Lee 'hmm'ed in acknowledgement, sliding down the wall and sitting alongside Squirrel. "Living near the city is good to avoid suspicion when you're taking people. Too many places to search, too many people to question. But it's terrible on the eyes. Blots out the stars. Outside the limits it's quieter. You can hear things sneak up on you..." He twitched, and shook his head. He always felt watched. But it made him act like a normal person. If he knew someone was watching, he would watch himself. But he had to keep that paranoia sated when he was gathering his target or bringing them into the house. This back door faced the desert itself, and therefore, faced nothing at all. No one could watch him from a distance unless one were looking at him from space. Which was a bit far-fetched.

Lee glanced around to the boy. So that's what happened to his parents, his guardians. That's why he had to to stupid things for money, steal what he could. Two parents that abandoned their kid. At a bus stop no less. That was horrifying. If Lee knew who they were, where they were, if they were even in the city, he'd find them. He'd bring them in and do whatever necessary. If Squirrel had wanted to see them, then so be it. If he wanted to watch them die, then he could. But those that abandoned their children in a public place with no intention of returning, letting them fend for themselves or die, deserved the very same end.

"You know, it's bad to hold on to the past." Lee said. "You might... become a serial killer." He fell silent. He'd lost his one real friend to suicide because of his father. His rapist, pervert father. Lee had actually felt himself snap that day, at the funeral. Especially when he saw that filthy man's hand touch the cold, preserved hand of his son.

Lee glanced around, and smiled oddly. "You're too kind to harm anyone." He said. "I... I'm not right. I know I've got issues. Mental problems. I've never been able to feel love, genuine kindness. Nothing really touches me emotionally, so I can harm people without feeling remorse." He looked at his nails. He'd not washed his hands well enough and a thin outline of blood stained them. "I'm not perfect. But I know how to avoid the police. I know what I do isn't right in the heads of many. But I'd rather kill the ones that do harm to the innocent than let it continue. Not after J---" Jamie. Not after Jamie overdosed and left a note saying he'd rather die than live with the humiliation his father had instilled in him. Not after Lee found him during a visit, and kept the note from his conservative family to avoid squabbles and widespread hatred. Lee didn't want to say it. That was the only link he had to a time he could actually feel friendship, a love and appreciation for someone that could like him despite his oddities.

Lee glanced back up, but found more interest in the ground. When he studied it, he saw a large black-shelled beetle crawling away from them. "That's a... nice thought to have." He said offhandedly. He used to think that the stars were openings in the sky, to a different realm full of light and kindness and equal treatment for everyone, not just the ones with power, the ones with money and a high status. But he knew what they were now. Massive, gaseous orbs, that could burn you up in milliseconds, suspended in a nearly-endless expanse of blackness and dust. But he didn't want to tell the kid. At least, not yet. Perhaps it was nicer to be a bit whimsical. For a moment, he thought like Squirrel did. Perhaps Jamie was up there, on his own little star, watching Lee, happy for once and not burdened with carrying the weight of a humiliating secret. But Lee knew where one went when they committed suicide: They went to Hell. He shook his head. Well... at least they'd meet each other when he finally died.

Lee stood quickly. "If you're sticking around, you have to pull your weight. I'm not saying pull the flesh from bones and take care of the leftover meat, though; when I strip the bones and boil the rest of the meat off, they get put into the oven to dry. It takes a couple hours for the thickest ones on a high temperature, then they're to be ground into a dust." He looked down to the kid. "I'd like for you to take care of the clean bones after I bring them up. When they're dry, break them into small pieces. I have a hammer and chisel specifically for that job. Then grind them. One pass through the gears should do it. Can you handle that?"

Lee nodded and motioned for Squirrel to come inside with him. "Don't go thinking you're helping me kill anyone. You're handling the remains under request, and if it comes down to it, I won't let you fall alone. I won't let you fall at all, really." The kid reminded him of Jamie. Jamie was much younger than Lee. He didn't know how to cope with what his father had done. He didn't come to Lee until he'd been nearly destroyed by his own mind, betrayed by his thoughts and beliefs.

With a sigh, Lee went to the sink, brought out the apron, and shook it out, lying it on the counter near the wall so it could dry out. "You won't have to worry about having to see blood," Lee went on. "Not if you don't want to, or not until you feel like you could. Once the bones are dried the marrow is too. I split the heavy ones in half to get them dry quicker, or it'd take days." He rolled his eyes at that learning experience. He'd dried one of the leg bones for four hours one day, and when he cracked it open, it had still been moist, though the once-white outer coating had burned. Finally he found cutting them right down the middle, exposing the marrow and getting some of it out, dried even the thickest bones in just a couple hours.

Lee paused. Going through lists of useless names, he thought. "I don't... know. Hold on." He went downstairs, into the chilled room to gather the smaller knives. They'd be useless in stripping meat from the bones. Halfway up the stairs, Lee had recognized the name and attached it to several faces. "I know three." He said at last as he returned to the kitchen. "Three Julius'."

Going to the sink, he plugged the drain and ran some hot water into it. "One's a bum, he drinks and smokes, and while he can find a job, doesn't want to. One's a cop, I've met him a couple times on the street, always running the other way. Then I know a Canadian kid with the name, gets straight As in school and might go to Harvard one day. Why?" He shut the water off, tossing the knives into it and scrubbing his hands free of the dry blood around his nails.

A cop. Lee nodded as he ran a rag over the thin blades, setting them on the counter to dry. He knew the man, then, if only a bit. The man was usually seen in a cafe in the city, the same one at the same time, every day. Lee was there sometimes too.

