"He who has overcome his fears will truly be free."
― Aristotle
Chapter 3: Stick to the Plan.
Megera Celosia (Meg if you please) could feel the eyes of every straight male in the lounge. It was the sort of attention that she couldn't blame -she was sexy with the right twist of mysterious. It had nothing to do with vanity or ego boosts, but rather, the pure knowledge that she knew what she looked like on the outside and how everyone perceived her. She never really believed in being humble, or beating around the bush for compliments, it was too tedious and quite frankly, annoying. Maybe that was what had attracted her ex-asshole-con-artist-boyfriend, Adonis to her. He saw something promising in her that he could mold and shape, like Pygmalion did with Galatea. So now, she made sure that she gave a promise of dangerous fun to anyone who dared to approach her. But tonight she had her sights set on one man; Naveen Maldonia.
Normally, Meg didn't like the fun loving, carefree, rich playboys –and that opinion hadn't changed. It was just her boss, Hades, wanted something from him. Meg wanted to question the motives for gaining the layout and keycard to Naveen's father's enterprise: Maldonia Legacy, but she was getting paid a hefty sum to get the job done –so she wasn't going to complain. The company -in question- started off as a simple electricity company that branched out to cars, to electronics, and now there was a rumor that they would deal a hand into real estate. Needless to say, Maldonia Legacy was a very, very powerful company and the son and heir to such power sat not too far away from Meg -lounging carelessly in a corner both. He had a redhead leaning into his left arm and a brunette on his right and a few blondes scattering around him that were trying to get his attention.
Meg sipped her dry martini and popped the olive in her mouth, enjoying the burn of the alcohol slid down her throat. She spied the bar-shelves' mirror for her partners for the night -Flynn and Jack. Granted, she really didn't need the ladder to help gain Naveen's trust, but Jack was good at coming up with last minute plans that seemed only plausible to gullible people –also, Hades hated loose ends, so this was going to be a one night job and Jack was good at planning for those too.
"If we weren't on a job and every guy wasn't looking at you as if you were dinner, I'd show you a good time," Flynn drawled, as he sat in the stool next to her, leaning into the bar and looking forward and not directly at her. He kept a polite distance and immediately they did their 'strangers exchanging pleasantries' routine.
"Last time I checked, Eugene," she emphasized on his real naming, knowing that it made him cringe inside as he gave a tight smile outwardly, "scaling skyscrapers just to get to a vault with some 'old crack's' rare jewels, is not my idea of fun."
"You promised not to call me that," Flynn hissed, ordering his usual; scotch.
Meg turned martini glass in hand, her back and elbows resting on the bar as she scanned for the third person to their little party. "Where's the drunk?"
Flynn kept his head bowed as he addressed Meg, "No clue. Last I check he looked as if he were checking a way to duck out early."
Meg nodded and took another sip, ready to turn her large, seductive velvet purple eyes on Naveen. "Alright," she nodded as he locked eyes with her from across the way. An easy smile began to spread across his lips as he lifted his glass of bourbon her direction.
"It's show time," Flynn said watching from the mirror, "Good luck."
Meg smiled coyly, turning to Flynn as she grabbed her clutch purse with the Beretta gun –always a must have in case things went south- and drink, "I don't need luck. Just a shorter skirt and a lower bodice."
Flynn laughed to himself as Meg's four inch shoes clicked with each step she made towards Naveen. She could see the excitement twinkle in his eyes with each centimeter she closed between them. She was like a magnetic pull to him, the closer she got the more he pulled forward, he barely even notice the girls around him trying to gain his attention. Tossing their hair, licking their red painted lips, even lightly touching his lap, bicep or his back with their long manicured hands didn't seem to rouse him from the trance Meg had put him in. Meg licked her lips as she came only within a yard of his table. Before she had time to react, her heels has made a loud screeching noise and her drink slipped from her fingers crashing to the ground as her bare left arm was grabbed by callous hands and she was being pulled towards an exit, she gave Naveen a look of panic as she was forced to turn to face the back of the head of a certain dreadlocked drunk.
He dragged her to the emergency exit and once the cold air bit into her exposed skin and the door shut behind him did she jerk her hand away from him.
"Jesus! You didn't have to hold on that hard!" she snipped, walking over to the emergency staircase's metal bars. She looked down -it was a long drop, 24 stories to be exact. She had hoped that the screws were not loose, that would have been bad luck.
"It had to be convincing, luv," Jack said lighting up a cigarette he had stuck in his mouth when she wasn't looking.
"You seriously want to start smoking that now?" Meg growled, shaking the bars, testing its durability, and jumping to sit on it when she was certain it was secure.
Jack shrugged, "You just worry about your part," he said with his tooth smirk as he looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. Before she had time to throw an insult at the drunkard, he had her by the throat and was holding her over the ground below. Instinctively she held tight to his wrists, as the emergency exit opened behind them Naveen panting and eyes widening at the scene.
"I told you," Meg gasped, making it seem believable, "I don't know anything."
Jack's black eyes didn't change, "I find that hard to believe, luv."
"Let her go!" Naveen yelled, cautious as he took a step forward.
"This ain't your fight, mate," Jack drawled, not bothering to take his eyes off Meg, "I suggest you find yourself someone else to bother."
Meg gave a pleading look Naveen's way, and Jack shook her, choking her slightly. She tightened her grip, and Jack loosed a bit.
"Look whatever it is, this isn't the answer," Naveen said calmly, hysteria bubbling under his voice.
Jack turned to look at Naveen and just as he was about to say something, Meg took her clutch, the Beretta heavy inside and whacked Jack hard over the head with it. For a moment she was afraid he wouldn't fall, until his hand released her neck and he crumpled to the floor. Meg had half a second to collect before she almost slipped, her stomach slipping with her in fear.
