The city was taking the night off and the neon that lined the various bilboards and rooftops lit the night in an ecstasy of emotions and colors. Two of the taller towers stood next to one another separated by a comfortable distance and a line of street vendors at the bottom. Edward sat in shadow minding the storm clouds that were making their way to his location. The lightning hadn't started yet so his cover of darkness was holding up quite well. In his hands he held what looked like a long sniper rifle with an antenna pointed skyward. The only source of light distinguishing him from the neon was the soft warm glow of the cigarette his lips held onto. He quieted his puffing and held one hand up to the headphones he was wearing as not to miss a beat. His glance was pointed across the distance to the other tower, specifically to a line of windows with dim lighting and a group of people inside. What would seem like just a room full of people to anyone else was a room full of scum and a payload he couldn't pass up. The rifle was a sophisticated microphone designed to hear over far distances or a certain room with dim lighting. Across the way in the other tower, four men and a beautiful girl glared angrily at one another. Three of the men were the current threatening suits with guns pointed to his head in the present and the fourth was a slightly older gentleman whose face looked like it had seen a lot of years of action and was probably the cause of most of it. The girl was the prettiest he had ever seen. She had long curls of brunette hair that concealed half of her face but from the distance he was, she was a knockout. At the moment though she looked like she was being held against her will and not enjoying it. She continued to glare at the three men circling her while the older fourth poured a drink at the counter. Edward craned his head as far as he could to aim the rifle just right and tried to block out any and all noise. The older suit finally turned around.
"You really thought you'd get away didn't you. There was a lot of money of mine riding on that situation but you had to walk your little shapely ass in the middle of it all and mess it up."
She adjusted in her seat, embarrased by her figure now and wanting to be as far away as possible from these dirtbags.
"Sorry I didn't know you were planning on killing my friend, I should've known your little mafia was involved in his affairs, I'll ask more next time."
"Your humor and sarcasm are not lost on me sweetheart, you still stole property that belonged to me and I want it back."
"I don't know where it is."
"Oh please, you really think I'm that dumb? My men saw you take the case when you left the area, now where is it?"
"I don't have it I swear!"
"You're going to make us do this the hard way aren't you. I would answer now, we have various ways of making you talk."
He nodded to his men and they reached into their coats to pull out their guns. She couldn't believe how everything was escalating all over something she honestly didn't have. A wrong place at the wrong time scenario that has come back to bite her in the ass with teeth. She happened to be at a party with one of her closer friends, well she thought they were close, and found out she was mixed up in the upper city mafia gang and not only owed them money but was acting as a mule to switch hands on some dirty money. The resulting reward for the job would clear her debts and keep the party of dangerous followers off of back for good. How she had hidden that from Meg she had no idea but she did a damn good job ,until that party. Maybe it was nerves and a combination of the wrong drinks or someone had it out for her regardless of the outcome but something panicked her to the point of spilling it all to Meg. She was shocked and at first thought it was a joke but once men in suits began following her around the party, she knew there was something really bad going on. The briefcase in question had over a million dollars in cash in it and was to be handed off to a particular person of interest to then 'launder' the cash so as to help make it untraceable. Needless to say the money never made it. The panic sent her friend to the wrong person and in a breakdown of fear she hid the case and told Meg where it was as a safety measure. An enemy of the gang must've heard about the case and cornered her friend, she tried to help but once she saw the weapon she backed off. When the case wasn't detected with her friend, she was aggressively attacked to get her to say where it was. She just kept repeating 'don't they'll kill me!' and once they had lost their patience, they went ahead and granted the request. The site of her friend being murdered was more than enough to send her into a frenzy. She ran out of the area and grabbed the case, they didn't know who she was or that she had it so why not? The drive out of there was a frightening drive of constant paranoia and once she was home it took her a few days of caution to see that she had gotten away with it. In celebration she dumped the cash on the bed and rolled around in it naked, just like the movies.
Then the messages started coming.
Random and inquisitive at first but soon escalating to threatening and stalker sounding. They knew about the money. She had never felt fear like that before and the night they came to collect her, they destroyed her apartment looking for it and then knocked her out only for her to wake up in an office alone and in the dark.
