Professor Law

The alligators moved in from all directions, smelling blood in the murky water. More alligators started to circle the small boat rocking in the water. A twelve-foot alligator thrashed his tail. A tall, thin man grunted in the bouncing boat, his black hair tossed by the wind. He was all smiles, miles from the nearest person in the middle of the swampy Everglades. That’s how he liked it: just him and his flashlight.

“You boys hungry? I’ve got a treat for you tonight.” The man opened the box in his boat and pulled out another pound of fish. He then threw a dead chicken into the water. He grabbed another bag that contained animal blood and poured it overboard. He laughed at the sight and whispered, “Come get it, boys. Tonight is going to be a feast.”

The alligators surrounded the dead animals and began to chow down. One swallowed the floating chicken in one swift gulp.

“Wait for it. Wait for it. Where’s my death roll?” asked the man in the boat.

Two alligators started to fight over the feast. One larger alligator bit down hard on a smaller one and began a death roll, the method used to drown prey. The man threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh.

“Good boys, that’s what I like to see. Now, since you’ve been so good, I brought you something special. Here’s the real treat.” The man looked around to make sure nobody was approaching. He was safe, as only the animals were out at 3 a.m. in the Florida Everglades. The man pulled the body out of the bag and threw it overboard. “Happy trails, Natasha. Better luck in your next life. If only you would have learned to shut your mouth. Have at her, boys.”

As the alligators started to devour the body, the man turned on the engine and sped off through the water. He enjoyed the solitude. Gazing up at the stars, he was happy to rid himself of a major liability. It took him nearly an hour to arrive at the spot where he left his car, and another hour to hitch the boat. He looked at his watch. Wow! It was 5 a.m. already? He had to be at work early tomorrow. Five minutes later, he was driving slowly down the highway and back toward Miami. He knew not to speed at night, as the cops would love nothing better than to write a big ticket. The cops were a joke in this city. A cesspool of incompetence and corruption. He loved it. He was five minutes away from his apartment in Brickell, a hip spot near the water only a few minutes from downtown Miami.

He was nearly at his apartment when two drunk college students appeared. They were walking across the street and saw the boat attached to the car.

“Billy! It’s a boat. Let’s jump on that beast,” said one of the drunk college students.

“Nice boat,” said Billy. He could not stop laughing.

The driver got out of the car as the drunk students jumped up and down in it.

“Hey, jerks! Get off my boat.” The man was six feet tall but thin, so the college students were probably not threatened by his appearance.

“Calm down, man. We just want to go for a ride. It’s all good.”

“Don’t you idiots have anything else to do? It’s early Monday morning. Don’t you have a job or a class to go to? Why don’t you get a job and do something with your pathetic lives? This is what is wrong with society. The youth of this generation just want to party all the time. They don’t believe in hard work.”

“Calm down, grandpa.”

This made the man fume. His face turned red; his hands balled into fists. “Get off my boat. Don’t make me ask you again. The light just turned green. I don’t want to get hit.”

“There’s nobody on the road. Relax, dude,” said Billy.

“I’ve had enough. Get off my boat or I will blow your brains out!” yelled the man. He pulled out a nine-millimeter gun.

“He’s got a gun. Run!” yelled Billy.

The two college students jumped off the boat and dashed across the street.

“Aww. Where’re you going? I guess you’re not so tough once you see a gun pointed at your face. Run along now before I change my mind and kill you.” The man adjusted his black hat and sunglasses. That would teach those punks a lesson.

The man got back into his car and arrived at his building five minutes later. Time to sleep. He had to be up in a few hours. Perhaps he should’ve done that on the weekend but, oh well, the deed was done. He pulled into the parking garage of his twenty-story high-rise.

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