Luke Delaney - Cold Killing

Hellier watched Gibran as his words silenced the audience who sat waiting for him to continue, waiting for him to assure them that they did have value, did have a place in the greater society. Hellier realized how different he was from everyone else in the room, how the mere thought of exclusion from anything terrified them, whereas he was able to embrace it when necessary, to make it his greatest ally. But even he was drawn into the speech and found himself eagerly awaiting Gibran’s next words. Study him, Hellier told himself. Watch Gibran perform and learn from it. Study his speech patterns and changes in tone. Study his pauses and body movements, the way he looks around the room, searching for eye contact. If he ever had to make a speech, he would imitate Gibran, imitate him exactly. His mind flashed back to the interview with Corrigan-the accusation that he was no more than a cheap imitation, a generic copy of Gibran. Corrigan had an insightfulness almost as acute as his own. He must never forget that if he wanted to win the game.

“So,” Gibran continued, “I explained to that person that our very essence was about creating product. I explained to her that without people like us there would be no Microsoft Corporation. Bill Gates’s brilliant idea would have remained just that: an idea. It took finance raised by companies like ours to make it reality. And what about pharmaceutical companies and the drugs they make that save millions of lives: would any of them exist without finance to make their birth possible? No, they would not, and nor would any other non-state-owned business, be that a company making millions of cars or a family business making postcards. They all needed finance to exist in the first place. So, I told this woman, don’t ever tell me that I have no product.” He took half a step back from the microphone, triggering enthusiastic applause.

“But we must do more than this,” Gibran continued. “There is no point in having a small, separate class of the superwealthy if the rest of society is reduced to a disillusioned underclass of the jealous, living their lives without hope or aspiration. In my heart I’m a socialist, but I believe all men and women should be equally wealthy, not equally poor. However, no government can ever achieve this. Their hands are tied by four-yearly elections and the need for short-term success. To build a society of the future worth living in takes time. It takes decades, not four years, which is why we must accept responsibility for things that have been too long left for the government to control. We should be financing the building of private but affordable schools. And in those schools we should be educating children who want to learn in environments free of disorder and dysfunction.”

Gibran paused to allow applause as Hellier looked around at the audience, who were warming to Gibran’s rhetoric.

“And we should finance the building of affordable private community hospitals, where those who are sick and injured through no fault of their own can receive immediate and expert care, unhindered by the need to treat smokers, drinkers, and the obese. And we should finance the building of private housing estates with their own private police, paid to protect the families and homes of those who live on them. Areas that will be safe from rioters and looters. And eventually everyone will want this better way of life. They will no longer be prepared to send their children to failing schools or their elderly relatives to failing hospitals. And through the ethical use of profits, insurance, and payment protection, the public sector and the billions it sucks up and wastes will become obsolete. Through finance, the private sector will succeed where every government to date has failed.”

Applause erupted in the room, making Hellier laugh inwardly at how expertly Gibran had played them. But his mood soon began to darken as he realized he was witnessing the birth of Gibran as a worthy adversary, a dangerous adversary. So now he had two: Corrigan and Gibran. But which one should he be more cautious of? At least Corrigan was obvious and predictable, the raging bull who would keep coming straight at him until he was defeated or victorious. But Gibran was the snake in the grass, waiting to strike. He was the shark that swam below a calm sea, waiting until he smelled blood in the water. Hellier would respect the threats both men represented, but he would never fear them. He watched as Gibran’s speech drew to a close.

“However,” Gibran warned his audience, “such ambitions can only be achieved in a new climate of competitive cooperation. Clearly, we cannot be seen to be forming cartels, but true progress cannot be achieved by individual businesses working toward individual goals. Cooperation is the key. But remember, we can only ever be as strong as our weakest link.”

Gibran’s eyes suddenly looked through the crowd and came to rest on Hellier, who felt them burning into his skin, as if Gibran were publically branding him a liability. Hellier resisted the temptation to smile: Gibran might think he was smart, but he’d just showed Hellier his hand. No matter what happened next, Hellier would be ready for him. When the time came, he would be ready.

Ihad to wait so very long before finding him. I searched and searched for years, then finally, it was he who found me. He simply walked into my life one day. Surely he had been sent to me, a gift from Nature herself.

His eyes betrayed him. Immediately I knew he and I were alike. We were the same animal. There was no mistake. He had hidden his nature well; his facade of normality would deceive anybody. Anybody but me, that is. But when he looked at me he saw nothing. I could see the contempt he had for me, the same as he had for everybody else. My disguise hid me even from my own kind. Now all I had to do was wait a little while longer. A year or two. Then I could begin.

My favorite film is West Side Story . Why? Because of the violence. It’s pure and total violence. The dancing is violent. The music is violent. The scenery is violent, so is the red sun that washes over the city in every scene. The film’s a statement about the dominance of violence over every other aspect of life. Romeo and Juliet. Violence defeats love. Violence is the only truth.

I understand this. You do not. You hide from violence. Cower in its presence. You damn it as the scourge of modern life. Punish your youth for being violent. Try to ban it from your television. Try to stop it at your football matches. Your government spends billions of pounds every year trying to remove violence from society.

But violence is life. Without violence there would be no life. Violence is the driving force that is life. It represents the ultimate beauty of life.

Evolution is violent. Species evolve through violent competition. The strong kill the weak and so the species develops. Without violence we would still be living in trees. No. Less than that. We would still be single-celled organisms. And yet you treat violence as your enemy, when it is your greatest ally.

I understand violence. I embrace it. I harness it. Through violence I am evolving into something beyond imagination.

Tuesday

Early morning and Sean was already at his desk. The office was growing increasingly active as the detectives drifted into work. A knock at his open door made him glance up. Superintendent Featherstone waited to be invited in.

“Boss,” Sean acknowledged. “How’s it going?”

Featherstone held two coffees in to-go cups. He placed one in front of Sean then sat down. “Never known a DI turn down a free coffee.”

“Thanks,” said Sean. As he lifted the drink, he realized why Featherstone was there. Sean hadn’t consulted with him prior to arresting Hellier. Technically, he should have. “While you’re here, there are a few things I need to update you on.”