Chapter 2
Angel
God, I hate people. They never do what you tell them to do! I mean, how hard is it to bring the files in person? They didn't have to treat me like a child! Well, technically I am a child, but my maturity is well beyond most adults. I know more than any of the dim-wits sitting across from me and I definately know way more than the hired thugs standing behind me. Pathetic. They really think that these over wieght monkeys can control me? Please! I could have them all turned inside out and crying for their mommies in a single thought. No one can control me. Not any more.
Finally, I heard the faint hum of a motor. It grew louder and louder as it approched our place of business. Multiple black Hummers approached the meeting spot and parked themselves across the street, floods of suits pouring out the doors. They formed perfect lines and marched over to the quaint little cafe table I had been waiting at which, I now realized, would be way too small to seat them all. They were all so funny to look at; I couldn't stop snickering as they headed nearer, their constipated faces grimancing at me.
When they finally got to my table, the imbiciles that were sitting across from me got up and five out of the two dozen or so suits sat down facing me. Their suits, however, were very strange, each one a different color: red, blue, green, biege, and black. Seeing as though they were different from the rest, I guessed they were my contacts and I could only assume that the manilla folders in Mr. Black's hands was the file I needed. After a quick appearence evaluation (one of the only useful things Max had taught me) I forced an overly pleasant smile and shook each man's hand. They were each the same, oily and sweaty both in looks and shake.
"So, gentlemen, thank you for meeting me here on such short notice." I started.
"It's our pleasure," Mr. Red said.
"We live to please our clients." Mr. Blue added.
"Especially clients of the..." Mr. Green continued.
"Shh! Not here!" Mr. Biege hissed, "People could hear you!"
"Oh, yes, of course!" Mr. Green said, extremely flustered, "Forgive me Miss."
"It's alright, let's just move on." I nodded.
Mr. Green agreed nodded in understanding.
"Yes," I smiled, "Well, let's get on to business."
"Of course." Mr. Black said.
He pulled the files out from his briefcase and slid them across the table. I stopped them halfway across and flipped through each page, checking to make sure they were the original copies.
"Are those the files you asked for?" Mr. Black asked. His eyes were stone cold and sharp but a hint of sarcasm was present. I smiled coldly.
"Yes. I said acting disinterested, "Thank you for your efforts. These must've been difficult to obtain."
He snorted and smiled cynically. "Depends on your definition of difficult."
"Hmmph." I sighed. I think I liked this one. "My employer will be pleased to hear that you delivered on time."
"Well, you can tell your employer that he's welcome." he said sarcastically.
"I will." I responded cooly
He nodded at me and turned his head towards the others who seemed to be having a conversation about nothing. I rolled my eyes and I swore I could see Mr. Black laughing off to the side. I shook my head and re-averted my focus to the men across from me.
"Pay close attention gentlemen, I'm only going to say this once." I said firmly.
They all turned their heads to me again and payed close attention. I had to admit, it felt good to be in charge.
"My employers want one more thing from you fine gentlemen. After all, it's hard to come by those that possess your certain level of...expertice."
"What's the job this time Miss?" Mr. Blue asked
"We need you to perform a special task, one that may strike your fancy."
"Ah," Mr. Red grinned, "I'm starting to like this one."
"I assure you, you will" I smiled back.
"Are you going to tell us the assignment or just bat those pretty little lashes at us all day?" Mr. Black asked sharply. I snapped my head towards him and glared menacingly. He was losing my favor.
"I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd mind taking orders from me." I smiled wickedly, "I guess I'll spend my millions elsewhere."
He looked at me for a long while before cracking up, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.
"You are the most twisted six year old I have ever met." he said, wiping his eyes
"I take that as a compliment." I snapped back.
"Ahem." Mr. Biege coughed, "If we could get back to the assignment? We have another meeting in an hour."
"Of course, I understand. You are all wanted men"
I turned away from Mr. Black and pulled a portfolio out of my backpack. It slid smoothly across the table and landed right into Mr. Green's hands. He picked it up and opened the seal very carefully, gently pulling out its contents one by one. After a few moments and all the men had a chance to see the papers, the suits looked up. They were all grinning.
"So," I asked, "What do you think?"
"I think, Miss, that you and your employers have yourselves a deal." Mr. Blue said, his face contorted in an evil smile.
"That," I responded with enthusiasm, "is exactly what I wanted to hear."
Max
Okay, so, when someone pulls you by the arm against your will and then jumps out a window with you, the last thing you expect is to be taken on a gigantic shopping spree including ice cream, roller skating, and a museum tour. It gets even more bizzare when that someone also wanted to take you on every roller coaster at Six Flags. I honestly thought Nudge had gone insane at that point. Instead, I talked her into a quiet picnic in the mountains. We were bird kids in the middle of the Rockys after all. This whole day just seemed too perfect, like I knew something had to go wrong sometime just like every other good thing in my life. I tried not to focus on that, but it just kept eating away at the back of my mind.
