Pushing the Envelope: A Prequel from The Barter System World

by McClendon, Shayne

I’m sorry.

  It’s okay. He was ninety-eight and said I gave him another three years he shouldn’t have had…a statement that made me laugh since my tits are underwhelming.

  Not to a man who likely hadn’t seen any in twenty years. I assure you, he was thrilled.

  Ha ha…charmer. What lovely lady is the recipient of these skills?

  There isn’t one. Relationships don’t work for me. Trust me when I tell you that I’m emotionally fucked up beyond all belief. There’s zero hope.

  You’re telling me there’s no one at all?

  There’s a woman who fascinates me. She’s a pure spirit. Her heart is firmly committed to someone else, which is best for both of us.

  That sounds lonely.

  I’m one of the few who’s at peace with loneliness. Now it’s more like an old friend. You understand loneliness.

  It doesn’t scare me like it does most people. I know I need the right outlet to stay occupied.

  Work with me, Tawny. Let me teach you. I could help you and then you can help me. You’re a natural. You’ve dabbled but I could use your skills full time. Consider it.

  Hollow…you know everything about me. I know nothing about you. All I know are your capabilities, that Hollow isn’t your real name, and in this scenario I’m the vulnerable one.

  I refuse to allow you to feel vulnerable.

  Live video feed suddenly appeared on the screen. She looked at the man’s face and he was beautiful. Black hair, lean features, and pewter eyes that seemed to stare into the deepest part of who she was. Her phone rang and she reached for it numbly.

  “Allow me to remove some of the mystery.” He typed his full name in their message stream. “Assure yourself that I’m telling the truth. I’ll wait.”

  Her fingers flew over the keys. In less than a minute, photos and articles loaded on her second screen that made her eyes widen in shock.

  She turned, staring at the face of a man who was clearly haunted with a secret past. “Why would you trust me? You don’t even know me, Hollow.”

  He shrugged. “I chose to reveal myself to you. I like knowing there’s someone else out there like me. Different than who you show the world.”

  Allowing the silence to draw out, she considered his words. “You read my online journal.” He nodded. “You know who I’m searching for.”

  “I do.” Photos and news stories populated her screen again but this time, the information was much more personal. “They’re dead. It’s believed to be gang-related. I didn’t want blood on your hands. You are many things, Tawny but you aren’t a murderer. I didn’t want the weight of that for you.”

  For a moment, she tried to process. Then she blinked, closed her mouth, and ran her own hack on the names in the articles. She recognized the tattoos and facial features of the dead men in coroner photos.

  When the realization hit that her search was over and they’d received justice for what they’d done to Arnie…to her…she broke down. Resting her head on her folded arms, she cried while Hollow watched her from the screen and remained silent.

  After what seemed like a long time, she lifted her head, went to wash her face, and returned to her desk.

  Hollow stared at her from a dark room in an undisclosed location. He was as pale as she was. Finally, he said quietly, “I’ll tell you whatever else you want to know.”

  For half an hour, she asked him questions and she knew that every word he answered was true.

  “Work with me. You won’t regret it and I’ll protect your identity. I’ll protect you, Tawny.”

  Inhaling deeply, she thought about Arnie, about how she’d felt as she knelt at his side and ignored the pain in her own body from her attack.

  She remembered the earnestness of the officer who believed they’d catch the men who’d taken so much.

  Her own knowledge, even then, that they wouldn’t. What had started as vigilante justice had changed over the three months she’d been talking to Hollow.

  The things he’d shown her about the underbelly of mankind, the crimes that went unpunished due to power or position, and the victims who had no way to seek justice as she’d done.

  Many, like Sonja Mills, lost their lives and like Arnie’s killers, those who took them were never caught.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Come to New York. Let me train you and introduce you to the members of my team.”

  There was no hesitation in her mind. “I’ll be there in the morning. I’ll take the first flight.”

  “A plane is fueled and waiting for you.”

  He sent her the information and she smiled. “A private plane, just for me? You knew how this would play out?”

  “I hoped your natural tendencies would make the decision an easy one. I was right. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

  “Hollow?” Their eyes met. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, Tawny. Let’s change the world.”

  

  She sent Riya and her mother an email explaining that she was taking a trip to visit a client in New Jersey while she packed a bag.

  A car picked her up, drove her to Fort Lauderdale Airport, and delivered her to the door of a private jet.

  Three hours later, she disembarked and Hollow stood beside a black Audi with a welcoming smile.

  After a brief hug, he took her bag, opened her door, and said with a wink, “You’re going to love this cloak and dagger shit more than you love your Marvel comics.”

  The choice to work with Hollow altered the course of her life, solidified her personal views, and gave her the opportunity to generate the kind of good so many wanted to do but weren’t sure how to make it happen.

  She never experienced an ounce of regret and he’d been right about something else, too.

  Tawny loved the cloak and dagger shit.

  Chapter Six

  December 2006

  Tawny walked into the O’Connell house a few feet behind Riya. The windows were shuttered and all the lights were off.

  They could hear Maggie’s voice down the hall, speaking soothingly. Following the sound, they found her in the master bathroom with Archer.

