Zoe was lying in bed on her side, staring at the wall. She rolled over and found herself facing Effie, who smiled at her before kissing the tip of her nose. Zoe blushed and tried not to laugh. Effie pulled Zoe's head closer to hers and held her close, kissing the top of her head, and Zoe relaxed into her chest, feeling peace for the first time in what felt like weeks.
"You doing anything today?" Effie asked. "Allie wants to have lunch, and we might practice something, but otherwise not really," Zoe said, "you?" "I have a set sometime tonight, but that's about it," Effie said. Zoe nodded. She didn't know why Allie wanted to have lunch, but lunch was better than their last few meetings, so she was trying to take it in stride. After a while, the girls got up, took showers, got dressed and Effie drove Zoe over to the place Allie had said to meet at before heading over to the casino herself. Allie was already there, in jeans and a sweatshirt, her hair messily pulled back into a ponytail. Zoe approached the table and seated herself. "I already ordered, I hope you don't mind," Allie said as she took a bite from her sandwich. "Not at all. I've never understood the weird societal condition that you have to wait for your entire party to show up to eat. Why are we forcing people to starve themselves?" Zoe asked, and Allie nodded in agreement. "Well," Allie said, chewing and putting the sandwich back down on the plate, "Get whatever you want, it's on me." "How generous of you." "You know me, I love to give." Zoe smirked, which made Allie smile. It was nice to finally be able to put everything behind them and go back to just being professional partners and friends once again. These past few weeks had been terrifying and nerve wracking, somehow simultaneously, and both women were so happy to finally be over it all. Sunny's body was gone, Jenny wasn't squealing, Claire wouldn't say a word and overall, it seemed like it had all blown over. Whatever evidence might've existed was no longer existing, and they finally felt safe. Zoe ordered an iced tea and a large breakfast plate before looking back across the table at Allie. "So," Allie said, "...I think I'm gonna leave town." "Going on vacation?" "...no, I mean leave leave," Allie said softly, wiping her mouth with her napkin, surprising Zoe with this admittance as she added, "Vegas has been terrible for me. I mean, at the start it was great, but after the accident on stage with Domino, yeah. I can't recover in a place that continually encourages me to be the worst version of myself." "Where are you gonna go?" Zoe asked. "I don't know. I thought I might move back home at first. I need to talk to Nick about it, maybe I could convince him to go somewhere with me. After all, with his credentials, he's certified to work as a hospice nurse anywhere, so," Allie said, cupping her hands on the table and sighing, "...I just wanted to say that I'm really really sorry about everything. I didn't wanna just up and leave without telling you what you've meant to me. You've been the best friend I've ever had, and I'm so sorry I got you dragged into this nightmare. I thought I was doing the right thing, at least in the moment, but...in hindsight there must've been a better way to go about it." "You couldn't have known what it would've led to, you had no way of knowing who his family was," Zoe said softly as the waitress set down her iced tea. She picked it up and sipped as Allie kept talking. "This is true, but that doesn't make what I did right," Allie said, "and now I've done even worse. Stealing evidence, accidental near manslaughter, like...it's this place. Vegas is built on debauchery, and no matter how much they may try and clean that up, that's a stink that won't wash off. You can't erase your past. All you can do is try and make a cleaner future. That's what I wanna do. I wanna leave and make a cleaner future." "...but...my work is entirely dependent on your person," Zoe said. "I think you're talented enough to go it alone, quite frankly. If anything, I'm holding you back," Allie said, smiling warmly, "you're the most talented person I've ever worked with, outside my cousin, and I think you're perfectly capable of outright replacing me, not assisting me." Zoe wanted to cry. Nobody had ever spoken this way to her before about her attempts at magic. She'd been doing it for so long, but her parents, her friends back home, nobody...they'd never once said a kind or encouraging word about what she was able to do. But now she'd not only gotten to work with her childhood hero, but also be praised by her, and told she was better than her. What more could a girl really ask for? "...I understand if you need to leave," Zoe said, "I don't wanna stop your attempts at recovery." "It's just a thought, at the moment, nothing concrete yet. Besides, I promised Molly I'd help her with something first. But I wanted you to be the first to know," Allie said, "so here's to a brighter, less convoluted future." Allie raised her coffee cup, Zoe raised her iced tea glass, and they clinked the two together. "To the future," Zoe repeated, smiling. *** Jenny lay in her hospital bed as her doctor sat beside it on a stool, sifting through the pictures she'd given him. He licked his lips and furrowed his brow in confusion. He finally took a long sigh and put the pictures down on his lap before looking at her gauze covered face. "You're sure this is what you want?" he asked. "Positive," she said. "Because with this kind of surgery, I can make you look like anyone. A lot of people don't go back to their old faces, if anything they see it as a way to become a whole new person, and you didn't even do this willingly, so think of it as a freebie. Some choose celebrities, some choose their parents, some choose a girl they admired in high school. But you want this?" he asked, holding the photos up and waving them slightly. "...yes," Jenny said, "I want that. I know it must seem weird, but that's what I want." The doctor shrugged and handed the photos back to her. "If it's what you want, then that's what we'll do," he said, smiling, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "I'm here to help you, not belittle you for your decisions. Other doctors might, but not me. I just want you to be absolutely certain, that's all. If you ever wanna change it again, you're gonna have to pay for it yourself as it'll be considered elective surgery that time around. I'll be back with some paperwork in a few minutes." The doctor turned and exited the room, leaving Jenny by herself. She picked up the photos and looked at them, smiling. A nurse entered with