Chapter 4
Lucy let out a sigh of relief after getting passed the immigration checkpoint in New York. She was told that there shouldn't be any problems since Lucinda Reynolds and her sidekick were confirmed dead over a few years ago by the Head of Division 16. But it wouldn't surprise her if her picture is still in the database because processing in America can be very, very slow. It could be possible that the process of taking her picture down is still in the middle of being processed…after so many years. Mistakes can happen especially in the government because most of the people who works there aren't very intelligent. That's because the US government simply does not have the budget to hire people of high quality. Intellectuals usually work for private companies where pay is a lot better. It's because of this fact that they were able to escape from the FBI numerous times.
"Good old USA…" Lucy inhaled a deep breath of freezing cold air outside of the John F Kennedy's international airport.
First task, Lucy called Amy to let her know she made it safely without problems. She then took a taxi to her destination, a four star hotel in the city of Manhattan. After settling down inside her room, she called Anthony who didn't expect her to be there and was shocked to get a call from her. It wasn't a good idea to go to Anthony's penthouse since detectives and reporters are probably staking him out at this very moment. Next, she called one of Amy's best friends, Max who knew why she came and was asked to help any way she could. Max doesn't live in New York and is using her vacation time to help out the one whom she owed her life to.
Last time they talked was at Janet's wedding where she asked the brunette to stay with Amy. Sitting on the coach in Lucy's room, Max learned that nothing has changed in terms of her memory. It was the way she talks that gave it away, very different from the mature Lucy she once talked to. Every word that came out of the mature Lucy was love for Amy. But this 'Lucy' didn't talk much about the former DEB agent. After a casual conversation of talking about Amy, Janet, and mostly Janet's son, Lucy got right down to business and she was surprised to see that Max was prepared for it.
"Here's what I found." Max lay out the pictures of the dead young blonde lying naked on the bed with wrists tied together by a thin rope behind her back. Bruises on her arms, wrists, and thighs were apparent. If Lucy had not seen things worse than this, she would have wanted to vomit at this moment. It was sickening.
"Proof?"
"hotel camera, fingerprints, hair, semen…."
"where?"
Max was confused. All the evidence was pointing to Anthony. She couldn't find any loophole in this case that could prove that Anthony didn't do it. She knows who Anthony is. If Amy did not assure her that he was framed, she would agree with the detectives that Anthony did in fact kill the woman after raping her. "Where…what?"
"Where did they find his semen?"
"Where do you think?" Max winced in confusion.
Lucy resisted rolling her eyes. She didn't want to make a guess. She needed facts. "Can you answer my question, please?"
Max took the file and took a moment to scan through the forensic report again. It was obvious to her where they would find the semen, but since the question was asked, she wanted to make sure.
"..semen was found…on the sheets…vagina…oh…" Max winced in disgust, realizing she missed that part. "…and mouth…"
"Did they find a condom?"
Max again tried to find the answer in the report even though the answer is obvious to her.
"no mention of condom…" Max looked at Lucy who began pacing back and forth but then jerked back when a finger was pointed at her which she wasn't expecting.
"I want you to know…there is no doubt in my mind that he is framed."
Max nodded in agreement only because Amy said so. "Who do you think did it?"
"I don't know, only he would know that." Lucy stopped pacing and let Max know that she already asked and Anthony has no idea. "The video hasn't been tampered with?" Lucy just wanted to make sure that all the obvious questions have been asked.
"no."
"Who found the body?"
"cleaning lady."
"Did they check her out?"
"nothing there."
"I want a copy of the video."
"I'll try but there's nothing there…." Max reiterated again in a way to let her that she's wasting her time. "I have done this before, you know." She expected Lucy to trust her.
Lucy didn't respond to that comment and kept on asking the obvious questions. After Max left, she confirmed with Anthony and learned that he did use a condom. The first thought that came to her mind was that it was probably flushed down the toilet by whoever came afterwards. There is a side door that leads to the next room so the murderer could have came from there. It could also be the cleaning lady. She could have done a lot of things inside the room. Without seeing the video, Lucy can't rule the cleaning lady out as a possible suspect. Now that she got a better picture of what happened, Lucy called Anthony to get more details.
"No, she didn't give me a blowjob…and I'm not into that kind of thing."
As far as how the semen got into various parts of the victim's body, she could imagine how it could be done.
"I believe you. I'm just trying to see if they made any mistakes."
"Lucy, my image is tarnished." His sigh of frustration could be heard.
"We'll find who did this." Lucy assured him, but knows that it isn't the only thing he's worrying about. Unlike the old days, nobody would care if he did a one-night stand. He's a businessman now. Those he dealt with will know what he did even if he is proven innocent. They will look at him differently than the way they used to. Women will stay away from him. The possibility of getting someone to truly love him for who he is…now seems impossible. "Do you love her?"
Anthony wasn't sure where she was going with this but responded anyway. "I…like her."
From his response alone, Lucy sensed that their relationship wouldn't have gone far even if this didn't happen.
"I have an idea." After telling him her suggestion, she waited and waited for him to respond. It was a lot to take in. He will have to decide if he's willing to take the risk. If he decides to take her advice, he could become more famous than the megastar.
"If I do this, it might lead to you and Uncle Nick."
"You're already out in the news. I don't see how this could get any worse."
She's right. Those who watch the news probably know by now. His friends and employees already knew about it. "She…probably knows."
"Who?"
Anthony let out another bigger sigh of frustration and didn't respond to the question. "Let me think about it." What he was thinking about was the megastar. Even though he wouldn't have a chance, he still didn't want the famous star to know about it.
Lucy's plan wasn't unique. It had been done before by those accused. Anthony had been trying to stay low, only responding to questions from the law enforcement officials with the lawyer by his side. Most of the time, he stayed in his penthouse away from public eye. He wanted to keep this as low as possible, so when the truth comes out, the incident will die down quickly. But if he went with Lucy's plan, it will be the complete opposite. Her plan was to do a public announcement to let everyone know what the woman meant to him even though it was only a one-night stand which the public doesn't have to know about. Then he will announce an offer of $1million to anyone who could provide any information. What he will get from it is sympathy and understanding from some viewers. But there is a negative effect. More people will know about it. People will remember the case for years. He will have more people following him trying to dig up the dirt on him. And this is definitely not what he wants.
On the next day, Lucy let Scud know everything she knows and see if he could come up with anything. Having known Scud for years, Lucy found that Scud's brain works differently than all of them. What seems impossible to them doesn't seem impossible to him.
"What's her story?"
From what she learned from Anthony, he met the young blonde in a restaurant. While he was having dinner with a business associate, the young blonde, sitting in the bar area by herself, caught his eye. After the dinner ended, he introduced himself.
"That's it?"
"That's it." Lucy was confused with Scud's question.
"How does he do that? How come he always gets the girl so easily?"
"Scuuuuuddd…." Anthony may be older than them, but he's a good looking charming guy. Good looks have its advantages.
"Do a thorough check on her. Other than that, I'll have to see the video first."
"okay. Max is going to try to get that."
