Twenty- Five
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Annell's eyes scanned the abhorrent room. From the white sound-proofed walls, to the aged lineolumn floors. The darkly tinted, two - way mirror across the way. There had been no signs of life for a while now. With little care or the illusion of little care; Annell propped her feet up on the table. She had kicked off her shoes easily an hour into this...fiasco. Annell was trying - desperately - to remain calm, to remain in the moment. To not get ahead to herself or over-analyze what was happening right now. She was trying to follow Jax's advice; after all the Fed's were just trying to shake her up, right?
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
The simple clicking of the second hand of the generic old clock that hung above the door was easily one of the most irritating noises she'd ever heard. With a snort Annell grimaced. Alright, perhaps she was being a little melodramatic. Although the ticking was steadily growing louder with every tick.
With her barefeet crossed at the ankle, the top one swung slightly at the ankle as she hummed a nameless tune along to the ticks and tocks. Her hands had fallen in her lap, as Annell chipped away at the the burgundy colored polish. Anything to pass the time really.
"This is getting really old. " She hummed in the tune. Dropping her head back, eyes boring into the ceiling tiles, yellowed and aged . " I know you can hear me. I wasn't born yesterday.." Annell said loudly to the tiles.
But one thing she did have to say about being stuck in this hellhole was it really gave a few hours of pure, uninterrupted silence. With the worst looming ahead, Annell had solidly decided to ignore the dark cloud that hovered menacingly above. Instead focusing all her attention on the present; the things she had control over, the things she could prevent and possibly take care of. Number one; she firmly decided she didn't need a 'right hand' or a left for that matter. If this was ever going to be taken care of she needed to keep her cards close to the vest.
Then there was Tig, and to some extent the Sons. They were a risk, a really big risk. On so many levels. But at this point she felt like the Sons were really the only ones she could trust, granted she paid them to be able to do so...and could you put that much stock in the puesdo-loyalty of the paid?
More so then your own family it appeared.
This ended today. Tonight. Whenever the hell she got out of this shitty excuse for a police station. She visibly jumped, jerking forward as the door in the far corner swung open. Her barefeet falling to the cold floor and her elbows resting on the table.
"Ms. Propkovic, I'm Agent Renolds I'll be-" A pudgy man in a cheap gray suit, with a bad salt and pepper colored toupee started.
"I want my laywer." Annell cut him off. She, watching with a dark predatory gaze, did not even bother to hide the fact that she was watching as he laid the manilla folders on the table, pulling out an old metal chair across from the angry looking woman.
"Can I get you a water, coffee?"
"How about my lawyer?"
"Ma'am, I would strongly advi-"
"Lawyer."
"Miss."
"Lawyer."
"Do you even want-"
"Lawyer, lawyer, lawyer." Annell managed to interrupt every question the middle aged, round bellied man asked. Her arms crossed tightly under her breasts, her eyes wide and looking unimpressed. No doubt earning every ounce of the look of exhaustion that flashed over his already haggered, jowled features. Annell also suppressed the outrage that was starting to bubble just below the surface, her eyes trailing over this 'Agent Reynolds'.
Obviously past what could be considered his 'prime', the sheer look of exhaustion and ambivalence that was easily read in his dull hazel, crow-feeted eyes, confessed this man had stopped caring years ago. He was here to put his eight hours in, get his pay check and go home, to what Annell assumed was a equally uncaring, pudgy wife, she imagined whom drove a mini van. Two, maybe three snotty kids, whom, if God had any mercy, were not cursed with that large pigish snout Agent Reynolds sported.
Lifting equally pudgy, beefy fingers to the bridge of his large snout, Reynolds messaged his finger tips into the tender flesh in an attempted to quell the tension headache that was brewing in the front of his skull.
This was going to be a long day...
The other cells were empty. The small room in the back of the small police department was filled with four small cells that any given weekend would be filled with rowdy drunks, territorial frat boys and perhaps the odd wife – beater. But on a – Annell glanced down at the large sliver watch on her wrist – Tuesday morning the empty stone silence was to be expected. Eleven hours; she'd been in custody eleven hours.
A self-satisfied smirk pulled at the corner of her thin lips; this was a waste of time but it was amusing in some ways. This was the type of thing that had always brought her unparalleled joy, not being arrested, no. But knowing that she was, in fact, the smartest person in the room. She was not always, but when she was, oh she loved it. The surge of adrenaline that pumped through her veins, the pleasant twist in her belly of excitement and the way her heart beat just the tiniest bit faster.
It was similar to the way her heart had started behaving when Tigger – Tig – was around. All very similar, the twisting and flopping in her lower belly, the way her heart picked up its' pace even in the slightest almost unnoticeable way.
Annell's teeth nipped and pulled at her thumb nail. When had this happened? When had she become so attached? It had all seemed to happen so subtlety she hadn't even noticed. It wasn't smart, it was definitely a terribly bad idea, a messy horrible idea. And yet, he'd wormed his way in so insidiously that she didn't think there was anything she could do about it now. It was done.
She was ensnared. Could she let go? Get out, break it off, whatever 'it' was...Absolutely, the problem was, she absolutely had no intentions of doing so. And to even pretend that she did, well, that was just lying to to herself. Whatever, this completely insane roller coaster ride was Annell had every intention of riding it to the last stop.
When she closed her eyes, she could almost see him smirking in that smug way, he always did when he seemed to know that he was the one in control. The same smile that tore her between kissing him completely senseless and slamming her fist into his jaw, either way wiping that pompous smirk off his face.