Jenny's lunch and set it down on a small wheeled table beside the bed before looking at the photos Jenny had. "Well she's pretty," the nurse said, "...I know her, that's that woman from TV, she's a magician here." Jenny smirked and nodded, adding, "Yeah. That's gonna be my new face." *** Molly was sitting at her draft table, trying to come up with some plans for the vault when Allie entered the room. She sat down on a chair in the corner and pushed her cane against the wall before clearing her throat. Molly waved over her shoulder at her and Allie just shrugged. "...I don't know that I can do this," Molly said through her gritted teeth, "this is so goddamned frustrating. I can't do something that requires such...such...slipshod work. I'm a professional." "All you gotta do is make it so someone else besides him has access to it. He trusts you. He doesn't know we're friends," Allie said, "If we create a backdoor access, we can turn that over to anyone who might come after us again as evidence that he's at the top of the food chain. If Tony's the one they're actually after, then we'll be able to hand him right over and secure our freedom." Molly turned around in her chair and looked at Allie, putting her pencil behind her ear. "But nobody's been following you since you crashed your car, right? You haven't had any feelings of being watched or tracked or whatever, right? So what makes you think they're gonna even come after us again?" Molly asked, and Allie shrugged, picking up an architecture book from a nearby table and thumbing through it. "It's a precaution, Moll, that's all. A 'get out of jail free' card if you will. I just wanna always be one step ahead," Allie said. Molly nodded, then turned back to her table and continued looking over her drafts. She chewed on her lip and tossed her curly bangs from her face before groaning and putting her face down onto the drafting table in exasperation. "Everything okay champ?" Allie asked, not even looking up from the book. "I wanna die," Molly said muffled. "In due time," Allie said, which, sick as it was, made Molly laugh. *** Agent Siskel and Agent Tropper were in Tropper's house. Siskel was getting her gun loaded and strapped into her belt, before pulling her jacket over it. Tropper entered with his wife right behind him, who waved politely at Siskel. Siskel had never spent much time around Tropper's wife, but she seemed like a pleasant woman, and she loved her husband to death and back. "How do I look?" Tropper asked. "Oooh, like a man about to take down a hardened criminal," Siskel said, leaning back on the couch and grinning, "Give us a twirl." Tropper laughed and did a little spin, making both Siskel and his wife laugh. He then pulled his gun from his holster and made sure it was loaded before putting it back in and looking at his wife, Robin. He approached he as he tossed the car keys to Siskel so she could get the car warmed up. As Siskel exited, Tropper put his hands on his wifes hips and kissed her. "I love you," he said, "I'll be back in a little bit, and I'll bring dinner, okay? I know you always tense up when I go out to do these sorts of things, but don't worry. This woman isn't a threat. She's slippery, but she's nothing compared to Siskel and myself. Besides, she's got my back. She'll ensure I come home." "After this is over, we should take a vacation," Robin said, "I wanna go somewhere that's not Vegas." "How about Reno?" Tropper asked, chuckling at her disapproving smirk as he added, "What, it's not Vegas." He kissed her again before adjusting his holster and then heading for the door. Robin watched her husband climb into the car with Siskel, who was driving. She leaned against the door and waved, as the agents waved back, and then pulled out of the driveway and headed down the road to finish the job. Robin was nervous, but she tried to relax. After all, after tonight her husband would be done with the case, and be a hero. And she knew Siskel would make sure he came home. Siskel was nothing if adamant on keeping her promises. "You sure you're ready for this?" Siskel asked. "Are you?" Tropper asked, "I mean, shit, we've been dealing with this case for weeks now, over a month even, and you don't seem all the least bit excited to be finished. You're finally gonna back her into a corner and close it out." "It'll be rewarding when it's over," Siskel said, taking a long deep breath before adding, "but it ain't over til it's over." *** Allie was heading up to her penthouse when the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Tony stepping inside. Allie smiled at him, and he smiled and nodded at her before hitting his offices floor on the panel. Allie cleared her throat and leaned in. "I never really got to congratulate you on your new places success," Allie said, "A shame what's happened, but you still deserve the congrats nonetheless." "I appreciate that," Tony said, chuckling, "Yeah, it's been a shitshow. I'm starting to regret ever building a second place. But that's part of owning a business, I guess. The trouble that comes with it. Even if it's trouble from someone else. I just can't imagine who would bury a person like that." "It was pretty sick," Allie said, "I saw it on the news and it made me retch." "I just want you to know I'm proud of you," Tony said, surprising Allie completely as he rubbed his nose and nodded, continuing, "you got sober, you've mostly stayed sober, and you haven't made a big fuss about working with this girl and in fact you seem to like her now even, and I just wanna say how great it's been to watch you do that turn around. You were real young when we met, and after learning about your family and stuff, I don't know, I guess I always sort of felt like a father figure to you." Tony shrugged, and Allie felt the pit of her stomach groan. "Anyway," he continued, "I just wanted to say that. It's been great seeing you get sober, get back to being successful. You're a great magician, Allie, and a great person, and I'm proud of you. We should get together soon. I'm having a BBQ for my birthday in a few weeks, so you should come and attend. I'd love to have you there, as part of the family, not as a worker." Allie wanted to cry. Tony smiled and patted her on the shoulder before the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. He walked out, said goodnight and headed down the hall to his office. Allie leaned against the elevator wall as it continued its ascension towards her penthouse suite. She looked at the head of her cane, which had been outfitted with a fake crystal ball and she saw her reflection. "aw hell," she whispered. *** Siskel