Okay, so this chapter is 90% dialogue. I wanted Niko and Lily to get to know each other more and I honestly tried adding more detail and what not. I'm sorry for the lack of quality, but the next chapter should be much better.
Shadows of the Night
Chapter 8:
First Date
She was sitting in the kitchen talking with Janie and Bridgette when her phone began to vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and checked the caller ID. It was an unknown number, but she answered it anyway.
"Hello?" She said. Janie and Bridgette were making faces and mocking her, making it hard to keep her voice even.
"Uh… hi.. it's me, Niko. Mallorie gave me your number." He said nervously.
Niko? Her heart lurched in her chest and her nervousness was kicking in. Well, at least he sounded nervous, too.
"N-niko? Um… hi… uh, I'm surprised Mallorie gave you my number. What's up?" She said a little too fast. Mallorie, I don't know if I should be mad at you or not!
"I was wondering if you wanted to do something? You know, as friends."
He wanted to hang out with her! Even if it was as friends. Which was fine with her. Her mind went blank as she struggled to answer. Why did normal human interaction have to be so hard? "Could you hold on a sec?" She covered her phone and looked to her friends who were giving curious looks. "Ladies, one of my co-workers wants to hang out. What do I say?" She whispered.
"Do you like him?" Janie asked.
Lily nodded.
"Then say yes!" Bridgette added.
She uncovered the phone. "Sure, we can do something."
"Great! I'll come get you in next hour."
The moment the call ended, both Janie and Bridgette squealed like school girls. Lily's heart was slamming her chest and Janie and Bridgette's over reaction wasn't helping. She couldn't believe she had said yes to him. She couldn't believe he actually called her! She didn't even know what she was going to wear, but the women before her grabbed her arm and lead her to her room.
"Shave your legs!" Janie said as she shoved shaving cream into Lily's hand.
"But I did that when I came home," Lily replied.
"Do it again." Janie grabbed Lily by the shoulders, spun her around, then gave a gentle shove into the bathroom. Janie shut the door behind Lily and called out, "You shave and we'll pick your outfit for you!"
"I can pick my own clothes." But the giggles and the sound of her dresser drawers opening told her it was too late. Knowing she was defeated, she grabbed a razor and ran the tub with some warm water.
Five minutes later she stepped out of the bathroom, damp legs and all, to find the clothes they had picked out were not as bad as she had thought. Laid out before her was a low cut pink top with dark washed jeans and her black flats. The only thing she disapproved of was the hot pink and black lingerie they picked out for her. Even though she liked wearing it, it didn't feel appropriate for a simple get together. She sighed and quickly began to change.
Once she was dressed she sat down on her bed. She suddenly felt self-conscious, wondering if this was a good idea. What if she said or did something stupid. She was never exactly graceful or charismatic. She thought about calling him and canceling but felt it would be rude to do so.
Looking in the mirror, she suddenly noticed every flaw on her face. He would notice them as well and second guess asking her out. She thought about dabbing on foundation, but the shade she bought didn't blend well with her skin tone. She wasn't the best at applying eye shadow either. Finally, she settled on a little bit of lip gloss. But there was still the issue with her hair.
I look awful...
Downstairs Janie and Bridgette were stuffing Lily's purse with "essentials". She wanted to die on the spot when she noticed a tin foil packet being placed in her purse. She didn't have the time to complain because a certain Sabre parked in front of her house.
"Have fun," Janie said.
"But not too much fun," Bridgette added.
Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. She snatched her purse from Janie and went to the front door. She opened it as soon as Niko began walking up the steps. He stopped halfway at the sight of her.
"Hey Niko," she said.
"Hey," he replied. "You… you look nice." And he meant it.
"Thanks," she replied. She looked over her shoulder to make sure her friends were not peeking. "I'd let you in, but my cousin has a friend over and they're acting like idiots because we're hanging out."
"I understand. Roman and his friends act the same way."
She laughed. "I can imagine."
They walked to his car and got in. Unknown to them, Janie and Bridgette watched Lily from the window as she got into the car. Their excitement for her faded once Bridgette recognized the man with Lily and she had to explain to her friend who her cousin was going out with.
She noticed he was wearing a black and white leather jacket with dark wash jeans. She liked the way they looked on him.
"I like your clothes," she said.
"Thanks. They do, ya know."
She looked down at her lap, not knowing what else to say. Niko noticed her uneasiness and wondered if this was a good idea. He didn't even know what she liked to do. They came to a stop light near the Algonquin Expressway. Lily felt a little anxious going over the large bridge. Niko sensed this and decided to keep talking to take her mind off of it.
"So, Lily, what do you like to do?"
She thought about it for a moment before answering, "Well, I like to do a lot of things. I read, sometimes I watch TV, but I don't really do much of that anymore. I browse MyRoom and I play video games."
"Video games? That's a bit strange. I thought only children and teenage boys on too much caffeine played video games."
She turned in her seat to face him. "Hey, girls can play games, too. Besides, it relaxes me after dealing with annoying passengers all day. Everyone has something to unwind. What do you do after a hard day?"
