A.N. These are the songs I picked for this chapter: Annie-Antonio, IAMX-Sorrow, Music People, BOA-Camo. There are probably mistakes, but I can't hold this chapter hostage forever.
Chapter 8-1
Downtown, she always loved the way it looked at night. There was an alluring mysticism to the world after the sun faded from the horizon, when most well-minded people were locked inside, safe from the dead lurkers that emerged under cover of the black sky.
Neon signs lit the city in shades of pink, yellow, and blue; an orange haze hovering in the air where all the colors met and mixed with the street lamps.
The latest technology craze—holographics, had taken the city by storm. Images were projected through giant electric glass panels built into the sides of skyscrapers, showing the company's business moniker or something symbolizing their product. For now, they were still images floating high in the air, harboring too much complex data to move. But less than a year after mass implementation, there were already talks of animating them to life.
They were a proud symbol of company status, drawing curious gazes of awe and wonderment.
Smaller street level displays fared better but weren't perfect; computer-generated persons often glitching out during demos of new products, freezing or stuttering right on the sidewalk.
There was a hologram for everything and every store, from a band playing music in front of a records store to women modeling the latest fashion trends outside a mall. And no product was off limits. Movie theaters projected short snippets from new releases, and gun shops showed off their weapons to anyone who passed. But more and more these constant advertisements only enticed citizens to drown in consumerism, never satisfied, always wanting more.
To seasoned Republic City natives, the city was too suffocating to live in. They, like her, moved their families further out after the technology boom.
But the dark reality no one wanted to face was that they were only being indoctrinated into a society specifically calculated to keep them trapped in a net; hungry business moguls reeling them in time and time again.
Yet still, she couldn't deny it, the city was beautiful, shimmering even; the dark atmosphere tempting and hard to turn away. More than once her mother caught her roaming these very streets alone after curfew, back when computer graphics were far beyond the reach of feasibility. It was here where she escaped the sheltered, isolated life of luxury, finding purpose in seeing real people with real struggles.
Suyin drifted away from the main city-center; the immediate white glow fading into the background as she tried to keep her eyes locked onto Kuvira's car a couple vehicles ahead on the two-lane street, but it was hard not to let them drift; the city dead, yet so bright and alive.
"Imperial Monkey"
She always smiled at the green neon hanzi characters mounted above the noodle restaurant's entrance.
Coming to a stop at a red street light, she looked out her driver side window, remembering how irate her mother would be when she caught her outside that restaurant.
Later in life, she found out it was Triad owned.
Having the city's police chief as her mother, she should've known to heed her warnings, but a stubborn teenage mind didn't let her grasp the dangerous reality of people with bad intentions.
Now she understood what her mother was protecting her from, watching the women, some waiters, some not, standing on the sidewalk, puffing smokes with indifferent looks in their eyes beneath the harsh glow of the restaurant's sign. Green lanterns dangled from the worn awning, and two stone monkeys primed in aggressive stances with teeth bared guarded the entrance. She'd seen those monkeys up-close, and marveled at the beautiful, high-quality sculpting. The sculptor obviously took pride in his work, carving out the painstaking details of muscles; the shoulders broad and robust, promoting unshakable strength.
"Hmm…" Suyin gave a light sigh, relaxing into her seat as her foot touched the gas at the green light.
That restaurant also happened to be one of the few places Kuvira outright refused to eat at. "The food's shoddy..." That's what Kuvira said, and she was never a picky eater.
Thirty years ago, this area of town looked different, with booming businesses and smiling faces. But a spike in gang related crime took that all away, and crime rates steadily increased ever since, over taking multiple areas of the city, keeping police as well as her firm busier than ever.
Now ghost towns were scattered throughout Republic City, buildings withering and decaying piece by piece, left to rot, forgotten by a society infatuated with greed.
The government didn't care about its citizens anymore, well, even less than they used to with higher ups more focused on keeping their pockets heavy than their citizens safe. Money was everything now; it was privilege, affording happiness and safety; some had it, most didn't. Hell, even she knew she was lucky just to be born in the right family.
