I slammed the file shut and sighed. I slid the folder back into my desk. I was just wasting my time here. I would never find her. My daughter was missing, and she was gone forever. I would die alone, just like the piece of shit that I was.
I rose from my seat, sighed, and was out the door. It was time to go see Mattis.
Chapter 4
On my way back to the Elite districts, I drove up to a police checkpoint. Dozens of armed men and women stood around wielding assault rifles. Their armor was painted black. Amber-tinted glass visors shielded their faces. If you didn't know better, you would think that these people were soldiers fighting in some war. This was just the city's police force, equipped to neutralize any threat in the city.
A female officer walked up to me. Her name was Jessica, and we'd met on a couple occasions. She was alright, but I didn't feel like talking to her now. I just wanted to visit Mattis already.
“Hey, Quincy!” she said. “Long time, no see.”
“Oh, hey, Jessica,” I said, turning to her.
She leaned up against my car and smiled. “What brings you out today? Doing a job for Mattis?”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding. “Same as always.”
A couple of her men argued near the gate. One of her men, a hulking albino, shoved his meaty hands into the other man.
Jessica snapped her head toward them. “Knock it off!”
“Yes, ma'am,” they said, bowing their heads and walking off.
“It feels like everyone's been on edge lately,” Jessica said. “My men are always fightin' each other. Just the other day, a few of them deserted to join the resistance.”
“The resistance is a waste of space,” I said, shrugging. She turned back to me and sighed. “I don't know anymore. They scare me, Quincy. They really do.”
“They're delusional,” I said. “They're not going to get far. They're not dangerous, Jess. They're just a bunch of crazed Commoners.”
“I don't know,” she said, her voice trailing off.
“Yeah, now can you just let me through the gate so I can finish my job?” I asked.
“Ask nicely,” she said, winking. “And maybe I'll think about it.”
I hated it when Jessica did this. I sighed. “Well, in that case, I have a pass.” I pulled out my wallet and flashed my pass. “Let me through.”
“You’re no fun,” she said, stepping back. Jessica waved to the others by the gate. “Open it up!”
The gate opened, and I drove into the upper districts. Platinum-lined sidewalks bordered the shimmering blacktop road. My car looked like shit compared to the ritzy, ultra-rich vehicles the Elites had. Their cars were gold-rimmed, lined with jewels, and shined in the midday sun. I'd get the occasional stare from Elites walking by.
Most of the time, Elites ignored me. Why wouldn’t they? To them, I was just a Commoner. I didn’t care. The less I have to deal with these people, the better.
I rounded a corner, driving up a gold and emerald-plated driveway past porcelain fountains of naked harpies that gushed streams of water from their supple lips. I drove past a garden bursting with an entangled web of multicolored roses. Dozens of Commoner workers tended to these gardens. They all stared forward with a dead, glazed look in their eyes like all emotion had been drained from their feeble bodies.
I pulled up to the gold and red front door and stepped out. One of Mattis’ servants offered to drive my car to the lot, and I tossed her the keys. I walked past white, and black marbled pillars etched with golden designs of gods and goddesses. Then, I walked up to the front door and knocked. I waited around and looked out at the workers in his vast fields. They were all Commoners with deformities, such as a hunched back or a cleft chin. At least they weren't working in the factories. Working in the Elite district was the one of the best jobs that a Commoner could ever hope for.
I heard the door open behind me, and I swung around. A female servant with pale skin and black straw-like hair stood before me. She nodded with a soft smile.
“I'm Quincy Abrams,” I said. “I'm here to see Mattis.”
“Yes, sir,” she said. I thought she looked familiar, somehow. Then, I thought about it. She was the servant to Pyke. Now that she was working for Mattis, I assumed that she was slightly happier.
She led me through the scarlet and gold hallways. Intricate paintings that must've been worth at least a hundred thousand each hung on the walls.
“Quincy, I can't thank you enough for saving me from that man,” she said.
