Vicious

Eli and Serena go to the home of Eli’s next mark. The place is falling apart, and the man himself seems to repel people. Serena calls for the man to answer the door and asks him about the aftermath of his accident. He tells her he just wants to “make them go away” (281). Before he can explain, Eli kills him. The death infuriates Serena, who struggles not to order Eli to kill himself. After calming down, she tells him to put the gun away and that he can’t kill her today. Eli tells Serena that she will forget to order him not to kill her someday.

Victor wanders Merit, collecting his thoughts. Though there are many cops on the streets, none of them give him a second glance because he applies a low level of pain to avert those around him. At the hotel, Victor instructs Mitch to make a flagged profile for him in the police database. While Mitch works, Victor imagines “carving lines into Eli’s face, watching them fade so he could do it over again” (286).