by Jack Parker
"When?"
"Tonight at the cinema."
"Did he specify a time?"
"He'll be there at seven o'clock."
Lia nodded. "Okay, I'm on it. Which cinema?"
Michael bit his bottom lip. "That's the complicated bit. The one down south."
"My old area."
"Yeah."
Lia stood up. "I can handle it. Now, if that's all, I better be leaving."
"Lia, sit."
She frowned. "I'm not a dog."
He ignored her comment, then continued. "As you are already aware, that cinema –that area- is not really the safest place for a Cadlian girl such as yourself to go to on your own, which is where Cal comes into this."
She could tell what was coming. "I am not going there with Cal!"
"It's not like I want to go there with you, either." That had to be the first time he had spoken up during the conversation, and it was obvious that he was just as thrilled with the news as she was.
"You're going to have to. It's for your protection."
"What the fuck, Michael? I'm nineteen years old. I'm trained for this kind of shit. I don't need a guy, an Elonsican guy, to baby-sit me."
"And I don't need to play babysitter for a Cadlian girl, either. I have better things to do with my time," added Cal, dryly.
"All I can say is tough luck. You're going on this mission together, whether you like it or not." He turned his attention to Lia. "You messed up the last one, so unless this one works out, you're in a hell of a lot of trouble."
She frowned. "Asshole."
Michael grinned, lightly. "Have fun tonight, kids."
And with that he left.
* * *
Jack shuffled his feet, then pulled the jacket tighter around himself.
He had no idea why he was here. He was way too nice for his own good. After what she had said, he never should have agreed to meet her. But here he was.
You're way too easily swayed.
She had phoned him not long after they had had their little…confrontation. Apparently, she had gotten his number off of Damien and she wanted to talk to him about something urgent. She sure knew how to rub it in a guy's face.
A light breeze ruffled his hair, his eyes resting on the lines of trees as they swayed lightly, side to side, in a never-ending cycle. Everything looked so calm, so peaceful. He wondered why she had wanted to meet him. Hadn't she said enough already? Maybe she wanted to give him another verbal bashing, but he was ready for whatever she decided to fire at him this time. The last time she had caught him off guard, but this time she wouldn't.
He heard approaching footsteps, then turned to look in their direction. She was clad in the same clothes as before only this time a thin, camel colored coat was draped over her upper body.
"Hi, Jack."
"What do you want?" He was annoyed with her, he couldn't deny that. And he hated it when a person wanted to say something but they dallied. He preferred it when they would just cut to the chase –be blunt. He didn't have the time or patience for anything else.
She held her coat tighter around her, her light curls bobbing slightly in the wind. "I know that it's sudden and I know that you have no reason to but –I need your help, Jack."
Jack was taken by surprise. He hadn't expected that and, anyway, what would she need his help on?
"Help on what?"
"It's about Damien."
Oh, yes. Damien. Why else would she need his help? But, being the kind and caring person he was, he replied. "What about Damien?"
"I think he's cheating on me."
"And…"
"And I need your help –that is."
"You've already said that you needed my help. But I don't know how I can help you."
Melan bit her lip. "I think he's cheating on me but I want to know who he's cheating with. And to find that out I need your help, Jack."
"I still don't know how I can help you."
"You're his best friend."
"Which means that he trusts me."
"I would never make you do anything that would destroy your relationship, Jack."
They had a relationship? That was something new. Damien just annoyed him, full-stop. But he couldn't tell Melan that.
"Then don't make me do anything at all."
He dug his hands in his pockets, then turned to leave. Jack felt a hand on his elbow. He turned around once again to face her.
"Please?"
"No."
She gazed at him intently, her eyes slightly glazed. He hated women.
"Please?"
Jack shook his head.
"Please. Please. Please?"
He frowned as her eyes widened. "Don't look at me like that."
"Please, Jack."
He sighed. She was lucky that she was so hot. "Fine. But I'm not going to do anything major."
She smiled, lightly. She looked prettier when she smiled; it lit up her features. "Thank you, Jack. You don't know how much this means to me."
Jack shuffled his feet and dug his hands further into his pockets. Women were evil.
"What do you want me to do?"
Melan opened her mouth, about to say something, then closed it once again. She hadn't mentioned anything about earlier, he had noticed. It was as if nothing had even happened. He wasn't sure whether to be thrilled or whether to be annoyed. After all, she hadn't apologized either.
