The Phoenix Society

Chapter 1

It was late. The only light that shone was from the moon lighting up the bustling street. I stood against the brick wall outside of the club, stuffing my hands into my jacket pockets. I propped my leg up against the wall as my eyes scanned the groups of people coming in and out. I rolled my eyes as a young girl wrapped her arms around the neck of a man clearly too old for her. Her body was nearly limp, leaving the man to carry her. She had her nose nuzzled in his neck and was whispering words that were too drunk to make any sense.

I don't know how long I had been out here, but it felt like forever and I was getting impatient. The entrance of the club grew loud as a large group of people made their exit. I eyed the group. Three males each with a blond girl attached to their hip, staggering as they left the club. I wondered where they were off to next. As I watched the group intently my eyes landed on him. At first, I couldn't quite tell if he was with them or not. But as the group walked down the street, the man became further away. I waited until he crossed the street and into an ally before I started after him. I jogged down the ally making sure to keep my distance. The man walked quickly, like he had somewhere he had to be. Where that was at 2 am, I was unsure. As I neared the man, I reached down into my boot where I had hid my daggers. The man stopped abruptly spinning around.

"Can I help you?" He asked as his bushy eyebrows formed into a frown. He was a younger man, probably in his mid-thirties. In my opinion he was dressed rather nice for a club, in a black suit. His hair, which I could tell was curly, was slicked back with so much gel it created little waves on top his head.

"Actually, you can." I held my dagger tightly in my hand as I inched closer to him. "Do you know a man by the name of Monroe?"

The man brough his hand up to his chin pretending to think. I rolled my eyes, not amused by his attitude. "No, doesn't ring a bell."

"Hmm," I said, matching his taunting. "How about the Phoenix Society."

"Sorry," The man started to turn away from me. "You must have the wrong guy."

"No, I don't think I do Rider." I leaded against the wall studying my dagger. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the man slowly turn around. "Rider Olson." I said as if I was reading out of a textbook. "Born in Delaware and moved to the city five years ago where you started your very own buying and selling agency, although no one knows how you seemed to have made the profit you did in such a short time. But that's beside the point." I smirked. "You have a wife and two beautiful children. What were their names again?" The man swallowed nervously as I spoke. "Clare and Daniel?"

"H-how do you..." He trailed off.

"Know?" I suggested as I paced in front of him. "You can find anything on the internet these days."

"What do you want?" Rider asked me, his eyes following my movement.

"Do you know a man by the name of Monroe?" I repeated, hoping this time for a different answer.

"I told you; I don't know him."

I raised my eyebrow. "Is that your final answer?"

Rider nodded slowly, still playing dumb...I hated when they played dumb. I stared at the man for a minute then whipped my leg around into a roundhouse kick knocking him to the ground. Rider grunted trying to get up but I placed the heel of my boot on his chest overpowering him.

"See, that my friend, is what I call a rhetorical question."

"I will have you arrested!" Rider yelled. "For assault."

I laughed as I launched a knife straight down. "You think I care about the police?" The knife hit the man's sleeve connecting him with the ground. His eyes widened as I did it again to his other arm, this time nicking his wrist. I watched as blood dripped out and onto the ground.