  She held a cold washcloth to his head as he vomited violently into the toilet. Both of them knelt on the floor.

  The strong smell of hard liquor was undeniable.

  Glancing up, Maggie tried to smile and ended up shaking her head. She looked more exhausted than Tawny had ever seen her.

  “Give me a few minutes, girls.”

  Backing from the room, Riya stared through the doorway at the broken man her father had become since Dalia’s death.

  “I don’t know how to help him.”

  Saying nothing, Tawny led the way to the kitchen.

  She started pulling cold cuts from the fridge. She wanted to lighten the mood, talk about anything but the slow downward spiral of a man both of them loved.

  “Riya, are you going to tell me what happened with the rocket scientist?”

  A strange shiver worked its way through her. “We will not speak of him.”

  Pausing with the knife in her hand, she asked, “I need to cut a bitch or what?”

  “Nothing like that…he was so strange about sex, Tawny.” The frown between her eyes smoothed. “I think he has a thing for his sister or something.”

  One blink. “You’re right. Let’s not speak of him. No need for me to puke up my guts before dinner.” She sliced tomatoes and onions. She felt Riya’s presence more than heard her approach.

  “Tawny…?”

  “Yes?”

  “Why won’t you talk to me about what’s going on?”

  Turning her head, she looked at Riya.

  “I know something isn’t right. It hasn’t been right for a long time.” She shrugged her shoulder. “You do so much for me…I’m your best friend. I want to help you if you need me.”

  “What do you think is going on?” she asked carefully.

  For a long moment, they stared at each other withou
t speaking. She watched as Riya inhaled deeply.

  “I think you went through something…something bad.” Her voice broke.

  “Why would you think that?”

  “You’re different, more intense. I won’t pry because I know you like to keep things private. I just…I know you feel like losing Mom takes priority and there’s no doubt it broke my heart but you matter to me. You’re here, Tawny. I love you.”

  Putting down the knife and wiping her hands, she held Riya’s shoulders. “Something happened. It was bad. It was less than two years after Dalia died. You were under so much stress. I got through it, I’m okay.”

  Tears tracked down her best friend’s cheeks. “You can’t do that. You can’t choose to only share the good things. I have a right to be there for you, through the good and the bad, just like you are for me.”

  “I didn’t want you to worry and I didn’t want Mom to lose her shit. The last three years have been rough on all of us.” She shook her friend gently. “If I hadn’t been sure I could get through it, I would have talked to you.”

  “What do you really do for a living?”

  Schooling her features, she asked, “What do you mean?”

  Riya rolling her eyes remained one of the funniest things ever. “Give me a break. Web design?”

  “I am awesome at web design, bitch.”

  “Agreed. However, I’m pretty sure you’re not getting fucked up on the regular from setting up your latest health food website.”

  She started to deny it but Riya wasn’t having it. “You do not get bruises from your keyboard and pretending I’m dumb will get your ass kicked.”

  Sighing heavily, she said, “I do Civil War reenactments.”

  “Liar.”

  “No seriously, you should see me with a bayonet. I’m one of the best they have.”

  “Tawny. Tell me.”

  “I’m a hacker.”

  “That rings of truth. What else?”

  “Sometimes, I have hands-on assignments.”

  “Are you in danger?”

  “Only if I suck at my job.”

  The silence drew out between them and Riya never broke eye contact. “Are you doing something good?” Tawny nodded slowly. “Will you tell me if you need help?”

  “I will.”

  “Anything happens to you and I’ll die. I have a feeling I could have already lost you once already. That’s terrifying. Do you understand? I won’t survive losing you. You’re my other half.”

  Hugging her tightly, Riya added, “Do your thing, make the world a better place, but always pick up the phone when I call so I know you’re okay.”

  She hugged her back hard enough to bruise. “Thanks.”

  “Is there a man involved?”

  “Yes, but it isn’t what you think.”

  Pulling back far enough to look at her, she asked, “No sex? You’re friends with a guy and no sex?”

  “Oh no. Duh. There’s definitely sex. Like, a lot of it. It just isn’t emotional for either of us.”

  “You sure know how to keep your mouth shut.”

  “You blab enough for three people so…yeah.”

  At that moment, Maggie entered the room. She’d changed clothes. When she was settled on the barstool, she said quietly, “We have to get him into rehab. If we don’t, he’s going to die and I don’t know how to stop that from happening.”

  “What do I need to do?” Riya asked softly.

  “Prepare yourself for battle because that’s what it’s going to take to make him go. I can’t run the business alone. I need him to dry out, to function enough to help me. I was already taking care of Edward’s responsibilities. Taking on Archer’s is getting to be too much.”

  “We’re home for six weeks before our last semester starts. Let’s find a program.”

  Tawny shook her head. “You’ve got enough on your plate, Riya. No way are you getting sidelined by this shit.”

  Focusing on Maggie, she said clearly, “Mom, you’ve done enough on all counts. Hold down the fort at the company a little longer. I’ll handle Archer.”

  She wiped her hands on the dish towel and her mom asked nervously, “Honey…what do you have in mind?”

