La Vitesse S'mpose

I was officially off the case, but as if that would stop me. It's been a long time since I relied on the force for anything. I was going to finish this case with or without their help. I didn't care how much shit I was dragged through, as long as I ended the murders.
For the past year I've been searching for this creep, this low life killer: I'd followed piles of evidence and clues that dead-ended like a door slamming in your face. But this time we had a good lead. He'd been positively ID'd at a dingy bar in the shadier part of the city. He was on another hunt; that was how he worked. He picked his target, stalked them, learned their habits, sometimes even interacted with them in minor ways, and then he'd strike without warning. All his victims were between the ages of twenty and forty, all bottlehead blondes with the kind of troubles that nobody wants, living on the dark side of life.
I arrived in the vicinity of where he had last been sighted, parked my car and continued on foot. This was the hardest part. I had to find and identify the killer or his victim. It was half past eleven.

After an hour of searching, I started to worry. Had I missed him? I decided to head to the location of the informant; he'd left the adress of his bar with me.It wasn't hard to find, it was only a quick five minute walk from where I was. It was a total dump, looking like it was built in the seventies and never quite entered the twenty first century.
Upon entering, I saw that I was right. It was a seedy hole, filled with the misfits, loners and criminals of the city. I recognised a few people in there, acknowledging each one as they went about their gambling, dealing and other vice actions. I couldn't do anything about it myself, nobody could. We turned a blind eye in the force, let it all happen. We step in when twe have to. The demand for these services is always there, and we can only hope to control the amounts supplied.
I sat at the bar and waited for the barman to approach me. He looked like a typical barman. A trimmed beard, short hair, tall, thin, ready to smile and laugh or reach for the shotgun under the bar. I ordered a small brandy for myself. When he returned, I asked him about the killer.
"Ahh, detective. Yeah I saw him in here earlier tonight. Wearing a tan overcoat and a fedora hat, looked like someone from the forties or something."
I nodded, urging him on.
"I kept an eye on him as he left, he headed out and to the right. That's all I got, detective. Sorry I couldn't be of more help."
I shook his hand. "Every little helps, sir. Thanks."

Finishing my brandy, I walked out and headed to my right, up the street. It was a cold night, I should have worn a coat. Instead I was marching around in a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt and a black suit jacket. I buttoned it up as I walked, checking my glock handgun as I did so.
I must have had the best luck in the world becuase just as I was doing this, a figure emerged from a side alley up ahead. Squinting, I saw it to be a young blonde woman, walking along in a pair of heels, wearing a long coat. At first I egnored her, until I saw another figure walk out of a different alley on the opposite side of the road. My breath caught in my throat. He was wearing clothes that fit the barman's description of the killer perfectly. I pushed myself into the shadows as I watched him turn out of the alley and follow the woman. Worried, I followed quickly. Unfortunately, as I followed, a man walked up to me. I knew instantly that I was in trouble. He had the look and stance of a man ready to fight. He wore a knowing expression. It said "I know my mates are behind you, and you know that too, and we are going to act normally anyway."
He stopped in front of me. "Got a light, fella?" he asked., not even bothering to wave an unlit cigarette.
"Sure," I replied, pulling out a zippo lighter from my jacket pocket. I pulled a cigarette from the same pocket and lit it, squeezing my eyes shut against the bright flame. Night vision was the key. As the man in front of me stared at the flame, I let it drop, flicked the cigarette towards him and elbowed the figure sneaking up behind me. The man in front recoiled as the cigarette brished past his eye, leaving enough time for me to kick his kneecap. I heard a sharp click, and the man fell over. I jumped back quickly, knowing there would be more than two men. Sure enough, a large rock crashed off the wall where I had just been standing. I turned towards the third assailant and pulled for my pistol. I pounted it at him, causing him to freeze, then ran towards him, taking him off guard. When he was on the ground, I receieved a flailed punch to the nose, but grabbed his head, ramming it repeatedly into the pavement until his struggles stopped. I then returned my attention to the second man, who was bent over, waving a knife in front of him. Reacting fast, I grabbed his wrist and twisted, hitting the pressure point and causing him to drop to his knees and let the knife fall from his hands. I kneed him in the jaw, and left him. Looking back up the street, I saw the killer was gone. Picking up my pistol again, I sprinted up the street. Of all the times ot be mugged, it was then? I heard a gunshot as I neared the corner, and I knew I was too late. Rounding the corner, I saw two young girls on their knees, hugging each other. In front of them was the blond woman, blood surrounding her. The killer was nowhere to be seen. Another detective arrived as I examined the body, and civillians began to turn up, attracted to the sound. Shootings weren't uncommon in this city.

I waited until the police arrived, then returned to the muggers. The three of them were still there, one struggling to stand, one lying perfectly still and the other leaning against the wall holding his jaw. I trained my pistol on them as I advanced.
The man holding his jaw cursed, turned and ran into the night, leaving his colleagues behind to face the punishment.
I approached the conscious man first. I crouched down beside him, my gun still aiming at his chest.
"I was wondering if you could answer some questions." I said to him. The mugger simply spat on the ground as his answer. I sighed and stood up, lit a cigarette, and took a long drag.
"If you answer me, I can shorten your sentence. If you help me, I can remove it altogether. If you refuse to cooperate, however," I said, strolling slowly in front of him. "I'll make damn sure that you're in a cell until this world ends."
I stopped and faced him. "First question: Were you hired?"
He looked away. "No."
I grinned at him. "Look into my eyes when I ask you a question. Now, again, Were you hired?"
He returned my stare blankly. "Yes. We were given 100 bucks to hold you up. He said we could keep all the money we found aswell, it seemed like a fair deal. And before you ask, we didn't get a name, and he had a fedora hat covering his features. I couldn't make them out."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Alright" I sighed. "Off you go. go help old ladies cross the street or something."
I walked back to the scene, where the forensics team was working away, identifying the victim. One of the detectives was quesitoning the people in the vicinity; it seemed like we were going to be taking some people in for further information. One man claimed to have been chased by a man fitting the suspects description.
I wasn't going to let him get away this time.