The Nature of Predators - Human Exterminators (7/9)

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Memory transcription subject: William Kane, Human Refugee

Date [standardized human time]: November 4, 2136

The paper files that Volek had given to me were mere printouts of the profile overviews. I discovered that I did have a login to the exterminators’ web portal, which had the detailed records of cases and typed reports. The Venlil receptionist had given me clearance to browse through our branch’s personnel data. Luala was easy to find, once I filtered by species; she was the only Krakotl in this office.

My mind wondered what Rauln was digging up, or whether Fyron was able to distract her former friend. Supposedly, the bird wasn’t interested in chatting with a Farsul; I should’ve thought the roles through in more depth. Shaking my head, I cobbled together a timeline of the kills. The first one on Venlil Prime occurred outside a student dormitory; the initial victim had been a foreign Krakotl student.

The branch on Nishtal saw the Venlil’s press release, and connected the dots to their Intestine-Eater. The question is, when exactly did they send Luala?

I accessed the Krakotl’s travel logs, discovering that she had left her homeworld before the first kill. This was the smoking gun! Luala was shipped off to Venlil Prime to swap extermination techniques, and her assignment was made permanent after the serial murderer struck. Unable to believe my eyes, I sifted through the next few cases. Each one fell within the timeframe of her shift; she had the means and the case knowledge.

I wasn’t sure what to do, with my theory panning out so easily. Was I supposed to confront Luala? Should I seek permission from Volek to give her the flamethrower treatment, since she was a “predator?” My hands wringed my black hair, and I took a shaky breath. This required proof, beyond a shadow of a doubt. I needed to demonstrate that she had the opportunity to perform every kill, and assign her a plausible motive.

“If Rauln can find something incriminating, that’s the golden ticket,” I muttered to myself. “Maybe something that washes blood off her feathers, or a scalpel for cutting them open.”

I didn’t bother to look at the rest of the kills, since I knew in my heart that Luala was guilty as sin. Motive was the key piece in any prosecution; humans loved to zero in on the why. My next task was to figure out what made her tiny brain tick, and that could be gleaned from her social media accounts. It was easy to track her down, since she’d linked her public socials to her work-networking profile.

A grimace stretched across my features, as I found a video of the Krakotl dancing in a nightclub…on the very day Earth’s attack occurred. The dumpling was out on the town, living it up, while her species irradiated my planet. That verified that she was a psychopath of itself. There were also pictures of her and Fyron, crouched beside burned animal corpses.

What the fuck is wrong with those two? How does this have thousands of likes, and gushing comments…like they’re heroes?!

The Farsul was going to get an earful for those tasteless pictures, but I decided to move on for now. My scrolling brought me to the most recent video, from two days ago; it showed Luala scowling at the camera. I turned the sound on, and planned to document any damning words. The Krakotl’s shrill voice assaulted my ears, and this time, I was certain she was shrieking at the viewers.

“Nishtal is burning, you heartless monsters! There’s an Arxur raid ongoing, and there’s not a morsel of sympathy from the Venlil here. It’s all ‘poor Earth’ and ‘you got what was coming to you.’ You’ll all be happy when my species is extinct; you can see it in the fucking humans’ eyes.

And nobody even asked if I was okay, after finding out that my species ate flesh. Well, I’m not okay, and I’m tired of pretending I am! What the Farsul did, how little the Venlil care—it’s all a joke to you. Everything and everyone I ever knew, back home, it’s gone. You don’t know the half of it,” Luala ranted.

There was the evidence that the bird was unhinged; she was livid with the Venlil, and that escalated her time table for striking again. I’d love to see her say those Nishtal lines to my face, and sob about how her species perished while committing genocide themselves. Luala wasn’t wrong about our happiness at her kind’s extinction. If all of her family and relatives bit the dust or wound up in a cattle farm, that was poetic justice.

