DEATH EMPRESS - JACK WILDER [1]

4: Secrets

     I walk into the main room of our hotel suite in Aria where we wait patiently for the FBI agents to arrive and take us away. Daniel looks out the large glass window as he shuffles through his deck of cards. Merritt reads a strange book while laying down on the couch still in his pajamas, not bothering to have changed. Jack sits in a chair, legs propped on the top of a small table as he tries desperately hard to fall asleep. I don't blame him; I thought these agents would have been here hours ago, but I suppose they're not as skilled and stealthy as they think they are.

     I walk over to the loveseat next to the couch Merritt lays on and slump down on the cushion. "When are we leaving?" I whine, pouting my lip as I await an answer.

     "In a matter of time," Danny says, never breaking his stare from the large window.

     I turn my body around in the loveseat so that my back can rest on the actual seat while my legs droop down the backrest. My hair dangles as it touches the ground, blood quickly rushing to my head. "I'm so bored."

     "Ask me if I care," Danny says emotionless.

     I raise my head to glare at him, then smile sarcastically. "Hey, Danny, do you care about my utter apathy at this very moment?"

     He finally looks back, his smile even more mocking than mine. "No."

     I feign my hurt at his response. "My life depends on the approval and consideration of J. Daniel Atlas as I devote my entire being to him. What will I possibly do without it?"

     Jack lets out a weary laugh, rubbing his eyes as he finds my current situation amusing. I would love nothing more than for us to be a regular couple and waste our time on each other so that my boredom would never strike. However, there isn't much Jack and I can do in our situation that would satisfy our romantic interest in each other.

     "Cry me a river," Danny replies. I can practically feel him rolling his eyes.

     "The sooner you realize that everyone else's lives don't revolve around yours," I say to him, closing my eyes as I let me head fall back. "The better."

      "Hey, will you two stop bickering?" Merritt asks of us, revealing his face from behind his book. "I happen to find this book very interesting and can't concentrate when you two are snapping at each other like turtles."

     I sigh. "Sorry, Merritt. What's your book about?"

     "I would love to tell you," he begins, gluing the book back to his face. "As soon as I can gain my concentration back and actually start paying attention to what it says."

     "Looks like that'll have to wait for another time." Danny locks his eyes on the ground stories below, but his trancelike behavior never seizes as he continues to shuffle the deck in his hands. "They're here."

     Just as everyone begins to settle in what he just said, the door gets kicked open in an abrupt manner as a load of men in suits with gun as come barging in, startling me as I almost fall out of my awkward position.

     "FBI! Hands where I can see them!"

     "Uno minuto," Merritt diversely replies, never dropping the book from his hold. I appreciate his humor as I very much doubt he can even give his full attention to the book right now.

     "Let's go!" One of the agents is very persistent, pointing his gun at us as if he's actually going to fire it. "Get em' up! Put the book down."

     "Alright," Merritt says, placing his book on his chest and holds up peace signs. "You got me."

     I regain my regular position and become lightheaded as the blood from my head rushes back down to my body. I hold my hands up halfway in a sarcastic and lazy manner along with everyone else, but they fall back down as I spy chocolates on the table in front of me. I pick one up and a guy in a suit points his pathetic gun at me, though it doesn't scare me because I know they can't shoot me. It would be useless if they did and their attempt to be intimidating amuses me so much that my boredom vanishes quickly.