The Red Dawn Killer

It was a cold autumn evening when my phone rang.
"Hello?"
"There has been another body found. We need you to the airport in 45 minutes."
"I'm on my way" I responded while jumping from bed.
The drive to the airport I went over the case file in my head. I've been reviewing pictures and police reports for a week and half. The media have called this killer the Red Dawn Killer. I don't know where the media comes up with this stuff but I guess it helps ratings. To me its just another sociopath that I need to find before he hurts anyone else. I've been on this case for two weeks now and I'm no closer to knowing who it is.
Sitting on the plane I quietly sat away from the other Agents while I reviewed the case file again. This sociopath first came to the attention to the FBI when a body with the same kill pattern was found over state lines. That was over a month ago. The last team was taken off the case when one of their agents was found with his throat slit and a note that said, "You'll never stop me". After that the Director felt it was time to take them off and put a fresh set of eyes on the case.
Our plane set down at the airport just as the sun began to rise over the horizon. Walking off the plane with my black duffel bag in one hand and my laptop bag across my back, I walked down the stairs to the waiting police vehicles waiting for us. I was greeted by the rookie cop who anxiously took my bags and put them in the trunk. "I'll take you straight to the scene sir." said the nervous officer.
"You mean the scene hasn't been cleaned yet?" I asked
"No sir. It just happened. We closed down the roads and we think the killer is still in the area."
I sat in silence. Could we have the killer trapped in?

We pulled up to a scene of flashing blue and red lights on the side of a corn field.
Getting out of the squad car I asked, "How did we find the body so quickly here in the field?"
The officer responded, "Someone saw a man running out of the field and called it in. The responding officer happened to see the body. It was pure luck!"
He made his first mistake, I thought to myself. We will catch you.
I asked the officer to call the others in my team and let them know I'm on scene waiting for them to get set up. I walked toward the circle of officers and crime scene investigators.
"Hello Sir. We kept the scene clean waiting for your arrival." said a voice from the side of me.
I turned to see a officer standing there with brown eyes that looked like he had seen more then he had ever wanted to.
"Hello Sargent. What we got?" I asked.
"Dead woman. Stomach cut with her insides falling out. Main arteries in the neck and thigh also cut open. Looks like something startled him because its only partially like the others we found, I mean her hands are still attached. So he didn't get to finish his work." replied the Sargent.
I walked up to the body and put on my rubber gloves. The body was the same as the others but he was right. The hands were only cut, he didn't get to finish. I sat and pondered what could have made him run.
"Alright Sargent. Have we searched the area yet? If he ran he could have dropped a murder weapon or he could be hiding in the surrounding area. What's out there?" I said
"Well there are a lot of fields, a hotel that your team is setting up at, and a couple of abandon houses." was the reply.
"I want a grid search. We will search every piece of this land. Call in hounds and every available unit. Call SWAT also...we may need it." I said.
The reply came from another officer, "We have SWAT and more officers coming from the city. We don't have that much force out here. We mostly deal with farmers and speeders. They'll be here in an hour."
"Alright well we will make do with what we have and they'll have to catch up. Have the crime scene investigators document the body. Let's move out." I said as I checked to make sure my gun was loaded and ready. I began to walk into the corn field with a dozen officers fanning out behind me.
As I was walking through the field in my ear I heard a familiar voice say, "Czarnocki? We are set up in the local motel. You are missing out cause they are setting us up with coffee and breakfast!"
I laughed to myself and said, "Glad you are having a good time. I'm out here looking for our killer. You guys set up over there or enjoying the southern hospitality?"
The response was, "Yes sir we are set up and ready for your orders."
"Alright coordinate with the other police agencies when they come in and get them on this search." I ordered.
"Yes sir" was the response before all went quiet again.
I came to a clearing in the field and a small house sat in front of me with a creek running next to it. The house was dark in color and hadn't been maintained in some years. I cautiously approached the house and peered inside. The house was empty. I held my breathe and unholstered my H&K USP while entering the front door. Empty except for one peculiar thing, the smell. It smelt like bad body odor. Someone had been here I thought to myself.
"HQ come in." I said to my microphone. "HQ" I repeated. No response. All was silent. "Anyone out there come in".
"Yes sir" came the response.
"Who is this?" I asked.
"Rodriguez sir. I picked you up from the airport." Rodriguez said.
"Rodriguez. Go to the motel and see why I can't get in contact with my HQ."
"Yes sir."
I began walking around the small one roomed house. Looking for any other evidence that might give me a idea of where my killer had gone. I'm so close and I can't screw this up. There are lives at risk.
"Sir come in" my radio buzzed.
"Rodriguez. Did you find them?" I asked
"Kinda sir. There is blood everywhere"
"What do you mean?!" I yelled.
Rodriguez shaky voice spoke back, "Looks like there was a fight. One agent is down and I think the hotel owner is laying dead also."
"Damn it" I whispered. "Call in back up now!" I yelled.
I sat and listened to Rodriguez make the call to the officers coming to the scene from the city. The response was a half hour away. Rodriguez told them the urgency and they better step on it.
While examining the room I noticed a small blob of blood sitting by one of the windows. Did he see me coming? I exited the house and started running to the motel with gun still in hand. When I arrived at the motel Rodriguez was sitting outside with his head between his legs.
"Rodriguez" I said.
No response.
I walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. His body fell over as blood started pouring from his neck. I took off my jacket and put it around his neck but it was to late. He was dead. Poor kid. The serial killer must be in the motel still but back up is a half hour away at least. Where is the rest of my team?
I pointed my gun at the front door and walked through. One of my agents lay dead on the floor next to the young motel owner. Blood covered the wooden floor.
I began making my way through the bottom floor of the motel. As I turned around a corner I heard something crash at the stairs. I spun around and pointed my gun towards the stairs. No movement but I knew I heard something. I began to walk up the stairs. When I got close to the top I heard whispering through one of the rooms. I slowly approached the door. Standing in front of the door I kicked it open. The door flew open and sitting in the corner was a officer and two of my agents with their guns drawn to the door.
"Glad we didn't shoot you sir" said the officer.
"Yeah I'm glad too" I said "What happened?"
"We were up here looking out the window and heard a crash. We walked downstairs and saw two bodies bleeding out on the floor. Our radios weren't working so we came back in here to wait for the Calvary. We didn't know what to do." said my agent.
"Alright well I'm gonna finish clearing the upstairs. You three go down and start securing the scene. Keep your guns out." I ordered.
I left the room and started moving down the hallway of doors. I felt every door to see if they were unlocked or not. Toward the end of the hall I felt one of the handles and it was warm. I looked down and my hand was covered in blood. He is in that room. I took a breath and kicked the door open. The room was empty but a paper sat on the bed.
I walked over to the bed and lifted up the paper and it said, "Hello Mr. Czarnocki. Now its personal. I'll be waiting"
Signed at the bottom in blood was 'The Red Dawn Killer'