On the outside of the wine factory, two men moved in and out of the garage, each time carrying out a box and setting them at the back of the truck. Much of their distaste, the weather was not at all favorable and the chilling wind started to haunt the men as their repetitive work continued to midnight.
Curious as to why the other man was delivering so many cases of wine, the man wearing a trench coat asked, "Where are you delivering today, James?"
"Club Siren," the other unwaveringly replied, he was not too keen on delivering at night time, or rather, midnight really, but reminded of his young daughter at home, his hands tightened around the goods.
"Isn't that the nightclub downtown?"
"Yeah, a creepy place really, all glamorous out top, but the place they have built this thing on…" He added, "Lenocord is not the best neighborhood."
To their relief, the immense amount of boxes finally seemed to have reached an end. "Well." The man dusted himself off and headed back into the factory. "It's sad to work on Christmas Eve, but may you have a wonderful night." He added a rather sarcastic tone to it and did a mocking bow.
James chuckled in return and flipped open the door to his truck. He sighed as a stack of snow has covered over the head of the truck. With a shovel in hand, he dug away the snow around the wheels, and he was on his way to Club Siren, the only place at night shining bright with light decorations and the fancy fireworks.
After an hour long of driving through snow as thick as mud, he got to the club and concluded that no matter how much he's getting, no sum of money would be enough for this. "Hello, James, how's the Christmas Eve going for you?" Welcoming the package of wine, a lady of slim build and glamorous makeup came to him with a basket of Christmas food.
"Would have been nice if I could stay home, but either way, too late to regret." He paused for a minute and unlocked the backdoor of the truck. "Just hoping that I am getting paid well enough to not spend my daughter's first Christmas home."
"Mister Walker has already forwarded the money, so there shouldn't any worries, you can leave the delivery outside, just hurry and go home then." She smiled kindly and waved goodbye as the man left the port.
Her lips retracted to a worried smile as she looked around and realized that it had to be at least two in the morning, her breath came out as vapor and she kneed down to start moving the boxes, despite she was wearing a think dress with an opened section around the thighs. She whispered and sang to herself a Christmas carol.
The lights outside the garage blinked in an odd fashion, and the light seemed to be wavering back and forth, reminding one of the faint lights of a matchstick. Would be nice to have something warm to drink right now…
"Miss Sapphire!" A familiar voice came from the back of the alley which startled her a bit. She sprung back up and wiped the snow off the back of her dress. "Seems a bit careless to be wearing such a thin dress?"
Clearly annoyed at the man, Sapphire frowned and crossed her arms. "Why, hello, Inspector Ruby, such a pleasure seeing you here." Despite the formal greeting, it was clear to the young man that the girl was not at all happy to see him.
"How can I help you?"
"Business as usual, but the current minister was keen for our investigation to tie up all the loose ends, so I had to revisit all the cases again before his arrival."
"And you are here at the back alley of the club for?" Sapphire's hands waved around at the surroundings, creating a rather embarrassing moment.
To an inspector, public image was rather important, and one way to stain the image would be admitting to a club girl that he was trying to sneak into a nightclub.
"Well, I thought I saw you in the back so I came to say hello."
Knowing that there was no point to quarrel with an official, Sapphire went back into carrying the boxes to the storage.
While this was a sign for Ruby to leave, he didn't quite catch the meaning of this, and stood by. "Shouldn't there be workmen here, instead of letting a woman doing the jobs for them?"
"Yes. But the 'men' have to stay home in celebration for Christmas, and I am, sadly, all alone for this evening." She caught a glimpse at him, wearing a long brown coat down to his knees, and a pair of trousers that were warm looking. She has dealt with the inspector a lot in the past year, and since their first meeting, she has noted his handsome appearance, and rather attractive aura, but when a man aims to take down the company that you work for, it is quite hard to even suggest a relationship. Plus, the inspector's grudging personality was sure to drive her off.
"What about you, inspector?"