Politicians and celebrities seemed to like, even respect the time-honored prestige of the Beifong name; many trying to cozy up to her mother. It never worked, but her mother always faked along, learning how to smile at the right time, saving her adverse thoughts and emotions for later.
Suyin sat up, alerted by Kuvira's car turning down a seedy narrow street. Fizzles of unease crept up her back to the tip of her neck as her eyes darted about the darker street; the car maneuvering between two high rise slums.
Reinforced concrete, it was the new go-to material for skyscraping housing projects like these, because it was the cheapest thing that was sturdy enough to hold up the four walls someone would call a home. Balconies hung high in the air, practically stacked on one another; the grey concrete stained with old black and brown streaks running down the sides.
Rusty signs attached lower down jutted out above the road. Some of the newer plastic signs had areas and lights smashed out, while the older paper ones peeled, weathered by time, hanging abandoned over businesses long since shut down.
'What are you doing down here Kuvira?'
She continued to follow, keeping a good distance away from the car in front.
The street started to glow again the further they continued down as neon signs reappeared.
Kuvira's car slowed; the street suddenly crowded, both sides lined with cars outside an unmarked building lit with blue lights; the eerie glow spilling over the parked cars and onto the street.
Suyin veered her car to the edge of the side walk, parking three cars behind Kuvira. She shrunk behind the steering wheel watching Kuvira get out and survey the surroundings; her head turning side to side.
'Damn it.' Suyin's heart leapt from her chest as she ducked, catching Kuvira's gaze into the windshield; her neck nearly touching the rim of the steering wheel as she stared at the floor between her legs. After a good few minutes she looked up, figuring she was safe if Kuvira wasn't knocking on the window in a matter of seconds.
She let go of a breath, relieved to see an empty street once more. 'Okay hurry…quietly.' Cutting off the car, Suyin opened the door as gentle as she could, standing in time to see Kuvira bypass the main double door entrance and turn down a dark alley. 'Really Kuvira.' Suyin closed the door, praying her car wouldn't get stolen if she didn't lock the doors this once, to keep Kuvira from hearing the honking car horn and seeing the flashing lights each time she pressed the button.
Moving to the sidewalk, she kept her pace quick; her eyes taking in shadowy, unfamiliar surroundings, trying to determine what was and wasn't a threat.
'A club?' She heard booming on the other side of those grey-painted entrance doors she passed. Turning down the dark alley, she stopped; a shiver rushing down her back, and it wasn't from the wind cutting through her tailored olive button down. 'This was your bad choice.' Suyin crossed the grungy, decrepit path to make it to a black door opposite a couple dumpsters; her foot narrowly missing a deep puddle of standing water. "Wow, this is a bad idea." Laying her hand on the handle, she opened the door, trying to let her doubts go.
She stepped past the threshold, entering a new world.
Experimental electronica's slow thumping bass rolled through her body, every ounce of her feeling the vibrations as it reverberated from her ears down; rousing electric guitars conjuring her deepest emotions.
Thin red strips of neon LEDs mounted along black supporting columns pulsed to the song's sensual rhythm.
Everything was black; walls, stone columns, even the red patterned carpet at her feet.
A handsome, suited man passed in front of her, and her eyes followed him to the source of his crooked grin—a row of small rooms lining the wall, each with its own concealing red curtain. A woman sitting on a red lounge in a short, skin tight dress held out her hand for him to take. Once she drew him in, the curtain slid closed.
Suyin kept moving, trying not to let her feet stall for too long. Passing the rest of the rooms, her eyes caught a glimpse of a scantily clad woman sitting in lingerie, using her cellphone as she waited for someone to come join her on the red chaise lounge. Suyin's brow furrowed a little. Had she not gotten her life together after her rebellious teens, had she not met Bataar, she knew she'd have probably ended up in that same position, waiting for a random man—or woman—to come into her room and pay her for a good night.
"Excuse me madam."
Suyin jumped, almost sideswiped by a maître d's tray as he passed in front of her; the tray loaded with an assortment of expensive liquor. She looked to where he was headed, and sure enough it was the woman's room. Maybe the alcohol dulled her pain, Suyin pondered for a second, or maybe it was just to keep her next client a little more than tipsy.
Whatever the answer was she'd never know, and turned away not wanting to think about it any longer.
