The man who had escaped several weeks before would not escape me this time.

Mr Robert Lucas would not be so lucky this time. Everyone had to meet their maker eventually, and Mr Lucas' was itching to get their hands on him.

I watched him for longer, understood his patterns better than before, and I knew the best time for me to strike. He visited the public houses regularly, but would only leave with his fellow patrons twice a week. It was the same day every week, a consistent pattern that offered me seven other days to strike.

The winter darkness gave me more places to hide, offered more vantage points to hide, and more ways to move unseen. I obscured myself from view even more with the addition of a tight scarf around my neck that I could bury my face in if anyone looked towards me. To the rest of the city, I looked just like everyone else.

Just like clockwork, Mr Lucas entered the public house after his usual working hours were completed. The children he had offered as chimney sweeps would drag their feet home whilst their father entertained himself with some ale and his drunken friends.

A waste of air, the lot of them.

Given the opportunity, I would have taken them all down, but I had a job to complete. Their time would come eventually, maybe not by my hand, but by someone else's. No one escapes fate for long, especially not Mr Lucas.

I stood tucked away in the shadows. I stuffed my hands in my pocket to keep the bitter chill away from my fingertips. Most people would have worn gloves, but I risked dropping the hammer and having it slip from my hand. With Mr Lucas having escaped my grasp once, I had to limit the chances of it happening again.

Fewer people wandered the streets after dark with only the occasional stumbling drunk or officer patrolling the streets. They had stepped up patrols after they found Mr Slater, a warning to whoever committed the crimes. Little did they know they would be unable to find me, no matter how hard they tried.

They would find me only if I wanted them to.

Mr Lucas stepped out of the public house alone just as the bells started to chime throughout the city. I stepped from the shadows, snaking my hand to my waistband and gripping onto the hammer. This was an opportunity I couldn't miss, and I needed to focus all of my attention on Mr Lucas.

I followed him up the streets, keeping to the shadows where possible. Mr Lucas staggered up the road but did not appear as drunk as he had been during our first encounter all those weeks prior.

With no one else around and the streets calm and still, I made my move.

I moved silently, watching the ground at my feet to make sure I didn't make any sound. This was one job that needed to be done swiftly and silently. He never looked behind him, never checked the shadows despite the presence of the officers and the news reports. They all painted me out to be the enemy, a villain to the men of London. I would be their salvation.

Mr Lucas stumbled, tripping on the uneven ground and almost going sprawling. I seized my opportunity.

I moved with speed, using my agility to creep forward over the cobbles as I snuck up behind him. With no one around, I finally removed the hammer from my waistband. Mr Lucas stumbled once more, and I moved.

I smashed the hammer down on Mr Lucas' head with as much force as I could muster. Upon impact, he dropped to the ground. His wallet fell from his pocket and spilled over the damp cobbles. I smiled, bending down to collect the coins that covered the floor.

No one escaped me for too long.

~~~

First Published - February 8th, 2023