“I didn't do it for you,” I said. She stopped and glanced to me with a cocked head.
“Oh, right,” she said, grinning. “You did it for the money, right?”
“Yeah,” I said. I hoped his servants wouldn't try and start a conversation with me. I hated when his servants tried to talk to me.
“I know,” she said, glancing at her feet. “But still, I need to thank you for what you did. He'd hit me, hurt me. He'd abuse me. Sometimes, I'd spend all night with my eyes wide open, wondering what he was going to do to me the next day. Maybe this doesn't mean much to you, but thank you, sir.”
I almost smiled for a moment, but then, I winced and looked away. “Just take me to Mattis,” I said. “He doesn't like to be kept waiting.”
She escorted me down another hallway.
The woman led me into one of his chambers. He sat in a golden robe, beside the stained-glass windows to his mansion, as he stared out. Mattis turned around and grinned when he saw me. He snarled his face and stared over at his maid.
“Go!” he snapped. “I need to speak to Quincy privately.” She nodded promptly and scurried away.
I stepped up to Mattis The man stood and wrapped his arms around me. I hated it when he did this, and I tried to squirm away. He stepped back and folded his arms.
“Did they accept my offer?”
“No.”
“Huh,” said Mattis, as he turned around and stepped to the window, looking out at his Commoner workers. “Commoners just don’t get it, do they? I offer them more money than they could refuse, and they turn it down like the fucking idiots they are!” He spat on the ground. “They turned my money down? They don’t realize how good they have it.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “The way I see it, they're all going to kill each other. You've got nothing to worry about, governor.”
“If not, I’ll fucking gun ‘em down, myself,” Mattis said. He laughed. “I’d be a hero. You wouldn’t believe how much some of the Elites fear those idiots. They think that they’re dangerous. Shit. I can’t believe people actually believe what I put on TV. Have you seen those news reports about the protesters?” I nodded.
Mattis chuckled. “There have been a few small riots, but nothing too major. We just played those riots up for effect.” He stepped toward the window and sighed. “But hey, my people eat it up.” He sighed. “Those protesters aren’t a threat to anyone. If their leader was half as smart as he should be, he’d take my money and run.”
Mattis chuckled again, but I could see through his relaxed facade. If he didn’t see these Commoners as a threat, then, why did he offer them a hundred thousand to stop the protests?
“He said he didn’t take the money because of his ideals,” I said. “But don’t worry. With him leading the rebellion, they have no chance of succeeding. He’s nothing but ideals.”
“Pathetic,” Mattis muttered with a smirk. He snapped his fingers. “Come. Stand beside me!” I obeyed.
“Do you remember when I was first elected governor?”
Mattis was never elected. He bought his way to power. His family had been in control of this place for thirty years now. It seemed that he had managed to convince himself that he was more than a corrupt politician. There was no election, just some other paid politician who put up the charade of running against him. The whole election was a show that was bought for and paid for by The Mattis Corporation. That company ran a monopoly on the city’s ore mining industry. Their company had grown rapidly in the
past hundred years, resulting in the Mattis family becoming the wealthiest family in the lands.
“Yeah,” I said. I wasn't going to talk about how he was never 'elected.' Mattis probably wouldn't take too kindly to that.
“I was so vulnerable back then,” he said. “It felt like everyone was out to get me. Do you recall the day we first met? You saved my life. Remember that?”
I remembered. That was about nine years ago. Back then, I'd worked mostly in the slums, doing menial jobs for people, such as low-level assassinations. I refused to work in the factories or mines. After all, I needed a better position to provide for my family. I had a knack for getting my hands dirty, and the Elites took notice. They knew I had a talent for doing whatever it took to get the job done.
A high-level guard working for Mattis at the time, Elliot Munn, came into my office one day. He offered me the chance of a lifetime to work for the governor. I would finally be able to leave the slums, and I would finally be able to afford a better life for my family. So, I told them, “yes.”
