Molly Hatchet had never really had many friends.
She'd had one serious boyfriend when she was in school, and one close friend, and that was about it. Otherwise she kept to herself or hung out with her parents, who encouraged her love for architecture and pushed her to do something with it for a career. In fact, it wasn't until she met Zoe Fitch and Allie Meers that she finally had people she could consider 'friends', in the typical sense of the word, which was why it hurt them so much that they had lied to her so much and roped her into something so horrible, and why they felt they had to finally set that right. Sitting at the very same minigolf course they'd taken her to the year prior in order to enlist her, Allie and Zoe felt sick, but now for very different reasons. Molly ate her cheese sticks and sipped her drink, nobody saying a thing until she was done and set her cup down, looking up at them and smiling. "So," she asked, "What did you guys wanna talk to me about?" "uh," they said in unison, exchanging a glance. "Is it...bad?" she asked, pushing some hair behind her ear and furrowing a brow. "Well," Allie said, "That really depends on your definition of 'bad', I guess. Um, Molly, we've...we've taken total advantage of you, and it's time we set that record straight." "Is this about Zoe staying with me? I told you that's fine," Molly said, looking at Zoe and smiling. "No, it's about the guy we had you secretly help us bury," Allie said quietly. Now that caught Molly's attention. "...the WHAT?" she asked sternly. *** James Harper opened the door to see Molly standing on his parents porch, soaked in the rain from outside, shivering, crying. He stepped aside so let her in, and once she was inside and he'd shut the door, she turned around and hugged him as tight as possible. Surprised by not just her sudden arrival but also her surprising affection, James hugged her back, and just let her stay there momentarily while she cried against him. "Is everything okay?" James asked, as Molly stepped back and wiped her eyes on her soaking wet sweater sleeve. "He..." she started, then stopped, biting her lip, "...he hurt me." "What?" But when she made eye contact, that told him all he had to know without saying anything at all. He immediately understood what she meant, and he pulled her back in for another hug, which she graciously accepted. James had always been there for her, and now more than ever she needed a friend. Molly was never very good at making friends, but when she did, she trusted them more than life itself, which is why the betrayal Allie and Zoe hit her with that afternoon hit so hard. *** "how could you?" Molly whispered, whispering, sitting slumped in the booth. "It wasn't planned, Molly," Allie said, "and we...we didn't really know you when we made the plan. Once we started knowing you, Zoe even questioned it, but we didn't have a choice, Molly, and we've tried to shield you from it this entire time because we didn't want you involved. But...it's gotten to the point where that's simply not an option anymore." "They found him," Zoe said, "You saw it on the news. That tomb they pulled out was ours. He was a drug dealer, Molly, he was...he was interested in getting me involved in drugs. Allie saved me. She saw what would've happened, the same thing that happened to her, and she-" "They're not the same," Molly said sternly, surprising them as she leaned forward, arms folded, "her drug problem wasn't because of him. It was because she was mauled. She was already addicted. He fed that addiction, sure, and that's shitty, sure, but it wasn't because of him. They're not the same, don't say they are." Allie sighed and nodded as she leaned back, Zoe looking surprised at this sudden admission. "She's not wrong, actually," Allie said, "but still, Molly, we're sorry. We really are, genuinely, and we love you, you're our best friend. We're not saying these things to trick you or anything, this is all true. Please don't hate Zoe, she...she's just a bystander, honestly. I'm the one to blame." "You're goddamn right," Molly said, sounding angry but restrained, before sighing and shaking her head, "but...I can't say I blame you. When I was in high school, I had this boyfriend. I thought he was cool, and for the most part he was, but he...he didn't wanna wait for me. He took advantage of me. If given the option, I too would've killed him. But, being a woman, the country is adamantly against me defending myself, so that's not an option. I would've been the one held under a judicial microscope instead of the man attempting sexual assault. I did out him for it though. I put up flyers everywhere before I graduated, explaining what a monster he was, simply so no other girl would go through that." "Damn," Allie whispered. "I know what it's like to want to protect those around you," Molly said, "so I can't say I blame you, even if what you did was despicable and backhanded and sneaky. Then again, this is Vegas, so perhaps it was naive of me to think any other sort of behavior would exist here, even in the people you trust most." "I deserve that, sure," Allie said. The girls sat there for a moment and for a brief second, nobody said a thing. Nobody would even look at one another, honestly, and hell, who could blame them. This was a major shift in dynamic for their relationship. After a few minutes, Molly cleared her throat and tossed her hair and looked across the table again. "So...what do we do now?" she asked, "You wouldn't be telling me if you didn't need something." Allie and Zoe exchanged a glance and chuckled nervously. "Yeeeah," Allie said, "uh, about that. So, you remember that cult leader that was arrested? Well..." *** "This is hopeless," Agent Siskel said, throwing her plastic fork down into her chinese food box and sighing, running her hand through her hair as she leaned back in her chair, "she's never going to slip up. She's too careful. Too perfect. We're not getting anything from this." Agent Tropper sipped his drink and then slipped it back into the cupholder before laughing softly. "I know it seems hopeless, but this is what a lot of our job is. It isn't all chasing down leads and kicking in doors. Sometimes it's simply sitting somewhere and waiting for someone to make