Chapter 6

Rick buried his face in his hands and let out an exasperated sigh. He turned his gaze back down at his coffee while his friend tried, and failed, to impress the attractive young barista at the counter. When Jason's drink came out, Rick breathed a sigh of relief and dragged his friend away from the register before he could say another word. He complained for a few seconds but by the time they sat down at the emptiest corner of the cafe, Jason had all but forgotten his short lived attempt at flirtation.

"You just have to flirt with any female within line of sight anytime we hang out don't you?" Rick said with a sigh.

"Well if I didn't, someone would think the two of us were together or something," Jason retorted. Rick raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with that but neither of us are gay ya know?"

"You care way too much what other people think." Rick took a sip of coffee and leaned back in his chair. He nearly fell out of it when he noticed two very attractive girls step into the shop. His attempt to recover his balance rattled the table and pulled Jason's attention.

"What is it?" his friend asked.

"Nothing," Rick replied. He took a furtive glance at the two girls using his phone as a mirror. One was a redhead and the other had black hair. The redhead looked perky, cheerful, and energetic, while her black haired friend looked to be in a much more dour mood.

"By nothing you mean those two hotties that just walked in here?" Jason softly whistled in approval at the sight. "No need to get defensive or territorial Ricky. There's two for us to share. Hell, I'll even let you pick which one to snag." Rick took another look at the girls. To his surprise, the redhead was looking right at him with a flirtatious smile. Her friend, though not anywhere near as cheerful, had an alluring look to her. Her sharp green eyes and perfectly shaped pale face emblazoned themselves on Rick's mind, even when she had turned back around to pick up her drink. But it was her perky friend who ultimately kept his attention. Before he knew it, Rick found himself looking right up at the girl, who was standing right over him.

"Hi," she said. Her high pitched voice matched her bouncing demeanor.

"Hello," Rick replied with an awkward smile. The girl's breasts were right at his eye level and for a split second, his gaze went nowhere else. She noticed, and her cheeks reddened to match her hair as she giggled. Rick corrected his glance at an instance and looked up to meet the girl's eyes. "Sorry. I just looked at the first thing nearby."

"It's okay. I don't mind cute boys looking there." The girl leaned down, as if to push her chest even further into Rick's face. "I'm Kelly. What's your name?"

"Uh, Rick." Kelly's face lit into a smile and she pulled a chair up next to him.

"Mind if I sit here?" Kelly's friend was still sulking in a corner, keeping her eyes on her drink and away from any other person around. "Don't worry about her. She likes being left alone. And what about you?" Rick kept his mouth clenched shut and swallowed nervously. "You okay with going out a bit?"

***

"Two beers please," Laura said. The bartender put two fresh brown bottles on the counter in front of her. She flicked a roll of $1 bills as payment before chugging one of the bottles. "Keep the change." The man was all too happy to snatch the cash and stuff it in his pocket.

"I don't suppose that second one's for me is it?" Nick said as he sat on the stool next to Laura.

"Not really. Why? You want one? Feel free."

"Nah, I don't really drink, I'll just take a soda. What's on your mind anyway?"

"What isn't on my mind? We've had two physically untraceable murders, we've had terrorists try to kill us, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to see wrinkles and grey hair in the mirror tomorrow. I'm only 22!"

"Mhmm... On a less depressing subject, how's your brother doing? I hear he's gonna be in the championship rounds for his MMA club."

"Yea, assuming he doesn't get wasted from all the partying he does," Laura said with a chuckle. "I have no idea where he's at now, probably out doing more stupid stuff with his friends." The sound of a phone ringing interrupted the conversation.

"Ugh, it's my wife. Hold on." Nick grunted as he picked up his ringing phone. "Hello? No, I'm not in the hospital I'm at the bar... no, I'm not, it's just Laura. Yes, I'll remember, love ya too honey."

"Quite the family man I see," Laura quipped.