Lucy was expecting him to say something but the silence indicated that he's thinking, so she waited to see what else he can come up with.
"So…there's…semen in her mouth…huh…" Scud was shocked by it.
"He said and I quote…'I'm not into that kind of thing'." Lucy said in the same frustrated tone Anthony did.
"Oh reallyyyyyyy…hmm….Looks like whoever did it really hates him…does he think it could be one of his ex girlfriends?"
Lucy has no idea. That thought never occurred to her because in her mind, it's not possible. But in Scud's, it is. "She has to be mentally ill to do that, don't you think?"
"No."
His response confused her.
"I know you don't remember but I have to remind you that you almost blew up Australia after you got dumped….so saying that she's mentally ill would mean that you're even more mentally impaired…more insane…more psychotic"
Lucy still doesn't believe that she was capable of acting that way, blowing up millions of innocent people because of a girl.
"Besides, I don't think this is done without thinking it thru. It could be her own enemies and Anthony just got caught in the middle of it."
Lucy again never thought of that because she was certain that this was a setup to frame Anthony. But now hearing it from Scud, it does sound possible that this has nothing to do with Anthony at all. Anthony could be in the wrong place at the wrong time and whoever did it found the opportunity. ...interesting...
"So what do you think of my suggestion?"
Lucy wondered what was so funny when loud laughs came from the other end of the line.
"You're nuts. You know that."
He wished the old Lucy was back because the old Lucy would never make such a suggestion. This young Lucy is still inexperienced. "It's not going to work, Lucy. It's going to get us all captured…and it's going to bring him even more problems."
"But he's already in the spotlight."
"…and that's why he's trying to keep it low…It's suicide."
Lucy asked him to clarify since she didn't see it that way.
"Announcing to the world meant he's giving permission to everyone to interview him. They're going to ask him a lot of questions…and not just questions about the case, there are going to be questions about his involvement with criminal activities. He can deny that but people aren't going to believe him. People tend to believe the bad things. It's only natural. Do you really think Anthony can go thru one interview after another? And do you really think he can keep his cool for that long?"
Lucy thought it would work because she saw a similar case where the parents were investigated for the murder of their own child. Detectives didn't believe them so they came out to offer money for any information. It got Lucy's sympathy.
After listening to Scud's explanation, Lucy decided to call Anthony back. The moment he picked up the phone, Anthony told her that he didn't agree with her suggestion. But he did find Scud's points of view interesting and find that it could be possible that he was at the wrong time at the wrong place. "I'll have someone check her out."
What they can't find, Max probably can with her government access. She wanted to ask one more thing at the last minute but decided not to since she didn't want to bother Anthony with her own problems. What she did do instead was have Max check the megastar's boyfriend out.
Next day in New York City known as the city that never sleeps
Inside the dining room on the top floor of an apartment complex with 7 storeys , each person on the table complimented on the cooking as each took a bite of the delicious oven baked chicken breast covered with parmesan crust.
"This is delicious." A 6ft 4in young man with dark brown hair and eyes complimented as he watched his girlfriend of 6 months lay down a bowl of sautéed green beans and cherry tomatoes on the long dining table with 8 seats.
"Have you tried the fish? It's even better." Sitting next to her daughter, a slightly overweight woman in her older 50's responded.
"How about tomorrow?" Sitting across from the older woman, the cleaned-shaven young man asked his girlfriend and took a bite of another piece of chicken.
Alyson took her apron off and sat at the end of the table. "I…like to cook, but I don't cook for just anyone, you know." Alyson took the fork and knife and began cutting the chicken on her plate into pieces.
"…I know…and I just wanted to say how much I appreciated it." He said as he dug his fork into a cherry tomato and extended towards her mouth.
"I don't mean you." Alyson teased as she pushed the fork back to him, causing the older woman to let out a laugh.
This is the second time she met the young man. The first time she met him, she didn't get a good look because it was at night time and he was getting inside his car. Now sitting across from him, she could see everything that she wanted to know. She didn't expect to see the new love of her daughter today. She came to see her daughter since she had not seen her for months due to her daughter's busy schedule. Seeing reporters, papparazies, strangers of young and old with cameras, sometimes she wondered if she made the wrong choice of letting her daughter take this path. Being popular has its disadvantages; no privacy, life under a microscope viewed by the public.
"So Luke…"
"Mom, it's Lucas." Alyson immediately corrected her while giving her a frown.
"You can call me Luke ...some of my friends call me that too…I don't mind."
"…Do you have any brothers, sisters? Do you live alone? What do you do?"
Alyson didn't like her mom asking all the questions on their first meeting but also didn't want to embarrass her so she just left it alone.
"I'm the only child. I live alone…and I hope that would change soon." He said as he stared at the blonde who didn't seem to be paying attention to him. He let out a smile towards the older woman and continued to tell her that he owns a biotech company and a restaurant here, other places and London.
"London?"
"Yes, my mother lives there and she helps me take care of the restaurant there."
"So…you met his mother?" The older woman wondered where their relationship is at. She knew that Alyson went to London for work but didn't know that she had other plans.
"No, my mother is traveling right now…on vacation."
"Oh…then we should definitely get together some time." When she saw her daughter looking at her without smiling, she realized she said the wrong thing. The only person who's smiling is the young man.
"I'll let her know."
"mom, the chicken is getting cold." Alyson said as she raised her eyebrows, hoping that her mother gets the hint.
As Lucas was about to speak, he was cut off by the megastar who requested silence as she stood up, staring at the tv several feet away. She quickly walked towards it and turned the volume louder. After the news broadcaster was finished, Alyson turned to another channel, then another.
"Do you know him?"
It took a moment for her to respond to her boyfriend because she was still thinking about what she heard. "no..but he looks familiar." She said as she returned back to the dining table. She didn't see the necessity of telling anyone that she knows the wealthy man accused of murder, but it did get her wondering what really happened. Rape and murder? She doesn't know Anthony that well, but didn't find him to be that type of person.
"This is exactly why I don't want you to stay in this city." The older woman said as she followed her daughter from behind.
"Mom, my friends are here."
"But it's so crowded here. Did you see those people downstairs?" She said to Lucas. "It's worse than California."
"I have bodyguards." They're not here right now, but will be when she needed to go out.
The older woman reached out to hold her daughter's hand. "Do you like this…your career…because if you don't, you can quit anytime and your father and I will be behind you all the way."
This isn't the first time Alyson had this conversation with her mother and understood why she would be worried. As she was about to respond with the same answer she had given her before, she was interrupted by her boyfriend. It was something she didn't expect him to say but what he said brought back memories.
"she can't quit. I know it's hard. But think of all those people who helped you, who supported you so you can be where you are now, think of all those people who look up to you…millions of fans…are you going to disappoint them?" He reached out to hold her hand. "If you're tired, then take a long break. But don't quit, not now…I will help you…whenever you need me." He gently caressed her hand. "You've worked too hard to quit now."
Alyson was listening and looking deeply into his dark brown eyes. But what she was hearing wasn't his voice. What she was thinking of wasn't him. As memories of that day the brunette made her cry in the Venice hotel flowed back into her mind, she let out a gentle smile and wondered where the brunette is now.
