Chapter Seven

The improvements on the apparatus pleased the killer, especially now that the killer could cover it entirely with a baseball cap. There were a few of its elements that pressed against the scalp uncomfortably, but that seemed a small price to pay. You're… going… to… die… Emily… Chen. The killer thought the words slowly and distinctly.

Emily continued to walk directly ahead without looking behind to see who had threatened her. The apparatus worked perfectly. She couldn't hear anything.

She'd been able to fool the killer in the past, pretended effectively that she couldn't hear when she quite obviously could. This time, though, there was no doubt. There was not even the slightest reaction or hesitation, which meant it had been perfected. The killer's thoughts no longer belonged to anyone but the killer.

The killer thought the words again. A smile spread across the killer's features, and this had nothing to do with the machine blocking Emily's power to hear thoughts. The smile came because it was true and not just a shocking statement to provoke a reaction.

Emily Chen would die. She would die, and along with her would die her impossibly acute hearing, hearing so powerful it couldn't be natural human variation. The killer's mind flitted through the various theories already considered. They ranged from alien abduction (which was dismissed out of hand) to clandestine government super soldier experimentation (which still seemed the most likely.) At this point, the origins of the power didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was its neutralization. Destroy before being destroyed.

Emily turned to admire a display in the window of one of the many boutique clothing shops that lined the street. The killer moved past her without looking her way. There was no need to follow her anymore. The killer had confirmed that the device worked. There was no fear of being discovered. Tonight, when Emily returned to her neighborhood, the killer would blow his whistle and exploit Emily's own vulnerability, one she shared with all like her, one that gave the killer a chance at ridding the world of this threat before it overcame them.

The killer wondered when the government would realize its soldiers were being killed. Eventually, it wouldn't be so simple as blowing a whistle and picking off operatives one by one. Eventually, the real war would start, and when it did, the killer would need more than a few electrodes, a dog whistle and a knife.

But for now, this was enough. Let them know they were vulnerable. Let them know they couldn't hear everything. Let them know that the killer could strike back.

The killer paid the meter, stepped into his car, started the engine and pulled smoothly into traffic.

The killer thought the words again and smiled. You're going to die, Emily Chen.

The killer checked the rearview mirror. Emily continued to walk, oblivious to the shadow of death that had fallen upon her.