ask for it when we talked about the contract. How did you know to bring proof?
Just part of the job for me. Do you have the 50k that is owed for me to pick up?
Yes I do. Come by my office at 11am, bring a brief case and introduce yourself as Mr. Johnson of Micro Gain Export. You have an 11 o’clock meeting with Mr. Jenkins and when you get in the office I will pay you.
Ok that sounds fine to me I will be there. We’ll talk later then.
I made a sigh of relief as I hung up, because that gave me a few more hours to get there and I no longer had to hurry, so I lowered my speed down to 60 mph, that way I didn’t have to worry about catching a speed trap in one of these hick towns.
Reaching down, I turned on the radio just to see what was being said about my latest job. As I heard the news I got the shock of my life. At that point I knew I should have done more research on my mark, and not let them rush me on a job. This job was worth a lot more than the 50k that I was getting paid. I was now just hoping that I would be able to get out of this state before I was made. Then the radio repeated the story. At around 12:30 this morning State Senator Gene Styles was found murdered, police are searching for a white male suspect about 6 foot 2 inches, around 250 pounds, with dark hair. That is all that an eye witness that was found hiding in a nearby dumpster could describe. The witness said it was too dark to see much more and that he was afraid to show himself. The man had already killed once and, he was afraid he might do so again. Police are setting up road blocks at all borders to try and see if they can find this murderer before he strikes again. If anyone has any information about this suspect or leading to this murder investigation, please call your local police department immediately. Stay tuned and we will update you as we have more information.
Shit! That is just what I needed, A witness. How stupid could I be? First, I kill a senator, and then, I leave a witness behind. No wonder Jenkins wanted to get rid of me so quick. I am going to have to clean this up, just as soon as I get my money. I can’t afford to be known in my line of work. The senator in Chicago is going to have to wait, and so is the 100k I am going to get for that job. Pulling over I checked the glove box to see if maybe I had left my casino card in there, if I had, I could use the excuse that I had just left there and was heading back home. Ahh yes. There it is, I was now heading for Durant to cross the state line. There was my best chance to get back into Texas and I was taking it. As I was heading for the casino highway, the words from the reaper come back to the front of my mind (soon I will be back for you
) I could feel the cold hand of death upon my back and it made a cold shiver go all over me. Looking into the passenger seat I half expected to see him sitting there but it was empty. Breathing a sigh of relief I started to relax a little bit. Still, the thought crossed my mind, is this the way it’s going to end after forty years of doing this type of work? No! It can’t end this way I won’t let it, because I’m not ready to go yet it’s not the way I had planned it to go. Then I thought, I bet that all the people I took care of never planned to go like they did either, but they didn’t have much of a choice once I was there. I was a bag of nerves now and needed to calm down if there was a roadblock ahead. A drink was out of the question, because I didn’t need them to smell the alcohol, wait; I’ve got a sedative, that’ll calm me down. Digging it out of the center console, I swallowed it down followed by a drink of my soda, I had about a half an hour before I reached the state line, it should have taken effect by then. About five minutes and ten miles later I started to feel the effects of the pill I had just taken. That was good; the roadblock would be no problem now.
Wanting to get out of state quicker and out of this rural farm land, I reached down and flipped the switch on the shifter. The super charger started to whine and slowly come to life as I pressed harder on the gas pedal. It won’t take long now to get there. I was up to one ninety and could have done better but didn’t want to get there too soon. As I topped the hill about two miles from the state line I could see all the red and blue lights just down the road, it was time to shut it down to a normal speed so as to not attract attention from all those lights. Pulling over to the side of the road, I got out and walked over to the trunk, and got out the vial of anthrax. I shut the trunk, got back in the car and placed the vial of anthrax between my legs in the seat, preparing for the worst. Then I proceeded towards the flashing lights. Pulling up to the roadblock I was motioned to stop by an officer standing in the road. Looking to my left another was approaching the car, my stomach knotted and ass puckered. I had been in worse, so I gathered up my courage and as the cop approached, I looked at his name tag and spoke in a calm voice. Morning officer Redkin are you all having a drunk patrol tonight?
No we are not, May I ask where you are coming from?
I have been down at the Casino playing a few of the slot machines
I lied as I held up my casino card.
So you haven’t seen anybody trying to hitch a ride and do you have your license and insurance?
No I haven’t
handing him what he asked for. He took my ID and looked at it then looked in the back seat of my car with his flash light.
Handing me back my papers he looked strait into my eyes and I swear I saw the reaper in there as he said you may precede Mr. Chrisp.
Dropping my car in gear I eased away and across the state line. I was free. I had made it back to Texas and was out of that hick state. There was no longer any reason to hurry any more. I was home and I didn’t have to be in Dallas for another four and a half hours since the time had been moved down some. Dallas wasn’t far away it was only about an hour and a half at normal speed so I would have time to go shower and clean up before the meeting. I found a place to pull over out of sight and put the anthrax back where it belonged in the trunk. It was a nice relaxing feeling to be back in Texas as I rolled down the road with the radio on listening to rock n roll, and I soon made it home. Parking my car in the garage I made my way into the house. Upon entering I looked around to see that everything was in place. Being in my profession you learn to be very cautious, you never know what can be hiding around the corner. Looking at the clock, I noticed it was 3:30 in the morning. I had a few hours before the meeting, so I decided to get some sleep after a nice hot shower to relax me. After my shower I set the alarm for 9:00am and laid down, and when I closed my eyes, I could see Him and still hear the words he mumbled to me in that alley. I could tell that this was going to be a troubled sleep.
As the alarm went off my eyes shot open and I noticed my face was wet with sweat, my heart was racing and, I was breathing heavy. I don’t know what I was dreaming about, but I’m glad I couldn’t remember. Oh well, it was time to get up and get to the meeting with Jenkins. Walking into the kitchen I turned the coffee maker on and went to go get dressed, a nice business suit would be best. After getting dressed I grabbed a cup of coffee and my briefcase and was on my way out the door to my meeting. The traffic in downtown Dallas was horrible on the way to Jenkins’s office. It took me forty five minutes to get there, and as I pulled up to the parking garage, the attendant came over to the car asking me what I wanted. I informed him that I was Mr. Smith from Micro Gain Export, and I had an 11 o’clock with Mr. Jenkins, he then handed me a ticket and told me that I could park on the second level. Pulling into a parking space, away from all other visitor’s cars I was hoping that no one else would park there next to me and ding my paint job. I have always been passionate and protective of my ride; I had too much money invested to let someone mess it up. Turning on the car’s alarm I went to the elevator, so I could get down to the lower level, and go across to the office building where Jenkins was. As I entered the building,