I jotted down a few notes, marking the words “vindictive” and “lashing out.” That might’ve been the pot calling the kettle black, but I knew better than anyone how instability could bubble up. The Krakotl’s eyes were watering on camera, and I snorted in disgust. How could anyone feel pity for those deranged monsters? Just looking at her sunset-colored beak conjured hatred and disgust.

I felt like I was missing something, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Time didn’t give me the chance to sort out my thoughts, regardless; the slam of a door drew my attention.

A nervous Rauln scurried into the briefing room, exhaling a sigh of relief. The Venlil must’ve completed his search, and was coming back to me with a full report. That meant I could tell Fyron she didn’t have to tolerate Luala anymore either. That poor Farsul must want to gouge her ears out, having that squawk directed at her.

“Alright, Rauln, spit it out.” I waved my hand in a “go on” gesture, and put the computer in sleep mode. “What did you find? Give me something. Scouting pictures of the crime scene locations, anatomical diagrams of Venlil…something!”

The smoky-furred exterminator cringed. “I found typed notes on the Intestine-Eater’s kills, with frantic scribbles added. I couldn’t tell what it meant. No time to fetch my visual translator.”

“That’s good. No, that’s perfect! Anything else out of the ordinary?”

“Her gun was missing from her locker. We’re not on duty.”

That caught my attention, and roused immediate concern for Fyron’s safety. Had I known the Krakotl was packing heat, I wouldn’t have sent my Farsul friend to run interference. My first thought was to grab my own firearm, but I didn’t want to cause alarm. Rauln wouldn’t like to see a predator casually brandishing a gun; at least, I assumed he wouldn’t.

The Venlil’s holopad buzzed, and he unclipped it from his belt. I strolled over to his spot, spying over his shoulder. Rauln hissed in annoyance, and yanked the device away. My partner was definitely reminding me that he was a teenager; he was unable to avoid chatting online with friends, even amid serious matters. Before Earth got demolished, I used to have the energy to make internet friends as well.

“I can’t even read your messages,” I pointed out. “I just want to know who you’re talking to. Does Rauln have a girlfriend?”

“What? NO!”

“A boyfriend? I don’t judge.”

“No, and it’s none of your business if I did! What are you, the crush exterminator?”

“I’d make a decent wingman. You could save your love from the big, scary predator, and be this brave—”

“It’s my old partner. You know, the guy who mentored me…and got fired because he won’t accept humans.”

My jovial mood soured. “Oh. You’re bitching about me again.”

“It wasn’t fair that Volek just fired Nam! I’ve been trying to get him reinstated, but she’s stuck on this zero tolerance shit. He’s worked up about you guys being here, that’s all.”

“And you still want him reinstated. So you can have him back as your partner.”

“Everything’s not about you, William; you can fuck right off if you’re gonna play some guilt trip. I want my friend to have a job. Nam deserves to be treated fairly. Say, if you vouched for him, Volek might relent!”

“Shit man. What’s in it for me?”

“…I’ll waive your three-credit debt on the fruit bowl? Please, I helped you snoop on Luala. You owe me.”

“Fine, if that’s what you really want. I just, um, thought we were making progress.”

“We are! Thank you, I’m going to tell Nam now!” Rauln’s eyes brightened with happiness, and his tail perked straight up. “I have to persuade him to accept a human’s help. A conversation to have in person, I think.”

The Venlil typed away with furious claws. Despite his lack of sleep, the prospect of his old partner’s return had him bouncing off the walls. That indicated how much he was itching to get away from me; I would always be a second-class citizen to him. It was tempting to renege on my offer, but it felt worse to stomp on a teenager’s happiness. Rauln deserved better than a scumbag like me.

“What did he say?” I prompted, with a hoarse voice.

The exterminator tilted his head. “Nam agreed to meet me at the market, down the road. Just…cover for me, please? Tell Volek I’m investigating a lead or something.”