"I'm worried about you."
Her mother had always had a hard time letting her go, flying from one state to another to perform, when she was younger. It seems that she still couldn't get used to the idea that she is an adult now. "This is what I want to do." Alyson assured her as she held her hand firmly. "It's not about money. It's about making a difference…and I can now…mom." Each word that came out reminded her of what she said to the brunette that night. "okay?"
"okay."
Her mother might have said okay but she later realized it was hopeless because her mother continued to try to persuade her to move back to California with her.
"I know what she can do." Lucas placed his fork down and gently held onto his girlfriend's forearm. "You can move in with me…then your mother wouldn't be so worried." He noticed that both women didn't like what he said when he saw them narrowing their eyes at him. "no?…Then how about letting me move in?"
It was only a joke but later realized that the older woman didn't take it as a joke.
"Luke, I think I said this before but just wanted to remind you. Not before marriage…and right now it's definitely too soon for marriage."
"mom!"
Her jaws dropped wide open. Blinking a few times at her mother, Alyson realized what her mother was thinking of. "Lucas, didn't you say you have something important to do?" Alyson raised her brows, hinting to him that he should leave now if he doesn't want to be embarrassed by her mother. After Lucas left, Alyson stood at the end of the table. "This…is exactly why I don't want to introduce him to you…You're embarrassing me…"
"Sweetie…I just want to remind him...just because you two have known each other for years, it doesn't mean it's okay to…" Before she could continue, she was cut off by her daughter whom she could tell was really embarrassed and upset by the color of her cheeks.
"mom!…just who do you think he is?"
"He's…Luke…the one you told me about a few years ago…Isn't…he?"
"Nnno!"
The older woman covered her mouth in surprise and at the same time felt a bit embarrassed about what she just said to the young man. "OHhhhh…no wonder"
"What?"
"I hate to say this, but even for an old woman like me, I think he's…okkkkkay…and definitely not…'gorgeous'…"
"momm…."Alyson rolled her eyes, then let out a smile at her mother who shrugged her shoulders. She admitted that Lucas is not as attractive as any of her exes. He's an average looking guy, kind of like the guys she works with. They met at a charity event when she accidentally bumped into him and spilled the drink all over his white shirt. That started their first conversation. The second time she met him was at a restaurant. She wouldn't have recognized him if one of her friends didn't notice that he had been looking at her. The third time was when they really started talking freely. It happened in the night club when she was being bothered by this guy whom she later found out was actually a reporter trying to get her to talk so he could write something about her. Lucas came to the rescue and pretended to be her bodyguard, preventing him from bothering her. After that night, she found out more and more about the average looking man and found that they had a lot in common. Both knew how to play the piano. Their taste in music is similar not wild hard rock with explosive sounds that could cause rupture in the eardrum. She didn't find him as captivating as the last guy she dated and definitely not the former criminal mastermind. She thought for sure that the last guy she dated would be the one because she found him very interesting due to the fact that they had absolutely nothing in common. Too much of a difference wouldn't be a good thing and that relationship ended in a disaster. That might be the reason she's attracted to Lucas because she wanted to settle for a more normal guy with similar interests this time around.
At this moment, both suddenly snapped their heads at the direction of the big window when they heard a bang.
"What's that?" The older woman said.
All the windows were closed. What it sounded like was a rock hitting the window. Her apartment is a penthouse consisting of 2 floors. It would be impossible for anyone to throw a rock up that high. There is a building across from the street but that building is not as high as her apartment complex so anyone throwing a rock at her window from across the street would be impossible unless they use some sort of bb gun. Alyson approached the window and noticed a crowd waiting downstairs. There was nothing unusual. She got used to seeing strangers and paparazzis waiting for her. However, the first day she lived her, she was surprised by it. She didn't expect it at all. Back in California where she lived in a large house surrounded by acres of land, she didn't have this problem. But New York City has a totally different environment. The only good thing about this place is that her friends who are celebrities live here and they got to have a lot of fun together.
She looked down to see where the sound came from but all she could see were people with cameras taking pictures of her apartment windows and the busy streets of the Big Apple.
Night time
Max spent the whole day digging into the background of the young blonde victim and getting the video. The possibility that the cleaning lady could be the one became impossible because the cleaning lady went inside the room for less than 10 seconds and came out screaming. What Lucy also thought was possible was that a person might be hiding in the cleaning lady's cart but ruled that out because the cart was in the hallway the entire time. The only other possibility left is that someone tampered with the video. It will take a whole day to watch that, from the moment Anthony left in the middle of the night to the afternoon when the victim was discovered.
"She's 29, 8 year old daughter, single." The victim is a single mother, living on government aid which caused Lucy to wonder if Anthony knows about this beforehand. "no ex-husband, not sure about boyfriend…"
"What's going to happen to her daughter?"
"they're looking for the father."
"bastard…." Lucy can't help herself because she hates those kinds of guys especially those who don't pay child support.
Max was surprised when she was told that it could be the victim's enemies. "could be…but most likely it's not." Max noticed the unpleasant look she was given.
"Look, I've been in this field for many years, I can't prove it but I know it's not what you're thinking. You think Anthony did it." Lucy said in a strong tone, ready to defend her friend when needed.
"I'm not going to lie to you. But if Amy believes that he didn't, I believe that he didn't. So…if he didn't, there could only be one reason, somebody wants to get him into trouble."
It made perfect sense. Anthony has a lot of enemies. That's why Lucy thought that could be it too. But his enemies also know that he is not to be messed with. If he finds out who set him up and he will, it's just a matter of time to find the truth, he will do more to them than what they did to him. So she doesn't blame Max for not agreeing with her since she probably is ignorant of Anthony's capabilities.
"Why are you so sure that somebody is after the girl?"
Lucy can't comment on that. "Can you just check her out a bit more?...check her lifestyle, her friends, what she did in the past months…"
"I get it." Extending her palm out, Max said in an obvious tone to let the brunette know that she doesn't like to be told how to do her job, especially by her.
After that discussion was over, Lucy sat down and placed a picture torn from a magazine on the table.
"Who's he?"
"no one that concerns you."
Max narrowed her eyes at the brunette. At that moment, she felt like the old Lucy, the one she dislikes, is back.
Lucy didn't mean anything by it. It's true. It doesn't concern her. But she realized she could have said it in a better way. "Can you do me this favor?" Lucy changed her tone.
"Does he have anything to do with this case?"
"No…and I need you to keep this confidential."
"con..fid..ential..? You mean…between you and me…" Max became even more curious when the brunette nodded. "Does Amy know?"
"Yes."
Max could tell that Lucy was getting more frustrated with each question. But she needed to know. "So…this is between you…me…and Amy?" She had to make sure because if Amy asks, she's not sure if she should say anything to her.
"no!" Lucy responded in a frustrated tone. "She knows what I'm doing. This has nothing to do with her. I just want you to find out about this guy cuz I can't find anything on him."