"My girlfriend left town to visit her family home, so I am, sadly, alone too."
Sapphire shivered as the Christmas Eve snow returned, she sighed as she cursed her luck. The wooden casing felt exceptionally cold at touch. She let down the box to warm her hands, stretching them to gain some control over the cold.
Being a gentleman at heart, Ruby unbuttoned his coat and gently laid it on her shoulders. "Careful, Miss Sapphire, it's a cold night, and you need all your strength got tomorrow's Christmas Performance, no?"
Startled by the show of kindness, Sapphire paused for a moment as her face turned a pale shade of red, either from the freezing chill, or the sudden motion. "Oh, of course. Umm… Thank you…"
He tipped his fingers in the air, as if he had a hat, and he left the alley way, leaving Sapphire again, alone, in the dark.
Under the weak light of the candles set around the room, Blue Walker stood firmly in front of the window, staring down at the town. He saw everything. From the side of road where a man has just come out from the store with fresh breadsticks, down to the alleyway where the nosy inspector has just visited.
He frowned as the man left the shadow of his club building. He didn't like the inspector, not when he was elected, not when he started questioning his club, and not when he passed the registration that prevented him from expanding his empire. A loud display of midnight frantic interrupted his thoughts. He looked back into the inner layer of his 'home', it was a ballroom of at least two hundred meters wide and long. Christmas has not affected the popularity of the place; it brought more people, in fact.
Blue might not have a good reputation in town; people regarded him as a man with low morals, willing to do anything to get some business up the night. He let out a light chuckle as the lovely couple from the bakery seemingly won a bet from the casino side of the room.
They celebrated as they wrapped their arms around each other. He mused over the fact that they could celebrate over such a display of luck. Blue remembered that they were common. He has long since drawn the conclusion that, unlike the others, he was destined to be extraordinary. At the young age of twenty-three, he has opened the first nightclub in town, and has subsequently caused the biggest uproar.
And now, he has gotten the entire town's population wound up in this mud hole of self-indulgence and nights of bewildering parties. And he stood apart, at least two floors above them, looking at them, distanced and yet related somehow. He had his own collection of songbirds, pretty little birds that are dressed in all colors, singing all kinds of songs. He has spent a lot of money and time to gather his personal collection, and this was as close to a hobby to him.
Recently, there was an addition to his roster, and one that particularly drew his attention. A petite young girl, just around five feet two. She sported a waist long of straw colored hair, and a pair of bright yellow pearls for eyes. He was charmed by her looks, and her singing. She has one of the sweetest voices, and she brought an uncontaminated sense of purity to the stage every time she came up.
Her stage name was Canary. A fitting name for such a tune. It wasn't the first time that the thought of having her, both physically and mentally, came across his mind. Caging and perhaps plucking the feathers of the bird would bring him joy, but an unexplainable urge to see it in the wild also pressed against his nerves.
He had all the time in the world to manage the club; he was in check with all the internal affairs of the city itself. He was, next to the town mayor, the most powerful man in town. To many others, Mr. Walker possessed a cold hard mask over his face, and a deep sorrowful voice that could bring bad luck to others. These rumors drew inspiration from the seemingly coincidental disappearance of every single competition that Blue had, whether it was business wise, or personal.
This was the reason why he had captured the attention of the Inspector; reports that detailed on how Blue eliminated his competition through illegal means had been arriving ever since his establishment of his empire.
Now he had to hide in his office, poised in stasis, waiting slowly for the arrival of 12 December.
A message came by the phone as he watched the snow. "Mr. Walker, there's a man who wants to speak with you. He said his name was Liam."
He pressed the call button and instructed the doorman to let him in. He left his office doors open and he laid back on his chair.
The snow outside started to fall even harder, as the chorus in the club began their chanting of the Christmas carol, Blue closed his eyes and listened, the smoothing nature of the song seemed to have no effect on the characters down on the ground floor, as they continued to rage over trivial matters.
Common.