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Both Brian and I are dressed normally as he drives us to the venue.He hasn’t said a word about what happened in the cafeteria, and I don’t think he’s going to.I don’t know if this is an indication of the shift back to normalcy for us or if he was only able to do all that because he could hide from me inside a character.
I’m not sure how I feel about that, but I know right now we have to be focused on the kill.Whatever our remaining interpersonal hiccups, they’ll have to be dealt with at another time.
He parks the car at the back of a large gravel lot not that far away from where we parked on the Fourth of July.We put our Krampus costumes on over our clothes and hide our more deadly whips under the thick layers of fabric and fur.
And of course we have other weapons… knives and guns, just in case.I don’t think we can use the guns, but we have them.This event is sponsored by the city and is crawling with police which is part of why it makes it so insane for us to take out Dante here.In public.But it also makes it unexpected.
Valentino is unlikely to have heavy guard around him in this environment when he thinks his identity is shielded so fully from his enemies.
It’s cold outside, but the heavy layers make the ambient air feel comfortable.Brian got a peek at the Krampus list when he picked up our costumes and took a photo on his phone of what Dante’s costume looks like.I studied it for most of the drive to lock specific details into my memory.We’ve got about an hour before the run starts, and I hope it’s enough time to find our target.
It’s a four block walk to the staging area from the car.Brian gives our fake names, and a member of the security team scans the list and checks our costumes against the photos, then he nods and waves us in.
There’s no sign of Dante in the staging area.I knew there probably wouldn’t be.After all, most of the Krampus demons are out in the parade working the crowd.We follow a roped off area until we’re on the main road that’s supposed to be reserved for the participants in the parade.
A live band on a nearby stage plays holiday classics with an uptempo rock twist as kids get their pictures taken with one of many Krampus demons as they parade down main street, ringing bells and waving to the assembled crowd.
Some of the children cry and hide behind their parents at the scary demon masks.It’s especially endearing when a little girl being held by a Krampus seems to realize the terrifying thing holding her and starts sobbing.He bounces her on his hip to calm her down.
Most of the kids seem to be more fascinated than scared of the Krampus demons.Given my short experience as a Christmas elf, I’d say shockingly Santa gets more tears—or maybe that’s just Brian.
But no, a small boy runs up to us and hugs Brian around the legs, causing him to leap back in surprise.
“This one!I want to get my picture made with this one!”he shouts.He can’t be more than four.
“I’m sorry,” the mother says, juggling a bag and her phone.
Brian just nods and stands still for the photo.
“Thank you,” the woman says after snapping the picture and grabbing her little boy’s hand to take him back to the parade line.
A giant clock over the stage counts down with a red LED display and a loud ticking sound that can be heard faintly even over the live music, reminding everyone that the family friendly part of the event is about to wind down.
“Is Dante in the parade?”I ask, leaning close so Brian can hear me above the crowd.
“I don’t know.Come on.”He grabs my hand and we wind through the people and demons until we finally spot our target.Valentino wears an especially elaborate mask, and I can tell Benjamin had the time to carve more intricate horns.He waves and tosses candy into the crowd.We fall in line just behind him, shadowing his movements.
The procession goes down three blocks, then circles back around to where it started.We stay close to Valentino the entire time.I feel the adrenaline buzzing through me, excited over the fact that Dante has no fucking clue his killers are marching next to him in a parade, and that this is the last thing he will ever do in life.
I hope he enjoys himself, this last fleeting feeling of freedom—this one night without bodyguards that proves to be his fatal mistake.Brian confirmed that Dante is without an entourage tonight when he checked the list.Every single Krampus is accounted for on that list, and none of them are Dante’s men.He foolishly came alone.
His alias, Frederick Valentine is known to Brian.Maybe Dante thinks he’s slicker than he really is.Or he didn’t expect anyone to find out he was skipping out on his family’s traditional Christmas Eve gathering—something so out of character for him.
The band stops playing, and the clock gets louder.I glance up to find only a minute left before the event switches tracks entirely.I’ve been so focused on us not losing sight of our target that I didn’t notice the energetic shift in the air.
I look around to find no children left.Police are moving through the crowds, ID’ing anyone who looks suspiciously underage.
I lean in closer to Brian.“Are you sure we can pull this off?”
I’m nervous about the police presence here.This is so unbelievably risky.
He squeezes my hand in response and reassurance.I take a deep breath as a buzzer sounds.The new band starts playing hard industrial rock.And then the running and screaming begins.
Brian and I both pull out our “safe” whips and shadow Valentino as we chase people in the close-by vicinity of those he’s chasing.Our whips crack at people’s legs.Shrieks, screams, and giggles fill the space, nearly drowned out by the music.
Brian is staying more aware of Dante, while I keep my focus on the cops.We have to wait until they’re distracted, until they’ve moved to another area of the event.It’s all rather predictable.The running, the chasing, most of the people moving in a pattern very similar to the three-block parade track we just walked.