The music changed; a hard, intense beat prodded at her, chipping away her dutiful citizen exterior. Beautiful, yet tormented notes sunk their claws into her skin, trying to break through and release something locked away deep within her.
She pushed away temptation, her eyes searching for Kuvira.
Walking into what she figured was the main attraction of the club, she lifted her gaze. From the hallway, the space opened up; the ceiling at least two stories high. Below it, a second level secured by a glass balcony, where a few patrons leaned over the rail observing the dancers.
Her admiring gaze fell and a smile stretched across her lips, watching women and men alike thrashing their heads from side to side, grinding with partners, or simply rolling their shoulders to the entrancing music atop a glass dance floor.
Her eyes caught a fleeting glimpse of Kuvira —or what looked like her—across the room, walking up a cast iron staircase to the next level.
She moved forward, music rumbling through her body as she maneuvered around and between chatting groups of clubgoers, most housing drinks in their hands; the smell of alcohol so strong she could taste it on her tongue.
The air fogged with a mixture of artificial and real smoke as she stepped onto the dance floor looking down at the lit squares beneath her feet, feeling a bit underdressed and out of place, yet still smiling. She waded in deeper; it not taking long before she was squished by a sea of people boxing her in on every side; her shoulders rubbing against strangers as she squeezed through. People knocked into her, faces flashing like the strobe lights above, skin reflecting the neon colors. It was near impossible to focus on any one person with so many moving in and out of her view.
Some dancers jumped, and some threw their bodies in weird ways as tortured electronic beats cut through the air. She pushed through the mass of people; the unique, grimy smell of sweat mixing with perfume and cologne starting to make her nauseous.
Emerging from the main crowd and to an emptier area at the edge of the dance floor, Suyin took in and released a relieving breath. She turned her head and did a double take, spotting a blonde in a short black dress eyeing her with a drink in her hand, paying more attention to her than the man dancing in front of her.
'I need to find Kuvira.' Suyin narrowed her focus back to its priority and continued forward.
Any other night, after a good drink, this all might've felt euphoric, even bringing her back to her early twenties. She wanted to picture Kuvira dancing with her, but even the thought seemed so ludicrous that her mind couldn't conjure it up.
She grinned. Kuvira would never step onto the dance floor.
Taking the staircase rail into her hand, she welcomed the breezy chill of air conditioning hitting her warm skin as she made her way up.
'I hate it here.'
"Kuvira."
Kuvira instantly recognized the deep voice, bringing a furrow to her brow, keeping herself turned away from him on purpose.
"Kuvira!"
She turned with a growl under her breath after he practically screamed her name over the music.
"Over here."
'At least he probably knows where Nero is…he knows everything that goes on in here.' She took her chances, making the trek over to a wraparound booth; the V.I.P. area accented with deep pink neon lights and a tasteful contemporary table, now littered with his drinks and trash. On either side of her, she sized up the armed men sporting high powered rifles.
"Hey Hey, let her through." Pulling a cigarette from his mouth, the burly man hung off one of the guard's shoulders like he owned him. Then again, he did.
When she was close enough, he grabbed her arm with a smile. "Come in. Damn, let me get a good look at you." He let go and took a few back steps in front of her, sucking on the cigarette one more time before he tossed it into the astray on the glass table; his eyes never leaving her. "What is this?" He mockingly chuckled, pointing to her with both his hands. "How do you come to a club dressed like this?" He sized her up. "Work boots, jeans, a weather jacket, and…your shirt's not even tucked in." Turning away with a relenting laugh, he glanced down. "What has retirement done to you?"
Her brow shot to a furrow. "How did you know I was retired?"
"You look the part. What else?"
Kuvira's eyes followed him as he walked over to an adjacent mini bar; the deep wine color of his dress shirt accentuated by the pink neon light running the perimeter of the counter. Taking her eyes from him, she glanced around the area, spotting another armed man, this one bald, standing resilient in the corner wearing an all-black suit.
'TM-80' Kuvira scanned the rifle in his hands; a .40 caliber killing machine, his more updated than his predecessors in front, with customized stability grip and extended magazine.