He thought of telling her about his nightly escapades but decided against it. "Sometimes I go out and have a drink. Most of the time I walk around the city and not do much."
"I guess if things go well tonight you'll have something else to do." The moment she said it, she mentally punched herself. "What I mean is… we can hang out some more." Oh, my God, I can't believe I just said that.
He chuckled and said, "I think I know what you meant and yes, I wouldn't mind hanging out with you some more. If you want to that is."
She smiled. "I would like that, too."
As they came to a toll booth, Niko thought to himself that maybe this wasn't so bad. She was a nice enough girl. Although he did fear getting attached to her could lead to trouble. He would have to make sure they stayed as friends. For now.
"A veterinarian? How did you go from that to a cab driver?" Niko asked as they waited for their food at the 60 Diner in Algonquin.
Lily stirred lemon juice into her unsweetened tea. "Actually I was a vet tech. It's like a nurse for animals, but to answer your question, I wasn't sure if I really wanted to be one. I only picked it because my parents were pressuring me to pick something before I graduated senior year. I loved animals so I thought it would be fitting, but in the end, it wasn't right for me."
"Sounds like a lot of unnecessary pressure on a kid," he said.
She took a sip of tea before answering. "Yeah, I guess it was. After I quit, I went back to help my family out on their farm until my dad was in a car wreck. After that, he sort of retired and my step-mom recently retired from her job with the state. They both have enough money to look after themselves, although I am worried how long that'll last. The economy is bad lately."
"I have noticed things are not going well for others."
She sighed, "Yeah, but enough about that depressing stuff and myself. What about you? Roman said you've only been here a year."
Niko looked down at his drink, he wasn't sure what he should tell her. He wanted a fresh start, a chance to put everything behind him. He kept thinking back to what Roman had said and maybe he was right. Maybe she was his second chance at a new life. He knew he couldn't keep it all hidden from her though. So he decided to only tell her what she needed to know.
"A little over a year ago, I came here for a fresh start. I… after the war I struggled to find a job. Most people did. So the only way for me to make money and support my mother was to do things I never thought I would do. I started hanging around bad people and did bad things. Eventually, my luck ran out and I was caught."
"You served time in prison?" She asked wide eyed.
"Yes. Not my proudest moment, but a few years later I was released. I joined the merchant navy after that and now I am here." He finished his story and waited for her to say something. When she didn't speak right away he knew that she was questioning whether or not if he was worth keeping around.
Finally, she spoke up again after pouring more lemon juice into her tea, "Wow, I'm really surprised to hear all of this. You don't seem like the criminal type."
Hearing her say that almost made him choke on the Sprunk he was drinking. "Really?" he replied.
She nodded. "You seem really nice. I can't imagine you committing crimes, but you did say those were hard times."
"Yes well…" he didn't know what to say exactly. She wasn't judging him. That was a good sign, but how would she feel about what he did when he arrived here?
A waitress arrived with their food. Lily had ordered a chicken salad and Niko, not knowing what he wanted, decided to order the same thing. She piled on the cheese and croutons then carefully mixed them together. As she did this, he noticed that in all the times she arrived at the office for lunch, she hardly ate meat unless it was chicken or fish. Even then that was rare.
"I take it you're sort of a vegetarian," he asked.
She looked up from her food. "Sometimes I eat chicken and fish. Maybe wild game like venison or buffalo for ceremonial purposes, but other than that, I stick to fruits and veggies. Growing up around farmers and watching animals being slaughtered will ruin your appetite."
"But chickens are slaughtered for our meals," he pointed out.
"Yeah, but most chickens I spent time with was free range. They lived happy lives before they died."
This girl is very strange and yet, I like that about her.
"I suppose that makes sense. I think."
She crunched on a piece of lettuce while wondering if she should tell him about her past. Well maybe just her ex. After seeing what he did to Calvin, she wouldn't want that to be Blackie's fate.
"Ya know, Niko, this is the first time in four years that I've gone out with a guy. Even if it is just as friends."
"Really? Why is that?"
"My ex kind of ruined men for me for the longest time."
He gave her a concerned look. "He hurt you?"
"Not physically, but he hurt me emotionally. He was a great guy at first. He was sort of a drifter. Came to our farm looking for work. After awhile we grew close and eventually, we started talking about our future together even though I was going to a trade school at the time."
"Nineteen sound a little young to be making big decisions like that."
"It is, but where I lived it was the norm. Most girls I went to school with got married within two years of graduation. Anyways, we were together for a year when I began to notice he was acting differently. He became withdrawn and he was also acting sluggish. Like he was tired all the time. I wasn't feeling well around this time. I felt sick to my stomach and then I noticed I was late… if you know what I mean."
He did and worried where this story was going. She took a sip of her tea before continuing.
"I was young and stupid enough to believe a baby might fix our problems. I told him and he seemed excited. Then one day I came home from work to find that he had left and took nine-hundred dollars from my bank account for his heroin addiction. Turns out he had been to jail for it in the past for it. I thought I was pregnant and he bailed on me, but at least it was a false alarm so there's that."
