Who Are You, Professor?

CHAPTER FIVE:

Who Are You, Professor?

Artemis tapped his foot to a song playing idly in his head as the elevator ascended. 

At floor 17, it stopped and the door opened. He walked out, humming to Melanie Martinez's “Tag”.

He stopped in front of the door and pressed the bell. A middle-aged woman opened.

“Hello?” She greeted with a puzzled look. “Are you looking for someone?”

“Mrs Fernando?” He asked and she nodded.

“Yeah, is there something you want?” She asked again, feeling a bit uneasily as those dead grey eyes pierced into her. There was something chilling about his presence that made her want to slam the door in his face and lock everywhere.

“Is your husband home?” He asked her. 

“No, he stepped out for a bit,” she answered. His lips curled into that sickening psychotic smile.

“My, my, you're home alone. You poor thing…” he drawled and she tried to slam the door in his face but he stuck out his foot, preventing the door from closing. 

One shove and she went tumbling backwards. He stepped into the room and she stepped back in panic. 

“Don’t come close, I'll call 911,” she threatened but Artemis simply walked into the living room and made himself comfortable. 

“I’ll just wait here for your husband. But call the cops, and I’ll leave behind a mess even bleach can’t fix,” Artemis said and she paled out.

“On the other hand, if you alert your husband and he stalls or tries to pull any stunt, I will make sure to paint the house with your pretty blood.” 

Her eyes widened and she immediately nodded. 

Artemis' eyes scanned the room, taking in all the family pictures on the wall. A few minutes later, there was a knock. 

Fernando was back. 

“About time,” Artemis grinned and went to open the door himself. 

The middle-aged man was in casuals, holding his daughters at either side of him. The minute he saw Artemis, his heart skipped and he pulled the girls behind him protectively. 

“W…What are you doing here? Where is my wife?” Fernando demanded, fear clouding his eyes. He knew that Artemis' presence was always complimented by bloodshed and it terrified him to imagine that his wife had been alone with him. 

“Welcome home, Daddy,” Artemis smirked. “You're five minutes early. I was just about to get… creative.” 

The suggestive tone made the man's face pale out and he gritted his teeth together. 

“You bastard…! If you dare…”

“Language, Daddy. We have little kids around,” Artemis drawled.

“Daddy, who is that man?” One of the girls asked, peeping from behind him. 

Artemis stepped forward. “You can call me…”

“Stay away from my girls!” He growled backing away. Artemis' grey eyes pierced intensely into his. 

“Oh, that's quite a shame,” he stepped back and pushed the door open. “Come in then, I've wasted too much time already.” 

Artemis walked back inside and Fernando held his girls closely as he led them in. Calling the police or running away was not even an option. There was no corner of the earth he could run to that Artemis wouldn't find him. 

Relief washed through him the minute his wife came running to him. She looked frightened. Fernando handed the kids to her.

“Take them to their rooms and stay with them, okay?” He instructed and she cast a wary glance at Artemis who was simply tapping his foot to a hum. 

She went away and Fernando joined Artemis to sit in the living room.  

“You didn't have to involve my family in this!” He said. 

“You should have lived alone then,” Artemis said plainly. “I'm not going to inconvenience myself just to show courtesy to your family.”

Fernando swallowed thickly. 

“The Sanchez deal, that is why I am here,” Artemis shrugged. “You're the stumbling block and I was sent here to remove you.” 

The man's heart skipped a beat. Artemis didn't ask him any questions, didn't try to verify shit, his only business was to end him. 

“T-The Sanchez d-deal?” Fernando stuttered. “It’s not…”

“I really don't care, Fernando,” Artemis cut him short, picking up the vase on the centre table. He smashed it on the floor and a scream emerged from inside. It was from the little girls. 

Artemis bent over and picked a big shard of glass. 

“Let's get this one over with while your girls still have the energy to scream, shall we?” Artemis shrugged. 

The way he casually threw those words, like he wasn't about to end a life left Fernando petrified. It was obvious he was dealing with a psychopath. 

“You seem gassed, Fed,” Artemis chuckled without glancing at him, testing the sharp edges of the glass against his finger. “Let's play a game to ease the tension, yeah?” 

Fernando couldn't even nod in response. His hands were behind him, trying to discreetly reach for the gun he hid in the sofa. 

“It's a guessing game and there are no rules. Interested?” Those grey eyes gleamed darkly as they shifted back to Fernando. 

Artemis spotted his arm movements and excitement coursed through his veins. This was going to be fun. 

“The title is ‘Guess What Your Blood Tastes Like'. You should grab your weapon a lot quicker if you're going to play…” Artemis moved in a speed that Fernando's eyes could barely follow. “...or your opponent might just slit your throat before you know it.”

Fernando clutched to his neck, gasping as the blood spilled over his hands. 

“Oops! Forgot to mention I'm a very practical teacher,” Artemis chuckled lightly. He knelt over Fernando's body with that damning smile on his first. 

As they made eye contact, Artemis swiped his tongue over the bloody part of the shard as life slowly left the man's eyes. A disappointed expression crossed his face as he took it in his mouth. 

“It's old and bland. Quite disappointing,” he muttered, then shut Fernando's lifeless eyes with his palm. “Sleep tight, Fed.”

Then Artemis straightened and took out his phone. He dialled 911.

“9-1-1, what's your emergency?” 

“Hello, I just killed their daddy, thought you might want to clean up the mess,” Artemis smirked then hung up. “You're welcome, Fed.”

He walked towards the door, then something clicked in his mind. 

“You can come out now, playtime's over,” he announced before walking out, the door slamming shut behind him. 

As he strolled down the hall, he took out the fake SIM card and tossed it somewhere before inserting back his SIM. His mind flickered back to the red-haired mould of sass and sexiness. 

Why couldn't he get the damn Professor out of his head? He couldn't go a full freaking day without thinking about him. 

So he called Leo. The stalker he got for Lucian.

“Any updates?” Artemis asked.

“There is nothing on him, boss. Aside from the basic things I found out while following him, like his address and favourite clubs, he is a fucking ghost. No relations, no background, nothing,” Leo answered and Artemis was shocked. That was rather unnerving. 

Several thoughts ran through his mind but the most outstanding of them was…

Who Is Lucian Meyers?