All Is Fair In Love And War

Chapter 7

Apollo

**Glades P.O.V**

I have never been to a big city before. The streets of NYC are four to five lanes wide. Cars, trucks, and eighteen Wheeler's all honking and yelling out their windows in impatient excitement. Mason and Rowan were silent most of the ride, but once and a while would exchange a few notes and suggestions. We had stopped only four times for gas on the way. It seemed like forever until we reached New York. Rowan knew the address of their friend and we were to arrive there at 7:00 AM. We drove through the night and were now about fifteen minutes until our destination. On either side of the street were giant business buildings and skyscrapers so tall, I had to bend at odd angles to see the tops of them. No one else paid any attention or seemed like they cared at all. They acted as if they had been here a million times. Although I doubt Alejandro has ever been out of town. He gazes out the window with no enthusiasm. I watch him, wondering what is going through his head. Does he know the man we are about to meet? I watched his eyes. They looked glazed over as if he was far away. In another world. He stared out the window at nothing for a few more minutes. And then, noticing me watching him, he turns to face me. He doesn't say anything to break the silence. Then, he smiles. It startled me how fast the transition was. A blank dry emotionless face turns into a warm, cheeky smile. In the few nights I have known him, He never smiled. The closest thing to contentment, I had seen on his face, was the slight glow of victory in hearing he would come on the trip with us. I smiled back and we both returned to staring out our windows. 

         "here we are." announced the Wife Beater, As we pulled into a parking spot on the side of the street. I looked out my window to see a long row of apartment buildings made of brick.          "Do you think we should have contacted him first?" asked Mason as he stepped out of the truck and shut the door. I got out of the truck as well and stepped beside him as the rest of the group gathered on the sidewalk. "Nah," said wife beater. "I don't think it will make much of a difference. I'm sure he will welcome the surprise." He added with a smile. Wife-beater and Mason walked up to the door of the apartments. there was a little box screwed to the wall with a bunch of numbers and buttons. The wife beater pressed one of them and it made a buzzing sound. Everything was silent for about thirty seconds and then another short buzz interrupted the silence along with a heart-stopping deep voice.

"Who is it?" The man sounded slow and drawn out. He sounded like a bear if a bear could talk.    "It's Casper and Barbie," said Wife Beater in reply. There was another short buzz, and the door unlocked. The number of the room on the button Wife beater pressed was thirty-three. So we stepped inside and walked to door thirty-three. Mason went to knock on the door, but before he had the chance, the door slowly opened. It was a basic, cheap metal door with about three locks. The man who opened the door was huge. He must be about six four and weigh more than two hundred pounds. I immediately felt threatened and backed up a foot into the stairway. Corporal Hickok Raven towered over us like a tsunami. Huge and indestructible. He eyed all four of us. When we made eye contact, my whole body convulsed. His dark thin eyes were shadowed by his squinting brow. He finally broke contact and opened the door fully to let us in. They go in and  Mason turns and nods at me to follow. I am not a hundred percent sure I want to.              

Regardless, I follow him into the apartment. The room is clean. Very clean. There is a single leather couch in the main room in front of where a TV would normally be, but instead, there is an oldies radio. The room was neat and tidy, along with the rest of the apartment. It reminded me of the pictures in magazines. Nothing is personalized. Mason sits on the leather couch as the man asks, "Why are you here?". Casper answers, "We are trying to get the gang back together, I'll go into more detail when I get some coffee in my system." Casper goes to the cupboard above the stove on the opposite side of the room and grabs a tin can.  While he makes a very strong cup of coffee, he explains the entire situation. No one interrupts or adds anything.