"He sounds like an asshole."
She giggled. "Yeah, looking back on it, he was, but good thing he's long gone."
"Because you deserved better than that."
She smiled slightly and looked down at her meal. Her face warmed and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thank you," she replied sheepishly.
After they finished their meal, they stepped outside and were greeted by the cool night air. As they walked to Niko's car, Lily looked to the black sky and was disappointed at the lack of stars. She remembered sitting outside on the porch stargazing with her brother and niece. It felt like a lifetime ago.
"So what's next?" Lily asked once they reached his car.
"I don't know. I didn't think that far ahead. Most of the time everyone asks me to take them home. Do you want to go home?"
She shook her head. "Do you want to go home?"
"No," he replied, "now that we're out and about. Do you want to get a drink?"
She thought about it for a moment then decided against it. She wasn't a fan of alcohol and besides, she knew what it could lead to if they had too much.
"We could play darts or pool," she suggested.
He shrugged. "Sure, I know a place where we can go to play pool. I hope you don't mind marijuana smoke."
Lily quietly entered the house around one in the morning. She found Janie slumped down into the couch fast asleep. Lily gave her cousin a nudge.
"Hey, wake up. I'm home so you can go to bed."
Janie's eyes fluttered open. She slowly sat up while rubbing the sleep from them. "What time is it?" Janie mumbled.
"It's one fifteen a.m."
Janie groaned. "Oh man, why did you wake me up?"
"Because you're on the couch. Anyway, I'm home now."
Janie sat up straighter on the couch. She was fully awake now, her eyes wide with concern. "Oh my God, Lily, are you alright?"
Lily laughed and flopped on the couch next to Janie. "Of course I'm alright. What's wrong?"
Janie sighed and said, "Lily, I don't want to upset you, but… well…" this wasn't going to be easy. "Niko is a criminal. Bridgette says that last year one of her friends -Elizabeta I think- used to have him go on drug deals."
"I know. He told me." Lily said.
Surprised, Janie replied, "You know?"
"Yeah. He wasn't specific on what he did, but he told me enough and I believe he's a changed man."
Janie wasn't sure."I don't know… I would still be careful, Lily. You're so naive and trusting. I don't want to see you get hurt."
Lily shook her head. "I'm not naive. I just see the good in people and I see the good in Niko."
She turned and started up the stairs. She was half way up when Janie spoke up again.
"What part of Europe is he from?"
"Serbia," Lily answered.
Now Janie was really concerned. She crossed her arms and looked to Lily with worry.
"Lily, did Niko fight in the Yugoslav war?"
Lily shrugged. "He fought in a war. I don't know which one."
"That was the war he fought in. You know Serbian soldiers committed war crimes, right? They did horrible things."
Lily shook her head. "War makes anyone do horrible things. Now goodnight." She turned and continued up the stairs.
She made it to her room when Janie, who had been following her, said, "Fine, don't believe me. Look it up yourself, but I'm telling you that Niko guy is trouble."
Lily shut her bedroom door. That happy feeling she had was suddenly gone and in its place was annoyance and dread. Had she been wrong about Niko? What kind of war crimes was Janie talking about?
It was a war. People do things they never thought they'd do. She kept telling herself. But Niko is a good man. He saved me from those would be rapists. He walks me to my car every evening. He looks after his family. He's not a bad person.
However, as the night wore on she found it hard to sleep and sometime between two am and four, her laptop and turned it on. She went to Eye Find and did research on the war. She was shocked and horrified at some the things she had read. She wanted to say she was shocked that the US was involved, but that was no surprise there. Why had she never heard of it until now? The war ended while she was in high school and current events was a subject she kept up with for the school paper.
It was five in the morning by the time she was finished. She had read enough. Not knowing how to feel at that moment, she set her laptop aside and tried to get some sleep. It wouldn't come easily to her, though.
North Holland
Jessie followed her Sergeant-at-Arms, Big Bess, to the burrito van. Bess, a heavy set woman with half shaved black hair, threw open the back doors to the van revealing the weapons she managed to acquire in a short amount of time.
Jessie grinned at the stockpile before her and selected an AK47. Linda stood back shaking her head in disapproval. Linda reluctantly approached the van and grabbed an SMG and a bullet proof vest. One by one each high ranking member grabbed for a weapon and a vest. The lower ranking members received low tier weapons but didn't complain because they were still eager to please their leader.
The crisp morning air had the younger members feeling hyped. Linda, however, felt the tension between her and Jessie. The night before their argument over what to do became heated, but in the end, Jessie put her foot down and her word was always the final say. On this morning as they prepared for the assault on the Angels, Linda tried one last time to reason with her president, but Jessie still refused to listen.
Jessie loved Linda as if she were a sister, but Linda didn't understand that destroying the shop was a major blow to the Steel Roses. That was their main source of funds. It was what put bread on the table for the members who struggled to find regular work, it paid doctor bills for the injured, they used it for charities to improve their image with the public. So no, Jessie wasn't going to let those Deadbeat fucks get away with this.
"Alright, ladies get ready. We're taking on these Deadbeats."
