Vengeance [Avengers Fanfiction]

[Chapter 5]

[Quinn]

    At 11:02, the next night, I was walking down the streets towards O'Leery's, wearing some jeans, a tattered navy hoodie, and my glasses. If I was going to be gone for a few days, I needed to make sure Rob knew I couldn't come to work because I didn't want to lose my job. It was my only source of income, (well, besides the occasional street fight), and it was the only job I could find that didn't take your age or ID. It was a 'as long as you work well there will be no questions asked' kind of job. I opened the dirty glass door and stepped inside of the bar, then made my way through the smoky interior towards the back where Rob always was. He looked up as I stood behind his chair.

    "Alexis! What a nice surprise!" He puffed a ring of smoke from his cigarette before continuing. "What are you doing here, I thought I gave you a day off?"

    "I'm having some family problems, and I won't be at work for a while. I need some time off," I lied.

    Rob gave me a chilling, fake smile, reminding me of a fox trying to negotiate a deal.

    "I already gave you a day off, how generous can I get? Besides, I can't lose money. I have to run a business." He took another drag off of his cigarette. "Besides, what kind of family problem is this?"

    I knew he would ask questions, to make sure I wasn't lying. Rob may be a careless slob in everything else he does, but when it comes to business and profit, he's actually quite cunning.

    "One of my family members is very close to death, any day now, actually. I need to fly to another state to help arrange the funeral, make sure there is a will, that stuff."

    His eyes narrowed. "What state will you be going to?"

    "Nebraska, where most of my family is from."

    "How long will you be gone? If it's over a few days, I can hire someone to take your job. Less of a loss for my profit, you see."

    He had me cornered, and he knew it. Now, I had to give him an offer he couldn't refuse.

    "Every day that I'm not at work, I'll work a day for you, free. No pay."

    One of Rob's friends that was sitting next to him at the bar whistled. "Better take that deal, Rob. This girlie here isn't joking around."

    After a second of Rob contemplating my offer, most likely calculating how much more he'll earn, he nodded and gave a small grunt.

    "See you then, and don't be afraid to take your time."

    With that I left O'Leery's and headed towards my apartment about 5 blocks away. When I say apartment, I don't mean one where there's a lobby where you get a room and pay rent and everything, I mean the abandoned apartment I live in. Since I don't want anyone to know my identity because everyone thinks I'm dead, I found an empty apartment to call home.

    A few years ago the first couple of floors caught on fire, and it was left as the owner bought another building to use. It was too much of a hassle to tear down, not to mention the money it would take to do so, so the building was left, a vacated shell. I live on the top floor, where I can see most of the backside of the city. I have furniture and sheets and all that, since the fire burned down the main staircase and the elevator was deemed unfit to use. Everything in the apartment was left like it was, excepting personal belongings of the residents that were retrieved via the fire escape that conveniently led up all the way to my floor. I have everything that I would have in a normal, paid apartment, except for a working phone. Most of the electrical work wasn't damaged in the fire because the main wiring is in the basement, meaning that I can do laundry and watch the news. I assume that the owner of the building forgot to cut off the water and electricity, lucky for me. I always keep the blinds and curtains drawn to not attract suspicion. I mean, what would you think if you saw lights coming from a vacant building?