the first move. It's a lot like chess, in a way." "You play chess?" "I was actually an extremely talented chess player when I was a teenager, even did it semi professionally for a while," Agent Tropper replied, making Agent Siskel roll her eyes. "Nerd," she whispered, the both of them laughing. Siskel and Tropper sat there, Tropper continuing to wrap noodles around his fork and lifting them to his mouth as Siskel picked up the binoculars again and watched Nicole's apartment. She could see her up there, with a man her age, drinking on the balcony and chatting, probably on a date. This job had eaten Siskel's social life, and the only man she really saw on a regular basis was Tropper now. She sighed and lowered the binoculars again, running a hand through her hair. "...so I dropped off the tomb with that mortician," Agent Siskel said, "if anyone can get that guy out of that thing and clean him up, it'll be her, and once she does that, we'll get the tomb back and we can really look into it for clues. I don't think she put her stepbrother there, for what it's worth, and why would she own a magician prop anyway?" "Fair assessment," Agent Tropper said, wiping his mouth and checking his watch, "you wanna go get the tomb or should I? If I'm gonna do it, you'll have to tell me what time." "Do you ever..." Agent Siskel started, then stopped, "...do you ever think about what you'd be doing if you hadn't become this? You know? I used to be a kid in this city and I used to think that it'd be so neat to be, like, a jazz singer or something. In a smoky club somewhere, crooning into a microphone about heartbreak, making all the men feel for me, yearn for me." "I think I would've stuck with chess," Agent Tropper replied, shrugging, "I didn't have many hobbies." Agent Siskel laughed, which made Agent Tropper laugh. It was a slow going job, but at least they had eachother. "When this job's over," Agent Siskel said, "Let's get your wife and we'll go do something fun." "Sounds like a plan." "Maybe take in a magic show," Agent Siskel said, smirking. "You're sick," Agent Tropper said quietly, the both of them laughing again. *** Molly and Zoe arrived back at Molly's house that evening, Allie going home to the casino, and Molly hadn't said a thing since they left the minigolf park. As they entered the house, Molly walked immediately to the fridge and poured herself a large glass of wine, then downed the entire thing in one sitting before filling it up again and turning to see Zoe standing in the kitchen doorway, looking anxious, rubbing her hands together. "Something on your mind?" Molly asked, leaning against the counter, now sipping her glass cautiously. "...please don't hate me," Zoe said, "you guys are the only friends I've ever had and-" "I don't hate you, you didn't really have a say. She did it in your name, then she lied to me. Allie's the cause. As for the friends thing, I feel the same way, so don't worry. I had one friend in high school, and that was it. I've never been a very sociable person. But you're not to blame here, Zoe, trust me. I've done my research on Allie. Everything that's happened to her...I can't deny some of it was simply unfortunate, but it was also somewhat just...her own stupidity and brazenness. I mean, who works with a tiger, really? You can't control a wild animal. She should've expected that. And then, instead of really trying to get help, she continues to feed her addiction for years, dragging her career down into the toilet. It wasn't until you that she seemed to finally get her things together." "...and even then, I think just because she needs to be needed," Zoe said, surprising Molly; Zoe sat down in a chair at the table and sighed, "I love her, but I can't deny that she's sick. She's selfish. I'm nothing but a replacement for her cousin that she used to do magic with. She can't stand losing someone again, so she's going to extreme ends to ensure that doesn't happen." Molly walked to the table and sat down, crossing her legs and looking at Zoe, who was now looking at the floor. "You know," Molly said, rubbing her nose, "there's...there's gonna come a day where we each will have to face the question of whether she's worth it. Is she worth throwing your own life away for. Frankly, despite not having many friends throughout my life, I don't know that I'd risk it myself, but that's just me. But at some point, Zoe, something terrible is going to happen, and we're gonna have to ask if she's worth going down for." Molly picked up her wine glass, stood up and started to exit, before stopping in the doorframe and looking back, Zoe now looking back at her. "I just...I hope we each make the right decision," Molly added, before heading to her home office. *** Allie came into the penthouse to something that smelled delicious filling the loft. She put her things down and followed the scent into the kitchen, only to find Nick and Jenny there, making dinner. They both smiled and waved at her as she entered and sat on a barstool on the opposite side of them. "What're you doing here?" Allie asked, making Jenny blush. "Well, Nick wanted to do something special for you, and I happen to be a culinary artist, so," she said, "he called in my expertise. It's nice. Working at the zoo, I rarely have the energy to cook when I get home, so I'm always itching to stretch my muscles. Hope that's okay..." "Yeah, whatever, the more the merrier," Allie said, shrugging, "Can I have a beer?" "You sure can, baby," Nick said, leaning back towards the fridge and pulling one out, tossing it to her, grinning as she caught it, popped the top and started drinking; Nick returned to the stove and, while stirring, asked, "So, you girls have a nice time?" "...you could say that," Allie mumbled, "so what's for dinner?" Allie hadn't seen Jenny in a while, really since they'd said goodbye to Domino. She knew Nick and Jenny went back a ways, and their friendship had always somewhat bothered Allie, because she always felt like Jenny was a better fit for him, but she couldn't tell if either one was remotely romantically interested in the other. As Jenny exited the room, heading to the bathroom to wash her hands, Allie slipped away and followed her. She stopped in the doorway, looking in as Jenny pumped