The Black Envelope

Chapter 3: Ultimatum

Chapter 3: Ultimatum

Gage could feel the heavy bass of the music coming from the house even before he got onto the street. The only parties he had ever been to were ones where he had had to sentence someone. Every one of them was the same, though. As he turned onto the street, he realized this one wouldn't be any different.

Some rap song that he had never heard of blared out of the open windows of the third house down Ivy Street. Teenagers spilled out of the front door and, presumably, the back door, in groups and singles. Some of them we're already drunk and staggered into clusters of kids, making fools of themselves as they slurred jokes that weren’t funny and insults that didn't mean anything. The dances were obscene and the shirts low cut. Girls flirted with every guy they saw and the guys tried to look cool but failed miserably. A stereotypical under eighteen party.

At 8:00 Gage set up the street. Arriving early gave him time to scout out the party for the girl he was looking for. Zipping up a black hoodie over his Messenger's shirt he slid the black envelope into his pocket. Gage walked through the front door casually, trying as best he could to blend in with the crowd and not make a scene. He soon realized that this would be harder than he originally thought, though. Out of all the guys there, he appeared to be the oldest. And the girls appeared to be in need of a new boy toy. When they noticed new prey in the room they started to stalk towards him like lions circling in for the kill.

The girls would "accidentally" bump into him and then introduce themselves. After only five minutes he had learned more female names then he even knew existed. But still no Jackie Kellett. It was getting close to 8:15. Desperately, he started to ask the girls if they knew who she was.

One girl crinkled her eyebrows together when he asked her. "Why do you want her?" Her nose wrinkled. "She's a nobody, probably sitting in a corner somewhere. I don't know why she would even bother coming tonight." She put a hand on his upper arm and fluttered her eyelashes. "What do you need her for if you have me?" She tried to get him to sit on a couch with her.

Gage resisted her advances and tried again. "I really need to find her. I have something I need to give her. Could you please tell me where she is?"

The girl looked annoyed, but obliged, "I saw her around the kitchen about ten minutes ago."

He nodded his thanks and started moving towards the kitchen. Every time another interested girl came his way he maneuvered around them. A couple times he stopped someone and asked them if they had seen Jackie. Most of them pointed in the general direction of the kitchen and moved on.

When he got there he saw about ten guys and ten girls all clumped together in the middle of the room, along with a bunch of stragglers getting food, drinks and such. Gage looked around and realized that he had no idea what he was looking for. He'd been in such a hurry to get away from the insistent girls that he didn't even ask them what Jackie looked like. Finally, he sighed and walked over to the group.

Gage tapped one of them on the shoulder and got the groups entire attention. Great. He thought. After a moment he asked the dreaded question, "Is there a Jackie Kellett here?" One of the guys nodded towards the kitchen table. Gage thanked him and started walking to the table, aware that the groups eyes were still on him.

When he stopped in front of the table the two girls sitting there immediately ceased talking and looked up at him.

"Jackie Kellet?" He asked simply.

The girl sitting on the left looked up at him. She had fiery red hair and strong features that currently looked politely puzzled. "Yeah, that’s me, you need something?"