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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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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