  The two women she loved more than anything had eyes as big as saucers. Apparently, she was a wild card.

  Giving them a huge grin and pushing Riya onto a stool beside Maggie, she replied, “I’ve got this. No matter what you hear, don’t get up.”

  With a wink, she walked down the hall to Archer’s bedroom and opened his door without knocking.

  He was in the process of pouring himself a drink.

  Slamming the heavy door with a bang startled him enough to spill the expensive whiskey and took him off guard. It gave her the advantage in the war he didn’t know they were about to wage.

  Stepping closer, she took the bottle from him and put it back on the tray that held several more bottles. Balancing it in one hand, she walked to the French doors, opened them, and threw the entire fucking liquor collection on the patio that extended along the back of the house as hard as she could.

  The sound of shattering glass was spectacular.

  She turned around to face him. He was staring at the liquor seeping into the Mexican tile. A slow frown formed between his eyes and he lifted his gaze to hers.

  She watched anger replace the disbelief, his face reddened, and as his lips parted to scream in fury, she slapped him across the face as hard as she could.

  He held his hand to his cheek in shock.

  “That was from Dalia. She told me to tell you to stop being a selfish dick and remember that you have people who love you, that are still fucking here, who would appreciate you not drinking yourself into oblivion immediately after they clean up your goddamn vomit.”

  The man was beyond stunned. While he processed her words, she walked around him and proceeded to search his bedroom, bathroom, and closet for alcohol.

  No one conducted a more thorough search than Tawny. Nothing was off limits. When she’d found several small bottles, she added them to the shattered pile on the patio, destroying them one by one.

  Nudging him into a chair, she gentled her voice. “I’m not going to guilt you about Dalia because we all loved her and we all lost her.”

  “Dalia…”

  “However, I will tell you that this can’t continue,” she interrupted. “You’re driving my mother toward a fucking nervous breakdown. Your daughter worries day and night about you and blames herself for the downward spiral of her family.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “As for me, you’re the closest thing I’ve had to a dad since I was six years old and I’d consider it a personal favor if you’d seek help, get your shit together, and not try to drink yourself to death. Your family, your business, and your life are circling the bowl, Archer.”

  In his closet, she yanked a heavy duffle bag from the top shelf and packed him enough clothes for a couple of weeks. She dragged it to the bedroom door.

  Back in front of him, she asked carefully, “Will you be the man I love and respect and take the help being offered to you?”

  He rubbed his hands over his face and stared at her for a long time. Finally, he nodded tiredly.

  “Excellent. Let’s get to work.”

  He followed her to the kitchen and the other two women could barely contain their panic. Even Marta looked ready to run away.

  “Archer is going to rehab. I know a good one. They’ll get him in and it isn’t all preachy and shit. Hug him goodbye and he’ll see you in a couple weeks when they allow visitors.”

  

  Driving back from the Palm Beach clinic just after dark, she made a phone call to New York.

  He picked up on the first ring. “Hello, lover.”

  “Don’t call me that, Hollow. You know it’s creepy.”

  His laughter filled the line. “Agreed. When are you coming up?” She could hear him typing rapidly.

  “Two days. Thank you for finding the place for
Archer. It was as perfect as you said it would be.”

  “I’m curious. Why did you wait so long to take him?”

  “Riya and my mom, they’re gentle souls. The situation had to get to a certain point for them, where I knew they wouldn’t be part of the problem. I don’t have the best bedside manner…”

  “Stop it! You?”

  “I’ll ignore that. Before today, they’d have had a serious issue with my…methods.”

  “Diabolical bitch.”

  “Damn right. Anything interesting on the horizon?”

  “Many things that we will discuss after you’re naked, sweaty, and satiated in my bed.”

  “I do adore a man with a plan. I’ll see you day after tomorrow. Keep an eye on Archer’s progress, will you?”

  “Already on it. See you soon, Red.”

  Pulling into the driveway, Tawny turned off the engine and sat in the dark for several minutes in meditation. It was necessary to maintain her presence in two very different worlds as two very different women.

  Reaching beneath the seat, she withdrew a loaded gun, clicked the safety in place, and put it in the bottom of her bag. Then she got out, locked the car, and walked toward the brightly lit entrance of Riya’s home.

  She was thinking one word: brownies.

  Chapter Seven

  November 2008

  “Bitch, how much education do you need?”

  “It makes sense to keep going for my PhD. A master’s isn’t enough for my field.”

  For almost a minute, she stared at Riya and wondered how many years of her life she planned to give to the conundrum of how her father dealt with his grief.

  As if Tawny had mentally coordinated it, Archer’s latest beach bunny wandered into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water, and gave them a vacant smile.

  “Y’all wanna go swimmin’? It’s so pretty here. I just love the water at night. Don’t y’all love the water?”

  Riya blinked. “Um, not right now. Maybe tomorrow.”

  “Okay, honey! You’re just the cutest little thing ever!”

  What made the statement outrageous was the fact that she was less than two years older than Archer’s daughter.

  Tawny took a moment to center, to calm the little voice inside her that wanted to give the poor dumb thing a life lesson or a swift kick in the ass.