Allie Meers had believed that these agents were after her for something very specific, so to be told it was something entirely different? That kind of messed with her. She clicked her nails nervously on the table as Agent Tropper went to refill all of their coffee mugs, leaving just Allie and Agent Siskel alone in the room. Allie finally looked back up and caught Siskel's eyes, who just smiled politely at her.
"I don't get it," Allie said, "I...I really don't. I killed someone. I stole their corpse, fed it to a tiger and then accidentally nearly fatally injured another person as a result of that decision. And you're telling me all of that is...is not what I'm being held for?" "I won't lie, at first it was," Siskel said, "when we first started looking into it, we thought we were just looking at a simple murder. But we met with Sunny's sister and she...well, let's just say she was less pleased with her fathers actions than we'd assumed she would be. As it turns out, she's the one he put in charge of all the financial aspects of his time in office, which includes paper trails leading directly back to Tony and other casino owners. All of them have been funding his campaign, in exchange for tax dodges on their property, their earnings, etc. Once we realized what we actually had, the death of Sunny became less of a crime and more of an open invitation to uncover a bigger crime. That isn't to say you wouldn't be held responsible for your actions, but we are willing to cut a deal in exchange for your assistance in taking Tony and, in effect, the governor down as well." "This is...insane," Allie said as Tropper handed her back her mug. "Tell me about it," he mumbled, seating himself once again and taking a long drink. "I just...I don't understand. Why are you assuming I'd be able to help?" Allie asked, cupping her mug between her hands and leaning back in her chair. "Because we know of your relationship with Tony. We know how close the two of you are. It's no secret. It's a pretty open industry acknowledgement. This is why you're the perfect candidate to help, because he trusts you, and it'd be easy for you to gain access to things others wouldn't be able to," Tropper said. "Basically, Allie, in exchange for the expunging of your crimes, you'll help us get to the bottom of this massive financial crime," Siskel said, "and please say yes, because we went through absolute hell to get you here. I was starting to think that we'd just never meet and get the chance to talk. Hence why we, well, kidnapped you." Allie nodded, taking a long sip and thinking. Tony was a tax cheat? Unsurprising. He seemed the type. But to help fund the governors campaign elections and other goals? That part she had trouble believing. Tony didn't seem like a criminal really. Not this kind of criminal anyway. And could she really betray that trust that he'd instilled in her? "He's been kind of like a father to me," Allie whispered, looking into her mug, "he...he saw my potential, he gave me places to stay while I got successful, he gave me my own show at his casino, then moved me to his newer casino, he gave me an assistant, helped me get sober - in a manner of speaking - and so much more. I...I don't know if I could...I mean, I'd feel terrible if I had a hand in hurting him or his family. He IS family. Far more than my family ever was." Siskel nodded, sighing. She knew Allie and Tony had a close relationship, but she also knew Allie was desperate to be free of all this drama. "...I don't really care what happens to me," Allie said, "but what I DO want is total exonoration of everyone else involved, specifically Molly Hatchet and Zoe Fitch. They don't deserve to be held accountable for my actions. If you want to go easy on me too, that'd be nice, but I'd gladly take jail time in order for them to walk free." Siskel and Tropper exchanged a look, and then, after looking back at Allie, both nodded. "Fine," Siskel said, "your friends won't be charged with anything. We'll still cut you a break, but you're going to have to take some kind of sentence, despite your helping us. That sounds fair." "Fine then," Allie said, sitting up straight now, feeling more confident, "especially Molly, because unlike Zoe, she was completely unaware of what was going on until semi recently. She was just an architect Tony hired to help build the new casino and the vault, so she-" "Wait wait, vault?" Tropper asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah," Allie said, "he's having her build a vault underneath the second casino that only he can access. But we're building a backdoor entrance into it. I...I figured you guys knew that." "...why would he need a vault?" Siskel asked, confused. "Your guess is as good as mine, lady," Allie remarked, "but honestly, my best guess if your info is good, he probably is trying to hide his assets in it. Can't keep it in the bank. That's too obvious. Too easy to monitor. Otherwise I have no idea. I'm surprised you guys didn't know that already." Siskel sighed and ran her hands down over her face, feeling annoyed. After all this time, all this effort, there was still somehow information she wasn't privvy to, and