His hand slipped, and the blade scraped the back of his hand. Bad man. He's a bad man. Corrupt cop. Bad cop. Using his power to escape the fingers that would otherwise be pointed at him. Setting the rag on the sink and going to the table, he leaned on it. The pressure brought blood out of the shallow cut. "I know where he is every day. What's he done to you? What have you seen him do?"

Lee's eyes narrowed with everything Squirrel said. He'd passed that bastard, sat two tables down from him in some obscure hipster cafe two days out of the week, every week. Two tables away from a filthy pedophile. He felt dirty just listening to what Squirrel said. It took a moment to compose himself, to not speak through teeth gritted so hard he felt they'd crack, but Lee calmed himself with a very slow, slightly shaky breath. "I know where he is every day." He said at last. "I'd had my doubts about his trustworthiness, but hadn't been following him. I'd been focusing on Roy the past several weeks." He sighed, and felt silent for a moment.

"I'll take care of him as you like, but you need to help. Go to him, and lead him out of the public eye. I'll be able to take care of the rest, and bring him here without anyone being the wiser. If you can bring yourself to do that, he'll never touch another kid again." He brought his hand up, licking the blood away. He'd been cut worse than that before. "It'll have to be tomorrow, though. It's too late already, and I've still got to take care of the rest of Roy." He nodded, as though asking if it were okay.

Lee stood straight. Going to the box at the far right of the kitchen, he opened it and pulled out some alcohol and gauze. The bright stinging sensation was something Lee liked. Pain in general he didn't mind, though. Wrapping the cut, he included a plastic wrap that would protect the injury from contamination. Then he pulled another bottle out of the cabinet. "I don't use these for myself anymore." He said, shaking a caplet out and going to the sink. "Better used for my targets." He ran a glass of water and pulled the caplet apart, letting a small amount of powder fall into the water, which he stirred with one of the clean knives.

"Here, drink this." He put the cup on the table. "It'll help you sleep. Best to be wide awake for what's going to happen tomorrow, and I've got a lot of work to do until then." He studied the cut he'd wrapped. It was sealed very well, and Roy's blood would not be able to seep underneath. "Best to go find a soft place to lie quick, too, it works fast." He turned, and went back downstairs, pulling the door closed just a bit. The blood was probably already thickened a bit too much. He'd have to use the hose to thin it and the other body fluids out, when he punctured the necessary organs if they weren't already weak enough.

The sound of fire crackling was cut slightly only by the scraping of blade on bone. The entire bathtub's bottom was burning, and everything inside had grown very hot. He'd filled the tub halfway with water, then drained it and the body's fluids out into the other room. Now the water was nearing its boiling point. As he scraped bloody meat from each bone, Lee tossed the small bones into the water, and paused with the largest bones to split them in half and scrape out the soft marrow where he could.

Lee had overslept that day. He could remain awake for a very long time, but knew it was a bad idea. A digital clock was on the shelf nearby. He'd never stay down here so long without one. It read 5:54, and no doubt it was morning. Lee shook his head. Oftentimes he got too into his work, and like this time, didn't realize what time it was. Looking to the bathtub, he found the water boiling evenly, the fire still going, and the bones clean. The organs had changed color as well, and the brain long ago had liquefied, drained out before the tub was filled to boil. Setting the strips of human meat aside and brushing his hands on the apron front, he reached down, picked up the pitcher of water near the tub, and doused the flames. With a barbecue fork, he stabbed each soft item, pulling them out and setting them on the clean side of the table, and fished the largest bones out with a bit of effort.

The place would have been filled with a disgusting scent had he not turned on the ventilation system. With the general flesh, Lee could boil it down upstairs. It smelled similar to beef when cooking. Scooping it into a couple coolers, which he kept in one of the other corners, he stored the organs in one and the meat in the second, stacking one on top of the other and picking up the hose he'd left at the side of the tub. Twisting the nozzle, he sprayed the table off gently, so the bones wouldn't go scattering. With them free of meat, he would have to let them rest before putting them in the oven. Besides, Squirrel would have to learn how to do that. Taking off the apron, he hung it up. It didn't need to be cleaned, it'd just get dirty again. Hoisting the coolers, Lee went around the table and toward the stairs. The refrigerator was large, but not enough to store these two coolers. The deep freeze underneath the staircase, though, was more than enough. Lifting it with his foot, Lee set the coolers in and went upstairs.

Pausing by the slightly ajar door, he glanced in to Squirrel. Still asleep, but that was with no doubt. He went into the bathroom quietly, locking the door for a much-needed shower.

(Whoa, another long post!)

He'd fished out breakfast around nine in the morning. It consisted of french toast, an egg, and a combination of strawberries and raspberries. As the previous day, Lee made more than normal, saving some for Squirrel if he was hungry when he woke.

The news mentioned Roy around ten thirty. Nothing specific, no more than that he'd not shown up for work, had not come home, and is not answering his cell phone. If anyone has any information on his whereabouts, so on. Lee zoned out when they said those words. Never found them too interesting after he was informed that no one had any information on where he could have gone. He glanced around when Squirrel came in. "Good afternoon." He said simply. "I figured you'd be asleep a bit longer than that. Food's on the table if you're hungry. We'll focus on Julius in the evening. I often see him eating dinner at the same cafe he frequents during his shifts." He flipped the channel, then turned the television off. "Sleep good?"

Lee nodded slowly. "Sure. It's the door at the end of the hall." Glancing at the kid again, he studied him for a moment. "Maybe it'd be a good idea to get other clothes for you, too." He added. "Can't go around looking like what you no longer are, I'd think." He shrugged. "And later on I can show you how to grind the bones, and set the right time limit for each size. It's not a disgusting job, I assure you, Squirrel. When they're dry, they act similar to tree branches, and are easily manipulated as such. But then, we can consider that later. Go on." He nodded to the hallway.