soap onto her hands and dipped them under the faucet. "So, can I ask you a question?" Allie asked. "Of course!" "...that private seller who took Domino," Allie said, "uh...you know who it is?" Jenny wiped her hands on a small towel and looked at Allie. "...I do," she said. "I need to see the tiger." Jenny stared Allie down for a moment, then sighed. "If I do this for you, you can't tell anyone. I could get fired for giving out client information," she said, and Allie nodded. "Don't worry," Allie said, "It's gonna be a one time thing." *** Rebecca Siskel just wanted to forget about the case. When Agent Tropper dropped her off that night, she wanted to just relax. She went inside, she took a long warm bath, she did her nails, then she pulled out a small pint of ice cream from the freezer and cuddled up in a big quilt on her couch. She sighed as she started to spoon into the pint, flipping channel to channel, looking for anything to watch. Seemed like all she did was work, she felt like she never took any time for herself, and she hated that. She was starting to feel overwhelmed and burnt out, especially now that this case in particular had appeared to have hit such a brick wall, because until Nicole made a move of one kind or another, they had nothing else to go on. Rebecca adjusted herself and accidentally unmuted the television with her elbow, a commercial now loudly filling the room. "God dammit," she muttered, reaching for the remote, which had fallen off the couch. She set her pint down on the coffee table and climbed down onto her knees, looking around while the TV blared behind her. "It's the most beautiful casino in Vegas, and it's the only one with such great acts as Effie Brahams, the funniest women in comedy in the city, a 5 star buffet right next to the casino floor and of course, everyones favorite local legend, magician Allie Meers!" Something clicked in Rebecca's brain, and she turned, looking over the table at the television, watching intently now as she saw a clip of Allie and Zoe in their costumes, doing their act. She turned slowly more, now completely immersed. "Come on down and see the pair that's sold out regularly! Who knows, you might even catch Allie doing the trick that made her famous, the Tomb of Doom!" the voice said, now showing a clip of Allie performing the trick with a tomb that looked incredibly similar to the one they'd found Sunny in. Rebecca's joy caught in her chest, and she cracked a smile. A man now came on screen, standing in front of an overhead shot of the cityscape. "I'm Tony Ephram, and I'm the owner of The Card Shark, so come on down, the fish are always bitin'," Tony said, grinning and finger gunning the audience. The channel then cut to a different commercial, but the noise no longer bothered Agent Rebecca Siskel. She'd cracked it, and now she had a lead once again. She couldn't believe her eyes. "Abracafuckindabra," she whispered.
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Nicole Sykes's morning was going rather slow for a change, and she was appreciative. Usually her mornings were rushed; coffee grabbed on the go, into the office by 9, barely enough time to shower and find a good suit and do her makeup. But not this morning. This morning was just right...even if for all the wrong reasons. As she sipped her coffee sitting at her bar in the apartment, the newspaper open in front of her, she couldn't have any less urgency if she tried. And then someone knocked at her door. Nicole sighed, set her mug down and stood up, wrapping her silken robe tightly around her and sinching it shut. She opened the front door and saw a man and a woman in suits standing there in the hall.
"...can I help you?" she asked. "Nicole Sykes?" Agent Tropper asked, "I'm Agent Tropper, this is Agent Siskel. We're with the local FBI chapter of the Vegas PD. Do you have a moment?" Nicole stepped aside cautiously, letting them enter. As they walked inside, Agent Tropper whistled, looking around her place. "Nice digs, man," he said. "Thank you," Nicole replied, smiling, brushing her hair from her eyes, "Do you mind if I have my breakfast while we talk?" "No, please, go ahead," Agent Siskel said. Nicole seated herself back at the bar, the agents pulling up stools on the opposite side, facing her. They stayed silent for a bit, letting Nicole drink her coffee and eat her toaster strudels, giving her a moment of peace. After a bit, Agent Siskel cleared her throat and Nicole looked up. "So," she asked, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" "We found your brother," Agent Siskel said. "I saw," Nicole said, "Stepbrother, but, close enough. Thank you for finding him. His absence has been hurting me for so long. I couldn't believe he was actually gone, and now that he's really gone, I almost can't seem to parse that reality. When you have someone around you for so long, you know, it's just...it's weird." "We wanted to ask if maybe your brother had any enemies, or perhaps if you knew of his drug dealings and, as such, any of his clients," Agent Tropper asked. "I knew he was involved in some shady things, but no, we didn't really discuss that," Nicole said, "We were close, but we almost made a sincere effort to keep our private lives private. As for enemies, not since grade school, hah. None that I'm aware of, anyway." "We're sorry for your loss," Agent Tropper said, "We know it must be difficult." "He was my best friend. Being adopted got me a lot of shit growing up, every kid was always trying to make me feel bad about it, but Spencer was always there to make me feel better," Nicole said, sighing and shaking her head, "he was always just so comforting and-" "Spencer?" Agent Siskel asked, confused. "Sunny wasn't his actual name," Nicole said, "His birth name was Spencer. Sunny was just something he started calling himself in college. I don't know, I guess with his lifestyle, the name 'Spencer' doesn't exactly invoke feelings of awe and respect." "Fair enough, I think I beat up a kid named Spencer once, so I'd agree with that," Agent Tropper said, making the girls chuckle. "I have to be getting into the office soon," Nicole said, checking her watch, "Can we meet again later or tomorrow?" "Anytime, just give us a call," Agent Siskel said. Nicole