and Tropper stood in the hallway, waiting, listening. Siskel looked at Tropper and nodded, and Tropper pulled his gun. Siskel pulled hers and together they approached the door with caution. Tropper took a long deep sigh, then pushed his shoulder against the door and forced it open. "Federal ag-" he began, before the first shot went off and he stumbled back against the wall and immediately crawled to hide behind the bar near the kitchenette. Siskel screamed a little, completely surprised that they'd been expected, but she quickly joined him. Kneeling down and looking at him, he grimaced but nodded at her. "Are you okay?" she asked, sounding worried. "I'm fine, it's in the shoulder, it's fine," he said. "Nicole Sykes!" Siskel shouted, peeking out over the bartop before more shots came and she quickly retreated, "Nicole, we just wanna talk with you!" "Nobody comes in guns blazing just to talk!" Nicole shouted back, "I know why you're here! He sent you didn't he?!" Siskel and Tropper exchanged a curious glance. "Who?" Tropper asked, "Who sent us?" Silence. Agent Siskel stood up and put her gun down on the countertop of the bar, seeing Nicole standing by the window in a sleek, form fitting black dress, her hair a mess, her makeup running, a gun in one hand and a bottle of gin in the other. She looked like the worst kind of a rich party girl. Agent Siskel put her hands up and stepped away from the bar. "I'm not armed, okay? I'm not here to hurt you," she said slowly and surely, "you have nothing to worry about. We're not here on the orders of anyone, but of our own reasons. Why don't you tell me who it is you think sent us for you?" "...my father," Nicole whispered, tears running down her face, now stained with eye makeup, "he sent you to kill me, or take me in. I'm the fall guy, aren't I? I knew he would. I knew he would, the bastard!" She raised her gun and Agent Siskel stopped in her tracks but Nicole just fired into the couch a few feet away and screamed more. Agent Siskel continued approaching, cautiously. "We don't even know your father," Siskel said, "but maybe we could help eachother out. We're looking into your stepbrothers death, yeah? Remember we came and met you before? If you think your father has something to do with it, which we suspect, then we're more than willing to cut a deal." Nicole leaned against the glass door to the balcony and sobbed, sliding down it until she hit the floor. "...there's no deal, you don't get it," she whispered, "he'll make sure I never see the outside of a prison again. He'll do anything to ensure his own freedom. He'll kill you too...." She lowered the gun and took a long swig from the alcohol bottle as Siskel turned and headed back to Tropper. She pulled her cell phone out and dialed the office, lifting the phone to her ear. "This is Agent Rebecca Siskel, my partner's been shot, a minor wound, but we need an ambulance here immediately," she said, before giving them the address. "Agent," Nicole said, and Siskel turned back to face Nicole as she said, "...in my office, there's a locked drawer. The key is in the pinstripe suit in my closet in my bedroom. Inside the drawer are all the financial records that I've doctored to hide his money, to alleviate him of guilt. It's all there in black and white. But..." she wiped her nose on her arm and sniffled, "but it won't be enough, because he isn't at the top, you won't take him down by just taking him in, you need both." "Both what?" Siskel asked. "...both parties involved. Him and the casino owners. Specifically Ephram, Tony Ephram," Nicole said, "he's the biggest benefactor and, as a result, gets the largest tax cut. He's the one you're gonna need to bring in too, otherwise you won't have much. My father is so powerful, and he's got such great lawyers. You need to turn them on one another. But getting to Tony won't be easy. You'll need to gain his trust. You need someone close to him." Siskel furrowed her brow as Nicole looked at the gun in her hand and took a long breath before lifting the gin bottle to her lips and taking the longest sip Siskel had ever seen someone take of straight gin. "...there's a woman on TV, in commercials for his casino," Nicole said, "She's a magician." "Allie Meers, yes. She works at his casino, she's been there forever apparently," Siskel said, "Why are...why are you telling me this?" "...because," Nicole said, "he's not gonna let me go, but if I'm gonna go down, I wanna see him go down too. You're gonna need to get to Tony to turn him against my father, and to do that...you're gonna need Allie Meers." Siskel and Tropped looked at one another before looking back at Nicole. "You're gonna need Allie Meers," Nicole repeated before putting the gun to her head and pulling the trigger, her brains exploding out onto the fiberglass balcony doors behind her, shocking both Tropper and Siskel. Siskel stood up and raced over to Nicole, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her, as if it would do any good. Her eyes were already rolled back, her jaw slack, she was gone. She'd been gone the second the trigger had been pulled. Siskel screamed and stood up, kicking the shit out of a nearby table. Tropper watched in absolute disbelief at what he'd just witnessed. Siskel dropped to her knees and screamed, pulling at her hair. Nicole's body slid down the door to the side and collapsed on the floor entirely, her hand still gripping the gun tightly. In one swift second, she'd both given them everything they'd need to beat this case, and taken away their main source. Everytime, Siskel thought, every single fucking time it seemed like she had it on lockdown, she somehow had another new wrench thrown into the mix that only further complicated things. Outside the sound of the ambulance approached and the lights filled the room even from down on the street. Siskel leaned against the couch on the floor, trying to wrap her mind around what had just happened. Nicole was right, she knew. Not about her father, or about driving a wedge between Tony and her father, but about what they'd need. They could have all the papers and evidence in the world, but there was one thing they needed above all else... ...the Astounding Allie.
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"You got everything?" Nick asked as he entered the hospital room. Allie, using a cane, was standing by the bed, zipping up her bag and nodding. Nick walked across the room to the bed and picked the bag up by its handles and then looked surprised at its weight.
