Snapshot Preview: Perfect Skill

It was the same alley that the police decided to come down. As soon as they spotted Jorge, they blazed their sirens and sped towards him. Jorge backtracked and turned on the street by the hotel. He could hear the sirens in front of him getting closer too. There was no way to outrun them, so he decided to go down.

Removing the sewer grate closest to him and revealing the toxic smell beneath him, he climbed into the sewers as the police screeched to a halting stop and ran after him on foot. The sewage in Mexico City is a deadly combination of human waste, garbage, and hazardous chemicals from hospitals and factories. The large concrete tunnels are about seven meters tall.

Jorge jumped to the bottom, submerging his body in the toxic sewage that the rainy season caused to overflow. The police wouldn’t be following him in, but they knew where he was. They could block the major passageways that he would most likely choose to escape from, and hope that the dangers of the sewers would do the rest.

Jorge risked his life to escape from the corrupt police. Paddling through the thick sewage, chunky with debris, he hoped he wouldn’t hit a dead body before he found some dry ground. The smell was incomprehendable. It burned through his nose and into his lungs, like breathing in the stench of death. The misery of the sewage and the audacity of the police to open fire, badly wounding Father Juan, continued to heat up the fire that was ignited within him. To fire on a Catholic priest was despicable. The only thing he had done was to conspire with a revolutionary, nothing requiring death in Jorge’s eyes.

The farther he went, the more the fire grew, until his fears were realized, a body had hit him. As he moved it quickly out of the way, the cadaver rotated, revealing the haunting face of a little girl for a split second before it was sucked beneath the murky substance that swallowed up the dead. The image struck to his core. The injustice was too much. He couldn’t foresee how a little girl could end up with a fate like this. It was too late for this city, if they wanted to play rough, Jorge could match them step for step.

The fire was full-fledged, scorching his soul. It overtook all his emotions. It was powerful…intoxicating…it felt so good to him. It was an impassioned force that freed him from all compassion. He was no longer playing by his own rules. He turned back at once, determined to exit by the way he came in, which would be the least likely place they’d expect. He passed the little girl again, saying a blessing over her in his mind, even as he retained his hatred towards religion.

*      *      *

Gabriella continued to pray into the night. “…Oh, Lord, that you would bring justice. Purge the corruption from this city. Bring your kingdom here. Unleash your judgment on those who commit these lewd acts and on those who corrupt the innocent and upright. Let their dark hearts feel the full fury of your wrath that they may see their evil and feel remorse for their actions.

“Restore their fortunes again. Give them a new heart that beats to the song of justice and peace. Let them reflect your heart, and be the leaders you require them to be. Accomplish your plans in this city. Crush the wills of all who would oppose you and bring harm upon this city. Your will be done. I know you still love this city, Lord. Make it worthy of your glory.”

Read the whole novel herePerfect Skill