thanked the agents, then escorted them out of the apartment. Standing in the hall, Agent Siskel looked at Agent Tropper, who just nodded at her. "Yeah," he said, "You're right. She's involved. No question. She was so...prepared. There was no sense of shock or anything. So what do we do now?" "We wait for her to slip up," Agent Siskel said, "they always do." *** Claire was led down the hall, her hands cuffed, towards the meeting room. As they entered the room - a room with metal picnic tables where others were having visitations - Claire was pointed to a table in the far back corner, where she saw a woman sitting, waiting for her. Claire walked past everyone else and sat down at the table, tossing her hair and smiling at the woman. "Do I know you?" she asked. "No," Allie said, "I'm Allie Meers." "A fan?" "Let's say that, sure," Allie said. "Surprised. I don't get many visitors," Claire said, "...actually, I haven't gotten a single visitor. Not a single person from my compound has come to see me. That's actually been rather upsetting, considering all I did for them." "What'd you do for them?" Allie asked, her brow furrowed. "You know, led them to enlightenment, helped them find a higher calling," Claire said, "...all that bullshit." "So you don't believe in it yourself?" "I wouldn't say that," Claire replied, "I'll just say that being off medication makes you believe some whack ass shit. They've got me back on it now, apparently prisons have great health insurance, so I'm starting to see how weird everything I did was...so why are you here exactly?" "I'm here about Sunny," Allie said, "the news said he was somewhat attached to your happenings." "Did they now? Well, you know what they say, no press is bad press," Claire said. "...I'm gonna level with you, I need help," Allie said, "and...and I can repay you if you help me. I need to know where they took his body. The tomb he was found in." "Why?" Claire asked, sounding curious but interested. "...because it's my mine," Allie said. *** Effie and Zoe were walking through the crowded restaurant, heading to the outdoor section, Effie holding tight to Zoe's hand as Zoe breathed heavily. She was nervous, but she didn't want to be. It had just been a while since she'd talked to, let alone seen her parents, and she didn't know how this afternoon was going to go over. As they reached the doors leading out, Zoe pointed at them and Effie nodded, then turned to face her. "You sure you wanna do this?" Effie asked, "You don't have to, you know that, right?" "I have to," Zoe said, "I need to stop running away from them. I need to stop needing their approval, and that starts with being openly myself, about my career...about you." Effie smiled and stroked Zoe's cheek, then took her hand again and headed through the doors. As they approached the table, Thea scooted her chair out and stood up, hugging Zoe tightly, rubbing her back. After that hug broke, she shook Effie's hand, while Zoe hugged her parents, and then Effie shook their hands before they all took their seats again. "Well," Richard, Zoe and Thea's father, said, "we're glad you were able to find time to see us. You look great." "Thanks dad," Zoe said, her voice meek and shaky, "I've been really busy with work, and other stuff with my work partner, so it's been hard to find time to do anything else, but yeah, she had to do something today, so I had some time off." "Well thank you for using it to come see us," their mother, Ginny, said, "and thank you for bringing her, since she's not staying with Thea right now," she added, looking at Effie and smiling politely. "Oh, sure, it was no problem!" Effie said, opening her menu and reading through, "Honestly, I was more than happy to do so. Especially once I got invited. Can't turn down a free meal." Zoe giggled, which made Thea smile, as their parents smiled weakly. "She's a comedian, please forgive her," Zoe said, "She works at the same casino I work at, that's how we met. She was a friend of my partner." "So work is going well?" Ginny asked, making Zoe grimace, hiding it best she could. Was work going well? Sure, they were doing gangbusters in ticket sales, and they were selling out constantly, and Zoe was making more money than she'd ever seen in her entire life, but now with Sunny's body having been found and Allie visiting a cult leader serial killer in prison for advice...was work going well? Well, Zoe had learned, had become a somewhat relative term. She nodded, reassuring her parents, that work was in fact going well, even if she didn't really believe it. Though, really, work was going well. It was life that wasn't. "So where are you staying?" Richard asked, sipping his glass of water. "With a friend," Zoe said, "A woman who designed the casino we work in. I'm staying with her." "Oh, I just figured you were staying with her since she drove you," Richard said. "No, she's not," Effie said, "Even though I offered. But, you know, she didn't feel comfortable." "Why not? Your place not big enough?" Ginny asked. Zoe and Effie exchanged a nervous glance, and Zoe exhaled. "The reason I even came to lunch today was tell you guys something," Zoe said, squeezing Effie's hand under the table, "it's about me, and...about her," she added, motioning to Effie. The truth was something Zoe had to face, rather than run from. She needed to gain strength and personhood, instead of letting others live for her, and the first step was accepting herself in front of her parents, whether they accepted her or not. *** "That's a hell of a story," Claire said, smirking as Allie leaned back in her chair, exhausted emotionally; Claire chewed her lip, then leaned in and lowered her voice, "in my compound, there's a woman who works there who works with the dead. She's the best mortician in the city. She was partially how I managed to get away with storing bodies the way I did for so long without getting caught. If anyone is going to get Sunny back for you, it's gonna be here. They're gonna need a professional to remove him from that tomb, and I can't think of anyone I'd recommend to them more than her." "And you're telling me that this woman would help me?" Allie asked, as Claire nodded. "Indeed she will," Claire said, "I'll recommend her to the agents, and