THE ARK

Day 929

It was early in the evening and Tony Jackson was finishing his evening jog in the park, it was busy here tonight and there were numerous other joggers on the paths.

It was a pleasant sunny and warm evening, so far the predicted rain showers had held off and there was no sign that they would be arriving in the next few hours.

His girlfriend Lori had gotten him to take up jogging a year and a half before, just after she had gotten him to quit smoking, and he was pleased with what it had done for him. He was never short of breath anymore and felt like he had the energy to spare. They always jogged together, almost every night, and that had been good for their relationship.

Having the jogs end up back at his apartment for a joint shower was always a plus.

This evening, however, he was jogging alone. Lori had flown out of town that morning. She was attending a seminar for work and was not scheduled to return for four days.

He was more than halfway through the park and was just coming up over top of a small hill when he saw a tall brunette jogging toward him. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties and had the most unbelievable body he had ever seen. Her whole body was firm and muscular, not like a body builder, but there was very little body fat on her. She wore a one-piece black spandex running suit with a red stripe running down each side. There was a dark green fanny pack over her right hip. As she passed him she gave him a good looking over, followed by a sly smile.

Tony just could not believe it, he was almost thirty-six years old and it had been at least ten years since any woman had checked him out like that.

He traveled about another thirty yards and was aware of someone coming up behind him. He slowly moved to the right side of the path. There were always many joggers in this park and he tried to be as polite as possible. He had tried to get past some of the less considerate runners on some of the narrow paths and knew how that kind of thing could frustrate you.

As he continued, the person behind him moved up next to him. He glanced over and it was the brunette again. She smiled again, and he felt his pulse quicken even more. It was the nicest smile, with the whitest teeth he had ever seen.

She matched his speed, and they ran together for about a hundred yards. Then she looked over at him, winked, and put on a burst of speed. He increased his pace and caught up and this time he winked at her. He was rewarded again by that smile, and after a couple minutes, she increased speed again. This time he had to really work hard to catch her. They were just approaching the East entrance to the park. This was where he normally stopped. His apartment was just a short walk from here, and the walk was just the right distance to cool down after a good run. He decided to keep going. He was going to run as long as she did or until his heart exploded, whichever came first.

Just then the gorgeous woman stopped. She leaned over, hands on knees and fought for her breath. Tony was also fighting for breath; he was leaning against the iron rail fence next to the gate to the East entrance. Just as he found his breath returning he felt something touching his buttocks. He looked back and there she was with the most mischievous look on her face.

“That was a great run, but I bet you’re good at things other than running?” she said in the most seductive voice he had ever heard.

“You bet I am,” Tony said without the slightest hesitation.

“Do you live close by?” the Brunette asked with a grin.

“Sure do, just a couple blocks up the street,” Tony explained

“Then let’s get moving, big guy,” she responded.

Tony guided her arm and they left the park quickly.

Neither spoke on the way to his apartment. Tony was thinking how his friends at NASA would never believe this story. He also enjoyed his fortune that this was the week that Lori was out of town. This could not have been better if he had planned it himself. Several times, he looked over at her on the way to the apartment and she always looked back with an excited and eager look on her face.

As they approached his apartment door, he fumbled with the keys before letting them in.

“How about a shower?” He suggested as he moved into the apartment.

“Only if you’ll be there too,” she said.

Tony Jackson replied. “I would’ve it no other way.”

Tony walked into the bathroom, already removing his sweat soaked tee shirt. As he started pulling the shirt off he noticed his new friend had stopped at the doorway to the bathroom and had her hand in the fanny pack.

Tony knew something was wrong; her face was focused and serious, no longer fun and sexy.

The weapon cleared the pack, and in one swift and well-practiced move swung toward his head.

Tony tried to move his arms but they were tangled up in the arm holes of the shirt.

By the time his brain registered what was in her hand it was too late to even scream.

The silenced .22 automatic popped twice rapidly and two neat holes appeared on Tony’s forehead. The small caliber bullets did not have the energy to exit the back of his head but they bounced around in the cranium tearing up brain matter as they went.

Tony Jackson’s body landed half in the bathtub with the feet out. He twitched several times and stopped.

The assassin returned the weapon to her fanny pack and picked up the spent shell casings, these were placed in the fanny pack as well. She next felt his neck and found a faint week carotid pulse.

Next, she went to his refrigerator and found an almost full half-gallon container of orange juice. She drank hungrily and then went back and checked the pulse again, still finding one she checked her watch and slowly shook her head, she retrieved the weapon from the fanny pack and added a third hole to Tony’s head.

This shot she angled specifically so the bullet would travel into the brain stem. Again, she checked a pulse, this time there was none. She noticed that there was a large crimson pool forming on the floor of the bathtub. The side of Tony’s head was partially blocking the drain.

She now placed the pistol back in the pack and removed a small rag; she snatched up the third shell casing and then wiped off the handle to the refrigerator, which was the only surface in the apartment that she had touched. The cloth went back in the pack and carrying the orange juice, she calmly left the apartment.