"Yea tell me about it. Either way, Melissa's been kinda paranoid about me hanging around bars and such, but what can you expect when your wife's two months pregnant? Lucky it was just you, she has a hard enough time as is with her mood swings and paranoia doesn't help. Well, nice talking to ya again, but as you probably heard I got some groceries to pick up." Nick bid his friend goodbye, only to receive a painful punch to the arm. "Ow, what was that for?"

"It's how I show affection for a friend," Laura replied.

"Well a high five or a wave isn't exactly bad either..." Nick grumbled, rubbing his arm as he left. Laura contentedly sat and drank in her own little corner when a few men to the left of her began arguing and yelling. Laura tried to ignore it at first but the noise kept getting louder.

"Hey morons, why don't you just shut up and sit back down?!" she hollered, only to be confronted by the two hulking men.

"Hey! Mind your own business lady!" one of the men hollered out.

***

"Not exactly the most eloquent of attempts but your looks and his hormones accomplished our purposes quite nicely," Alicia said. She was staring out the right window of her limousine, while Kelly, who was sitting across from her, kept her eyes fixed on her phone. The scenery outside was boring and dull, full of nothing but monotonous rows of identical looking apartment buildings and drab grey factories, so Alicia couldn't fault her friend for the self imposed distraction. Even so, she couldn't help but shake her head. "If a boy doesn't text you back within thirty seconds, it does not mean he's uninterested or wavering. It means he's human."

"I know, but..." Kelly's voice was laced with doubt.

"Yes, I know. Emotions breed irrationality. Even you must understand that." The girl nodded. "I suppose I should be thankful for your bubbly personality. If I had to flirt so incessantly with a complete stranger who knows how much stress and anxiety that would pile on me over the days and weeks? I'm glad you even think he's cute. He is physically attractive so your job isn't so unpleasant."

"Why does everything have to be a job? Can't I just go out with a guy cause I like him?" Kelly said with a pout.

"I... I'm sorry. Let me put it this way." Alicia patted Kelly's arm in an apologetic gesture. "I happened to bring you to a place I knew you'd find a potential boyfriend and you took advantage of my offer. The fact that he's the brother of a high ranking Federal Agent who I may need leverage on later is entirely incidental of course."

"You're so mean when you're sarcastic."

"And you're infuriating when you act denser than you really are." The two girls burst into laughter.

The limo pulled up to the curb of a tall white mansion secluded from any neighboring property by estate grounds that sprawled out, seemingly endlessly, in all directions. A fountain just across from the doors was spraying pure, white water into the air to cool the hot summer air flowing towards the entrance of the building. Kelly stepped out and began to walk in but Alicia remained in the vehicle. The red haired girl turned around with a puzzled expression.

"Go on without me. You have a date to prepare for. I have other business to attend to," Alicia said."

"Right." Kelly turned back to the mansion and kept walking. Once Alicia had seen her disappear into the house, she closed the door of the car and ordered the driver to move the car again. The mansion disappeared behind them as the car sped away. By the time they made it to the gates, they had already been swung open for them and the limo didn't even need to slow down. Other than the driver, Alicia was utterly alone inside, leaving her mind free to wander.

As the green grass and trees that had surrounded her property were replaced with rows of decades old buildings and streets cluttered with both people and litter, Alicia couldn't help but frown. Years of war and the Greater Depression had shaken the nation, but only the poor and unprepared masses. Men and women like her father, on the other hand, had used the chaos to hedge their wealth and power to the point they were the true rulers of all human affairs.

Yet it all felt so pointless. The country and the world, as far as she'd seen in all her travels, had scarcely changed or progressed in decades. If anything, it had fallen. From the widening gulf between her and the poor masses stuffed into the box cutter housing in front of her to the endless hosts of soldiers being stuffed into planes and ships to die on another continent, there wasn't much Alicia could take pride in when contemplating her father's so called accomplishments. Even so, she reminded herself to be grateful. She was one of the privileged few. She was part of the sliver that had grown richer and stronger in both the wars and the new Depression. And while some would have bemoaned the fate of the masses stuck living in the same conditions their parents had tried and failed to work themselves out of, Alicia had better things to think of. Her family and herself were always the first priorities she would consider in any decision.