My first job was to stop an assassination plot against Mattis.
The assassin was a Commoner who had worked in the police department for a few years. He went missing, and word spread that he was involved in a conspiracy to kill the newly elected governor. I tracked him down and strangled the man in cold blood. Mattis was impressed by how well I carried out the operation.
“Yeah,” I said. “I sure saved your ass.”
“You sure did,” Mattis said, nodding. “I don’t think I ever appreciate you enough. So, I just want to say thank you.
You're a great man, Quincy.” “I'm anything but great,” I said.
“Oh, don't be so hard on yourself. You're truly a wonderful man, Quincy. Without you, I'd surely be dead. Without me, this city wouldn't function. Your job helps keep the city afloat, and I really respect you for that.”
He gestured toward his a wooden nightstand. He knelt down and opened a drawer, grabbing a notebook inside. A golden insignia was on the leather-bound cover. He sat down on his bed and gestured me over.
“Come!” he said. “Take a look. There's something I want to show you.”
I sighed and walked over. I just wanted to get on with my day. There was enough other stuff that I had to get done.
“What is it?” I asked, sitting down beside him.
I looked at his notebook, which had dozens of old photos plastered onto the pages. They were of him and his daughter, who looked to be about seven.
The moment he showed me the photos, a knot tightened in my stomach. I looked away instinctively. I didn't need to look at pictures like this. Why would he show me something like this? It only brought back moments of grief and pain within my own life. I didn't need to keep looking at this.
“Sorry, I need to go,” I said.
“Stay!” he snapped, taking me by surprise. Mattis almost never raised his voice with me, not like he did with the other servants. “I just want to show you these pictures, Quincy. I want you to see that I understand what you've gone through.” He didn't understand shit. I didn't care what he thought or what he'd gone through. We weren't the same. He didn't understand what I'd gone through in my life or the pain I had endured.
“Quincy,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about my daughter lately.” He flipped through several pages, showing photo after photo of his late daughter, who was tragically killed by a hit- and-run driver about a decade ago. Sometimes, Mattis would become introspective like this and would mourn the passing of his late daughter. “When you look at her, it’s almost like she’s still here with us.” He lay a finger on one of his daughter’s pictures.
I remained silent.
“Is it like that with your daughter?” he asked, turning toward me.
I scrunched my brows. “No. She’s gone. There’s no getting her back. I’ve moved on.”
I remembered that one day, Mattis ordered me to kill the family of the teenager who killed his daughter. He still wanted vengeance, and I was in no position to question his authority. So, I killed the boy and his parents. Mattis thanked me endlessly for that, but his drunken fits only grew worse. He'd beat and abuse some of his Commoner servants, leaving them bruised and battered. I would often find him weeping in a corner of his room. Weeks passed, and he slowly grew better, bit by bit.
“You killed her murderer,” he said with a soft grin. “I still can't thank you enough for that.”
“I was just doing my job,” I said. “It was no different than any time before.”
“You know, Quincy. I want to thank you again for everything that you've done. This city needs more men like you, people who are willing to get shit done.”
He flipped through several more pages, but I still glanced away. The pictures of his daughter reminded me of my own family. They reminded me of how much of a failure I am. There was no one I could truly protect.
“I'm sorry about your daughter.”
I jumped up and turned toward him. “I really should be going.”
“No,” said Mattis, as he rose to his feet. “I never think I told you this, but I really am sorry for what happened to your daughter. I met her once. She was a sweet girl. I'm just letting you know. I know what it's like to be broken. I know what it's like to feel hopeless. When I lost my little girl-”
“I have plans,” I said, trying and hoping to avoid the conversation with him.
“Listen to me,” he said, wrapping his arms around me and holding me close. He smiled. “This world may be cruel, but we have each other. You're better than most Commoners. Hell, you're better than half those Elites.”