I looked over at Nudge. She looked so happy staring at the sunset. It looked like a rainbow of pink and orange tonight. My mom used to say that the sunset was a bunch of angry, blind gods painting the sky just for the hell of it. My version said that there was a war going on somewhere and the blood had shed high enough to taint the sky, warning everyone else of the horrors. My mom was a much better story teller than I was. It used to cheer me up to hear her speak.
My gaze wandered to Dylan whose eyes immediatly dropped when he saw looking back at him, trying to disguise the fact that he was looking at me in the first place. I let out a tiny laugh and Dylan started to blush. For some reason, I made that kid so nervous and I started to take pleasure in making him uncomfortable. It sounds mean but it seemed as if everything I do made him blush or quickly look away. I might as well find a way to make it less awkward for me while he learns to grow up a bit. I can't blame him though, after all, he's only about a year and a half old scientifically speaking. He only looks like a sixteen year old boy because he was genetically manipulated to have an accelerated life, which meant that he went from two to twelve in like, a matter of weeks. I really felt bad for him at times, but other times I could shoot him. He was way too clingy and devoted to me. I mean, he was created to be my other half, but he doesn't litterally have to cling to me 24/7! What was I going to do with him?...
"Ohhh...so full!" Nudge shouted, breaking my train of thought. She rubbed her belly back and forth before letting out a huge and extremely un-lady-like belch.
"Nice one Nudge," I laughed.
"Haha!" She laughed as well.
We were all so happy just sitting on the ridge, doing nothing, just like old times.
"Oh crap!" Nudge shouted. Here we go. The bad has begun.
"What is it Nudge?" Dylan asked.
"I left my walet back at that cafe downtown!" she yelled, "That had all my money it!"
"Don't worry, I'll get it." I said.
"Thanks Max" Nudge smiled at me.
"No problem."
"I'm going with you." Dylan immediately got up and brushed off his jeans.
"No way. I'm not a two year old." I argued.
"I know, I want to go."
"You can't leave Nudge here all by herself. Besides, it doesn't take two people to get a walet."
There was a moment of silent tension before Nudge spoke up.
"It's okay Dylan." Nudge assured, "It's okay."
Slowly but surely he stepped down and sat next to Nudge. I nodded to her in thanks.
"I'll be back in a few!" I shouted as I jumped off the cliff side.
The wind in my wings felt exhilerating, it felt so good to go solo flying again. I missed the wind on my cheeks and the sun on my skin. I sped up to my max speed before going super sonic, a feeling that never failed to send shivers down my spine. I hadn't felt this good since...well...Fang.
Damn! Why'd I have to bring him up, he always ruins my good moods! God, how I wanted to punch him! I tried my best and pushed him out of my head.
The city came up fast. I could hear the cars rushing by and could smell the sweet scent of engine fuel before I even saw the first sky scraper. I used my hawk-like vision and picked out the tiny street-side cafe we had sat at earlier. I decided to land a few blocks down from it so I wouldn't draw any attention.
The landing came easy, my sneakers hitting the ground with surprising grace and soon I was up on my feet, breaking out into a brisk walk across the Las Vegas streets. The thing I loved about this town was that no one was normal so it didn't take much to blend in. Also, the cops around here were usually looking for prostitutes or card counters, not for mutant bird children. I had never felt more alive than I did here.
I came up to the cafe in a matter of minutes but stopped dead in my tracks the moment I saw it. All I could do was run around the block behind some shipping crates and catch my breath. There were no words to describe both my horror and confusion. Never in my entire life did I expect to see something like this.
All I saw was Angel, my Angel, exchanging briefcases with various men in colored suits and menacing thugs standing beside them. From the looks of it, I figured I wasn't supposed to see anything but she saw me, and the last thing I saw were her big blue eyes piercing my brown ones and her tiny lips curling into one evil smile.
Angel
The meeting was finally over and I had never been so happy in my entire life. When I passed over my case with the millions in it, Mr. Biege handed over the codes I needed to activate the files. We sealed the deal with a final, disgusting handshake and they all filed back into their cars, one grey suit at a time, all of them except for Mr. Black.
"Do you have anything left to say?" I asked him.
"No, I just have a question."
"Well...?" I waited.
"Why join so young? You can't be more than six?"
I thought about it for a second before giving the default reason I always used. "I guess I found my calling early on."
"Really?" he asked skeptically. He knew I was hiding something.
"I was told that if you have the power, use it and if you don't, get it." I said, "Either way, I win."
"Yes, you do."
"Is that all, Mr. Black?"
He looked at me, first confused and then surprisingly amused. "Yes, Miss White. I look forward to working with you again."
I pondered his response and decided that I did like him again. "As do I. Until next time..."
He nodded and entered the car with his other suits. I watched the Hummer squeal away, leaving tire burns on the pavement, and leaving me all alone with nothing left to do. What does one do in Las Vegas before midnight?
I looked around, trying to figure out something when my eye caught a distant, yet familiar shape. It was tall, blonde, and surprisingly clean. It had wide brown eyes that immediatly locked onto my blue ones and I had a feeling that she had seen the interaction.
I leaned to get up but, suddenly, a bus passed and when it left, the girl was no where to be seen but it didn't matter. She had already given herself away.
"Caught you Max." I said to myself, smiling from ear to ear, "Caught you..."