that bothered her. Made her feel like she wasn't as good an agent as she had thought she was. Tropper cleared his throat and leaned forward. "You say you're building a backdoor?" he asked. "Yes," Allie said, "but it's tricky. It needs to not be noticeable by Tony or anyone else, yet accessible by those who know how to get to it. Molly's been spending weeks on this at this point, and we still haven't really cracked it. We started looking at a street magician named Jackson Strange for inspiration because of his plastic box trick." "Plastic box trick?" Tropper asked. "He's an illusionist," Siskel said, surprising both Tropper and Allie with her knowledge of this as she added, "he does his stuff generally in public areas, hence the street magician title, and he has this thing where he uses a seemingly clear plastic box that he encases himself in, suspended from the air by a crane, and then escapes from. He's doing it soon." "Exactly," Allie said, pointing at her, "and we were going to see him do it, try and figure out how he gets out of something that everyone can see through. Because that's the kind of trickery we need to access this vault. Something that can't really be seen by the human eye, or those at least mostly unaware." Siskel nodded. Allie was...much smarter than she'd given her credit for initially, and she felt bad about that. For so long, she just figured those around her were so adept at helping her or that she was so stupidly lucky that that was how she'd managed to always stay ahead of them, but now she was seeing just how intelligent Allie Meers actually was. "So...what's the plan then?" Allie asked. "Well," Tropper started, "now that we have information about this vault, that helps tremendously. We could easily help you figure out what you need to in order to get in and out without being noticed or suspected." "I just feel so guilty," Allie said, looking at her hands on the table, "Tony's been so good to me for so long, and I...I just feel like I'm a traitor." "You're not a traitor," Siskel said, "hell, the fact that you put your friends freedom ahead of your own proves that. And honestly, it isn't even Tony we really want. It's just that he's the biggest benefactor to the governor, and if anyone's going to get cracks to appear between them and get us access to an arrest, it's him. That's all it comes down to. That isn't to say Tony, and the others, won't face charges, but as with you, he'll likely face lesser charges if he cooperates once involved." Allie nodded, understanding. She knew this was the way out. She knew that this was the only thing that would work, would be cooperating with these agents. Still...Tony had discovered her. Tony had seen her worth, value and talent. Tony had made her headliner at not one, but two different casinos now. Tony had been more of a parent than her actual parents wound up being, and here she was, about to turn tail and betray him? How could she live with that guilt. It would not only effectively end her career, but her relationship with Tony as well, because he'd know who had turned him in. He'd know it was Allie. Who else could it have been? Allie sighed and ran her hands down her face. "...I know this sounds cliche, but it really was sort of an accident," she whispered, "he was going to try and get my partner on what he was selling, and...and having been through that myself, having witnessed firsthand what it does to a person, even in spite of knowing Zoe's deterance to such vices...I don't know, I just...I felt protective. I couldn't let her fall the way I had. I had to do something. I had no way of knowing he was the governors son. We didn't know shit about eachother outside of what we did for work." "And Claire?" Agent Siskel asked, making Allie shake her head and exhale. "I don't even know where to start with that," she mumbled, "I guess I came to her for advice, cause...cause she'd gotten away with murder for so long. But the more time I spent around her, the more I became acutely aware of how similar we actually are, and that scared the hell out of me, honestly. She's...terrifying." "Claire had it arranged so her mortician friend took the body didn't she?" Agent Tropper asked, and Allie nodded; he jotted something down on the legal pad in front of him before picking up his coffee and taking a sip, then adding, "we already pretty much knew, but it's nice to have confirmation." "I don't think her friend is happy," Allie said, surprising them as she continued, "I think she's scared of her too, but she's so attached that she doesn't know how to walk away. And is that what I am to Zoe? Am I Claire? That's an awful thought. I don't want to control her, I wanted to help her." Agent Siskel was moved by this surprising display of empathy, and smiled. "You're not Claire, Allie, trust me," she said, "as someone who's spent an incredibly lengthy amount of time interacting with her, you two are alike, but you're not the same, and similarities don't automatically equal twins. The mere fact that you say you don't want to control Zoe, that alone proves my point. Claire...she doesn't care about who she controls. She doesn't care about what she