The door swung open, and Francis stood there. “Sir, I have a call from Marie. She wants to talk to you about-”
“Francis, you idiot!” Mattis screamed. “Don't interrupt me now.” He hurled the notebook at his face. It smacked his jaw. Francis stared forward, nodding. Then he turned away as he grumbled beneath his breath.
“I'm sorry that my servant was so rude.” Mattis turned to me and smiled.
“This world is cruel and unforgiving, but I know that I know that you'll always be there to do what needs to be done,” he said.
“As long as the pay is good,” I said, shrugging.
Mattis laughed, as if what I’d just said was a joke. “And that's why I like you, Quincy,” he said. “With all the bureaucratic bullshit out there, it's nice to have someone who tells it like it is.”
“Right,” I said.
We chatted some more, and I left. Talking with Mattis reminded me of my daughter. Whenever I thought about my daughter, I remembered back to my cabin on the lake. I had to get out of this city. I needed to breathe.
So, I jumped into my sedan and drove away, back to that old cabin.
Chapter 5
By sunset, I had arrived at that old cabin of mine. I bought it several years ago right after I completed a job for Mattis.
It was a nice oak house built on a lake. Towering pine trees smothered the rustic cabin. I could still remember the days when I visited this place with my family. My daughter would ride the tire swing, and I'd push her.
“Higher, higher,” she would scream, and I'd push harder. Then she'd laugh.
Now, I walked by the old tire swing. The rope had snapped, and the tire lay half-buried in a mound of dirt. I knelt and ran a hand against the tire, thinking back to those days, back when we would play. That was back when life was so innocent, so fun.
I sighed and stood back up. I walked over to the dock and stared out at the lake. The water glistened like a field of diamonds. Alice used to like swimming. She and I would get up at the crack of dawn, and swim in the chilled dusk waters.
I walked onto the wooden porch and glanced toward an oak bench. After Anna had gone to bed, Alice and I would sit out on the porch and talk. I liked the peaceful quiet nights. It helped clear my head from all the chaos going on in the city. We'd talk about life, philosophize about nothing important, and eventually, she'd pass out in my arms. I'd give h
er a kiss on the cheek and carry her up to bed.
I sighed and unlocked the front door. I stepped inside, nearly tripping over a few used, dusty needles. I stared down at the needles and felt the urge again. A sickness churned in my stomach. I shook my head and turned away from the needles.
Every weekend after I was left alone, I'd come up here and inject my veins with anything that could take the pain away. Often, I'd take enough drugs that I was sure they would kill me. Sometimes, I wished they had killed me.
I walked through the dusty old cabin. My eyes darted toward a trio of old photographs that hung up on the wall. They were all pictures of Alice, Anna, and me. We all looked so happy as we stood outside the cabin. Alice's right arm was around me, and Anna grinned brightly.
I stepped up to the photographs and ran a finger around them. In my head, I tried to imagine their voices, which grew faded with time. As I stood there thinking of them, I felt sick in my stomach. My heart ached, and I began to softly cry. At least, I was all alone. I kept crying, choking on my own misery. I'd been told that time heals all wounds, but that shit never worked for me. I just grew more pathetic with age.
I remembered back to when my wife died of cancer. She'd been sick for months, but I always told myself that it was going to get better. She was going to get better. I knew that she wasn't going to die. I even found myself going to church during those days, praying to a God that I didn't really believe in.
Then, I got the call.
I drove to the hospital, and I screamed at the doctors until they kicked me out and threatened to call the police. It was their fault. They didn't do enough to save her. Maybe it was my fault. Maybe there was something I could've done to save her.
At least, I had Anna.
For the few years after Alice's death, my daughter and I became inseparable. We made a point of coming to this cabin every weekend of the summer. She told me that I was her best friend and she was mine.
Then, she went missing.
I can still remember the day that I stormed into the school, screaming at the principal and threatening him. I'd lost my mind, but she was gone. I had nothing left.
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