"Well Jesus H Christ Annell, What kinda' mess have you gone and gotten yourself into?" When had he come in? Annell's head snapped up, her hand falling into her lap as she stepped towards the tired looking Sheriff Cole. Eyeing the two large gas station coffee cups clutched his his hands; she could smell the sweet aroma of fresh brewed coffee wafting into her nostrils.
She could kiss him; she would kiss him. If the bars separating them weren't completely in the way.
" Nothing I can't get out of." Annell took the offered coffee.
"You still take it black?"
"Absolutely." Strategically, Sheriff Cole turned his back on the small mounted security camera mounted in the far right corner.
"Audio busted years ago, station hasn't had the funds to replace it yet.."He shrugged. "Jesus Annell, I don't think... That is, people are getting nervous. You can't, you can't let this get anywhere. If ya'll go down, half of my department goes with you, myself included. I can't let that happen."
"Then you need to get off the sidelines." Annell popped a hip, gripping it with her hand. She took a measured sip of the coffee and God was it good coffee. She watched as the man ran a hand over his salt and pepper colored hair and sighed loudly.
"I mean it, get your ass off the bench and get in the game." She still gripped her hip and her voice took an almost scolding tone. The image, would have been funny, if he could find humor at this moment. It wasn't lost on him that the small woman looked like a mother scolding a toddler.
She waited, looked at him expectantly. Taking another long sip off her coffee, she licked the excess off her bottom lip, an eyebrow shooting skyward.
"This is purely hypothetical.."
"Sure."
"If law enforcement were to rip you house apart, right now. Would there be anything you'd be worried about them finding?" Annell pursed her lips and sucked her teeth. Wracking her brain; she took another sip of coffee.
"I mean, I'm not crazy about them going through my panty drawer -"
"We both know that's not the kinda thing I'm talking about here." Cole scowled. Annell's eyes widened and she recoiled a bit, feeling thoroughly chastised.
"I'm not stupid. No. There is nothing that I'd be worried about."
"Good. Because they are. Right now."
"Shit. Just out of curiosity, how did they get a warrant? I haven't even been charged yet."
"And you won't be. Well, unless they find something out at the house. It would seem that hot shot agent that's up your ass has friends in some pretty high places. They're giving him some latitude and taxes. They think they can get you on tax evasion... Please tell me you've paid your gotdamn taxes?" A new panic seemed to reach the older man's eyes.
"Well, yeah..." Annell sucked her teeth and her fingers touched her bottom lip. But it was the furrowed eyebrows and pensiveness that made Sheriff Cole uncomfortable.
"Ya' have paid your taxes...right?"
"Well, yeah..I think so.. "
"What do you mean: 'You think so'?" The normally confident, self assured woman fidgeted. Her eyes darting side to side as she sat down on the cot. Putting her coffee to the side she steepled her fingers over her mouth.
"I..well, I pay someone to take care of that sort of-"
"Oh my God!" Cole yelped, his hands shooting to his hairline again.
"There's no reason to assume. I pay the Jew prick to take care of all that." Annell reasoned. Her hands waving in the air, to empathize her point. "I'm sure it's absolutely fine." She brought her coffee to her lips.
"But you don't know!" He messaged his temples. "How does this happen? How is it you types are so gotdamn smart when it comes to the big shirt but when is comes to normal,everyday, simple bullshit..like paying your gotdamn taxes, which every American seems to be able to do easily, you can't seem to fucking do it!"
"What are you talking about?"Annell's eyes watched as she was, quite possibly, watching the man have a nervous breakdown.
"You know, that's how they got Al Capone?"
"What?"
"Taxes." Cole settled, leaning his shoulder against her cell. He took a healthy sip of coffee. "Al Capone they were never able to take him down, until they got him for tax evasion. Little bit of history for ya'."
" I'm sure it's fine. I'll check with him as soon as I get out of here." She didn't seem so sure, Cole noted. "Jews are good with money." She waved a hand dismissively.
"Can I just say; this is such a rich person problem." Cole messaged his temples. "I can tell you a hundred percent I paid my taxes last year, went to H & R Block...It took an hour. You don't have a gotdamn hour to spare?" He said through gritted teeth.
"Well, with all due respect, my taxes are a little more complicated that the run of the mill tax form.."
"No shit... I say this with respect.. That wasn't my point. My point was that I know." He clarified, his index poking his chest. "I know, because I took care of it. You delegate too much, which I guess is one of the perks of,well, being you. But you don't know, does that make sense?"
"Yeah, it does. " Annell nodded. Her head hanging lowly. "I've actually been hearing that a lot lately, I think I've made a mistake. You know not just with the delegating but I think I gave them too much freedom, trusted them too much."
Cole rose an eyebrow not needing to voice the unspoken question.
"No one in particular..." Annell lied with ease. "Just all of them... They're too comfortable with me, I think. I think I need to inject a healthy dose of fear. "
"It's not always better to be feared than respected.."
"Is it too much to ask for both?"
Note: Hello, long time , no see. I'm terribly sorry about all of that. The fact of the matter is (and I know, excuses, excuses.) over the last year and a half I have had some major life changing events. I don't want to bore anyone, so I'll give you the cliffnotes version. My husband and I happily added another person to our family. (Another girl, Penelope, he is officially surrounded by estrogen with no hopes of escape.) and my father passed away while I was pregnant. Aside from the sheer busy-ness and exhaustion of having a new baby my writing suffered a bit after I lost my Dad. I don't want to call it depression, I just got into a funk. I was feeling thoroughly uninspired and found it very difficult to write anything.
My passion for writing returned a few months ago, but I had to revisit, rewrite and get myself back up to snuff before I felt comfortable posting anything for the masses.
In short, I am back and I do hope you are not to angry with me but I needed some time to sit both with my joy and grief. Thank you for understanding.