Mystery Noir

Sins and Lies Part 1

The drive had been uneventful, with Penny sitting beside me, grinning as she texted back and forth with Mo through most of the hours we were on the road. I would stop when the car needed more gas, giving myself enough time to use the washroom while Penny stretched her legs, grabbed food and coffee and also used the toilet.

We could have stopped part way along and as I fought to find the energy to stay awake during the last couple hours of the drive, I wished I had. But I wanted to get to town early, and we had left with only a day or two to spare. I had an unsettled feeling about what this meeting was going to be about, though seeing Penny grin as she stared out at the bright lights of the strip as we drove down it helped.

"Have you never been?" I asked as we stopped at a light, observing Penny staring out the window at the fountain show that was choreographed to the sound of Lady Gaga.

Penny laughed softly and shook her head. "Nah. I'm not a gambler. It seems like a lot of... excess."

I nodded in response, before driving further down the strip. It made me glad that I had settled on a resort hotel, if only because Penny would hopefully enjoy the experience. At the time of booking, I had merely chosen a place that was busy enough that no one would try anything while we were there.

In short order, we pulled up to the front door of the giant glass pyramid. I dug my phone out of my pocket and pulled open the reservation, allowing the doorman to scan the barcode. One glance at the screen in his hand and he had signalled someone to come get the bags that Penny and I were pulling out of the car.

A valet got in and drove away and near instantly an alert on my phone told me I had an electronic ticket for my car, and I would only need to text fifteen minutes before I needed my vehicle. Another alert told me that my room was ready, and I glanced over to see Penny grinning at her phone.

"We're already checked in. That's outstanding... oh... wow..." Penny glanced around, taking in the signs and bars and gift shops as we followed the guy without bags to the elevator.

"I know we only have a couple nights here. We have tonight and tomorrow night free. Then we may have to leave quickly after the meeting. If not, we're booked to stay another day or two, if you want to look at shows or something." I offered when we stepped into the silent elevator with our porter.

Penny nodded slowly, looking my way as she said. "Do you feel up to something tonight?"

A glance at my phone told me it was nearly supper time, so I nodded. "I can grab a coffee on the way, but if we go, I must go soon. If I sit down, I'll fall asleep."

The elevator dinged, and the porter led us out of the elevator and down a chic hallway. He stopped at the end, in an alcove that held two doors, and I slipped him a twenty as we scanned our electronic door keys. Once the doors clicked open, he grinned and turned away from us, heading back the way we had come.

"Ok. Shower and meet out here in twenty?" Penny pushed her door open, grabbing her bags and pausing as she looked at me. "We can walk. Check something out, or even here, there are a couple shows."

"Sounds like a plan." I grinned to Penny and stepped into my room, grinning as I heard her exclaim in surprise before our doors closed, cutting off sound from outside.

Though it was not a luxury suite, the rooms were stocked with everything. I had a king bed and a jacuzzi tub, complete with a minibar and toiletries. I was running on gas fumes, having not slept in nearly a full twenty-four hours, but a shower and a hotel room coffee perked me up enough that I was conscious when Penny knocked on my door twenty minutes later.

She was happy just to wander the strip a bit and grab some food at a place a short ways away, and if I was still awake, there was an acrobatic action show at the hotel we were staying in, in a couple hours.

The crowds weren't obnoxious as we wandered, and I grinned as I watched Penny take in the cheap sights that were still interesting once I shook off my scepticism. There were a lot of supernaturals wandering through the surrounding crowds, most of them harmlessly making their way like anyone else was. I noticed a couple more predatory individuals prowling, but my senses were dull from exhaustion and no one seemed to be in immediate danger.

Penny's enjoyment of the scenery, food and show were enough to buoy be through a couple more hours until we finally made our way back up to our rooms. The world was spinning from how tired I was and the couple beers I had drank and Penny was grinning happily to me as she chatted about the show we had watched. It had involved dancing and acrobatics in the air, all based around some action storyline that had people fighting and running around shooting fake guns at one another.

"So I know you'll sleep a bunch, but you want to grab breakfast together? There's a pancake and waffle place a short walk away." Penny grinned hopefully to me.

Part of me wanted to suggest to her she should explore on her own, but I stopped myself before I said it. Looking at her, I realized that I did not know how comfortable she was in a strange city. And she seemed in tune with supernaturals, though we had not discussed just how and in what way. So she knew that we were in a hotbed for non-humans, and that if hunters and investigators gathered here, there must be a lot of bad things going on.

Penny was a smart girl, and if I was being honest, it was better that we stuck together, anyway. So I smiled and nodded, pulling out my phone and pulling up my door code to unlock my door. "Sure. Just call and text me until I wake up."

"Maybe we can go over what to expect at the meeting too? I mean, you kind of explained it, but... I still don't know." Penny opened her own door, pausing on the threshold. "I know I'm a pain."

"No. I get it. I would want to know more." I smiled to her and let out a slow breath. "We'll talk tomorrow, and we'll drive by the place, it's way off the strip, but you have a good head for these things, and I would like your thoughts on how to approach. There's an unspoken 'don't fuck with each other' rule during these meetings, but who knows, right?"

She gave me a firm nod. "Ok. Sleep well. I'm going to go call Mo..."

And with that, we turned into our rooms. I looked down at my phone and saw a couple missed texts. One from Ver and one from Enzo. As I locked my door, I half wondered about why they didn't seem as worried about Vegas as they had been when I had gone on a job. I almost got my back up about it when I realized something.

Penny was probably checking in with the two of them, so they weren't hounding me because they had a spy with me. I didn't really mind. Penny had struck up a friendship with the two men that reminded me of siblings. And it wasn't like I was hiding anything from the men, I just didn't spend all my time texting random people.

Or anyone, really.

Other than Ver, Enzo and Penny, I didn't text anyone at all.

I texted back and forth with both of them as I got ready for bed and double-checked to make sure the doors and windows were all secure.

I fell asleep while watching a stupid video Enzo had sent me about horses rolling down hills or something.