"What?" Allie asked. "You were only in here for a week, why's this weigh like a ton of bowling balls?" he asked. "I stole stuff," she replied, shrugging, "I didn't come in with anything, remember? Everything that's in that bag is stuff I stole from this hospital. Towels, tongue depressors, gauze, you name it and I shoved it in that bag. Except my tooth brush." "Please tell me your toothbrush isn't touching hospital gauze," Nick murmured. "Of course not," Allie replied, scoffing, "What kind of goblin do you take me for? It's surrounded by cute fish bandaids for children." "You are disgusting," Nick said, laughing as he left the room. Allie, chuckling to herself, turned and pulled the curtain back from around Jenny's bedside. She then pulled a rolling stool over to the bed and sat down beside her on it. Jenny looked over at her, best she could, her face still essentially covered. "I'll be back, okay?" she asked, "And if I don't come back, then tell everyone you're a mummy who cursed me. They'll buy that, look at how you're wrapped." Jenny tried to smile, but it hurt. "When's your surgery?" Allie asked. "In a few days," Jenny said, "hopefully they don't make me look any worse than I already do." "I don't see how that's possible," Allie replied, "right now you look like raw hamburger. The best outcome is you look like a nice steak." "Please stop comparing me to meat," Jenny said, "I don't appreciate being objectified like this." Allie laughed, as Nick re-entered the room. He stood in the doorframe and waited, watching. Allie looked over her shoulder at him and knew she couldn't wait too much longer, so she turned back to face Jenny, patted her hands and smiled. "I'll come for your surgery, okay? I'll be here when you get out," she said softly. As Allie stood up and left, Jenny watched the two of them and thought to herself why she was still defending someone who had put her in this hospital bed. Sure, it'd been accidental, but...it still had happened. Why was she so very desperate for the attention of a woman not interested in her, and who had done so many awful things to her? Jenny looked away from the door as it shut behind them, and sighed. She'd worry about all this later. Right now she needed to focus on getting her strength back for upcoming surgery. In about a week, she was going to have a brand new face. And one that nobody would see coming. *** "Mr. Ephram's expecting you," a woman said to Molly, who was waiting in the hall. She put her book down and headed inside Tony's office. He was on the phone when she entered, but he didn't shoo her away. Instead he merely waved at her politely, grinning, then motioned for her to take a seat, which she did while he wrapped up his phone call. "Yeah, well, let me know what comes of it," he said, "either way I'm working on something, and if this works out, we can fix this problem together. Alright, thanks for calling. Bye." Tony hung up and turned his attention to Molly. "So," he said, cupping his hands and leaning in on his desk, "I never really thanked you for the work you did on my new casino. It's beautiful. Sure, it...uh...has had its share of unwanted attention now, but ya know. That's Vegas." Molly managed to push out a small, seemingly unforced laugh, but inside she was nervous. "Anyway, you're an architect, I mean clearly, but I looked into your background. You're, like, a well established architect. You went to a good school, you've designed a lot of famous places here in town, always come critically acclaimed and highly recommended. I like your work on my casino so much I think I have another job for you." "...really?" Molly asked, "...to be honest, I wasn't entirely sure why you wanted to see me to begin with." "I know, I probably should have done this over the phone to lessen the tension but, hey, I prefer face to face," Tony said, lighting a cigar and taking a few puffs, "you don't mind if I smoke do you?" "Not at all." "Would you like one?" "...okay." Tony smirked, then lit up a cigar for Molly and handed it across the desk to her. As she started puffing on it, he stood up and walked over to the large window behind his desk, looking out at the cityscape below. A few minutes went by of silence, and finally he exhaled and spoke again. "You ever build a vault, Miss Hatchet?" Tony asked, "I know it's probably not technically architecture considering it isn't an entire building, but you ever done something like that? Design a vault? You know, like...like what they use at banks and stuff?" "...uh..." "The reason I ask is because I'm looking for a way to store something," Tony said, "...can you keep a secret?" Molly hesitated, then nodded nervously. After all, wasn't she already keeping a dozen secrets? What could one more hurt? *** Zoe was sitting at Molly's kitchen table while Effie served her breakfast, and then took a seat across from her, the both of them digging in. When Molly had left that morning, Zoe called Effie up and asked her to come over, and when Effie subsequently offered to cook an enormous breakfast platter, Zoe wasn't going to say no to that. Zoe took a sip of her coffee and sighed, looking at Effie scooping scrambled eggs onto a fork and eating them. "I don't deserve any of this," Zoe said, "this cute rom com bullshit." "I don't think your girlfriend cooking you breakfast counts as a rom com, but alright," Effie said, chuckling. "It's been a terrible few weeks, hell, it's been a terrible few days," Zoe said, "so I appreciate it either way." Effie blew her a kiss, making Zoe blush. For so long, this was all Zoe really wanted. Just a nice quiet home, a girl to cook for her, and to do magic with her idol. She'd sort of gotten all that, but with a giant caveat attached. Zoe wanted to tell Effie everything about what she'd been through, but she knew she couldn't. Effie couldn't get involved. She didn't deserve that. If Allie's entire argument was that she did what she did to protect Zoe, then Zoe was doing the same for Effie. Zoe started sniffling, and then full on crying, causing Effie to stand up and come around the table, sitting beside her, kissing the side of her head and rubbing her back. "Hey it's alright," Effie whispered, "you're alright. I know things have been fucked lately. Allie putting herself in the hospital has to hurt." Zoe started wailing and collapsed against Effie's shirt. Effie sighed and just held her, consoling her. She hated seeing what Allie was doing to this girl, but she was in a strange place. On one hand, she and Allie had a long time personal and professional relationship that she didn't want to damage, but on the other hand, she was now romantically involved with a woman Allie was - likely unintentionally - hurting, and that didn't sit