Dupe Alias

Chapter One

"You know, if you wanted to, you could totally offer to buy me dinner sometime."

Leo experienced a sudden rush of excitement when, unexpectedly, the attractive, 20-something-year-old brunette invited him to invite her out to eat.

At the same time, however, Leo was deeply conflicted. "What's going on? Is she working with the police? Is this some kind of sting operation?" These thoughts flooded his mind as he internally questioned her motives, because Leo knew that no woman - in her right mind - would ever ask him out. Not unless she had ulterior motives.

He then suspected she might be a prostitute, but was not entirely certain, as she was not dressed nearly trashy enough for that. Her attire was seductive, but not enough to qualify as trashy - a plain white office shirt and black office skirt, with leg stockings and high heels. Her boobs weren't even exposed. "And why would a prostitute ask me to buy her dinner?"

"Is something wrong?" the woman asked, as Leo continued to space out.

"Uh...no. I-I mean no, nothing is wrong! And yes, I could totally buy you dinner sometime."

"Good. I'm Azure. I just moved into unit 43 a few days ago. What's your name?"

"Leo. I've been here for a while. Okay, uh...how about some time tonight?"

"Sure. How about at Crazy Dick's, at 8:00?" asked Azure.

"Uhh...that restaurant is kind of shady, don'tchya think? ...But then again, I guess there's no avoiding shady places in this neighborhood. So sure. I'll meet you there," Leo answered.

Azure then responded with a firm and unequivocal "No.".

A sudden sense of dread and disillusionment fell upon Leo, and his demeanor changed. He was deeply wounded by the sting of her bitter rejection. All of that excitement, turned to nothing in an instant. Leo wondered how he could have possibly screwed it up that quickly.

"I have a severe case of narcolepsy. I fall asleep at random times, and when I do, I really sleep. An earthquake wouldn't wake me up. I'm not legally allowed to have a driver's license, so you'd have to drive me there, and back," Azure clarified, much to Leo's relief.

And with that, Leo then agreed to drive her to Crazy Dick's and back. Their date was on.

***

Leo was living in a rather peculiar hotel. "The CrimINNal", it was called, but deliberately misspelled, with 2 Ns. It was a sketchy place that was nearly saturated with criminal activity in almost every unit - prostitution, exchanges of illegal items such as drugs and weapons, the refuge of wanted fugitives, and more.

The name was chosen by the owner so as to make it an appealing venue for criminals and their illicit activity. Due to the gloomy economy of Baltimore - and that local neighborhood in particular - such marketing tactics were deemed necessary for it to remain in business.

The CrimINNal was a slummy, 2-story structure in the middle of an urban neighborhood. Everything about it was unpleasant to the eye and would swiftly deter anyone whose income was above the national poverty threshold.

The lines drawn in the parking lot were so drawn so narrowly that even cars parked perfectly within them could not fully open their doors, due to the adjacent cars. The pavement in the lot was widely cracked, warped, and full of potholes every square meter - potholes so deep that the a person could almost commit suicide by jumping into one and plummeting to his death. The parking lot looked like it had been struck by a drone, apart from the vehicles in the lot, which were relatively unscathed.