does, at least not to others. We all serve a means to an end for her. You, Allie, are not Claire, I promise." Allie nodded, feeling a little better. She wiped her face on her jacket sleeve and exhaled again. "I just can't believe I let it get this bad," she said quietly, "it was never supposed to get this bad. But at the time Sunny died, I was...I was a joke. I was washed up. Addicted to painkillers, a complete alcoholic. The public...they would've crucified me, drug dealer or not, because my standing with them had already sunken to the all time low. So...it would've been an instant trial by fire. There would've been absolutely no explaining, no rationalizing, they would've been a mob out for blood, and only because the blood was someone they parasocially knew." Agent Tropper nodded, tapping his pen on the table. "That's part of the problem of being in the public eye, yeah, you're judged six ways to Sunday, even if you've done nothing, or even if your crimes aren't that terrible," he said, "Allie, help us help you. We can fix this thing together, okay?" "Fix it together? How? By kidnapping me? By having a woman befriend Molly for weeks, only to steal all her blueprints for the vault? You already have what you want, why do you-" "You keep...you keep mentioning this, this, uh...act of theft, these blueprints. We haven't recieved any blueprints," Agent Siskel said, "why...why do you keep bringing this up?" An uncomfortable silence filled the room, as a dawning horror came over Allie. "You...you guys...doesn't she work for you?" Allie asked, "The girl who stole them?" Agent Siskel and Agent Tropper exchanged a look and both shook their heads and shrugged. "...we never hired anyone, no," Agent Siskel said. "...then who the fuck does she work for?" Allie whispered, terrified. *** Kristin parked her car in the parking garage and sighed. She picked up the folders from the passenger seat, opened the drivers side door and climbed out of the car. She shut the door, locked it, and started walking across the garage, her flat heels clacking on the cement beneath her as she strolled through the empty abyss of concrete. She knew she was a little early, and that they would be tied up with their current meeting, but they would meet her soon enough. As she passed by another car, she saw a woman standing there in a sweater and jeans, trying to light a cigarette. She tossed her red hair from her face and sighed, exasperated. Kristin stopped and looked at her, smirking. "You need some help?" Kristin asked, "I always keep a pack of matches on me." "That would be fantastic, thank you," the woman said as Kristin pulled out the matches, lit one and then lit up the cigarette; the woman took a long drag, then smiled, "thanks Kristin." Kristin stared at her, her eyes widening, until she felt something sharp in her neck, and she stumbled back, as a hand wrapped around her from behind, covering her mouth to keep her from screaming. Claire continued smoking as Rachel waited for the seditive to take full effect, and once Kristin's body went limp, they laid her on the ground. Claire bent down and picked up the files, shifting through them haphazardly before rolling her eyes. Rachel looked from Kristin up to Claire, and Claire nodded. She bent down, grabbed Kristin's ankles while Rachel took her by the underarms and they carried her to a nearby car. "Christ," Claire said under her breath, "you want something cleaned up, you have to do it yourself." *** "You think she works for the governor?" Allie asked, slack jawed, "I...I mean...he would...how would he even..." "We don't know, but that's the only plausible answer, and if that's the case, and she's already given him those blueprints and he knows about the vault, then we've already failed," Agent Tropper said, scratching the back of his head, looking annoyed. "Not necessarily," Agent Siskel said, "if we could intercept her somehow before she does, then we might be able to salvage it." Allie's phone rang, and she pulled it from her pocket, looking at the number and not recognizing it. She looked at the agents, who nodded, giving her the allowance to answer, so she did. She raised the phone to her ear and spoke. "Hello?" she asked, "...Claire?...okay. Okay I'll be there as soon as I can." Allie hung up, slid the phone back into her coat pocket and looked at the agents. "I have to go you guys," she said, "...Claire found her. She's got her." "Allie," Agent Siskel said, "Whatever Claire tries to convince you of, remember what she did, remember who she is. Yes, this woman works for the governor, and yes we can't let him get access to these blueprints, but...just don't let her trick you into becoming like her. We'll give you a ride if she gave you an address." Allie stood up, and together the three of them headed out of the office and towards the car outside. Allie had no way of knowing it just then, but in just under an hour, she would walked into a building with Claire and Kristin... ...and only two of them would walk out.
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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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