they'll give her the tomb to pull his body from and do some work on so he can be buried for the family's sense of closure. When she has him, she can turn him over to you. You got a pen?" Allie fumbled around a bit, before finally pulling a pen from her purse. Claire took it, best she could being in cuffs, and uncapped it with her teeth. Then she took Allie's wrist and began writing directions up her arm. "This is how you get to the compound, she's there taking care of it for me while I'm here," Claire said, "Tell her I sent you, tell her what I told you. Once she gets the call from the agents, she'll know you're not bullshitting her. Besides, she'll recognize my handwriting here." Allie couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe she might actually get a chance to set things right, or at the very least, throw them off her and Zoe's trail for a while longer so they could think of something else. After Claire finished her directions, she capped the pen again and slid it across the table to Allie. "Thank you so much," Allie whispered. "We all screw up," Claire said sullenly, "Some of us worse than others, but there's no reason both of us should go down for this. Sunny wasn't a bad guy, but he was helping keep bad habits alive, and I can't forgive that. Get rid of him again, once and for all, and make sure nobody knows where he goes." "Oh don't worry," Allie said, looking at her hand, "Nobody will ever find him." "You got a plan?" Allie grinned. "I have a tiger," she said. *** Driving home in the light rain, Effie couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. After Zoe's admittance of her sexuality to her folks, the lunch had taken a...less fun turn. Things hadn't become outright hostile, but their demeanor certainly changed into more solemn than they had been before, and that brought everyone else down. Effie glanced over at Zoe, looking down at her hands as the heater blew her hair back gently. "You wanna talk about it?" Effie asked. "No." "Parents suck, man, don't worry too much about it," Effie said. "...I will never be my sister," Zoe whispered, catching Effie off guard. "What's that now?" "I will never be my sister," Zoe repeated, "She's the good kid. She's the one who does well, she's the one who got her life together. She's not the one who idolizes a magician and is gay. She's the one I'll always be held up against as an example and I will always fall short." "Yeah but that's on them, not on you. Your expectations of yourself aren't based on how well you compare to her, right? Only theirs are. That's the difference. You know your self worth," Effie said, "and if they can't see past that to see what you're actually capable of, then fuck 'em." Zoe smiled and reached over, putting her hand on Effie's leg. It had been an uncomfortable afternoon, as she'd expected. but at least she had someone to comfort her. And when they arrived back at Molly's, they found dinner was already made. In a way, Zoe thought, Effie was right. Who ultimately cared how her parents felt. She knew how great she was, and she had better people in her life now anyway. People who didn't care about that aspect of her one iota. People who were just simply happy to know her at all. That had to count for something. Zoe had left her parents a frightened and uncertain young woman, but she was quickly finding out that she was so much more than their perception of how she used to be. And she owed it all to those around her. *** Nicole Sykes's evening wasn't as uneventful as her morning had been, and she was annoyed by it. She had planned to go to dinner with some girlfriends, and then go home and do some domestic chores. Get some laundry done, do some cleaning, but after the visit from the agents that morning, all Nicole could think of was calling The Benefactor. She knew she had to give them a heads up, in case they started to head their way, but she was afraid of doing so. Goddamn Sunny, she thought, everything was fine until he got himself killed. She knew this would eventually happen, and she thankfully had a contingency plan in place, but still, she'd hoped she'd never have to actually use it. Sitting in her car after work, she opened her phone and dialed. After a few rings, they answered. "It's Nicole," she said, "You probably know, I think you have caller ID. Anyway, some agents came to see me this morning about Sunny. Yeah, well, I figured you should know. They didn't have anything to say to me other than extend their sympathies and ask me if I knew of his illicit activities, to which I acknowledged but also said I wasn't involved in. I don't know, I'm not sure if they believed me or not. You want to meet? Talk about this in person, or should we keep our distance for a while?" A pause, and Nicole nodded and sighed. "Alright, you're right. Yeah, I'll just go home and unwind. I'm very tense," she said, "Call me if you find anything else out, or you just wanna discuss it further. Thanks. Yeah. Goodbye." She hung up and tossed her phone on the passenger seat. She was going to need to find whoever had killed her brother before the agents did, that's all it boiled down to, because if they were remotely related to the business, it could bring the whole operation down. She sighed and pulled out of her parking space, then headed onto the road. She'd seen the news, she'd seen the photos, he'd been found in a magicians prop. She should be looking into magicians, she figured, but this was Vegas, there were so many goddamned casinos and magicians, where do you start? It didn't matter, she'd find them. She'd find them... ...and she'd do to them what they'd done to her stepbrother, or even worse. God, what Molly would give to wake up and not need help from caffeine. She'd given up coffee a while ago, and she felt better than ever, but sometimes she really missed the boost it gave her. As she stood in her kitchen, cooking scrambled eggs, she heard Zoe plod into the kitchen and seat herself at the kitchen table. She rested her face on her hands on the table, her eyes still closed. Molly smiled and picked up the coffee pot, pulled a mug from the cabinet and walked them to the table. She set them down and poured her a cup. Zoe reached out and picked up the mug, pulling it towards her.