Hearing a snort and hearty exhale from the other side, she turned her attention back to J.R., who lifted himself from the bar's counter and tilted his head back to the ceiling.
"You haven't changed." Kuvira's lip curled in disgust.
Moving back to plop on the booth, he wiped his closely shaven beard clean of any white powder and stretched his arms over the top of the seat; his head hanging for a second before he tilted it back, letting music fill his ears. "Why would I?" He lifted his head, his vision sharpened, colors becoming bright, even glaring as euphoria clouded his mind. A beautiful figure glowed, walking into his view just behind Kuvira; a grey-haired woman. "Who's that?"
Kuvira didn't turn around, thinking it was probably one of his drug-induced hallucinations.
"Is she with you?"
That got her attention. She didn't want to turn but she did, hoping she wouldn't see who her gut felt it might be. But fate was not on her side tonight. 'Shit...shit shit SHIT.' She stomped over to the woman who hadn't spotted her yet, almost shoving one of the guard's shoulders. She reached out, latching onto the woman who jumped in her rough grasp. "What are you doing here?"
Suyin looked from her seized arm up to its captor. Kuvira looked like a different person. There was something dark in her eyes; the unsettling, even menacing gaze beneath Kuvira's furrowed brow burning a hole right through her.
"Hey, bring her in Kuvira."
Suyin could tell when Kuvira's jaw locked; her muscles steeling to control her livid breaths.
"You don't know what you've done." With an ominous warning, Kuvira let go, leaving Suyin alone as she went back to the V.I.P. area.
Standing still, Suyin glanced around the second level, feeling a twinge of dreaded guilt pass through her, but now there was no choice to turn back. This, after all, was about the reaction she expected from Kuvira. If anything, it was subtler than she thought it would be.
Turning in Kuvira's direction, Suyin froze. "What the—" She spoke under her breath, her wide eyes staring at the rifles locked in the two suited men's' hands.
"Come in here, I want to meet you. These guys won't bite. Not unless I tell them to."
A beckoning male voice called to her as the music changed again; a woman's sultry voice filling the air, electronic synths following an adrenaline pumping beat.
Uneasy, she walked over, tentatively stopping beside Kuvira. A crooked grin spread across the man's face as he looked at her, even leaning over to get a better view.
He was a big guy, she inferred from how his button down fit, looking tighter in the areas of his arms and chest. But she didn't see the real grandeur of his size until he stood and moved around the glass table towards them. Taller than Kuvira, even taller than Bataar, this giant man, who eyed her as an animal would its prey, had to be at least 6 feet, 4 inches.
But she stilled, seeing his dilated gaze locked onto her, traveling lower down her shirt; his eyes painted the same color as Kuvira's.
"J.R."
Suyin kept silent as Kuvira's arm came in front of her. But he ignored Kuvira's warning, moving around the arm blocking him to take her hand without asking; his consuming hers. "Who are you beautiful lady?" He leaned over bringing the back of her hand to his lips as he gave her a kiss, looking straight into her eyes.
It was a look Suyin had seen many times before. The awe on her face dissipated, leveling out into slight annoyance.
"Another grade A smooth talker." She slid her hand from his grasp. "Not interested."
"My offer may be tempting."
Suyin just smirked.
In the corner, another set of eyes locked onto her; his brow knitting together as he stuck his hand in the pocket of his black slacks and pulled out a phone.
"How do you two know each other?" Suyin boldly diverted the situation.
J.R. raised an eyebrow and lifted himself up. "Oh." He laughed reaching out to rub the top of Kuvira's head, only to have his hand grabbed and thrown back before it even reached its destination. Chuckling, he stuck the hand in his pocket. "Her father's my brother, or…was." He grinned.
"…your niece…" Suyin looked over to Kuvira, watching her turn her head away.
"Yup. And contrary to what you might think." His words were directed to Kuvira. "I do miss him…sometimes."
J.R.'s dark chuckle rolled throughout the room as he turned and walked back to the booth resuming his seat.
'So, she does have family.'
"I'm just glad your mother got to him before I did." The dark-haired man looked over to Suyin. "You see, we never liked each other. It's just how we were raised. Pop always pitted us against one another."
