“You have to know that there’s a time limit on all of this.” Marcus was exasperated from the effort of metering his disdain and resigned to plea to Bernie’s pragmatism. “You are going to get caught – probably someday soon.”

“Oh, I’ve been caught.” Bernie replied. “Countless times, in fact. The police eventually realized that it was in everyone’s best interest to simply leave me to my endeavors. I hate to brag but I was the impetus behind the city’s first standing ‘Do Not Apprehend’ order, officially written into law – not that you’ll find it announced anywhere. The PD is not too proud of that one.”

Marcus was dumbfounded, searching for words, his mouth agape. Just as a sound began to emerge, Bernie, in a swift motion, jammed the forceps into his gums and deftly plucked out a tooth. He relished the 2-3 seconds it took for the nervous system to register the pain – the brief silence a confirmation of a skillful extraction. The shrieks and unintelligible utterings which followed were the soundtrack to the remainder of the tortuous proceedings until the captive’s self-preservation reflex kicked in and the brain shut down the pain receptors, before consciousness was lost. At that point, it became about skill and craft. How much surgery could one perform without anesthesia before it jogged the patient back into consciousness? In Marcus’ case, it was total extraction. In finale, Bernie snapped his neck to punctuate the job, as casually as signing his autograph to it.

Cleanup would be strenuous but gratifying work. After the body prep and disposal, there would be pride to be taken from returning his lab to the sterile and sweet-smelling canvass it had been. Still, when it was done, the overwhelming feeling of heaviness returned to his shoulders. He did not feel the level of fulfillment he could typically count on from such a masterful torturing as Marcus’. Had he even been able to fully immerse himself in the symphonic wailing and writhing he so coveted? Did he even enjoy it this time? He retrieved his cellphone from his desk and dialed the only numbers he cared to anymore. A medium-pitched, nasal voice greeted him with a familiar and questioning “Hello,” followed by the airy ‘poof’