Cut to present.
The older member lit a cigar and finally raised his eyes from her breasts to her eyes. "You see darling, we checked around and traced your little friend's information. Not much of a life but we did notice one thing. Who she came to the party with. A certain you who a few members recall seeing a short woman in a black dress running out with a briefcase. Now explain to me how you don't know what this briefcase is again."
Okay so this will be hard to talk you way out of. Could always go the sexy route but with the three of them here it could get ugly and painful real fast.
Edward threw his cigarette across the roof and peered through the scope of the microphone. "Briefcase?"
"You give us the case and you have our word that you will never see us again. Case and we're gone." She didn't believe them but that much money may warrant some compassion from the other side. But she really didn't know where it was. She kept all the cash in the case and had it in her closet until one day she woke up in the middle of the night to some noise and the next morning it was gone. Unless she could provide some kind of proof, there was no way out of this.
"Never see you again huh? Just for this case?" Buy some time, girl.
"My word of honor. But we gotta know where it is."
She looked down at the ground and wasn't sure how to go on. What lie would even have them go check and they wouldn't be stupid enough to just leave her there alone and come back later.
"It's in a different spot, I had it kept in my closet but had to move it. Keep it in different places as a safety precaution. You know, smart stuff like that."
"Smart idea. So where is it now?"
"I can have it to you, I just need a day to get it and all that."
"A day? No no honey, we need it now."
It's worth a shot, here we go. "It's just important in retrieving it that I have to do certain things. Just a day, you know where I live and all that so it's not like I can go hide somewhere. One day and I can get you back what you need."
Edward was confused but was almost distracted by the whole situation by spending most of his time just looking at her. She was so beautiful. Thanks to his handy microscope he now could put a name to a face too. Meg. Rain started to fall and it aggravated him a little. The drops could wet the microphone and cause some disruption. Plus, he didn't have a coat. So far all he could get from this job was this gorgeous girl had taken a briefcase from a party out of fear and now the mafia wanted it back. Not much information to go by. Seemed now she was going to try and buy herself some time. Beautiful and smart. Why was his heart fluttering?
The two henchmen circled the girl slowly, eyeing her up and down. The older man thought for a second and took a few puffs of his cigar while walking over to the window. The rain was making little streams of water run down each pane of glass. The rain helped obscure Edward from view from anyone looking out that particular window. A few moments passed and the man made his decision on the matter. "One day. 24 hours. Then we come find you and bring you back here. You have the briefcase then we will do our business and be on our separate ways. You don't have the briefcase, you'll be seeing your friend in hell."
"Hell?"
"Baby, with a body like that, you gotta be a little devil."
Boy he was hilarious wasn't he. Sure she had her naughty tendencies but other than that she was a model citizen. One of the henchmen pinched her butt and smiled, she jumped forward away from him. "Excuse you. Never touch a lady unless she asks."
The old man gathered his men and made his way to the door. "24 hours. You better have that case."
They left leaving her alone to just the sound of the rain. She walked over to the window and stared out, wondering how in the hell she was going to spin this. Scanning the horizon she saw someone standing on the rooftop across the way. A handsome man with what looked like a gun.
She sees me. He stood out in the open forgetting about his cover and met her eyes. The two stood watching one another for what seemed like hours. He wanted her. For the first time in his life he felt a sense of wanting to start a life with someone just from a first look. She needed help and knowing her information and working in his line of work, he felt more than qualified. She looked curious and scared and not to let this opportunity to let an angel out of his midst, he raised a finger to indicate for her to hold on and then pointed down to the ground.
Does he want me to meet him on the street? Is he part of that gang and why was he on the roof with a gun? A cop maybe? If I'm going to die with no briefcase anyways, what is there to lose in meeting him?
She raised a hand in sign of agreement and left the room. His heart skipped a beat and he packed up his equipment to make his way to ground level. This was one woman he didn't want to let out of his sight. The brunette who was wanted by the mafia.
TO BE CONTINUED
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