Finding Lily

28- Alex

I stood on Luke's doorstep a moment longer. Confused. Angry. Some combination of the two. With a huff, I walked down the cracked path and sat in my car. I didn't want to go back to Daniel's work. Sleeping in the doctor's office was getting old, as was being around him so much in a day. I needed space. I needed change.

Without much thought, I drove north. The roads eventually turned smoother the further I was from the city. Trees started replacing trash cans until, thirty minutes later, I was in a different world altogether. I wandered around for a while until I ended up in a store. I'd been there before. I used to own a couple of pieces they had designed.

When I shopped here, I had put some effort into being pretty. I had a daily morning and night routine for my face. I styled my hair. I wore makeup and watched tutorials. Grooming used to be the most tiresome part, but girls in Barrio's Edge didn't have to deal with that like everyone else. Once you got to high school, most of them had their hair permanently removed. Armpits, legs, bikini lip, eyebrows, you name it. I had been pressured into getting the same treatment. I had my nails done every week, too. And actually learned to enjoy it.

Since that fateful night, all of that had been thrown off the table. I didn't have anyone to impress. I didn't want to waste time on my appearance when I needed to concentrate on survival and getting revenge.

So what was I doing, standing in front of a mirror with a dress I couldn't afford?

"You're gonna look so hot in that." Jane would have said. As I held up the tight black dress, I saw her in the reflection looking back at me with a smile. Memories of perusing the sale racks, looking for the perfect outfit for the upcoming weekend, gently eased their way into my brain. Jane was my wingwoman. She spent more time picking out things for me than for herself. She was the only one that didn't judge me for where I came from. Or who my family was.

"Need any help, ma'am?" The saleswoman asked. I had no idea how long I'd been standing there, staring at myself. It must have been a while judging by the look she was giving me.

"No. I'm good." I hastily put the garment back and scurried out of the store. I don't know what propelled me to go shopping at the mall in Barrio's Edge. Memories, maybe? Familiarity? Whatever it was, I left twenty minutes after I had gotten there.

I was sad to leave these roads. They contrasted sharply against the streets of Cori and made driving actually enjoyable. My car seemed to sigh in relief as well without having to dodge potholes and broken class.

The gate separating Barrio's Edge from Cori reminded me of a prison wall with its barbed wire and impenetrable stone. Cori was the rundown city with rampant crime and poverty, but Barrio's Edge was the place that was hard to go in and out of. The top 1% that isolated themselves within the walls didn't want anyone else coming in. They also didn't want their neighbors to leave. It was too dangerous. They might die.

Entering Barrio's Edge for the first time had me rolling my eyes. My mother and father raised me in a small town in northern Maine, away from the social hierarchy. I didn't know there was such a thing as a wealth gap or greed. Gina showed me there was. She bought extravagant things and spoke with a classist tone. How she fell for my dad, a middle class man from the country, was beyond me.

"You sure you want to leave, ma'am?" The gateman said. He was holding onto my ID, the one with Gina's address and an old photo. My key to the upper class world, should I ever choose to enter it.

"Yes. I'll be fine, thank you."

The man glanced at my car before handing me back the plastic card. Vehicles in this part of the world were all from this year. Mine stood out like a sore thumb, and attracted looks from all of the residents in this godforsaken town.

As I sped away, I realized I never wanted to go back there. Not even to live out a memory of Jane.

Once I got back to my father's building, I walked through all of the cubicles until I got to his office. It was behind a large oak door that had his name tacked onto it on a silver plaque. I knocked once and waited. A minute later, he let me in.

"I wanna go after Ray." I told him.

Dan settled behind his desk. His office looked like it belonged to a financial executive as opposed to an assassin, but that's how it was supposed to be just in case it ever got raided. A picture of me sat on his desk next to the computer monitor. His chair was made of black leather and he had a green leafy plant in the corner. I sat on a smaller chair in front of him, one without armrests and a thinner cushion.

And this time, I decided not to pull a gun on him.

"Ok." Dan replied. "You're not asking for my permission, are you?"

"No. I'm just letting you know."

Dan folded his hands on top of the table, his fingers interlocking with each other. "I can't send anyone with you. You'd have to go alone." Dan had explained once before that previous missions to the island had proven wildly unsuccessful. He'd lost too many men to try it again. Luke had been the only one willing to take on the challenge.

"Good." I didn't trust anyone but myself. Now that I was back to full health, I was more than capable of taking Ray down.

"I can help you with exfil."

"You don't wanna come?"

"You'd want me to?"

"No. I'm just surprised you didn't offer."

"You've made it pretty clear what you think of me." Dan frowned. I was glad. Maybe he'd stop apologizing. They meant nothing to me. And neither did his attempts to save my life when I was 100% capable of handling myself.

"So you can help with transportation?" I confirmed. I had lost all of my resources from the first mission and didn't have the patience to get more. I had forgiven Dan enough to ask him for help, nothing more.

"Yes."

"Great. I'll be leaving in two days."