As she thought this, the limo pulled over to a stop and Alicia recognized her brother's apartment building. It soared above the rest of the skyline, a recently built landmark of wealth in a city of stagnation and uniformity. William was being escorted out to the curb with two armed guards on either side of him. They weren't touching him but from his expression it was clear he had other places he would have rather been. When he sat down across from his sister, he had a downright bitter glower on his face.

"You look well." Clean shaven, freshly showered, and dressed in a new black suit, William was physically handsome. His demeanor left much to be wanting but Alicia had no intention of letting her brother use such deficiencies as an excuse. "Stop pouting so much. You'll need to look more professional if the council's to take you seriously."

"Why should they? You're father's heir. You'll be the Chairman when he's gone."

"And since when does any great or powerful group achieve anything enduring solely on the merits of its leader? Father was an idiot to throw you aside like garbage. It's a waste of human capital."

"Is that what I am to you? Human capital?"

"You're my brother. And you should act the part." Alicia looked at William with a stare that was neither critical nor praising. Her almost blank expression visibly made him uncomfortable. He fidgeted with his hands and looked out the window.

"Okay so what do you want me to do?" Alicia let out an exasperated sigh. Growing her brother a spine would be no easy feat, she knew, yet she hadn't expected the task to be so hopeless or thankless.

"Sit by me. And make sure you speak up whenever the impulse strikes you."

"But father-"

"Forget about father. I'll preside at this meeting and I say you speak. I trust you enough not to say anything too egregiously stupid."

***

"Look, I told you, he threw the first punch, the only thing I'm guilty of is self defense," Laura said to the policeman with a shrug. Two heavily bruised men were being dragged away in gurneys over a massive pile of broken glass. The rest of the bar patrons were either cowering while staring at Laura or stooping over their drinks at the counter, pretending nothing was amiss. The broken front window by the door was letting all the noise from the street rush in like a pungent flood.

"I get it, we have half a dozen witnesses all saying the same thing but... did you really have to make us bring an ambulance?" the officer replied.

"Look Dave, those guys were asking for it not just this time but the past million times I'd been here," Laura argued. Dave shook his head and put his face on his palm. Laura waved him away as she pulled out her ringing phone.

"Hello? Nick? Yea I'm free. A body? Dumped in the river? Alright, I'll be there ASAP," she muttered into her phone. "Sorry officer, but I have my own case to solve." Laura walked out of the damaged bar, stepping over the glass and daring any of the officers on scene to stop her. None even took a step towards her.

The entire alleyway was cordoned off and a large white sheet was covered over what must have been the recovered body. Nick was standing at the corner talking with a shell shocked woman when Laura's car soon pulled violently over to the side of the road. As soon as the vehicle came to a stop, she jumped out to join him.

"So? Where's this body you were talking about? And shouldn't this be a Metro PD problem?" Laura hurriedly asked.

"Not when it's our guy," Nick explained. He guided Laura to the corpse and removed the sheet, revealing a badly dismembered husk that was once a human body.

"Ew... what the hell happened here?"

"Guns. The guy was shot at least 400 times. But that isn't our biggest problem. The ID is."

"Why? Do you know who he is?"

"Yea... that's Theodore Perry. In case you don't know, he was an undercover FBI agent "

"So you're saying whichever group agent Perry was breaching caught on and... took care of business?"

"The deluxe package. In addition to several hundred bullets, our boys underground proceeded to burn, pour acid over, and disembowel the body post-mortem. But the real kicker is just which boys did this."

"Let me guess, the same bastards that tried to kill the President?" Nick nodded.