Melanin

PROLOGUE

I watched his chest heave up and down with every single breath. The silhouette of his wife was clinging to his side as she snuggled under his chin. The moonlight poured through the windows and landed onto his eyes. His sandy brown eyelashes curled to perfection as I clenched my jaw. I was in the process of studying him. I wanted to figure out what his possible reactions would be if I gave him a rude awakening. My pistol was resting in my right hand as I tilted my head to the left. I brushed the tip of the pistol against the side of his face awaiting for him to awaken. His eyelids fluttered before it allowed his eyeballs sight. I placed the pistol to my lips and let out a silent hush. Fear danced around his irises as anxiousness filled me. I was in control. I would like it to stay that way. I motioned my head towards the door and he shook his head slowly.
         I stood back as he removed his wife's arm from around his torso. He swiftly grabbed for his pajama pants and put it on. I began to grow impatient. I grabbed his hair and pulled him towards the door. We both made our exit out of the bedroom and I instructed him to take a seat on the couch.
   "Who are you?" He whispered.
I licked my lips and smirked. 
  "Carl Koenig. You've been working for the Jackson Mississippi Police Department for five years. Your mother and father are both deceased but they did work in the justice system so that just proves that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. You've been married to your wife for eleven years and created two beautiful children that attend Jackson Elementary School. You look young for a forty-five-year-old man. Humph. You see, I know a lot about you but I just can't see why you make the stupid decisions you make. You're supposed to be an officer that serves and protects us citizens from harm not to be the root of the problem that can potentially get someone killed. Someone innocent. You took something from me that I will never get back. You probably don't even have a clue about what that could be."
          Sweat began to form on the side of his face as his breathing increased. He edged towards the end of the couch and rested his arms on his knees.
         "Just tell me what you want from me. Go ahead, name your price." He spoke.
         "Unfortunately, what I want from you doesn't require your money. But, what I do want, is justice."
          I began to approach him slowly as he sat back on the couch with his hands continuing to rest on his knees. I'm trying to read him but I just can't. Something doesn't feel right. He kicked the coffee table over and it crashed into me. I fell to the floor as Koenig ripped something from the table. He wielded a gun that was secretly hiding underneath. My breathing increased.
        "Leave the gun on the floor and stand up slowly." He demanded with his gun drawn.
I stood up slowly with my hands up.
        "Walk towards me. Try anything, and you're dead." He threatened.
         Every step I took my fear grew stronger and stronger. I heard someone open a door and a voice followed behind it.
        "Honey?" Koenig's wife called out.
         Due to the darkness of the room, I could still only make out the silhouette of his wife standing by the wall, tilting her head in confusion. I quickly shifted my attention back onto Koenig to witness him looking at his wife. I should take advantage of his unawareness. I kicked his leg as he got down on one knee in pain. His gun was pointed at me as he was about to pull the trigger. I swiftly hit his arm as a bullet whizzes past my ear. Loud ringing filled my ears as I covered them in pain. As I was looking down, I saw his gun on the floor. I was about to remove my hands from my ears until Koenig punched me in the face which sent my body flying to the floor. I crawled towards the gun but before I could make it there, he flipped me over. His large hands wrapped around my neck and constricted. It was slowly getting harder to breathe. I clawed at his face as he jerked his head back to continue to choke me. I dug my thumbs into his eyes until he let me go. He held his eyes while screaming. I stood up, grabbed the gun and pointed it in between his eyes.
           I looked to where Koenig's wife was standing to view her shirt littered with blood. She sat against the wall while taking short cut off breaths. Everything grew silent around me as shock stunned my body. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat and tried to blink back the tears. Before I could look back to where Koenig was sitting, I heard a gunshot go off.