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.
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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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