"So if Amy asks, what should I say?" It's a legitimate question. She's trained to ask questions before doing anything. "Alright, alright…just between you and me…" She owed her her life. This is the least she could do.
With her hands locked behind her head, Lucy laid on the king size bed. It's night time and time for sleep but with the time difference of 5 hours behind London, she has trouble getting adjusted. Coming to New York was to help Anthony. Learning that the megastar is here in Manhattan surprised her because New York isn't the place she expected her to be because it's so crowded and definitely not as clean as where her other real estates are located. It was easy to find out where she lives since her address is all over the internet. But what Lucy didn't expect was to find people waiting at the megastar's apartment complex. It's possible that they were waiting to catch a glimpse of other celebrities. She wasn't sure nor did she noticed if any celebrities came out of the apartment complex until she noticed someone familiar, the megastar's mother. Her plan was to solve Anthony's case first, then work on the megastar's case but somehow her mind had a different thought when she stepped inside the taxi.
"How can I make you see he's not right for you?" Knocking him out and taking a picture of him lying to a naked woman crossed her mind. "She won't believe it." Pictures can be fake, but videos can't. "that won't work, he would definitely get the police involved." How? How? What she was afraid of was that even Max can't find anything about that young guy who's about the same age as the megastar.
Lucy let out a frustrated breath of air, feeling extremely useless and helpless in both situations and hoped that ideas would come to her by tomorrow.
One week later
It didn't. No ideas. Nothing and worst, she got a nightmare that kept her awake for hours.
"Anything, Scud?" Lucy said as she took a bite of the chicken and vegetable wrap.
"Nothing."
Lucy spent 2 days reviewing the video and also found nothing odd. "So nobody went inside, there's nobody in the next room…then the only possibility could be…" Lucy licked her lips before responding. "Someone was hiding inside the room before they went in." Lucy suddenly jerked back, startled by the loud response from the phone on the table.
"What!"
She didn't realize Amy was there too, listening on their conversation until now.
"that's not possible." Scud said as he shook his head towards the blonde who felt the same way as he did.
"Why not?" Lucy mumbled with a mouthful of food.
"Hide where?!" Amy said loudly in a tone to let her know it's the most ridiculous thing she has ever heard.
"closet, bathroom, under the bed, inside the cabinet…" Lucy got a few more ideas but stopped to take another bite of the wrap.
"the whole night?!"
"Are you feeling okay, Lucy?" He heard a lot of crazy ideas from her before and this one is as illogical.
Lucy took a gulp from the water bottle before responding. "Scud…don't think impossible…think…possible...don't think big…think small…"
At this moment, Scud and Amy were looking at each other, shaking their heads again. Both disagreed with her.
"I'm not saying what you're thinking is not possible, but…" Lucy can't hear anything but the silence told her that Scud might be saying the opposite to Amy at this moment. "don't you think it's more possible that she killed herself?"
Lucy never thought of that. "Amy, she has bruises all over her body" Lucy waited for her to comment but didn't hear anything. "She has her hands tied behind her back." Lucy paused again but there was silence on the other line. "She has semen in her mouth." She took another bite of the wrap, waiting for them to agree with her but no sound came from either one of them and realized it was a bad idea to bring that up while eating. "Okaaaaay, I guess it could be possible…but I still think I'm right."
"mm…Luce…did you see Max today?"
Lucy wondered why Scud would ask about Max. If anyone should ask, it would be Amy.
"No."
"So Max didn't tell you what she found out about the victim?"
Lucy repeated what she learned and realized that she had been left out of the loop because what Max told them gave them a reason to believe that it was very possible the blonde victim killed herself to make Anthony look like the murderer. She wondered why Max didn't tell her.
"Do you think you're still right?" Lucy's guess of someone small hiding inside the room all night to murder the blonde didn't make sense to him because nobody came out of the room after the body was discovered unless he's a magician and hid himself somewhere where nobody would notice. The possibility of that happening is very very slim, like impossible, just like Kristin can't be Amy's twin.
"Yes." Lucy said in an obvious tone. It's possible that they could be right but it doesn't mean that they are. Everything that was done to the victim was enough for Lucy to believe that the murderer is most likely the victim's ex. "So how do we prove it?" Lucy asked the million dollar question.
"We can't."
That's not what she expected the genius with an IQ above 140 to say.
"whoever did this must either want Anthony in prison or want something from him. Now with Anthony's abundance of expensive lawyers, do you really think they're not going to drag it out…it's going to take a long long time…you know how the system works in America…"
Scud could be right. It is also very possible that the FBI might interfere with this case and try to make a deal with Anthony in exchange for his freedom. But knowing Anthony, he definitely won't break omerta. Others might, but he won't.
"My guess is whoever did this is just waiting for the right moment."
"Are you saying we should just sit and do nothing?" It was only a guess. How can he be so sure that he's right? Lucy expected an explanation not another story of her life that she can't remember.
Patience. Not many of us have that. Some are born with it. Others learned from the mistakes they made and Lucy was one of them. It was a detailed plan designed by Scud to steal one of the priceless artifacts once owned by the Forbidden City of China. It shouldn't be difficult and it wasn't…for the former criminal mastermind with the help of his genius sidekick. What went wrong was her greed. The plan was to steal a jade artifact. But what captured her attention while she was inside the museum was another imperial treasure encased in a glass box. It was right there in front of her. Lucy didn't agree with Scud's advice to steal it another day because it would be difficult to get back inside once they found out what was missing. More security would be in place and she would have to wait a long time for another opportunity. So she ignored Scud's advice and realized it was a big mistake once she lifted the glass cover.
"You could've been caught if I didn't have a Plan B."
Sitting next to Scud, Amy could only wonder what other jobs that her lover did because she couldn't remember this one.
Lucy crossed her arms, placed her feet on the coffee table, slumped her back against the couch and let out an exhausted sigh. Waiting and do nothing, she didn't like that idea one bit. A few years ago, if she had waited and hoped that Schaeffer wouldn't be able to find her, she would've been dead a long time ago.
"Lucy…" said a soft gentle voice
"yes"
"Are you okay?" Amy wasn't sure what she was thinking of when she didn't hear a response.
"fine…just a little tired…" It's the truth. She didn't have enough sleep. In the middle of the night, she was awakened by a nightmare. Thinking about Anthony's case and the megastar's situation in the past few days had somehow confused her mind. What she saw in her nightmare wasn't the blonde victim, it was the megastar lying dead on the bed just like the victim; bruises, assaulted, and tied. It frightened her in such a way that she had to keep the lights on the rest of the night.
"Have you…seen her?"
"Who?" Lucy had no idea who she's talking about until Amy explained that she heard it from Max. Damn it…can't trust her. "Did Max find anything?"
"She didn't." Amy had no idea that the megastar is living in NYC until Max told her. She had no idea Max was asked to help. "Are you coming back for Thanksgiving?"
"I want to but…"
"You still think you're right about him."
