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.
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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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