"What happened to him?" It may have been none of her business, but Suyin felt an urge to get answers to her curiosities, knowing Kuvira would take longer to tell her or never would.
"He was shot up by the woman he loved. Ironic huh?"
Suyin turned in time to watch Kuvira's brow furrow to a dangerous point, even catching the growl under her breath.
"Oh come on..." A smirk tugged at his lips. "You don't even remember it."
Kuvira shot a fiery gaze his way as she took a couple steps forward, nearly shadowing Suyin from his view. "I didn't come here to talk J.R." Her patience ran very thin as he leaned back into the booth.
"Then what—"
"Sir." The black suited man held the phone out to him, which J.R. took, staring at its screen before glancing up to Suyin. "You were saying…" He looked to Kuvira and gave the phone back, leaning forward to pull a smoke from a shiny silver case on the table.
"I'm meeting Nero…Is he here?"
"Oh…the big guy." J.R. mumbled through the cigarette he was lighting. His focus sidetracked as his gaze traveled up Suyin's figure. "Want one?"
"I don't smoke."
He smirked. "You might like it, special blend."
"No thank you." Suyin let the words roll from her mouth; a little amused smile playing at her lips.
"Mmm…" He tapped off some of the ashes into the tray. "Life's too short not to have a vice."
"Guessing you've done it all."
He looked up to her again. "Wouldn't be a good salesman if I didn't know my product."
'A Drug Dealer.' Suyin's smile fell; a nervous lump forming in her throat. Sure, she'd both prosecuted and defended drug dealers before. But those cases were also the most violent by far; one death coming in after another, just like a cycle that wouldn't end. Deep down, she always feared becoming the next victim. Some of her colleagues learned to "trust the system", but she never did, after finding out bureaucracy was just as shady as the crime organizations she investigated.
Drug dealers were dangerous, no one disputed it. And ones like the man before her were especially heinous, protected by money and the mercenaries at his disposal.
Never did she expect to be standing here, casually talking on his territory while he sat free of the shackles and chains that kept her safe. But oddly, her heart wasn't thumping anymore, and she couldn't figure out if she felt comforted, even protected by Kuvira's presence, or if she was just getting used to the place, letting the rebel inside of her have fun.
The air started to thicken with his smoke. Suyin felt it sneaking into her nose, seeping down, burning the lump from her throat. She looked at Kuvira; the woman still wouldn't look at her.
"So tell me, beautiful lady, who are you?" J.R. leaned back to the booth once again, his arms resting over the top.
Kuvira clenched her teeth and stilled, just hoping Suyin knew how to get around the question. The less he knew about her, the better. She didn't exactly have time to warn Suyin of his utter hate for lawyers.
"I don't think I know you well enough to tell you that."
Taking the cigarette from his mouth, J.R. stabbed it into the ashtray, biting his lip as he resumed his position and rested an arm behind his head. "I like you." He smirked. "So…can I ask you something else then?"
"Hmm?"
"What do you do for a living?"
Kuvira's eyes widened, staring into the ground as Suyin grinned beside her.
"Is this an interview—"
"This is taking too long, it's not what I'm here for." Kuvira snapped, startling the other woman.
"Whoa chill." J.R. chuckled. "I'll give you your answers, but I want to talk to her first—"
"No—"
"Yes."
Suyin was struck by the sharp daggers in the man's voice. His whole demeanor changed. Suddenly he was more than just a tortured playboy, as something worse showed in his eyes.
"Can I talk to you privately?"
Thrown off by Kuvira's abrupt question, Suyin looked over seeing Kuvira turned to her with an incessant, non-negotiable stare. At a loss of words, Suyin only nodded.
"Come on."
Kuvira moved past her and she followed.
With their backs turned, the body guard beside J.R. stepped forward.
"Not yet." J.R. spoke low, holding his arm in front of the guard. "They'll be back."
A.N. (Sigh of relief) That chapter was a toughie, but I've finally made it to the milestone I've only dreamt of reaching. It's been really hard to get here. A lot has happened in my life since this story began. Even though most of the audience for this story is long gone, I continue it for myself as my own fan, because I said I would reach this point. :) I'm excited for the next chapter. It's a long one. ;)