Capricious

~Foreboding~

'Journalism will kill you, but it will keep you alive while you are at it.' - Horace Greely.

I tucked a stray hair behind my ear and nudged my way through the crowd. The sun shone brightly through the clouds as I rushed toward my favorite little coffee shop to do some writing.

Carl, my editor on my trail about getting another piece published.

"Come on Alex, you need something uploaded even if it is a fluff piece." He sighed over the phone. 

"I know Carl! But I'm telling you I'm really close to something huge! Please just trust me." I pled. 

"I don't know..." He considered. 

"Please Carl, for me~"

"Fine... But I can only extend your window till Thursday." he consented. 

"You're the best Carl!" I beamed.

"I know." He sighed, hanging up the phone with a click.

This was perfect. I'd been sitting at a desk in London doing fluff pieces for three years...but now I actually had something to write.

It had started a few months ago when the police back home started looking for the members of some big gang... Let's call them the brotherhood. London police had declared a code red and all flights and such were monitored. For weeks there was nothing. Then... I got a tip. I still don't know who gave it to me, but as a junior investigative journalist at the sun... All I knew was this was my big break. There was no way I was going to mess it up.

So I went to Paris... on my own.

I rented a hotel room, on my own.

And now here I sit, typing this up in a cafe in Paris, on my own.

Do you see the pattern?

There is a reason for that unfortunately.

Yup. My scumbag of a boyfriend and I broke up. I wish I could say we are on good terms but well... He was cheating on me.

 So here I am doing the best I can to escape. Throwing myself into my work, and trying to catch some scumbags and make the world a better place. So at least something came out of this. I guess...

Anyways back to the task at hand. There is three reasons I chose this cafe to do my writing.

1) It's quiet

2) It has the BEST croissants.

3) I have a perfect view of where I believe the 'Brotherhood' has their base of operations.

Perfection.

You are probably wondering why I have not contacted the police. It's not 100% that i need the scoop... I need evidence before the police will do anything... and a scoop would further my career so quickly~.

But I digress.  

I had been watching the house that the tip had given me for five days now, it was Monday and my funds were getting mighty low. So I decided if there was ever a time to take courage. It was now.

I packed up my laptop and things and took them quickly back to my room at the hotel.

I looked into my wardrobe and frowned. I don't know what I was thinking when I packed. There was not a single pair of jeans or slacks or anything... I remember now. I just tossed some clothes into my bag when I had left.

Gabriela was livid. I should have been the one who was mad but no. The woman who stole my man was yelling at me as I blinked back tears and packed my bag. It was awful. If Cindy hadn't arrived home when she did I don't know what I would have done.

"Gabby what the hell?! I can hear you all the way down to the parking lot!" Cindy scolded as she opened the front door.  

"Alex is going to Paris!!!" Gabby stated forcefully. 

"What? When?" Cindy asked her violet eyes flickering between the two of us.

"Now apparently." Gabby groused. 

"Why are you going now Honey?" Cindy asked kindly as she strode into my room.

"Why don't you tell her Gabby?" I snapped as I slammed shut my suitcase, and tromped to the living room.

Gabby opened and shut her mouth a few times. Cindy turned to me.

"Well?" Cindy asked softly. 

I glared at Gabby and she sighed.

"Here is my key. See you never Alex." She spat throwing the keys at me. 

"That's fine by me you horrid evil-"

She slammed the door behind her, and I broke down telling Cindy everything.

But none of that mattered now. I reminded myself as I pulled my light brown hair into a neat bun.

I locked eyes with myself and shook my head, as I selected a knee length grey skirt and smoothed my blue blouse.

Finally I tucked a recording device into my shirt. I grabbed a small camera and headed out toward the warehouse.