Charlie walked at a casual pace down the sidewalk. The evening air was relatively cool compared to what it had been lately and it was a welcome reprieve. Having spent the afternoon out with some friends, she was in her own little world as she headed home.
She had decided on a less direct route, choosing to enjoy the weather a little longer while it lasted. She was familiar with all of the streets surrounding her family's business and home, so she knew all of the connecting streets to reach her destination.
As she was walking, she was going over all the tasks that she had to get done once she got home:
“Ok, I’ve got a chemistry test on Thursday so I have to go over those notes again and I should probably make sure the the inventory at the Cafe is done correctly cough, cough Adam.”
She shook her head. No matter how many times they alternated helping with the inventory, it seemed Adam was always missing one or two items recently. The espresso beans especially, maybe he’s been drinking them? He has seemed a bit more wired lately… Whatever the case, that would have to be done after her homework.
Halfway to her destination, she noticed a small group of people walking almost parallel to her across the street. Nothing should have been out of the ordinary about that, but how they dressed definitely brought attention to themselves. She paused briefly as she processed their attire: a few wore jackets of the same style, alternating between light and dark colored patterns with… rectangular patches with symbols? Are those diamonds…?
They all bore card-themed suit icons. Diamonds, Clubs, and a Heart.
Was the one up front wearing a skirt? No, it must be a kilt…
Not something you see every day in New Atlantis.
These people were beyond simply suspicious, they were outright shady in a belligerent way. This gave Charlie a clear impression that they were up to no good. She thought about calling Cody to let him know where these people were. There were advantages to having an officer of the law be your oldest brother and having him on speed dial. But she also thought that it wouldn't make sense to call simply on suspicious behavior. She knew that if she got into trouble Cody would chew her out for it, but that would be a problem for later.
She decided to try to follow them, hoping that if they did turn she would have time to get back to the street where perhaps they wouldn't want to cause a scene. The group turned a corner down a more narrow street and Charlie counted down to herself before crossing to follow behind them. As she walked briskly in their wake, she turned to see them go down an alleyway, the last member of the group entering just in time for her to keep pace.
She stopped near the entrance to the alley, contemplating once more about calling her brother, and decided instead to call one of her friends. She waited just long enough for the line to inform her that her friend wasn't going to pick up and hung up.
Sighing to herself, she hesitated for a moment and then entered the alley. Walking as quietly as she could manage, she continued until she heard the sound of a few people talking. Peering around the corner she saw they were stopped and having a conversation with a different group of people who seemed to be led by a woman in a dark-colored suit and a wide-brimmed hat.
“Now, now, I thought it was clear that we had an arrangement…” spoke the woman with a rich alto voice.
“We covered your debts and you would do us favors as needed.”
“We had some… complications…” said the man wearing the kilt.
“Those vigilante types be getting in our way…”
“Mr. Queen… I thought such a ‘complication’ was your specialty in particular?” chided the woman in a teasing way.
“Why, from what I heard you literally threw one in the trash not too long ago.”
“If your jobs weren't so spread out we probably wouldn't be having as many problems…” said a man with a diamond patch on the shoulder of his jacket.
The man called Mr. Queen turned with a glare to the diamond who spoke up.
“Ace didn't send ya to do the talkin’,” said Queen.
“How is Ace these days?” asked the woman with a mischievous glint in her eye.
“He hasn't been returning my calls…”
“He don't talk much,” Mr. Queen stated.
“Let alone talk about you.”
“Shame…” the woman said.
“I was hoping to see him again…”
“Enough of the small talk…” said the woman with a heart motif on her jacket.
“We came here to negotiate the terms of our agreement.”
The first woman’s expression hardened.
“Is that what this is about?” she asked cooly.
“I never could have guessed…”
“How long are you people going to be holding this over us?” asked the Heart.
“We’ve done several of the ‘tasks’ you sent us on and we feel that we are being taken advantage of.”
“Now, what would give you that impression, Miss Quing?” the woman asked wryly.
Quing scowled and crossed her arms.
“We've been running back and forth all over this damned city for the last two weeks,” she started.
“Half of those excursions were worth the effort we were told to put into them and there's even less to show for them in way of compensation!”
From her corner, Charlie had started recording the last few moments of the conversation with her phone. This clandestine meeting was surely something of interest…
Suddenly a firm hand was placed on her shoulder, another wrapping over her mouth before she could scream.
“It's not polite to eavesdrop on other peoples’ conversations…” stated a man's voice.
Around the corner, the woman was about to respond to Quing's complaint when she paused, holding a finger up to an earpiece she wore.
“You idiots were followed,” she said simply.
Everyone turned as a man in a dark suit walked Charlie over to the group. She struggled slightly, but didn't make a great effort to escape with so many of who she presumed to be armed individuals around.
“Sorry if I'm interrupting your little pow-wow over here,” Charlie said.
“Oh, trust me darling… you're not interrupting anything too important,” the woman said in an annoyed tone.
Quing turned sharply to the woman.
“Not important? Is that how you see us?” she demanded.
The corner of the woman's mouth quirked up slightly.
“Wasn't from my mouth,” she said.
“What are we to do with her then?” asked Queen as he cracked his knuckles.
“Make her so she don't speak about what she heard?”
“Do that and you might find a high-velocity injection of metal through your skull…” said a man with a British accent in a serious tone.
Approaching the group was a man with a forest green suit with a two-toned black and white poker diamond on the shoulders. He had short cropped blond hair and a neat slim goatee and wore round dark tinted glasses. A long case was slung across his back that he adjusted slightly as he came closer.
“Ace! How nice of you to drop in!” the woman said with mock glee.
“I knew you were probably lurking nearby somewhere.”
“Save the fake enthusiasm for your boss’ campaigns,” Ace said dryly without even looking at her.
“I'm not here for you, Andrea.”
He turned his head just slightly enough to look at Charlie and then to Mr. Queen.
“You remember what happened last time you decided to rough someone up, Maverick?” Ace asked.
The large Scotsman scowled and crossed his arms.
“Fine, I won't this time…”
Charlie looked at Ace.
“I'd say thank you, but I have the feeling I'm still not being let go…” she noted.
Ace looked back at her with a stern expression then turned away.
“Andrea, we're bringing the girl with us,” he said as he walked away.
“Jack will decide what we do with her.”
Charlie's expression shifted from confusion to questioning.
“Jack who?”
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