Lucy didn't know how to respond. She had said numerous times it was a gut feeling. Not getting any evidence doesn't prove that he's not a bad guy. "Amy…I…" Lucy let out a big sigh of frustration. Apologizing for her stubbornness wouldn't help in this situation. Telling Amy that she loved her wouldn't help either. So Lucy thought it would be a better idea to ask her for suggestions to let her know that she wanted to come back home too. "I…don't know what to do…to make her see that." For the past week, all she did was follow the megastar and her boyfriend. She found out where he lives and where she goes daily and the people she hung out with.
Amy was very surprised with her lover's response. She didn't expect her to ask her for suggestions to split up the couple. She didn't want to end the call with an argument either so she had been speaking in her calm gentle voice and at the same time, tried to be understanding. Asking Lucy why she would want to continue wouldn't help in this situation because she knows what the answer will be. So the only thing she could do is put herself in her shoes and give her lover some suggestions. "get close to them." Amy hated the idea, but knows that it's the only way to find the truth.
"What?"
"You heard me."
Lucy did hear her, but was shocked to hear it from her. The idea did cross her mind but she needed more time to think about the consequences and what she needed to do to prevent her true identity from being revealed. She needed to think of all the possibilities and be ready for all the questions that will be asked.
"Don't…Lucy…find another way…not this way." Scud was shocked that Amy was allowing Lucy to get close to the megastar. So he had to think of something quick to change her mind. "there's going to be a chance that they could find out who she is…think about this, she's a celebrity, she has bodyguards, she's going to have someone check her background, she's not just going to let anyone walk into her life, especially what you did last time…and if she finds out who you really are…Lucy, I can't help you…"
There was a long moment of silence. Scud could see that Amy was thinking about it. Not hearing Lucy's voice, he knows that she's also thinking about it.
"I don't want her to do this as much as you do. But I can't persuade her not to." Amy said it with so much emotion, even Lucy felt it. "Even if I didn't suggest it, I know that's what you would do."
Hearing her tone of sadness, Lucy hated herself for hurting the one she loves. So she requested Amy to put the speaker off. In the background, she could hear Scud shouting. "Don't do it. Lucy. Don't do it!"
"I love you." Lucy wanted to assure her lover that she's not into the megastar.
This is not how Amy expected the conversation to turn out. "I know." Amy tried to hold her tears in. "I also know you won't give up no matter what I say." The thought of threatening to break up with her crossed her mind but she knew Lucy wouldn't have listened regardless. The only thing to do is to support her. "All I ask from you is to tell me everything."
Everything? Lucy isn't used to doing that, explaining everything she did. But she promised her lover anyways for being so understanding.
3 days later
Dressed in a black jacket and blue jeans, with the same disguise as last time, except this time, she chose not to wear glasses, Lucy casually took a seat in the corner inside the large dimly lit night club where it's known as the place where celebrities hang out. Without reservations or connections, this place is difficult to get into. She wasn't sure if the megastar will come tonight but hoped she will. She wanted to get this over with as soon as possible so she could go home to spend Thanksgiving with her fiancée. She had been here a few times to get familiar with the surroundings and the nightlife. It's a Friday night, so she expected a large crowd today and a lot of people getting loose and wasted. It's not something that she hasn't seen before so she knows what to expect, but this time is different because she's pretending to be someone else. As she scanned the people sitting at booths, Lucy took a sip of her non-alcoholic drink. It wouldn't be a good idea to drink alcohol being alone all by herself even if she is disguised as a man.
"mhmm…that's the actor in that movie ..what's that called?" Lucy said to herself as she tried to remember. In the past year with a lot of spare time on her hands, Lucy was able to watch a lot of movies she had missed and got updated with the most recent entertainment news. Her eyes moved towards the area near the bar. "huh…what is she doing here? Shouldn't she be with her kid?" Lucy noticed the tall brunette with the long hair who had only a small part in the fast car movie chatting with a few friends. "c'mon…where are you?" Running out of patience, Lucy decided to walk to the other side to take a look. On the other side was the dance floor with a fairly large crowd. They weren't kidding about this place being a celebrity hangout because Lucy recognized a few of them. "Patience, Lucy." She reminded herself and walked back to her seat and ordered a plate of fried chicken tenders. Even if the megastar is here, Lucy has no idea how to approach her. She didn't want her to think she followed her from London to the US. Nobody would trust a stalker. Holding her head with one hand with her elbow leaning on the table, she couldn't help thinking that Scud might be right. It's dangerous to be so close to the famous blonde. Even if she is able to befriend her, having her picture taken with the megastar would be inevitable. There might be a chance that her picture could be posted in a magazine and her enemies might recognize her, a very slim chance, but still a chance. "What am I doing here?" She said as she covered her eyes in frustration.
"What are you doing here?"
Lucy pulled her hands away from her eyes and looked up to see who was repeating after her and was shocked to see who was standing in front of her.
"Are you following her?"
Standing in front of her are the megastar, her boyfriend and a young female.
"What?" Lucy pretended to be as confused as they are.
"You see, we should've never let him go. He's stalking you." Dressed in a blazer and blue jeans, Lucas was more furious than all of them.
"What are you doing?" The megastar said when she noticed her boyfriend taking out his phone.
"I'm calling the cops."
Lucy didn't expect the megastar to be stopping her boyfriend from doing so.
"You don't know that." Alyson was hoping for a night of fun, not this. When she saw who was sitting in her favorite booth in the corner, she was surprised by it. Coincidence or planned? It looked like it was a coincidence because what she saw was a man filled with worries and frustration, wanting to be drunk. "You're not following me, are you?" They have no proof that he is. That incident happened in London not USA. The police would never believe her even if she is famous.
As Lucy was about to give her the most obvious response, she was surprised to find who interrupted her.
"What's going on?"
Lucy tried not to show that she was surprised by Max's presence. Amy must have told her.
"I'm not." Lucy said in an assuring tone.
"Hey…aren't you…." Max pointed to the megastar while pretending to remember her name but her comment was ignored.
"They're lying." Lucas said.
"Did I…miss something?" Max said as she looked at Lucy.
"He thinks I'm stalking her."
Max let out a laugh and noticed that nobody was laughing. "Seriously?"
Lucy nodded in embarrassment.
"I can see why you would think that. But I can assure you that he's not stalking you….."
"She's lying. They're both lying. We should call the cops" Lucas repeated.
"…and tell them what? " Max took a seat next to the disguised brunette. She could've said she's a cop but didn't want to blow her cover so soon.
"Look, I'm sorry about last time." Lucy didn't see any other way to get out of this except to apologize. "I'm just a fan of yours. I'm not stalking you. I'm not following you. I have no idea that you were going to be here. I'm just here on vacation because…" Lucy pretended to let out a big sigh of frustration. "…because my girlfriend broke up with me…"
Max has no idea what the plan is but played along.
Lucy took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly, pretending to be hurt by it. "If you still don't believe this is a coincidence, I'll leave." She motioned Max to get up from her seat but Max was unwilling to go.
"Do you know how hard it is to get in here?"
"let's just go somewhere else, I'm really not in the mood right now." Lucy took the last gulp of the drink and put it down hard against the table.
With frustration on her face, Max slid over to the end and was surprised when the young man stood in front of her as if preventing her from leaving. She thought it was believable and didn't think anyone could see thru them.
