Red Shadows

In Chains

ALICE

Alice followed Andrew as he lead her to a private room and the end of the building. The room was lit in a neon lightshow with a table in the center, surrounded by couches on all four walls. On her left was a cabinet, filled with whiskey, vodka and wines. A glass ash tray was placed in the middle of the table, with ash filled. The air was stuffed with the smell of tobacco and musky body spray.

He gestured her towards the seat next to him as he sat down, his expression cocky and arrogant. Alice took the seat on the other side, and stared blankly at him. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, was it fear, anger, nerves or her restlessness and itch to pull her gun and shot him.
Him knowing who she was meant he was either a big shot or worked for someone big.

She had buried her old identity, literally. The only people who knew about her was her family otherwise, she should be dead. Yet here's this man awakening a dead corpse that was rotting.
Perhaps her reaction was also to blame. She could have acted oblivious, but now wasn't the time to dwell on what if. She had to know what he wanted, and why approach her.

"Don't look so tense," he chuckled.

"Talk." she said sternly.

Andrew sighed, "We should be friends first before we talk don't you think."

Alice clenched her teeth and had a dead look on her face. He was wasting her time.

"We live in a world were power means absolutely safety. Without it, the world would be in a turmoil, don't you think." he said as he poured himself a glass of whiskey.
"My line of work requires me to have this kind of power and this also means I have to have a few hands that get dirty. That's why I need to have a few...people to get their hands dirty for me. Without money the power becomes weakened, meaning you're vulnerable." He looked at Alice with a smirk.
"So I have this...job that has to be done and from what I've read and heard about you, you're quite skilled. Think of it as a repay for what happened at the ally. It really did cost me a fortune. I need you to....retrieve something of mine from the man you saved yesterday."

" And if I said no? "

" I would recommend you don't. I'm not known for kindness. I always get what I want."

"Im not obligated to take this job. I'm not the type to be threatened into doing something or work for someone
Besides, you wouldn't be able to afford my services."

"I beg to differ."

"This is a waste of my time." Alice rolled her eyes as she stood up.

"Perhaps if you look at this in my perspective, the loss I've had to deal with, you'd have a better understanding. I sure for someone like you with your background you understand this situation."

Alice scoffed, then chuckled then laughed loudly. Was he serious right now, she thought. Her heart was pounding against her chest as she tried to surpress herself from going ballistic.

"So that's how you plan indulging me into your shit? By using my past?" she asked, looked at him like a mad person.
It didn't make it better that he looked unbothered by her reaction. She could sense he wasn't just an anybody and she had just walked into trouble, involuntarily.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Andrew said darkly.

"Or what," Alice asked looking at him dead in the eye. "You'll send people after me? Honestly you wouldn't be the first."

"I'd be the first to leave a deep wound unlike the others."

"I appreciate the offer but I'll kindly decline. It was nice meeting you," she walked toward the door.
"Oh," she said, " and one more thing, your dancing was like walting with a giant log lodged to the ground. Very unpleasant and uncomfortable. If you want to woo a lady, change your instructor, they're not doing you any justice." she turn to walk away and got instant chills on her body. Now she had to move, very very far away.

She needed a drink, a strong one enough to atleast make her feel less suffocated.
At that moment, memories flooded her mind as she walked down the stairs. One in particular of when she first held a gun. Her father stood next to her, his gray eyes swirling like a storm with a stone look in his eyes.

"To survive one needs to be able to set aside compassion, pity and fear." He looked at the golden retriever named Odin, his fluffy tail swifting happily, his innocent happy face filled with naive oblivion joy at the site of Alice.

"When it is time, you will need to be heartless enough to kill even that your hold dear in your heart to survive."
He looked at her again and nodded at her puppy.
"You won't have time to care for him, he'll be a distraction."
He liftes her hand and pointed the piston at Odin and stared at her. Alice trembled under the weight of the gun and the lump in her throat. Her heart tighten in her chest and tears half blinding her. Her father's gaze felt heavy on her small 12 year old body.
A different fear crept up her hands, if she didn't pull the trigger what would happen to her or Obin, her little mind couldn't even comprehend the thought. The little fings gripped the trigger. She slowly pulled...

Alice blinked and looked around. The taxi had pulled up in front Gaze Club and the driver was looking at her as if he was waiting for something. Alice blinked a few times before she paided for the ride.

She got out of the car and headed inside. She sat in a lounge area and the music played and sweaty people danced in the crowd. She ordered a bottle of wine and poured it as the music covered her thoughts. She took her phone and dailed Dina's number.
It rang a few times and she ended up picking up.
"Alice! Where are you? I just got home and you weren't there."
"Home? I thought you were going to be at the ball for a while longer. What happened?"
"I got a call from the building manager saying that someone broke into the apartment so I thought you lost the keys. But when I got here, everything was OK and the manager said he called the wrong unit."

Wrong unit? That was odd. The manager barely made a mistake and now he got the wrong unit?
"Dina do you think you can meet me at the Gaze? I'm really lonely here."
"The Gaze? Why are...excuse me, who are you? You can't just walk..." Suddenly Alice heard Dina scream at the end of the line. She stood up.
"Dina! Dina, what's happening?!"
There was silence.
"Andrew sends his regards." a male said at the end of the line before dropping the call. Alice stood there for a minute. What had she done. She grabbed her bag and rushed out.