Killing the Beasts

Prologue

Leaning forward on the sofa, she gratefully accepted the stick of gum, unwrapped it and then folded it into her mouth. 'Thanks,' she said breathlessly, looking expectantly at her visitor and eagerly chewing.

'My pleasure,' came the reply from the smartly dressed man sitting opposite her. They continued looking at each other for a moment longer. 'Now, if you could just get…'

'Oh God, yes, sorry! It's upstairs.' She jumped to her feet. 'I'm all excited. Sorry.'

He smiled. 'No problem.'

She almost skipped across the room, then ran up the stairs. While she was gone the man stood up, walked over to her living room window and checked the street outside. By the time she returned he was sitting down once again.

'Here,' she said, handing him a small booklet.

'Great.' He looked up at her with a slightly embarrassed expression.' Do you mind if I have a cup of tea before we get started?'

'Oh!' She jumped up again, her dressing gown falling slightly open to reveal a flash of upper thigh. 'I'm so rude. Sorry. Milk? Sugar?'

'Milk and two sugars, thanks.'

Flustered, she paced quickly down the short corridor to the kitchen, bare feet slapping against the lino as she crossed the room. She plucked two mugs from the dirty crockery piled up in the sink and quickly washed them out. As she waited for the kettle to boil she jigged from foot to foot, occasionally taking a deep breath and running her hands through her spiky blonde hair.

A few minutes later she walked back in, a red flush now evident on her throat and cheeks. 'Here you go.' She placed a mug decorated with a cartoon snail on the low table in front of the man's knees. Now furiously chewing on the gum, she went to sit down again but, on impulse, veered towards the hi-fi system in the corner and turned up the music.

'God, I feel like I could dance,' she said urgently, blowing her breath out and running her fingers through her hair once again. 'Is it hot in here? Are you hot?'

The man looked around the room as if heat was a visible thing. 'No,' he replied with a little shake of his head.

'I feel hot,' she said, placing her mug on the table, then waving one hand a little too energetically at her cheek and pulling distractedly at the neck of her dressing gown. The man kept his head lowered, pretending to search for a pen in his jacket pocket.

The girl went to sit down, stumbling against the leg of the coffee table. 'Whoops!' she said with a strange giggle, though panic was beginning to show in her eyes. 'I… I'm dizzy.'

The room had begun to shift in and out of focus and her breath wouldn't come properly. She leaned forward and tried to steady herself by putting one hand on the arm of the sofa.

The man watched impassively.

Now visibly distressed, she attempted a half turn to sit down, but her coordination was going and she missed the sofa, crashing onto the carpet. As she lay on her back, her eyes rolled up into her head and then closed completely.

The man calmly got to his feet and put his briefcase on the table. After entering the combination for the lock, he opened it up and removed a long pair of stainless steel pincers from inside.