"They're pretending."
"If you want to call the cops, then go ahead." Lucy pretended not to care, sat back down and waved her hand for the waitress to get her another drink, this time with alcohol.
Max didn't like this at all because it wasn't working so she decided to tell them the truth.
"You're a cop?" The question came from the megastar and Lucas simultaneously. But Lucy didn't realize the megastar was asking her until she looked up.
"She is."
"Look, I'm just here on my vacation, here with a friend who…desperately needs someone to talk to." Lucy continued with the pretense by taking another gulp of the drink as soon as the waitress handed her the drink. "I'm not supposed to expose my identity to anyone but this is just getting ridiculous. If you still don't believe me, then you can call the cops. We're just going to sit here. Okay?"
With an unsatisfied look, Lucy stared at each one of them and internally let out a sigh of relief the moment she saw them leaving.
"What are you doing here?" Lucy whispered, keeping her look of frustration for everyone to see. She could still see the megastar and her boyfriend taking glances at them from the table across the room.
"to rescue your ass…what do you think I'm doing here?"
"How did you know I'm here?"
"What do you think I do for a living?...ballet dancer?"
This is why she hasn't seen Max for a week. She had been following her.
"Didn't I tell you this is confidential?" Keeping her pretense, she looked at the megastar's best friend with the short hair.
"Sorry, but I tried. You know how she is."
Lucy wasn't expecting that. She thought Max told her. "How did she know?"
"I don't know. She knew I was lying. Sorry." Max bit on a piece of chicken tender. "You look good. I wouldn't be able to recognize you if she didn't tell me." Max placed her hand on her shoulder, pretending to be consoling a dude . "So what's the plan?"
"Later…" The music was loud. The lights were dim. People can't hear them but Lucy still didn't think this is a good place to talk. "You didn't have to expose yourself, you know."
"I know…but maybe he'd think I'm on to him…if…he has anything to hide , then you wouldn't have to do a thing."
Lucy never thought of that, but realized it could happen. "I hope you're right." She gulped down the last drop of the drink and realized it was a bad idea for drinking so much. "Shit..."
"What?"
"I have to pee."
"well…good luck…keep your eyes closed…" Max can't resist making the comment.
Shoot. Lucy was hoping that nobody else is in the men's room. But there she saw two men taking a leak at the urinal. Gross.
She was planning to use one of the stalls, but when she felt a hand grabbing firmly on her shoulder, her reflex kicked in. She grabbed the hand and as she was about to make the next move, she didn't expect the person from behind her pushing her back, forcing her to move a few steps forward. When she turned around, she was surprised to see who attacked her from behind.
"I'm warning you. Stay away from her." Lucas said as he pointed at her while two men using the urinal were watching them.
"I told you. I'm not following her." When the two men were done, they went back to their own business and left the restroom.
"If I see you near her again, I'm going to call the police."
He's smarter than I thought.
"I'm sorry. How many times do I have to apologize?" You dickhead. She regretted for saying that in her own mind because what she saw disgusted her. Geez…why do guys do that? Lucy turned towards the urinal at the other end and pretended to do the same thing that Lucas is doing. She unbuttoned her jeans and stopped. With one hand pressed against the wall, her other hand covered her mouth. Letting out sounds of vomit, Lucy quickly went inside one of the stalls and pretended to be throwing up.
"Stay away from her, you hear me!"
Bastard. Not wanting to hear his voice, Lucy flushed the toilet not once but twice.
Meanwhile
Since her boyfriend isn't around, Max thought it would be a good opportunity to convince the megastar that they're not stalking her. She was uncertain if they're still thinking about calling the cops, not that it would matter, but it would be better not to get the cops involved.
"I've known him for a long time. I assured you he meant no harm." Max told her stories of the good deeds the former criminal mastermind did such as donating money anonymously.
It was heartbreaking to hear that they've dated for years and because of what happened broke them apart. Alyson could still remember how angry the blonde was.
"he's really regretting that he didn't mind his own business, but that's how he is, he has these 'intuition', these inexplicable feelings…you know...like a psychic…he helped me solve some of the most difficult cases…and that's why he did what he did in London…and because he's a fan of yours and he didn't want to see you get hurt." Max learned from Amy what happened in London. It surprised her too what Lucy did. Her first question to Amy was 'Is she on drugs?'" Fans do crazy things but she didn't expect the former notorious criminal mastermind to do that.
"He's a psychic?" asked the megastar's friend who had been paying full attention to Max who then laughed.
"He wished, then maybe he would still have a girlfriend." She could see the megastar feeling sorry for the disguised brunette. "He said he's sorry and he won't bother you ever again."
At this moment, Max excused herself and went back to her seat when he saw the megastar's boyfriend coming back.
After Lucy came back, Max couldn't resist. "See anything interesting?"
Lucy ignored the comment and tried to get that grotesque image out of her head. "he's no average guy, I can tell you that." Lucy told her about how he was able to quickly respond to her move.
"he probably took a few self defense classes, that doesn't mean anything. So what now?" Max knew what the goal is but wasn't sure what Lucy had in mind to achieve that goal.
"Well, I just got dumped, so what would a man do if he just got dumped?" Lucy knew what most girls would do; stay home and binge on favorite snacks. "besides drinking…"
"that's an easy one…" Max got out of the booth. "have fun, meet other women to take your mind off her." She extended her arm out, motioning Lucy to follow.
Lucy played along and followed the black fearless US government agent to the dance floor on the other side of the nightclub. It has been a long time since she's been in a night club. Last time she went was with Amy back in London. Amy, however, didn't enjoy it as much as she did and called it quits after an hour. The music was too loud and was giving her a headache and she wasn't interested in dancing in the crowded floor, bumping bodies against strangers. But what Amy didn't like most was explaining to guys that they're not interested.
Lucy smiled at the strong sexy black woman in front of her, moving her butt and curvaceous body. For an agent, she looked pretty damn good just like the Perfect Score, even better looking than some of the celebrities on the dance floor. Her sexy moves caught the attention of a guy nearby who turned his body towards the agent and danced freely in front of her. Smiling wide, Lucy tilted her head, motioning the shorter woman to look to her right. No words were spoken but Max understood what she meant. The black guy dancing next to them was definitely interested in her. Lucy suddenly shifted to the side to balance herself when she felt a body bumping into her from behind. It was none other than the average looking guy, the megastar's boyfriend.
"Lucas, stop it."
Lucy was surprised that the megastar was defending her after everything she did. Doofus. Try that again and you'll regret it. Lucy apologized again but later realized that it wouldn't be a bad thing. It could be the only way to get her to see what kind of jerk Lucas is. Bring it on. What she didn't expect was getting the sympathy of another person, the model, a friend of the megastar's.
"I'm Blythe."
"I know who you are." Lucy then realized that she shouldn't have said anything and raised her hands in surrender. "I'm not stalking you. You're just famous and I see you in the news, magazines and everywhere. I swear." It wasn't supposed to be funny but she was glad that the thin brownish blonde hair model who's as tall as the megastar, found it funny. When she saw Max was also laughing, she realized how funny she herself must have looked at this moment.