Rauln sprinted off, bursting with enthusiasm to rendezvous with his pal. My joy in pinpointing Luala as the killer was squashed, and I could barely muster the willpower to track her down. An unstable Krakotl was roaming the workplace with a gun, and couldn’t be ruled out from any crimes. Her arrival here coincided with the killer’s first strike.

A human solving Kalsim’s case, remember? Go put a stop to Luala’s reign of terror, before she hurts anyone else. Fyron could be in danger.

Shoving my hands into my pockets, I stalked toward the door. Rauln hadn’t even bothered to close it, in his scramble to reinstate Nam. The question was, why did I even care? What was important was fetching my firearm, in case Luala wouldn’t go down quietly. The blood stains on my sleeves glared at me, as I stretched my “pasty, freakish” arms in front of me. I’d thought my partner was teasing, but now, I wasn’t so sure.

My feet shuffled forward in a trance, and I blinked my eyes shut to steel myself. However, the sound of flapping wings, from just outside the briefing room, snapped me out of my trance. My gaze snapped open, and locked on a crazed Luala. The Krakotl was wielding a gun in her wings, as she blazed through the door. That was the firearm Rauln said was missing!

My reflexes kicked into high gear, and I lunged at her. All I could do was grab the gun, pushing the barrel away from my head. One bullet fired into the wall, with a deafening clap that made my ears ring. Luala’s talons raked across my shin, but the pain didn’t register through my adrenaline. If I let her gain control of the firearm, I was a goner. She was likely starting with me, before gunning down the entire office…Fyron might’ve been killed already.

My fingers tightened around the gun, and I slammed my elbow into her eye socket. An awful screech came from the Krakotl, before her grip loosened. Luala struggled to shrug off my weight; I was suddenly grateful for the pounds I’d put on since arriving here. We grappled with each other, stumbling through the room.

“STOP!” the Krakotl spat. “I’m not…here…for you!”

I wrangled Luala into a headlock, before bringing her down to the floor. The bird swatted her wing against my elbow, as I constricted her throat. My darkest emotions were running amok; squeezing her airways shut stoked the coals of my fiery anger. Pent-up hatred festered within my chest cavity, and my mind went blank.

I’m going to end this fucking dumpling’s pitiful existence. She needs to die, courtesy of a human!

A horrified yelp came from the doorway. Fyron, alive and well, was gawking at the two of us. The look on my face was something animalistic; I could feel the veins popping in my neck. Desperation flashed in Luala’s eyes, as her attempts to swat me away became feeble. The light in her gaze began to dim.

The Farsul hesitated, before trying to drag me off of Luala. I fought her at first, but regained enough of my faculties to assess the situation. Catching the Krakotl pointing a gun at me, alongside the evidence I’d collected, was enough to put her away for good. There was no reason to get myself sent to the clink for “murder.” I relented, and prayed that I hadn’t scared Fyron off.

Luala grabbed at her throat, retching. “Stupid…”

Fyron gawked at me. “What the fuck are you doing, Will?! You could’ve killed her.”

“She had a gun! She pointed it at me,” I grumbled.

“Not at you.” The Krakotl crawled toward the dropped gun, and I stomped a foot on her outstretched wing. “For Rauln! Meant…to put Rauln down.”

“See? She was going to kill Rauln; she just admitted it! She’s the Intestine-Eater.”

“No, she’s not. Hear her out, Will, for crying out loud! Luala painted a pretty convincing picture to me,” Fyron said.

I crossed my arms, raising a suspicious eyebrow. What was my Farsul friend’s implication? The social media pictures of her and Luala, posing by burnt corpses, were still fresh in my mind. I guess that was the sort of thing that bonded aliens, enough for Fyron to listen to a serial killer’s yarn. It was up to me to remain impartial, with facts to support my case.

I waved my hand grudgingly. “Speak, little birdie. Chirp away.”

“It’s Rauln, you absolute prick!” Luala spat. “I pulled up all five of the last kills. You know who was on scene, one day before they all happened? RAULN!”

“Huh? I don’t understand. What are you implying?”