well with her either. It seemed like there was no good way out of this situation. "Move in with me," Effie said, surprising her. "w...what?" "Yeah, you don't wanna go back to your sisters, you don't wanna see your family, you can't stay with Molly forever-" "Yes I can, she said she likes having a pet." "That's not a compliment, sweetheart," Effie said, laughing loudly, "come move in with me. We'll make it work. It'll be our home together. You don't have to live through the goodwill of friends. Live through the goodwill of your partner." Zoe smirked, which made Effie smile, who then took Zoe's face in her hands gently and pressed her lips against Zoe's. Zoe could never resist the taste of Effie, and her knees buckled even though she was sitting down. How could she say no to this sort of thing? "Will you make me breakfast every day?" Zoe asked. "Get off my back, woman," Effie said, the both of them laughing now before kissing again. *** Allie pushed open the door to her penthouse, with Nick in tow behind her. He dropped the bags when he entered and stretched, cracking his back. Allie sighed and looked around at her home, and shook her head. God...she didn't realize how much she missed her place when she wasn't capable of being in it. She turned back to face Nick, who was still adjusting his spine. Allie looked down at the handle of her cane and thought to her "accident". She sighed and looked back up. "Did you put me in Jenny's room on purpose?" she asked bluntly. "Well, I figured you'd wanna be with her," Nick said, "Considering what'd happened. But that doesn't mean that what happened can happen again, okay? You've worked too hard to get clean to backpeddle now." What? Allie was confused. She thought Nick knew she'd purposefully done what she'd done, but...oh no. It finally hit her. Nick thought she had genuinely tried to hurt herself. She fidgeted uncomfortably and chewed her lip as he walked to the minifridge and grabbed a soda, popped the top and took a long swig before leaning against the wall and looking at her again. "Seriously, Allie, I'm here," he said, "I was angry, but...I don't know, I'm sorry. I'm not saying I don't have the right to be angry, but I also don't want you to hurt yourself. I didn't think you'd be so upset that you'd try to-" "ohmygod," Allie muttered under her breath, unable to believe what she was hearing, even though she'd now missed a good portion of his statement. She zoned back in for the last of it though. "-but we can work on it together, okay? I still love you. I don't wanna see you get worse again," Nick said, approaching her, setting his soda down as he got closer and putting his hands on her hips and lifting her up onto the back of the couch and kissing her neck, whispering, "I don't wanna see you get worse again. God you smell good." "I do?" "Maybe it's just me. Maybe I've become attracted to the smells of the hospital. I do spend a lot of time there," Nick said. "Weirdo," Allie said, making him chuckle as he kept kissing her neck and she ran her hands through his hair, moaning lightly. How could she say no to this? All she wanted was Nick, and she had gotten him back by getting sober. She certainly wasn't going to lose him again now, not because of Jenny, and not because of her half hearted attempt to get into the hospital to see her. So she figured she'd let Nick believe whatever he wanted, because it gave her the upper hand. But this made Allie wonder...was she really as bad a person as he had said? Was she, in fact, poison? "I know I just spent a week in bed, but take me there anyway," she whispered, giggling, and Nick nodded, picking her up and carrying her across the suite. "With pleasure," he said, kissing her. When Allie woke up, it was later that night, and she stretched and rolled onto her side, cuddling up to Nick, who pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. She smiled and closed her eyes, snuggling up into him when she noticed the flashing lights outside. Sudden dread and fear filled her. Anxiety came rushing in. This was it. This was the last nice moment. They'd finally come for her. Allie stumbled out of bed and fell to the floor, before pulling herself back up, her hip screaming at her. She grabbed her cane and hobbled her way to the window and looked out cautiously. "What's going on?" Nick asked, sitting up now, before standing and joining her, "...the fuck? What's with all the cops?" Allie turned and began to sweat as she walked away from the window. She panicked. She had to tell Nick everything. Right now. The truth. The entire unvarnished truth. She turned and looked at Nick, who was still looking out the window. "I did something bad," Allie mumbled, and Nick cocked his head, pulling the window open and leaning out, looking upwards above them, but Allie didn't notice and she said, "Nick, I said I did something really bad, and I-" "Holy shit it's Molly," Nick said, and that caught Allie's attention. Allie rushed to join him at the window and looked out, noticing Molly was on the roof of the suites, standing on a window ledge. Allie's breath caught in her chest. She quickly pulled on some pants best she could and a tank top and, with her cane, rushed outside of her suite and up the stairs towards the room Molly was near. Allie bumbled through the door and then looked around the suite, trying to find the right window, until she finally saw a window open in the suite in the bedroom and approached it. Allie leaned out and noticed Molly standing there, overlooking the city below. "Yo, what the fuck," Allie said loudly, getting Molly's attention. "What are you doing here?" Molly asked. "I live right below this suite!" Allie said, "What are you doing, Molly?" "...I'm gonna jump," Molly whispered, her voice wavy and broken, "I'm gonna jump and remove myself from all this." "The fuck you're not," Allie said, climbing through the window, before remembering that perhaps being on a ledge when using a cane was likely not a god idea; she pulled herself back in and kept looking out instead, "Molly, what's going on? Talk to me." "...I just wanted to make buildings for a living," Molly whispered, "but then you two...you specifically, you had to drag me down into your bullshit, lying to me until lying no longer served your needs, and now I'm fully in it, man. I'm part of a criminal empire." "Okay first of all, I'll accept the criminal part, but the empire part is a bit of a stretch," Allie said, "Not saying I don't appreciate the thought, it's nice that you think of me as that established, but-" "Not you!" Molly said, tears rolling down her face, her lip quivering, "not you. Tony