"Thank you," she said, groggily. "My pleasure," Molly said, heading back to the stove to finish cooking her eggs; she glanced over her shoulder and asked, "So, what do you have to do today?" "I know I should probably see my parents at some point," Zoe said, rubbing her eyes and yawning, "but, god, I'm just not ready. I think we have practice today, so I guess I'll head over to the casino." "Oh, that might not be a good idea," Molly said, walking to the table with two plates of scrambled eggs and sitting down, sliding one of the plates across the table to Zoe, adding, "there's a bunch of cops and stuff there. These workers looking for a busted pipe found some dead guy buried underground." Zoe stopped in her tracks, mouth full of eggs. She slowly looked up at Molly, her eyes wide. "...what?" she asked. *** Zoe pulled up in her car in the parking lot to find Allie already there, leaning against the car, smoking a cigarette which she immediately stomped out as Zoe climbed out of the car. Neither woman looked particularly well dressed or prepared for the day; hell, Zoe hadn't even changed out of her pajamas. The parking lot they'd met in was the one of the old casino, because there'd be no activity there, so they figured it was the best spot to go. "...you heard?" Zoe asked. "Of course I heard, it's the only thing on all the local channels!" Allie said loudly, before lowering her voice, "we need to make a plan." "You told me they wouldn't find him," Zoe said, "you told me that this would be eternal. That there'd be no reason for anyone to ever come across him." "Yeah well, I didn't expect pipes to be put in that area!" Allie replied, her ire clear, "and even then, what're the odds that they'd break and lead someone to him? Don't worry, we'll be alright. I have some ideas of how to deal with this." "Every idea you've had has only made things worse," Zoe said. "I did this for you," Allie replied. "Stop putting that in front of me," Zoe replied, "I didn't ask you to do anything. You did it of your own accord, and likely because you're afraid of being alone, certainly not for my well being." A moment passed as a few cars slowly passed by, looking for a parking spot. The women took a moment to calm down, Zoe pacing as Allie rubbed her forehead. She pulled another cigarette from the carton in her shirt pocket and lit it, inhaling then exhaling, blowing smoke into the cool morning air. After a few minutes she finally took a long deep breath and looked back at Zoe. "We can go to his apartment," Allie said, "I know where he lived. If we go to his apartment we can remove any instances of my knowing him." "You think you can get in?" "I have a key. He asked me to watch his place when he went on vacation once." "What makes you think his apartment is even still around?" "...because I've stopped by it," Allie mumbled. "EXCUSE me?" Zoe asked loudly, "You what?! Why would you do that?!" "Maybe because of a little thing called guilt, Zoe, you ever hear of it?" Allie asked sternly, "it's this thing normal people have when they feel bad about something they did. How's it work on your planet?" "Oh right, you're the prime example of a 'normal person'," Zoe said, using air quotes. "Get in the fucking car," Allie said, and instead of arguing, Zoe did what she was told. She walked around to the passenger side, climbed inside and strapped her seatbelt as Allie started the car up and pulled back out of the space, exiting the lot. She didn't want to tell Zoe she'd been by Sunny's place, but it was true. She had stopped by on numerous occasions. She'd never gone inside, she'd just stopped by and looked at the apartment from her car, feeling remorseful about what she'd done. But she knew she'd done it for the right reason. He was going to target Zoe. He was going to get her addicted, and she didn't deserve that. Allie hated using that as leverage, but it was the reason she'd done what she'd done. Okay, to be fair, she didn't mean to kill him. It was an accident. But she'd defended Zoe's personhood against him, and that had led to his demise. Well, maybe, Allie thought, going by his place would finally give her a sense of closure. But, as she'd soon learn... ...there's no closure to be had in this type of situation. *** "You sure we should be here?" Agent Tropper asked as he shut the car door, looking over the roof at Agent Siskel exiting the drivers side. She adjusted her glasses and nodded. "I mean, they seem to have found our man, so yes, I'd say we should be here," Agent Siskel replied, "Come on. I'll buy you lunch afterwards, alright? It'll be worth it." Agent Siskel and Agent Tropper walked through the crowd, past firefighters and cops, until they found a stout, semi balding man in a suit standing there in a hawaiian shirt and grey slacks. He pulled his sunglassess of his face and ran his hand down his face, groaning loudly as they agents stopped beside him. "Rough morning?" Agent Siskel asked. "You have no idea," Tony said, "...who are you guys?" "Special agents Rebecca Siskel and Roger Tropper. We're here about the guy," Agent Siskel replied, nodding at the dig site, "you guys manage to pull him out yet?" "Yeah," Tony said, "they got him out of there about ten minutes ago, he's being held over there while these guys do some minor detailing on how to patch up this whole mess." "...sir, did you know the deceased?" Agent Siskel asked, "His name was Sunny Sykes, he was a governors son. He's been missing for over half a year." "No?" Tony asked, shaking his head, "I run a casino, not a drug den. What makes you think I'd have any interactions with a man like that?" "Because we have reason to believe he was laundering money through casinos, helping the owners cheat taxes," Agent Tropper said, sticking his hands in his pockets, "seeing as he wound up under yours, we just thought we'd ask. I'm gonna go check on the guy." "He