It was the way Blythe was scanning her up and down. Lucy can't read her mind but could sense there was something odd with Blythe.
"I didn't get your name."
Lucy expected that and was prepared for it. "David." She even had the fake ID to prove it if necessary.
"Where are you from?" The music was loud, so they had to speak a little louder.
"I'm from California originally, but moved to London a few years ago."
Lucy turned to look at the megastar who was listening to her, so was the doofus.
"What do you do?" Another expected question.
Lucy wiggled her fingers to come closer since she didn't want anyone else nearby to know. She whispered into Blythe's ear. Blythe then whispered into the megastar's ear. What she told them was she was in the field of finance and taking a long break from it. Giving them too much detail wouldn't be a good thing. She had no idea it would be this easy to get their trust again. Phase 1 complete.
Screaming, talking, bodies dancing, everyone was having a great time. Lucy was never good at dancing. Her odd dance moves caused the model, an inch taller than her, to laugh at her. "I'm not good at this!" Lucy admitted loudly.
"I know!" Blythe responded back and covered her mouth from laughing hysterically. She wiggled her finger and Lucy leaned forward and was quite stunned after hearing what the model has to say, but tried not to show it. All she could do was smile back and kept on moving as if nothing unusual happened. It wasn't appropriate to respond back with the same comment since she didn't want to give Blythe the wrong idea. So she played along as if what she heard was only a casual compliment, nothing serious. Amy was right. I do look adorable.
After a long moment, they decided to head back to the seat to take a rest. Leave it to Max, she could get a conversation going on and on because what got everyone's attention were the stories she encountered while being a DEB without giving them all the details, just a general description of the jobs she was assigned to.
"So ladies, don't think the government can't go after you…."
"I'm not into that." Blythe was the first one to defend herself.
What Max told them was that citizens were getting fined for downloading copyrighted porn. Those viewers had no idea that some of them were illegal. In order to avoid going to court, those people paid the fine.
"no? what about strip clubs?"
"NNNO!"
Max was having a fun time teasing the young famous model.
"Oh I know, you must have those chippendales personally go to your house." Lucy said, causing everyone to laugh except for Lucas and Blythe who began hitting Lucy's arm playfully. "I'm just kidding.."
"I can see why they would do that." All turned their attention towards the blonde megastar who wasn't surprised that the government is invading citizen's privacy to catch people in possession of child pornography. However she was surprised to learn about the Ransomware scam which locks people's pc, accuses people of viewing child porn and tells them to pay the fine to the Department of Justice to unlock the pc that they're using.
"everything you do on the computer, on the phone, if they want to know about you, they can find out." Max's intention is to scare the boyfriend who has been extremely quiet, staring at the disguised brunette.
"Any more stories you can tell us?" Blythe, being younger than the rest of them seems to be the most interested.
"mm…well, I can't tell you what happened because it's confidential, but what I can tell you is without him, I wouldn't be here today."
"What happened?" Blythe asked, more curious than ever.
"Sorry, I can't tell you."
"but you can" Blythe asked the man with the beard sitting next to her. "You're not a cop."
"I would if I can remember."
"What do you mean?"
This isn't part of Lucy's plan but didn't see the point of lying to them. If this is what it will take to get close to her, then she's willing to do so. "I have…partial memory loss."
Max's purpose was to let them know what kind of person Lucy is. All Lucy has to do is make up a story so she's not sure why Lucy is telling them the truth.
Lucy skipped the details of how she got into a coma. "When I woke up, I don't remember anything, not her, not my friends, not even my girlfriend." Lucy knew they would be shocked by it but noticed that Lucas displayed no emotion, just staring at 'him'.
"But you remember now?"
Getting the question from the megastar, Lucy realized it's working. "I remember everything up to the age of 18."
If the music wasn't so loud, Blythe's gasp could have been heard. "So you think you're…18?"
"No." Lucy could see that both were somewhat relieved to hear that. "20" Lucy smiled when she saw their dropped jaws. "That happened a couple of years ago." Lucy reached up to rub her beard with her thumb and finger. "I know I'm not 20…but…" She pointed to her temple. "this here..is…but I'm learning…quickly…"
Seeing Blythe's puppy dog eyes looking at her, Lucy knew she got her sympathy.
"…Is that why...you did that...in London?" For a 30 year old man to display that type of obsessed fan's behavior seemed odd to Alyson but now it makes more sense. "…Is that why your girlfriend broke up with you?" She had previously thought it was because of what she did in London that caused their breakup but now realized it could be more than that.
With sadness shown on her face, Lucy gave one slight nod. "...she's ready to start a family…and…I'm not." Lucy had no plan of telling them this but somehow the responses came out naturally and it made sense.
Both girls were covering their mouths in shock and all snapped their attention towards the young man who suddenly spoke loudly. "That…is the most ridiculous story…I've ever heard."
It was an immature thing to say. Alyson didn't think it was appropriate even if he didn't believe it. "Lucas…"
"He's lyinnggg."
Lucy let out a sigh of frustration to let them know that she is getting tired of this conversation with him. "…and why would I lie about that?"
"I don't know. Only you would know that." His eyes moved for a moment and not only did Lucy noticed, the megastar understood the meaning of it.
"Lucassss…." Alyson didn't think it was necessary to be so blunt. It's not unusual that her fans would fall in love with her. What he just did created an embarrassing moment for her and her fan and she didn't like to embarrass anyone, especially her fans.
"I have a beautiful girlfriend who loves me, who stood beside me…nobody knows if I would ever wake up, but she stayed with me regardless…and when I did wake up…even with this…" She pointed to her own head. "She still wants to be with me." Lucy said in a tone to let him know that she is getting fed up with his behavior.
Lucas's condescending smirk caught all of their attention. "This is why I said you're lying. What you just said contradicted everything you said before. Maybe you should have just kept your mouth…shut."
Lucy could see the ladies were staring at her in confusion. She understood why. Previously she had told them she was dumped and just a minute ago, she gave them the idea that that didn't happen. Lucy reached for the drink on the table.
"Lucas…have you ever been in love?"
Lucas heard enough but wanted to know how 'he' will get out of this one.
"Have you ever been in a long term relationship?"
Lucy is certain that he never had that type of relationship. Six months is not considered to be a long relationship especially for them. With the megastar's busy schedule, she doubt they saw each other everyday. "If you have, you should know that it's not that simple…" Looking at Lucas, Lucy took a gulp of the drink. She wanted to let them know that it didn't make sense to them because she didn't tell them everything. They've only met for the first time. It would be too soon for her to tell them everything. Lucy placed the drink down on the table and put her hand up to call for the waitress who was passing by. "Can you get me the bill?"
Max wasn't sure if the mastermind was prepared to pay by credit card. Getting the bills out will definitely let them know something isn't right. Who pays by cash these days? Some still do but not by hundreds.
"Let me." Max took out her wrist wallet.
"Are you sure? Because I was going to pay for all of us."
Both turned towards the megastar who immediately rejected 'his' offer.