wants me to build a vault." "What?" Allie asked, half laughing. "...he needs somewhere to store money that isn't being collected in taxes, somewhere it can't be found," Molly said, "he says some of his associates are being followed for their part in a major tax dodge, and he's worried. He made me promise not to tell. I promised." "Then why are you telling me?" "Because I trust you, stupid as that must sound considering what you did to me, I trust you," Molly said, "I don't wanna do this anymore. I don't wanna hide things, I don't wanna steal bodies, I don't wanna build vaults. I just..." Molly bowed her head and sobbed, whispering, "..,i just wanna make buildings again." Allie felt her heart break. Danger be damned, she thought, and she put her cane on the floor and climbed out onto the ledge, keeping herself as stable as possible as she approached Molly. Molly looked over at her and Allie smiled, reaching and taking her hand, squeezing it tightly. "Then take me with you," Allie said, "cause I'm not gonna be somewhere you ain't. I can help you, Molly. Either jump and take me with you, or come inside and let me help you. We can figure this out together, alright?" Molly looked over the ledge again, her feet shuffling closer to the edge, and she thought about it. How it'd feel, to be so free, falling carelessly through the air to the inevitable end. But...but here she had a chance, a chance to do something better. To come out on top. "If you help me," Molly said softly, "I want the credit." "What?" "If you help me, and we put Tony away, I want the credit. My entire life was tarnished by a man hurting me in high school. Your life was derailed by a man offering you pills. I am sick and tired of powerful men putting their problems on the women around them, and then using those women to further their agendas. If we're going to take down a powerful man, I want the credit." Allie was dumbfounded. She'd never expected Molly to say this sort of thing. But...at the moment, what could she do besides no and agree? After all, she had to get her off this ledge. "Sure, yeah, just...come inside, and we'll talk through it," Allie said, "We'll find a way to make it work, alright?" Molly nodded, took Allie's hand, and together the two entered the suite as clapping and cheers from below sounded. Allie then, surprisingly even to herself, turned and hugged Molly as tightly as she could, and never wanted to let her go. *** "What do you think that's all about?" Agent Tropper asked, nodding to the television, as he and Agent Siskel sat in her apartment, eating chinese and watching the scene unfold on the news. "I don't know," Agent Siskel said, scooping some shrimp into her mouth, "but I reckon we'll find out any day now." Zoe was lying in her bed, staring at the wall.
She hadn't gotten up in hours. She'd barely been out of her room since the incident at the zoo. She hadn't gotten a call from anyone either. Allie had never bothered to check up on her, and that hurt most of all somehow. She wiped her eyes on her sweater sleeve when the bedroom door opened and Molly walked in. She sat on the bed and sighed. "Okay sadpants, this has to stop," she said, "You've been moping in here for like two days, this can't go on. You're starting to bum me out. I made breakfast, do you want breakfast? It's pancakes. Fluffy and syrupy and-" Zoe started crying, and Molly sighed. She rubbed Zoe's back and nodded. "I'm sorry," Molly said, "I'm trying to be a good friend, and all I'm doing is invading on you. It just hurts to see you like this. I could call Effie. Would you like her to come over? She'd probably be better at cheering you up then I could be. What can I do for you?" Zoe shrugged. "I don't...I don't think there's anything...anyone can do," she managed to say. Molly sat there, with her friend, in silence. She wanted to help, but she knew there was only so much she could do. Sure, she was part of this situation now, she was included in Allie and Zoe's problems, she'd become more than an accessory, but whatever was going on here was primarily between the two of them, and that wasn't something Molly was involved in. She was beginning to hate Allie for making Zoe feel this way this consistently it seemed. She was beginning to question her loyalty to the group. *** Allie awoke in a hospital bed. She was lying there, in silence, staring up at the ceiling. She wasn't even sure if she was all that badly hurt, and all that really mattered was that it had worked. She rolled onto her side and realized her hip was in agonizing pain. She groaned, bit her lip and almost cried when she heard a voice in the room with her. "You get used to the pain," it said. Allie's eyes widened and she rolled back onto her back and glanced at the curtain hanging between her bed and another. "Do...do you?" she asked. "Yeah," the voice said, "you have to. It becomes a part of you. That's what my doctor told me. He says it eventually becomes a part of you that you cannot ignore. Course, my situation is far worse than most peoples." "...Jenny?" Allie asked, reaching over and pulling the curtain aside, revealing Jenny in a bed; Allie was shocked, how could she have...and then she realized...Nick must've put her in this room. He must've known she would want to talk to her. She smirked. Even after all that'd happened, he was helping her after all. Allie sat up best she could and carefully climbed out of the bed, slipping into a wheelchair and rolling to Jenny's bedside. Her face was still heavily wrapped and bandaged, and Allie felt immensely guilty. "I didn't say anything," Jenny whispered, "I didn't say...anything to anyone. I know you didn't mean to push me in." "I didn't, no, I didn't mean to, and I'm so sorry," Allie said, on the verge of tears, "oh god, Jenny, I am so so sorry. I just...I panicked, and I....you didn't deserve this. Please forgive me, please." "I just wanted to be your friend," Jenny said quietly, "I wanted to be included in your life because I..." Jenny went quiet and looked away, embarrassed. Allie raised an eyebrow as she reached out and took Jenny's hand in hers, squeezing it. "What?" Allie asked. "...I was always jealous of you and Nick," she said, "but, not because I wanted to steal him from you or anything...because I wanted to steal you from him. I wasn't there when it happened. The accident with the tiger. Your accident. But I remember the day you put him in the zoo was the first day I got to talk to you, and I was so instantly smitten and...and I tried to find ways to insert myself into your life so I could be around you more." Allie had to admit...she hadn't seen this