can't get any deader," Tony said, making Agent Siskel laugh as they watched Agent Tropper walk away; after a moment, Tony looked back at Agent Siskel and asked, "so...so wait, someone buried this guy here while we were building my casino, or?" "We don't know yet," Agent Siskel said, "but we're gonna find out, okay? Just be patient, and we'll find the people responsible, and clear your casino of any ill will. I'm sorry you've been inadvertently included in this horrific incident." Agent Siskel then excused herself to join her partner, leaving Tony there to think. As Agent Siskel approached Agent Tropper, she furrowed her brow as she noticed what it was Sunny was placed inside. Agent Tropper knocked on the tomb, realizing it was made of plastic. "This is a magicians prop," Agent Siskel said, "weird final resting place." "You think if we open this he'll unleash a plague of curses on us?" Agent Tropper asked, making Agent Siskel throw her head back, laughing loudly, which made Agent Tropper smile. He appreciated, if nothing else, being paired with someone whom he could get along with. Through all their time together on cases, Siskel and Tropper had become genuine friends and not just coworkers. "So," Agent Tropper asked, "...how do we find out who owned it?" *** The door to Sunny's apartment opened and Allie and Zoe slunk inside quietly. Allie turned on some small lights, so as not to draw any attention to the fact that this place suddenly had visitors. Zoe shut the door behind them and made sure to lock it, for some reason. Paranoia, she figured. As she looked at Allie, she noticed Allie was looking at the photos on the entertainment stand Sunny's TV and other equipment and devices were on. "...Allie, I'm sorry," Zoe finally said. "No, don't...don't apologize, I'm sorry. You're right. I shouldn't continue to hold that over you, it's slimy. I didn't do it for leverage. I did it because I care about you. Because you're my friend and I didn't wanna see you go down the same road I did. I'm a mess, Zoe, but you don't have to be." Zoe sat on the couch and sighed, looking at her shoes. "My family's in town," Zoe finally said, almost whispering. "What? Really?" "Mhm. I'm hiding out at Molly's," Zoe said. "Afraid to face them since you started working with me, or is it because of what you did as a kid?" Allie asked, "Cause I mean, they know it was an accident, they can't hold that against you forever. Hell, maybe they're here to make things right. You never know." "I am scared to face them, but not because of those reasons," Zoe said, now getting Allie's attention as she turned to look at her; Zoe sniffled and wiped her eyes on her pajama shirt sleeve and added, "I just...I'm scared for them to know I'm in a relationship. Until I came here to work with you, until I met Effie, I never...I never had feelings for another girl, really. Or, if I did, I repressed it to the point of not realizing it. I'm scared they'll judge me on that. And now with this on top of that, I just..." Allie walked to the couch and sat down beside Zoe, rubbing her back gently. "I'm sorry," Allie said, "but you have nothing to be ashamed of. And if they don't accept you, you know we all do. We don't care if you're gay or not. We're just happy you're happy. We're your family too, Zoe. Molly and Effie and Nick and I. We all love you and accept you for who you are. You're a good person, Zoe, and you have the biggest heart and a conscience and if they can't see the good past this one thing, then they don't deserve to know you at your best." Zoe smiled and leaned against Allie, letting her hold her. The two sat there in silence for a bit, just soaking in the moment. "When my cousin decided to stop doing magic with me, it destroyed me. I thought we were a team, you know? So to have someone again, to trust someone again that deeply...you mean a lot to me, Zoe. That's why I did what I did. I can't..." Allie bit her lip, starting to cry, "...I can't lose you too." Zoe smiled, blushing, as she hugged Allie, not realizing that as she leaned in, she turned the TV on with the remote that was on the couch. The girls laughed as the screen flickered to life, and then Allie got up and continued looking around for any evidence of her attachment to Sunny. "God, it's weird being here," Allie said, "I really didn't-" "Allie," Zoe said softly, pointing at the TV, making Allie look and seeing the news. Zoe turned it up. "If you're just joining us, our top story today is a local drug dealer, a governors son who's been missing for half a year, has been found dead underneath a new casino. His body was buried inside what appears to be a magicians prop tomb. Agents working on the scene have informed us that there's a distinct possibility that he is tied closely to the cult leader recently arrested, Claire Driscoll. Cause of death has yet to be-" Zoe muted the TV and looked at Allie. "...I guess I'm going to prison," Allie said. "They haven't figured anything substantial out yet, there's still time to-" "No, not go to prison for good" Allie said, "go to prison to meet Claire." *** Claire Driscoll was sitting in her cell, reading a book when she heard the door open and saw Agents Siskel and Tropper enter. She put the book down and, blowing her bangs from her face, looked at them, her eyes clearer than they had been in weeks. "More questions?" Claire asked. "We found him," Agent Siskel said, "we found Sunny. Now, we can't get you off the charges, but we might be able to lighten them considering how you helped us. Don't think we would've found this guy without your help, honestly." "Is he...is he..." "Yeah, he is," Agent Tropper chimed in, "but he'll be back in his dads arms and they can put him to rest, so you did a good thing, Claire. Inadvertently, perhaps, but still a good thing nonetheless. But we are somewhat curious how well you knew this guy. Were you