Chapter 10:
Roxas thought it over for a minute. Maybe she was the one who rescued Riku from the streets. "I'm sorry." he muttered. "Forget about it. Let's just try to enjoy the rest of the night." he responded, walking away from him. "How much trouble do you think we're actually in?" Roxas asked. "Who knows? But the Boss won't go down without a fight." They could hear Luxord shouting from somewhere upstairs, Riku sighed. "Think we should go help him?" Roxas didn't know why he even bothered to ask. This whole night was dead in his opinion. Not that it was anyone's fault besides that guy who stormed in. 'Poor Xemnas, it seems like he can never just enjoy himself.' he thought. Roxas couldn't imagine how stressful it must be for him, living this sort of life. Looking back on it, Roxas wondered if he made the right choice.
"-just babbling to himself or any unfortunate person he's cornered." Roxas heard Riku say, missing the first half of the response completely. Making their way back to the main floor, they sat at a table close to Vexen, Xaldin and Saix. "How many times do I have to tell that man he ought to just shut this place down and cut his losses? This place is more of a liability than anything else he operates." Vexen said angrily. "This is why you're a physician Vex. You don't understand how much money a place like this generates. You're working yourself into a rage for no reason." Vexen slammed his hand on the table "I don't want to end up in the clink, do you? Its all of our responsibilities to make sure we take every step possible to help this Organization. That goes for you too!" he pointed at Roxas.
"Preaching to the choir Vex..." Riku said in a bored tone. Xaldin shook his head and took a sip of beer. "I say we just take whatever we made in money, splitting the profit, pay our debts and more to some foreign country. Be done with it." he said. "Oh come ON. The boss has been in tight spots before. He'll pull though this one too." Saix said, rolling his eyes at the other men. "Say...you don't think that Xion is talking to the cops about us do you?" Xaldin said looking between Vexen and Saix. "Let's go pass that by Xemnas." They all stood up and left. "Never a dull moment with us." Riku said tapping his fingers to the song the band was playing.
"So tell me," Roxas said looking to change the subject. "If you could go anywhere you wanted in this world, where would it be?" Riku thought for a minute. "I'd love to just explore a pyramid in Egypt or find myself a set of dinosaur bones in the jungle." Riku said with a smile. "That's where I'd go with my money. How about you?"
At that moment, Axel decided to sit down and motioned Riku to leave. "We'll talk about this later..." he said getting up and walking back towards Xemnas' office. "What were you guys talking about?" Axel asked casually. "Nothing really, shooting the breeze. You know, Vex and them think that the Organization is done for and that we should skip town and take the money with us." Roxas said while twirling a napkin ring he found. "Oh please, if I had a nickel for every time they wanted to pull that move, I'd have enough to buy the Brooklyn Bridge. However, this is one of the larger problems we've had to deal with." Axel pulled out a cigarette. "They're going to tell Xemnas their idea that Xion might be spilling the beans in jail too about you guys." Roxas said, looking at the band. Axel made a noise of concern. "That's a possibility, can't rule that out. He never talked much in the first place but he could be the one to bust us wide open. We'll see what he thinks." he took a drag.
Nothing was worse for club business than a raid. Most of the guests decided to finish their drinks and leave before they could get caught themselves. As a group of people shuffled past, Roxas noticed something they were stepping on. "What's that?" he asked Axel, who turned around, cigarette in hand. Once the area cleared he walked over and picked it up. "Huh, looks like a photograph. Young girl it seems." he showed it to Roxas. "Say...I know her!" he said, taking a closer look. "Oh? What's her name?" Roxas gulped for a second and said "Well, I don't know her that well, but that's the girl who kissed me in the soda shop!" Axel's face lit up as he looked back to the picture. "Oohh! So this is your little bird! She's a keeper, little thin though.." he then turned the photo over and picked at it. "This came off a cigar..." he said, peeling a sticker from the backside of it. "Only one man was smoking a Cuban like this one...looks like we got ourselves a lead." he smoked some more or his cigarette and took Roxas by the arm. "Now we'll find out who this guy is for sure." they caught Xemnas just in time before he locked the doors to his office.
"We've got something that'll make you smile!" Axel said in a sing song voice, flinging the photograph at Xemnas. "She's far too young for me and is wearing something. How will that cheer me up?" Xemnas said stiffly. "Roxas can get some dirt on her AND who her father was...the man who was kind enough to do that to your jacket." he said, rubbing the burned pieces between his fingers. "Alls we gotta do is have Roxas here hang out where he first met her, and wait for her to show up!" Xemnas started to walk towards the doors. "What if she doesn't show up there? We can't risk having him seen too often."
"I can ask the soda jerk who her father is. Get information that way." Roxas said as he waited with the men while the coat check girl grabbed Xemnas a different jacket. "Sounds fair...we'll give it a couple of days though, things are too hot right now. I'll send the car back for you two." Axel looked down at Roxas "Are you done here for the night?" Roxas did suddenly feel tired, perhaps the adrenaline wore off. "Yeah. I'll go get Riku, then we'll go." he said. Axel nodded and got into the car with Xemnas. Once Roxas was out of sight Axel shook Xemnas' shoulder in excitement. "This kid is going to be the cat's meow when it comes to this operation. What a lucky break we caught huh?" Xemnas sighed. "As long as he doesn't flub anything up and keeps his head, we'll be fine. That's not our only concern though, but its at least one down."
Roxas finally found Riku upstairs with Luxord and Xigbar. Luxord entangled some men in a card game with him while Xigbar quietly enjoyed his drink. "Riku, we're splitting. Coming Lux?" Xigbar waved a hand saying "No, he can come in our car, he's working...if you can call it that." Roxas shrugged "Fair enough, come on. Let's go." Riku walked over and proceeded downstairs with Roxas. "Did he lecture you about anything? He goes on these tangents every so often, almost thinks he's the boss." he finished as they retrieved their coats. "Leaving so soon?" the coat check girl pouted at Roxas "Don't get too attached Doll, the bank's closed." he said with a smirk at her. Riku cracked a smile and waived at her as they left. Instantly, Roxas leaned his head back on the seat as the driver gave the engine a few cranks. The breeze billowing through the open windows made him feel as though he were flying.
The other men were talking amongst one another as the car made its way out of the city and towards less crowded space. Just when they got to their neighborhood, Xemnas groaned as a pair of headlights flashed behind them. "Looks like we've got company, pull over a tick." he said, securing a knife up his sleeve. "Think that's wise?" Axel said, looking at the car behind them. "We'll be fine." Xemnas replied in a bored tone. As the car pulled alongside them, Axel relaxed a bit. "They've got kids with them. Pretty late to have youngsters out though..." The rest of them listened closely but couldn't pick up much over the sputtering engines. After 5 or so minutes, Xemnas waived them away with a smile. "Just a family moving in from St. Louis...got lost in the woods here." The car shook as he climbed back in. "Tomorrow, we start the real planning for what we're going to do about this mess, got it? Roxas, you can make breakfast again." Roxas nodded as they rolled up the driveway. "I didn't know part of my training would include becoming a chef..." he said sleepily.