coming. Jenny was in love with her? That took her by absolute surprise. "I...I'm not..." Allie said, stuttering, "I'm not gay, Jenny. I mean, I admit, women are hot, but I'm not interested in them. That being said...if I were, you know, interested in them, I think you'd be a pretty good match for me, and I'm flattered that someone as nice and considerate and pretty as you would ever want anything to do with the pile of problems that is me." Jenny smiled and squeezed Allie's hand back. "You are my friend, Jenny," Allie whispered, "I'm sorry I never made that clear." Jenny wanted to cry. That was all she ever wanted to hear. *** "What have you got?" Chief Larson asked, sitting in the room with Agents Tropper and Siskel standing in front of him at a table. Siskel and Tropper exchanged a glance, and then Siskel cleared her throat and exhaled. "At first, I thought we just had some kind of grisly murder," Agent Siskel said, "something that they have to call in special forces for because it's not the kind of thing the usual force deals with or knows how to handle. I wasn't wrong. We had something unique. I mean, a dead man buried in a magicians prop underneath a newly built casino? That's...that's not an everyday crime, you know?" Tropper and Chief Larson both chuckled. "but the more time we spent on this case, the deeper into it we got, I...I couldn't even...I can't explain it, so I'll show it," Agent Siskel said, pulling off a sheet over a large posterboard, with news clippings and photographs and red string connecting it all. Chief Larson sat forward now, genuinely interested in where this was going. "This," Agent Siskel said, using a pointer stick to tap a photo of Allie, "is Allie Meers. She's a local magician who used to perform regularly at a casino called The Card Shark. Her employer and owner of The Card Shark is Tony Ephram. The prop we found the man buried in belonged to Meers. We know this because it's the same prop she's used before, and because the man wound up being Sunny Sykes, a local drug dealer who supplied Allie with a shitload of painkillers for years. Allie had an accident on stage one night with a tiger she had, who nearly took her arm off. The tiger in question, seen here," she now tapped a photograph of Domino, "was relocated to a private zoo, who employed a woman named Jenny Gibbons." "...is this...going somewhere?" Chief Larson asked, "I'm sorry, excuse me if I'm wrong, but this just seems like-" "Sir, you're wrong, and this is me excusing you," Agent Tropper said, "listen to her, it's worth it." Chief Larson nodded, taking into consideration these agents were respected in the field, and sat back to listen once more. "Recently Jenny fell into the tiger pit, the very same tiger pit that held Domino, Allie Meer's former tiger. The thing is, there was another part of a body in the pit when they found her. Sunny's body. See, Allie had stolen Sunny's body after we'd located it. As it turns out, the serial killer we arrested was friends with a local mortician who happened to be in her cult, and as such she turned Sunny's body over to Miss Meers as a favor. Now, when you take all of this into consideration, it just seems like a messy complicated almost comical accidental murder. Why Miss Meers killed Sunny we still don't know, honestly, and until we approach her we likely won't, but you know what we do know?" "What do we know?" Chief Larson asked, enjoying the dramatics. "We know that there's something much bigger here. Sunny Sykes is the son of the governor, Raymond Sykes. Raymond, as it just so happens, also has a daughter, an adopted daughter named Nicole, who works as an accountant, and primarily handles casinos. Raymond has been using casino funds to help further his career and his re-election campaigns, and in return, has been giving the casinos a break on taxes. He's doing this by funneling the money through falsified tax shelters he created under Nicole's name, and because she's adopted, they have different last names, so it doesn't look suspicious." Now she had Chief Larson's attention. He was sitting upright, truly entranced, jaw slightly ajar. "What we have here, sir, is a major tax cheat and a government scandal, all tied to one woman," Agent Siskel said, tapping Allie's photo once again, "Allie Meers. But we can't get to Miss Meers. That's the thing. She's always one step ahead. Thanks to her friendship with Claire, her relationship to Jenny, she has this protective circle around her. But you know who doesn't? Nicole Sykes. And that's where we hit. If we get Nicole to turn states evidence against her father, we can then track the money down to specific casinos, and I'm willing to bet you a thousand to one that the very casino Allie works for is involved." Chief Larson finally sat back and adjusted his tie. He exhaled and ran his hand through his thinning white hair. "...this is insane," he said, "I...I want you to take her down. Good work, guys. Great work. Let's get this son of a bitch." "We'll need proper authority of course in order to move in on Nicole, as you-" Tropper started, but Larson stopped him. "Yeah, you have it, I'll sign over some paperwork to a judge today, you can approach her within the next 24 hours," Larson said, standing up and shaking Agent Tropper and then Agent Siskel's hands, smiling as he said, "Great work Rebecca. I'll personally see that you're rewarded for this." Chief Larson turned and exited the room, and Agent Siskel started screaming and jumping up and down. Tropper laughed, watching his friend. She couldn't believe her luck. After weeks of frustration, of failures, of setbacks, of success always being within an inch of her grasp and then sudden;y snatched away, she'd done it, she'd won. She turned and looked at Roger, then hugged him harder than she'd ever hugged anyone else before. "Thank you for believing in me," she said quietly. "Hey, I know a good agent when I see one," he replied, laughing. "Let's finish this, man," Agent Siskel said, the two of them high fiving. *** Allie was lying in bed, reading a magazine when the door opened and Zoe, of all people, entered the room. Allie smiled, happy to see her, and put her magazine down. Zoe pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed. "Hey," Allie said, "I'm glad you're here." "Watcha readin'?" Zoe asked. "Uh, Guns and Ammo," Allie said, "which is...surprising literature for a hospital to have, but whatever." They both laughed and Zoe rubbed her arm self consciously. "I wanna apologize," Zoe started. "No, please, I'm the one who needs to apologize. I put everyone in harms way. Jenny's in the bed beside me, and