closer to him than you said? Did he ever talk about other clients, or family or anything?" Claire shook her head, then thought and he eyes lit up. "Actually he mentioned a sister," Claire said, snapping his fingers, "I unsuccessfully tried to recruit her, but he did mention a sister a number of times. After I tried recruiting her he threatened me to stay away, so I did. Why?" "We found these photos in his apartment," Agent Siskel said, handing Claire the framed photo and the one that was with the files, "is that the woman? Is that his sister? We could easily confirm this with his father but we don't butt in on his grieving right now, and it'd held to have third party corroboration." "Yeah, that's her," Claire said, "You have to tell her, don't you?" Agent Siskel and Agent Tropper thanked her for her help, then exited. Standing in the hall outside her room now, they exhaled and as Agent Siskel looked at the photos, Agent Tropper pulled some gum from his coat pocket and popped a few pieces into his mouth, chewing. "So, when do we tell her?" Agent Tropper asked. "We don't," Agent Siskel said, "Because I've already done some research into his sister." "...what?" Agent Tropper asked. "She's an accountant, Roger," Agent Siskel said, "she's the one who was helping him. And I have a sneaking suspicion that their father isn't as innocent as we thought. This could be an entire family operation we've stumbled onto. Claire Driscoll may actually be some kind of hero, in some warped way." "So what do we do now?" Agent Tropper asked as they headed down the hall. "We find out who owns that tomb," Agent Siskel replied. *** Allie dropped Zoe off at Molly's, said their goodbyes and said they'd meet in a day or so for practice. Despite everything, they still had to work. They had to maintain a sense of a life, otherwise others may grow curious. As Zoe entered the house, she found Molly sitting with Effie in the living room, each drinking tea and laughing. Taken aback by this sudden appearance of Effie, Zoe turned red and went quiet. "She's been here for like an hour," Molly said, getting up, "I'll leave you guys alone." Molly exited the room as Zoe walked and sat down in the chair Molly had been seated in. Effie set her mug down on the side table, folding her legs. "Where you been?" Effie asked, "I haven't heard from you in days, it feels like. Now you're staying with her? I mean, I'm just...concerned and confused I guess. Is everything okay between us?" "I didn't wanna bother you," Zoe mumbled, "I...I felt weird, asking if I could stay with you, seeing as we're just dating and, I don't know, things are complicated. Not between us, god no, but just in general. Things with Allie are tense, and my family is in town for some reason and-" Effie stood up and walked over to the chair Zoe sat in and sat on an ottoman in front of her, taking her hands in hers and smiling. "I don't really mind, I just...I guess I was worried you were avoiding me or something," Effie said, "I'm glad that's not the case, but you could've stayed with me. It's alright." "I didn't wanna pressure you. I've never really been in a serious relationship," Zoe said. "I understand," Effie said, "but Zoe, I...I love you. I do. I know that's, like, a serious faux paus to make only half a year into something, but I do, and I care about you and I wanna help keep you happy. Just, please try and include me in your life. I've had nothing but crappy relationships, so this thing with you is...weird cause it's not crappy, and I don't really know how to approach that. I just know that I-" Zoe leaned in and kissed Effie, while Molly, watching from the kitchen doorway, smiled. She loved seeing people happy together, and wished she could have that for herself. "I love you too," Zoe whispered, "Can we go to dinner? I need normalcy." "Yeah, you got it, anywhere you want," Effie replied, grinning, their foreheads touching. *** A FEW YEARS AGO Sunny sighed, leaning against the railing of his sisters high rise balcony. He sipped his scotch as she walked out, still in her tight black dress and her bright red high heels. Her long blonde hair, wavy behind her, flowed in the night breeze. Sunny smiled as she leaned against the railing beside him and sighed, sipping her own scotch. "Who says crime doesn't pay?" Sunny asked, making her laugh. "You know, we're playing with fire here," Nicole said, "but then again I guess we're used to it, seeing as we've been doing it our whole lives." "Thanks for the help, I really do appreciate it," Sunny said, "we're gonna get dad elected, and we're gonna run this whole fucking place." Nicole smirked as she downed the rest of her drink then walked back past the sliding glass doors, unzipping her dress as she went in and letting it fall to the floor. She casually glanced over her shoulder at Sunny, smirking and winking. He grinned, put his glass down on the outdoor balcony table and walked inside after her. As Nicole fell onto the couch, pulling her brother on top of her, kissing him, she could've believe her life. She'd been adopted into a wealthy family, with a father who had the possibility of becoming a governor, and a brother who loved her more than he should've. She had gone to the finest college, she had gotten a good paying job, and now she was about to own all of Vegas with the help of her family. As she felt Sunny's lips biting her neck, she shut her eyes and moaned, grinning. Nothing was going to stop her. Nothing except a magician. |
ABOUT
Allie Meers is what she dreamed of being since she was a little girl...a successful Vegas magician. The only problem now is she can't make all her problems disappear; Allie grapples with her strained relationship, crippling addictions and FBI agents on her tail, all while trying to stay at the top of her career. Archives
December 2023
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