"..I want to…." Lucy said in a serious tone and left out the reason but knew they would understand that it was her way to apologize.
After Max gave her credit card to the waitress, Lucy took a moment to look at each of them including Lucas who looks more pissed than he did an hour ago. "It's nice meeting you." She didn't offer her hand but nodded instead. Towards Lucas, she did the same since she knew he wouldn't shake her hand anyway. With her back turned towards them, she's not afraid that Lucas would give him a push from behind because he wouldn't be stupid enough to do so in front of his girlfriend. Besides, Max was behind her. She took each step slowly and pretended to be looking around. But what she was really thinking about was when her name would be called. "one…two…three…four…five…."
"David!"
Bingo. Lucy stopped and slowly turned around. Whom she wanted to call her wasn't standing right in front of her. Whom she is expecting is.
"I just want you to know that I...believe you."
Lucy looked down at the hand that was extended to her.
"If you like, I can show you around."
Lucy turned to Max who didn't get the hint until a short moment later and took the invitation card from Blythe's hand. "Thank you. We'll definitely give you a call." Max said.
The spot they were standing at was quite dim, so Lucy couldn't see the model's facial expression clearly. She could only see the young woman standing still, without moving an inch of her body. Behind her several feet away, she could see the megastar and her boyfriend looking at them. She had no doubt in her mind that it's going to take some time for the young blonde megastar to believe her, unlike the model. "Good night." Lucy expected her to say the same so she can leave but when something else happened instead, she was surprised by it. Her body froze when the young model suddenly gave her a hug.
"Have a good night." Blythe then turned around and walked back towards her friends.
Standing in front of the megastar and her boyfriend, Blythe asked them both to see if they are still behind her.
"They left." Alyson said.
Blythe did a quick turn of her head and let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding.
"why did you do that?" The question came from the most obvious person. Lucas.
"He's cute, don't you think?"
"Blythe, he's lying, he's a stalker, you can't trust him." Lucas said in frustration, wondering why nobody believes him.
"I don't think he is." Blythe said as she sat down and finished her drink. "What do you think?"
When Lucas saw his girlfriend unmoved as if she's still thinking about it, he wondered if she felt the same way. "you too?"
"Lucas…." Blythe wiggled her finger, motioning him to come closer. "It's a woman's intuition, you'll never understand."
"He's making it up. What he said doesn't make sense. Can't you see that?"
"It's not only what he said…it's what I felt…" Blythe looked around as if making sure nobody was eavesdropping on their conversation. "He's not a stalker and…he's…very….different…" She nodded her head as if agreeing with herself. "…different…"
"Blythe, just because he didn't try to feel you doesn't make him a gentleman."
"Lucas, are you jealous of him?"
"What do you think?" Lucas said in a mocking tone as he crossed his arms.
"I think…someone is afraid of competition." She said as she glanced at the famous megastar.
Alyson heard and grabbed the only thing she could find on the table and threw it at her friend without hurting her; a used napkin.
Both laughed loudly as they continued to throw the crumbled napkin back and forth. Lucas rolled his eyes and went to the bathroom because their silliness caused a lot of people staring at them.
With Lucas out of the way, Blythe spoke freely. "Don't tell me you didn't notice the way he looked at you?"
"20 is too young for me." Alyson teased, causing Blythe to laugh even louder.
"That didn't stop you from dating before. You have a record of dating younger guys." Blythe took another napkin, scrunched it up and threw it at the blonde.
Alyson didn't like that comment and with one strong throw, she hit the target, Blythe's face. Their loud laughter caught the attention of others nearby. This is exactly why she wanted to move to NYC, to be with her friends, to have fun on her day off.
"I'll take him if you don't want him."
"…what makes you think he would want you?" Alyson ducked and avoided being hit.
There was only napkin left on the table. Others were on the floor. Blythe wasn't quick enough but prevented the megastar from taking it by grabbing her hand.
"Don't you remember what happened last time?" Blythe reminded her of the last time that both saw someone they liked. Alyson was too shy to make the first move so Blythe did and she succeeded in getting herself a date.
"I don't remember." Alyson did remember but didn't want to be reminded of that. It was all about timing and she missed the window of opportunity. Even though Blythe and that guy didn't work out, it would be too odd to try to have a relationship with her friend's ex. From that experience, she reminded herself that she had to go for it when she sees someone she likes…so she did…with the brunette, letting the former criminal mastermind know how she felt.
Meanwhile
It wasn't safe to talk in the streets or inside the taxi. So they waited until they got to Lucy's hotel room.
"I can't believe I just spent $3000 for appetizers and drinks." Sitting on the sofa, Max shook her head. She is not an obsessed fan of any celebrity, but she is curious to know how the rich and famous live. Now she knows.
"I'll pay you back."
Max knew she would. Those drinks cost more than what she earned in one month.
"So what's the plan?"
Lucy was wiping the sticky glue off her face.
".. it looks like she's into me…so let's go with that…"
Max was expecting a more detailed plan, not play it by ear.
"More detail, please…"
Sitting on the other end of the couch, Lucy finished cleaning her brows and threw the wipe on the coffee table. "Well…. I was planning to get close to her…but she seems smarter than I thought…"
"but not smart enough to be dating that guy…"
"right…" Lucy was about to continue with her thought but was interrupted.
"even if we have no proof that he's a bad guy…even if it's just a feeling from your gut…no matter how much Amy doesn't want you to…you still want to break them up."
Max didn't realize that she made it rhyme until she finished the sentence.
"Is this worth risking your life for?...Is she worth risking your life for?"
"It's not what you think."
"It isn't?"
"no." Lucy said in an obvious tone.
"Then why?" If this is the mature Lucy, Max wouldn't think this way about her. But this is the young Lucy Diamond and the young Lucy was known to have a lot of women.
Lucy didn't want to explain nor felt the need to explain. With or without her help, she will continue with the plan. "As I was saying, my original plan was to get close to her and get her to trust me…and since that's not going to happen as fast as I want to and Blythe seems to like me, so let's get close to Blythe instead.
"Define…get close to Blythe."
Lucy was tired and wasn't in the mood to play games with her. "You know what I mean."
Max did the same and stood up. "I know what you mean and I don't agree with your plan."
Lucy let out a long tired breath. "Let's talk about it tomorrow…I'm tired." Lucy said as she headed for the bed. "You can sleep on the couch if you want." It's a king size bed but Lucy had no intention of sharing it with her.
Max walked closer as Lucy slipped into bed.
"What?"
"Your..hair? Is that…real?" As Max was about to touch it, Lucy blocked her hand from touching her hair. "My God…you've gone totally nuts" A moment ago, she had wondered why Lucy didn't take off her hair piece. In the nightclub when she first saw her, she had wondered why it looked so real.
Lucy pulled the blanket over her shoulder and closed her eyes. Cutting her long hair wasn't a big deal. She did it before. In fact, she shaved it all off once before because it was necessary to prevent her enemies from recognizing her.
"Does Amy know?"
Not wanting to talk anymore, Lucy sighed loudly and turned herself to the other side.
It's just hair.