she...she's forgiven me, and she knows I didn't mean to do it, and that I just panicked, but Zoe...you're the last person I ever wanted to drag into shit like this. I thought I was doing a good thing. The right thing. Ridding the world of someone who was just going to try and hurt and use you, and then I myself hurt and use you, and Sunny didn't deserve to die. I know that now. He might've dealed drugs but that doesn't make him a bad person. As a former drug addict, we're people too, we deserve kindness." "...I don't think I should work a while," Zoe whispered, "um...so if it's okay to put the show on hold for a bit, that'd be great. I think I just need some time to myself, and maybe spend some time with Effie and, you know, just relax and take a break from all this stuff." "Understandable. Well, I'm apparently damaged goods now, my hip is absolutely wrecked, so it'll be a while before I can perform again anyway, so sure, take all the time you need, have a nice time," Allie said, "...Zoe, can I ask you a question?" "Yeah, of course," Zoe said, finally looking Allie in the face again. "...you still like me, right? We're still friends?" "Of course!" Zoe said, leaning in and hugging Allie, "I was mad, I was furious, but I'm just as big a part of this as you are, and you're right, we can't split up, we're in this together, and we need to be friends. You're still my best friend, Allie." Allie wanted to cry. Her entire life all she'd ever wanted, just like Zoe, was someone to be there for her like this. Unconditionally and without question. Sure, this was maybe the most fucked up way imaginable to finally get that, but you work with what you got she figured. She patted Zoe on the back and laughed, the both of them almost crying on eachother. From the other side of the curtain, Jenny wasn't asleep, and she could hear this entire thing. She smiled, happy to know her friends were happy once again. *** "They're following me," Nicole said, sitting in her fathers den, sipping scotch. "You think they know?" he asked, stoking the fire. "I don't know what to think," Nicole replied, "all I know is I'm paranoid and stressed out and this is all goddamned Sunny's fault. If he hadn't gotten himself killed none of this would be happening." "This is your fault, Nicole," Raymond said, turning to face her, "you should've kept him in check. Should've kept closer tabs on him. Who his friends were. Who he dealt to. Now we're dealing with the fallout from your failure. You're the one who'll pay, not me." Nicole couldn't believe her ears. She gripped the couch with her free hand in absolute fury, but she kept her mouth shut. She knew better than to mouth off to the man. "My son is dead and it's your fault, not the fault of whoever killed him. I adopted you because my wife wanted a daughter, and you're an intelligent woman, so it boggles the mind how you could've allowed this sort of thing to happen. Everything we've worked for, everything we've built, now at the possibility of coming undone all because you couldn't control him." "You couldn't either," she finally said through gritted teeth, "you're his father, you're the one who should've been more in control," she stood up and approached him, glaring in his eyes, "why did all the dirty work always come down to me? I never asked to be involved in this, I just wanted to have a normal life, but you forced me into this line of work and then forced me to work with you. You're a monster and he had every reason and every right to want to drug himself into oblivion to escape you." Raymond sneered and smacked her across the face, taking her by surprise. It'd been years since he'd hit her. She was sort of in shock, honestly. The den door opened and they both regained their composure as his wife, Shirley, entered. "Everything okay?" she asked. "I'm just leaving," Nicole said, smiling as she walked to her, grabbing her purse from the couch and giving her a goodbye hug, "Goodnight mom. Call me tomorrow okay?" Nicole was out of the house in a flash. When she got into her car, she started it, then drove a few blocks away and parked again, screaming at the top of her lungs. She wanted to see Raymond take the fall. She didn't want to be involved in this anymore. She'd already lost the man she loved, what more did she care about? Her career? Her career was a joke, something decided on by her father, not something she had genuine interest in. She reached over and pulled open the glovebox, looking at the shiny black pistol she kept inside. She reached in and pulled it out, holding it gently. She looked at herself in the rearview mirror as she lifted the pistol barrel to the side of her head and held back tears. No. This was what he'd want. She'd be giving him exactly what he'd want. He wanted her gone. He wanted her to take the blame. She couldn't give him that satisfaction. She needed to stay alive. She grimaced and put the pistol back into the glovebox, then shut it and started the car up again. She needed to stay alive long enough to see him backed into a corner. She wouldn't pay for his crimes, but she'd make damn sure he would. *** The hospital room door opened once again and this time Nick entered, surprising Allie. Her eyes lit up at his smile as he walked inside and sat down in the same chair Zoe had been seated in earlier. Allie scooted up and twinged from the pain in her hip. "You just get off work?" she asked. "Yeah, and I don't even have to go home to see you now, talk about convenience," he said, making her laugh as he pulled a bouquet of flowers from behind his back and handed them to her, taking her by surprise as he added, "I'm sorry about what I said the other day. You're not poison, Allie. That was mean of me. I love you." Allie wanted to cry again. She hadn't expected Nick of all people to come back to her. She took the flowers and pushed her nose into them, whimpering. "...but I am kinda poison," she said softly. "Then I guess that makes me suicidal," Nick said, smirking. "I wouldn't say that too loudly if I were you, I think we're in a hospital," she replied, making him laugh. He leaned in and, one hand on her shoulder, the other gently placed behind her head, kissed her longingly. Allie knew she was so lucky to have him, and so grateful he was still here even after the Jenny incident. The past few weeks had been so awful, all she wanted to do right now was live in this moment forever. But as she knew all too well, the good moments never last long. And eventually the ugly rears its head once more. |
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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