Her gaze flickered over him for a moment, then she looked up, her eyes resting on the clear blue sky.
She bit her lip, again. "Well…"
* * *
Lia dug her hands into her jacket pockets, her eyes resting on the figure before her. He was quite far ahead, she noticed.
It's not like I want to be near you either, prick.
He walked too fast, or she walked to slow. She preferred to go for the former, seeing as it could be added to the "Why is Cal such a prick?" list. She and Carmon had come up with twenty-three points on the list so far. Therefore, it was good to make a twenty-fourth. Twenty four was a good number. She liked twenty four, though, she didn't remember why. Maybe there wasn't a reason and she just randomly liked the number twenty-four. It was a point that she had to ponder when she got home. Maybe it was because twelve times two made twenty four, but that still wouldn't explain why she liked it. Seven was a lucky number and seven add five made twelve, which made twenty four when you multiplied it by two, so maybe that was why she liked it. But, then again, did she actually like the number twenty-four, or was it her mind playing tricks on her? Or maybe she just…
"Why have you stopped walking?"
Cal's sudden voice snapped her out of her thoughts and it was only then that she noticed that she was standing in the exact same spot as she had been standing a few minutes before.
"I'm contemplating the number twenty-four. Care to join me?"
She was sure that they had had a conversation like this before, but she wasn't quite sure when.
"Don't be so slow. We need to get there before seven."
"I wouldn't be walking so slow if you weren't walking so fast."
She waited, expecting some sort of witty retort. Therefore, she was taken by surprise when he stopped and waited for her to catch up. Lia made her way to where he was and they walked side by side at a steady pace.
As they entered the neighborhood, her body was suddenly consumed with a wave of anxiety. Her stomach felt as if some large, unseen hand was clutching it, holding it tightly and suffocating her –cutting off her circulation. An underlying scent of alcohol and cigarette smoke wafted through the air and penetrated her nostrils.
The path was fairly empty, the few trees lining its sides towering above them, their branches outstretched like hundreds of hands reaching for them, trying to grab them –pull them in.
She remembered this path. It was the path which connected the two halves of the town. She remembered how eerie it had seemed, how unreal, that a single path could connect two places so different from one another. It w
as as if you were walking into a totally different world –a more dangerous, unstable, scary world. Where she lived at the moment wasn't brilliant, but it was far better than this place. Anywhere was better than this place.
"When you reach the end of the path, there should be a road with some houses and then the cinema's 'round the corner, right?"
Cal's sudden voice snapped her out of her reverie. It seemed odd for him to ask her a question. Though, it was to be expected seeing as it was her old area, after all.
"Yeah. It's 'round the corner."
Then there are a few shops and then the cinema. Past the cinema there's another road which stems into two roads. Along one of those roads is a school –the school I went to.
They reached the end of the path, then stepped out from the trees and onto the street. Lia could feel her breath catch in her throat. This place held too many memories –too many memories which she just didn't want to face. She wanted to run. She wanted to get away.
I feel so suffocated.
There weren't really any people around the area –only one or two children in one of the back gardens.
Of course, they were Elonsican children. Any Cadlian would be stupid to live in this area with their family, especially considering what had happened in the last three years.
Along one side of the road was a line of houses. The other side had a few buildings: a large house which was boarded up, a patch of land where there was once a house only now there was only a burnt out wreckage, and what used to be a park, but had been reduced to a few broken down swings –swings which were in such a state of disrepair that it would be dangerous for a child to even attempt to play on them.
"Was this your area?"
Lia decided to ignore his condescending tone. She wasn't in the mood for an argument. Just seeing this place upset her; it brought up so many memories –memories which she had kept at the back of her mind, untouched, never to be thought of, memories which hurt too much to think of.
And now it was all coming back.
But she couldn't let it. Not here, not now, not when the mission was at stake. If she messed up like last time, they wouldn't trust her with another serious mission again and she'd never get to move to the ultimate assignment –the one which had made her join the rebels in the first place.
She couldn't give up that chance, especially not when she had gotten this far.
"Yeah, it was."
If he was surprised at her lack of response, he sure didn't show it.
They reached the end of the road, then made their way around the corner. They continued to walk past the shops, not a single person in sight. Why was everything so deserted?
There were usually plenty of people around here. At least, there had been the last time Lia had been here. It was scaring her. The lack of people, of noise, was unnerving.