“I’m not implying anything! Rauln was called out to investigate a predator, a day before we found each of the bodies. He gets a gig, right? Like clockwork, we get a report the next day, informing us about a predator kill in that same spot. The only difference is, yesterday, he was bold enough to kill on the initial call. I guess he couldn’t slip away from a human partner.”

“No…that’s insane. That can’t be right!”

“Why? Because you want it to be me? Look at my timeline and tell me I’m wrong!”

The world was collapsing in on me, as I released the Krakotl in a daze. She staggered over to the computer, and pulled up Rauln’s personnel file for me. I peeked at my own timeline; sure enough, his mission reports were a day before the kills, at the crime scene. That didn’t make any sense! The smoke-furred Venlil was seven when the first murder happened.

I don’t accept this. There has to be another explanation.

Mollified that the culprit was not Luala, I sank back into my chair. It burned me that a Krakotl had cracked the case, especially after how pleasurable it had been to strangle her. There was no way I could’ve missed the signs of a cold-blooded killer, could I? I’d tailed Rauln home, and looked into his eyes in the heat of battle.

Racking my brain for an alternative explanation, I buried my head on the desk. While replaying the scene in my mind, I thought about who else would’ve had access to the body. Luala’s explanation was plausible, but my heart fought against it. Rauln was just like me; that was what my gut told me.

“Is Rauln the only one who was sent out to these scenes?” I snapped my head up, and squinted at the files. “Of course, he wasn’t. His partner…Nam.”

Luala flapped her wings. “Nam was fired. He couldn’t have known about the predator sighting to access—”

“Rauln was talking to him! On the holopad; he must’ve told him about the call. While we were gearing up…”

“Nam could’ve gone there,” Fyron decided. “And left his old pal a nasty surprise.”

“Obviously a seven-year-old couldn’t have done the first kill. It’s not Rauln…Luala, you dipshit. You really had me going. You almost got me there.”

The Krakotl squawked in indignation. “You thought it was me. Dipshit yourself! Now why don’t we focus on finding the actual killer?”

“Yeah. Where is Rauln?” the Farsul asked.

My eyes rolled back into my head, and I replayed the dialogue with my partner. He’d enlisted my help to get Nam reinstated, before ditching work to meet his friend. My blood ran cold, as it dawned on me that the killer was with Rauln now. What if the Venlil came to suspect his old buddy, or this psychopath merely thought he was an easy victim?

We had to save Rauln, preferably without any terrible misfortune befalling him. I didn’t know his holopad contact to warn him; Luala and Fyron didn’t seem close to him, so I doubted they did either. The satisfaction of cracking the case was gone. A Krakotl had ruined my moment, and my partner was in imminent peril.

“Rauln is meeting with Nam now, at the market.” My throat went dry, and I forced a determined look. “Don’t just stand there. Come on. We have a killer to catch!”

The two exterminators shared a glance, before following me to rescue my partner. I grabbed my firearm from my locker, and for once, prayed I didn’t have to use it. In a matter of minutes, I’d gone from a human wanting revenge, to a human wishing to protect his friend.

Maybe this was my chance to be a better version of William Kane.

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A/N - Part 7 is here! Will's investigation into Luala starts off "promising", and concludes with the Krakotl barging into his office with a gun. However, her intent was to take out Rauln, who she'd linked to the kills...our human determines that it is his partner instead. Will Mr. Kane be able to save the young Venlil, and/or apprehend Nam?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting!

This series will be 9 parts, which leaves the last one posting on April 29. That would leave only a day to launch new content on May 1, so I think I will be instead using a Wednesday-Sunday schedule in May (first release on the third). There will be a TBD one-shot on 5/3, and a new series launching 5/7, likely about the Dossur.  There was a new idea about a human psychologist's adventures tossed around yesterday too, which I do want to put forth as an alternative.

Just wanted to be fully open with you guys about what I can turnaround, and what to expect!