In a flash, Naveen caught her, tugging her towards him as he stepped over Jack's unconscious body, pressing Meg to his own as she slid off the railing.
Closing her eyes, she used the anxiety of her almost death wash over hear, and pulled back, opening her beautiful purple eyes with frantic look into Naveen's chocolate ones.
"You saved me," she breathed letting it sink into his head, then she addressed what looked like the bigger picture at hand, "We have to get out of here," she rushed, "Do you know a place nearby we can hide?"
Not sure what was happening, Naveen nodded, "My father's office isn't too far from here."
Inwardly, Meg smiled. Bingo. Outwardly, she pulled a skeptical face, "Is it safe?"
"Of course! Don't you know who I am?" Naveen asked putting on a carefree smile with his faux hurt tone.
"Look, we can sit here and play the guessing games all night, but I doubt our friend here will stay asleep for much longer," Meg insisted sweetly. Naveen nodded and he held her hand, pulling her towards the exit the three of them came through, and she stopped, "Not that way."
"Why not?" Naveen asked
"I'm sure he has friends inside. We can't let them know I got away," Meg said, wandering just how much was in that playboy head of his, and she pulled him towards the stairs, "we have to go this way."
Regretting her choice in shoes, the pair of them flew down the stairs and to his black Lotus Evora SR.
Six glasses of some extremely expensive cognac, a damsel in distress act leading into coy promises and two hours later, Meg found herself letting Flynn in so he could hack into Naveen's computer. Naveen himself was snoring lightly his face inches to the carpeted floor as his body hung loosely on the edges of his gray couch which was placed on front of the huge window overlooking the entire city in his so called "office". She was grateful that he was already drunk by the time they had reached the office; the six glasses just pushed him over the right edge of blacking out, and forgetting all about how he had gotten into the office in the first place.
It was right when he was trying to make a pass at her that he knocked out for the count, giving Meg ample time to slip on her leather gloves and pull out his key card from his very expensive Armani blazer pocket and access the real office part of his playboy pent house. She didn't have to worry about cameras either, the text she had received from Flynn before she and Naveen rolled up to the building had confirmed that the security cameras were changed with a different footage and a fake time stamp. Everything was going according to plan, and quite smoothly. In another few minutes, Meg would be free to go home and draw up a bath, hoping it would wash away exhaustion that seemed to grow within her.
"AH-HA!" Flynn exclaimed excitedly, as his gloved fingers flew expertly over the keys of the keyboard.
"Shush, will you," Meg hissed, turning to him with a glare.
Flynn waved her off, "Please, he's not going to wake up until morning, it'll take more than an army to get him up."
"What did you find?" Meg asked, ignoring his brush off.
"Floor plans," but Meg could tell that wasn't what he was excited about.
"And?" She asked impatiently, her exhaustion fed into her irritation. She wanted to go home.
"And a very, very secret bank account, with a very, very big amount of dough," the mischievous glint in Flynn's eyes made her lightly scoff and shake her head.
"We aren't stealing his money, Eugene," she said simply.
"Have you seen the Lotus he drives, Megera?" Flynn shot back.
"Of course I have, I was sitting in it not too long ago –remember?" she snapped, "Look, just nab the floor plans and let's get out of here." Meg turned to leave the room so she coulf grab that still open bottle of cognac on the coffee table in front of the couch Naveen was on. She hadn't been able to drink a drop while she was working her scam on the over privileged playboy, it tended to muddle decisions and she had needed to stay sharp. Not to mention she really didn't have the taste for the stuff –but at that very moment, she felt that the conversation with Flynn was soon to go to a place she didn't like.
"Don't you ever just want to be rid of all?" he implored quietly behind her. Meg closed her eyes as her hand hovered over the metal handle of the glass door. And there it was…
"Don't ask stupid questions," she sighed after what seemed like hours between them.
"Meg, if we take this money, we can call our own shots again… You can be free," he pressed. The idea was not lost on her; suddenly she had a rush of what it would be like to be free –she had almost turned tell him to do it, to hit the button and empty out that bank account… but reality crashed into her senses: she knew that that was too impossible to fathom.
"He'd find me, you know he would… I can't escape –it doesn't matter how hard I try, I just can't. He owns me, Flynn. So just stick to the plan." She pushed out the door before Flynn could say anything else. She knew this was the real cause of her exhaustion. She was tired of being owned, of not being her own boss, of never being able to live without his restraints. The fear began to grip her throat, suddenly making it difficult to breath. Making it difficult to escape –like a bird in a cage, that's all she was. And if she was ever able to escape her cage; she would just fly around free on his terms, and then when he needed her, he'd capture her and stick her back in her cage.
She grabbed the bottle and didn't bother to get a glass -she drank straight out of the bottle. "I can't get out…"
A/N: Finally up after a very long week of cramming and prepping for finals. College is hard, but remembering French verbs is harder. Now that summer vacay is up, I can focus on myself, this fanfic and other things, but I don't promise daily releases -seeing how the mind and inspiration take some time to develop.
I certainly enjoyed writing this one. I sort of went a tad bit overboard with it and had to cut out a lot of useless crap. Overall, I'm quite satisfied with it, seeing that I got to the main point. Poor Meg is getting into a depression. She needs a change of scenery, or profession.
On a more random note, I'm running out of quotes to use for the opening of each chapter, so if you don't mind PM-ing me some good ones, I'll see if I can sneak them in. Keep on reading! Look forward to reviews.
I dissolve any claim to the characters in the making of this story.