THE ALTER: A Psychological Crime Thriller Read Online Free Page A

holster.
    “Are you crazy?”Ryan whispered, looking at him.
                  “No one plays me like that. It’s about respect!” the young man shouted while his young hostage cried hysterically.
    Bret made a step forward with his hands in the air, but suddenly the youth fired a shot that barely missed his shoulder. The young woman capitalized on the distraction and sprang from his grip. Ryan took aim, determined not to hesitate as he did with Dr. Williams.
    “Ryan, no!” Bret shouted, but his efforts were not enough to prevent a bullet from hitting the crazed youth in his abdomen.
    “Jesus, Ryan. You have no idea what you've done,” Bret said in panic as he ran over to the young man who appeared seriously wounded. He stooped to examine him then stood, holding his head with both hands.
    Ryan watched him in bewilderment. He went over, examined the young man and said, “You know him? We can still get him to a hospital. He can make it.”
    Bret looked at Ryan annoyed. He picked up the young man’s gun which had fallen onto the floor and, to Ryan’s surprise, pumped two bullets into the youth’s chest killing him.
    “Why the hell did you do that?” Ryan screamed at his partner.
    “I just saved our lives,” Bret answered. “Do you have any idea who that kid was? That’s Luis Alverez, son of Mateo Alverez. His father is head of the Culebra syndicate, the biggest criminal organization in the city.”
    “Culebra?” Ryan asked in a nervous voice.
    “If word gets out that we so much as pointed a gun at his son, there's gonna be war across the city,” Bret warned.
    Bret looked across the room and saw the young woman who appeared just as terrified as she was when they arrived. She crouched in a corner, trembling at what she had just witnessed. Bret stepped towards her with the deceased man’s gun. The woman screamed. Ryan, realizing his intent, grabbed on to his partner’s hand, but to no avail. Two loud explosions filled the room and after one last scream, the woman was dead.
    Ryan’s head pounded and he paced the room frantically.
    Bret looked at him. “No one can know what just happened here, Ryan. No one. We just made sure of that,” he said in an unbelievably calm manner. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. After wiping the gun clean of fingerprints, he placed it into dead Luis’ hand.
    Ryan looked at his partner as if staring into a dark well of secrets. He saw a cold, methodical being that seemed capable of doing anything, no matter how unethical or cruel. His already unflattering view of Bret took on new dimensions. He understood the reason for the measures taken, but it took a particular type of character to follow through so calmly and expeditiously.
    About an hour later, investigators arrived. They navigated though the crowd that had gathered in the hallway and entered the apartment.
    “Let me do the talking,” Bret insisted and Ryan agreed. He pulled one of the investigators aside and whispered something in his ear. At first he seemed startled, but after composing himself he went about his duties.
    The plan worked quite well. Soon the airwaves ignited with reports about the son of a prominent businessman who killed his girlfriend in a jealous rage then turned the gun on himself. The two city detectives who responded to the distress call reportedly turned up to see the aftereffects of the brutal murder/suicide. It was sensational and, more importantly, plausible.
    Ryan and his rogue partner drove back to the precinct in silence. A severe uneasiness plagued him. He feared becoming a target of the notorious syndicate, but he also had a new menacing fear of the Bret he had witnessed earlier. Still, they were partners, accomplices, and both of them had a vested interest in sticking to the story.
     

CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    Ryan heard a voice call out to him from behind and he turned around only to find himself staring into the barrel of a gun. He trembled while Bret rested his finger on