Then the sound of gunshots pierced the air.
"Lia, run!"
CHAPTER 10
"Lia, run!"
A hand clasped over her arm, pulling her to the floor and causing her knee to collide against the rough tarmac. She heard a gunshot followed by a scream. Before she could respond, the hand on her arm tightened and pulled her up roughly.
Cal dusted off his trousers. He replaced the gun in his pocket, then looked around. "They must have heard the gunshots. More will be here any minute, so our best option would be to hide out in one of the shops."
Lia bent down and rubbed her knee. The material had torn due to the collision and she was sure her knee was bleeding. "I thought you said run."
"You weren't fast enough."
"So you had to pull me to the ground?"
He shrugged. "I saved your life. I didn't have to."
She rolled her eyes. "Don't expect any gratitude. It was your job. I don't have to say thank you."
"I didn't expect you to."
She cast her gaze over the road. An Elonsican lay near her, unconscious. "Is he dead?"
The fear must have been evident within her tone of voice. He smirked, obviously amused. "He'll be out for a good few hours."
She sighed, relieved. "The shops, what if anyone-"
"There's no one in there. Now hurry up. They're coming. Unless you want to be shot, that is."
Before Lia could respond, he had already run toward one of the cafes. She followed. They entered and sat beneath a table, keeping their bodies flattened against the wall. The table was under the window; therefore, if anyone looked through it they wouldn't see the figures beneath.
"How long do you reckon we'll be here?"
"As long as it takes for them to pass," he replied, amiably.
She rolled her eyes and brought her knees to her chest.
Cal smirked. "You've never killed anyone before, have you?" His tone was amused –patronizing?
He was making her angry again and she wanted to hit him. She opened her mouth, ready to reply, but was cut short by the sound of shouts in the distance.
Lia bit her lip and backed further against the wall. She could make out a bit of what they were saying. And here she thought that she had a foul mouth. Cal had his hand clasped around his gun, she noticed.
Not a bad idea.
She pulled out her gun and waited.
An ear-splitting crash cut through the air. Torrents of glass rained down upon the floor, scattering over the polished tiles of the shop and rebounding against its surface. A shard embedded itself within her injured knee. Lia bit down so hard on her lip that she drew blood.
They heard a hollow beating above them and the soft rasping of wood as someone stood on the table. The sound of gunshots filled the air once more as the figure shot at some of the chairs, randomly, then retreated.
"There's no one in the fucking shop. Mother fucking Cadlian got away."
Lia winced. How crude could you get? Cal was smirking with amusement and she resisted the urge to pull out her gun and shoot him squarely on the head.
Another voice replied. "Get your fucking ass out of there, then. Why the fuck did you shoot all of those fucking chairs? What was the fucking point? You wasted so many fucking bullets."
"I was fucking pissed that she got away, so you just shut the fuck up."
Oh, joy. They were arguing. At this rate they could be here for hours.
"Who the fuck are you telling to shut the fuck up? I could shoot your fucking ass half-way to fucking Cadlia if you're not fucking careful with what you say to me."
How many times could they use the word "fuck" in one sentence? At the moment the second guy was winning with a grand total of five.
"Not if I shoot your fucking ass first, you fucktard."
Fucktard? That was a new one. She was pretty sure the guy had come up with it off the top of his head. And it wasn't even good.
"Who the fuck are you calling a fucktard, you fucking piece of ass fuck?"
"Who does it look like?"
He hadn't used the word. He deserved a medal or at least some flowers for his new extensive use of vocabulary.
"Why you fucking-"
More gunshots filled the air and then some heavy rasping on the table as the figure slipped, then fell to the floor, dead.
Lia grimaced and averted her gaze from the dead body. She knew that if she looked she'd have nightmares.
"Take that, fucker!"
What a loser.
"It sounds like he's the only one left," whispered Cal.
Before Lia could reply, Cal had slipped out from under the table and shot up.
"What the fuck-"
He pulled the trigger and shot, once, twice, then silence.
Lia followed him, avoiding stepping on the shards of glass and wincing as the pain in her knee worsened.
"No, I didn't kill him. He's only unconscious."
Lia frowned at the patronizing tone. He spoke as if talking to a child.
Fucking Prick.
I see the English lesson has had its desired affect.
"Whatever."
"Shall we be leaving?"
Lia ran a hand over her knee, searching for the shard of glass. "Why do you reckon the shops are all empty?"