The clicks of the keyboard had started getting monotonous, he was happy but...bored, extremely bored. He knew this would happen some time or the other. He knew he would miss the action, the adrenaline rush, and most importantly the feeling he got after preventing a crime. He knew he'd have to give all that up just so that his sister would have someone to be with.
"Nigel! I need those purchase forms, have they been processed?"
Shocked, he snapped out of his boredom
"Ugh? Yeah, they had just gotten the greenlight. They're being printed."
"Good, bring em over to my desk once they're done"
"Yep..."
Being an informative accountant, he had a lot of work and was always in a tight schedule. Since the ctOS servers were taken down his company was in charge of modifying the old servers to be more civil friendly and less privacy invading and since he was the one who took them down, rebooting them should be relatively easier. He got up for his coffee and to take his papers, he didn't notice a co-worker behind him who was busy chatting. He stopped to take his papers, the guy crashed into him and fell down
"Nigel! What the fuck man?"
"Oh sorry I didn't know you were behind me, you should've looked up"
He helped him up,
"Yeah yeah, jeez man you made of fuckin iron or what? You work out?"
"Yeah I wish"
"Okay, wait a minute"
He picks his hand up,
"Hey! Knock it off!"
"Damn bro! Y'know you should head over to gale street, there's a fight club over there and I think you'd make the cut"
He hands him a card,
"..."
"Hey, think about it"
"I will"
He steps into his boss's office and places the papers, he looks at a photo on the desk. It was a photo of his boss Clide and his wife, they were a relatively young couple. He was just a couple of years younger than them. They were well established but he couldn't say the same for himself. He earned just a little more than he needed. He missed just walking by people and emptying their bank accounts, but at least now he earns his own money. He walked back to his desk and started working until
"Nigel Rudd? Package for Nigel Rudd?"
"..."
"Nigel Rudd? Is there a Nigel Rudd here?"
"..."
Can't that guy just take his fucking shit and leave?
"Psst! Nigel? You have a package"
"No Mandy, I don't"
"...gah! Fuck... hey! Wait, sorry... I wasn't paying attention"
Dumbass! You fuckin forgot your own name
"S'alright pal, just don't make a man wait like that"
"I won't"
"Sign here and here, please"
"Yep...there you go"
Funny thing is... I don't remember ordering anything?
He opened a note on the box,
Don't think you're forgotten:x
His blood froze, the note dropped to the floor. He looked around, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary.
"H-hey Mandy? Tell mike I'm on the roof"
"Sure thing, Nigel"
She said with a wide smile,
"Y-Yeah?"
"Nigel? Is everything ok?"
"..."
He walked into the lift, he started to sweat as only he knew the meaning to that message. He set the box on top of a ledge,
Could it be a bomb?
He mustered up his courage and opened it, it was a framed picture of him and his sister, Nicole.
Nicky?
There was another note,
Missing you ;( will c u soon, Luv u 3
Ahh, Nicky... love you too.
He bolted out of the elevator, to find all the employees leaving. He checked his watch it was way before the shutdown, he saw Mandy, who was a pretty blonde haired girl still just an intern, she was a happy-go-lucky kind of person who had a mega crush on him,
"Hey, Mandy? What's going on?"
"Mike said it was going to be a short day for us, didn't you get the memo?"
"Nah, I must've missed it"
"Hey, Nigel?"
"Yeah"
He was preoccupied with the people slowly entering the lift but was then interrupted by a soft and smooth sensation on his hand. He looked at his hand, Mandy was holding it. He was shocked,
"Nigel, I'm worried about you. You've been very stressed lately"
"Y-Yeah... y'know it's just that lately there has been personal problems that I had to take care, but now I'm fine"
Her face dropped, she was disappointed.
"You're lying"
"Hey! I'm not, I'm genuinely fine"
He placed his hand on her's, her heartbeat increased as her nervousness was clearly visible.
"Anyways... I have to take my stuff, so..."
"Y-Yeah see you"
He walked back into the office, he took his bag and coat and placed the frame down smiling. Suddenly he heard shouts, he went to investigate until he found Mike and a group of men in a heated debate. Then one of the men slapped Mike, he was about to rush in to help but something advised him against that. He walked out paying no attention to what happened. When he reached the basement he found Mandy standing under a light,
"Mandy? What happened, why didn't you leave?"
"No, just waiting for a dUhUber "
"Oh ok see ya..."
"Oh no! No! Aww"
"Whoa whoa, what's wrong?"
"He canceled!"
Aww, poor girl... well Imight as well drop her.
"Y'know I could drop you, it's the least I could do"
Her face immediately brightened up,
"Really? I-I mean, are you sure?"
"Yeah, get in"
"Thanks!"
He starts the engine of the car, and it roared.
"Sonarus Lx... wow, nice ride, I'm a car enthusiast myself. I have a Zusume R"
"Mmm sweet, good handling and accel...
Does she have a car? And she wanted a dUhUber, wait she's only an intern how can she afford a car like that?
...so just what happened to this car of yours, busted?"
"N-no just service. I'll get it a week from now"
"Second hand?"
She twirled her hair,
"Well, yes and no. My dad got it for me"
I have to stop acting like him, like everyone has a secret? But I can't let my guard down.
"Cool, so where do you live?"
"Not far from here, you do know Clive street right?"
"I do but, I'll just use the map"
She giggled,
"I didn't think about that"
He stopped at the light,
God, I can't believe I am actually waiting for a light. I miss just hacking my way through my problems.
The light turned green and he went for it, he was planning the route and he didn't notice a bump on the road. He hit it but he managed to set the car right, he looked at Mandy and noticed her skirt had run up and had shown off a lot of skin. He quickly looked away, she noticed it and blushed and she gently set it right. He pulled over and stopped,
She looked around until he pulled over
"S-So this it?"
"Yeah, did we reach the right destination?
"Yeah, in fact this is my house"
"Looks g-good"
She laughed,
"Nigel you're not a good liar"
"I...Yeah it was always one of my weaknesses"
"Anyways, thanks a hundred. Nigel"
"Sure thing, if you need me don't hesitate to call me, alright"
"Of course... Hey Nigel you wanna... never mind"
"Hey, whatever it is you can tell me"
"Y-you wanna head inside for a cup of coffee?"
Fuck! What do I say? I have to meet Nicky. She is going to be devastated, I can't see that. It'll melt my heart
"Ohh Mandy, I'm really sorry I have to meet my sister"
"No, it's alright"
She smiled,
"Hey Mandy, is it an open invitation?"
"Of course!"
"Thanks, Mandy"
"For what?"
"You're the first person to open up to me in a long time"
She blushed,
"I-I don't what to say, I mean you're welcome. Byeee"
"Bye, see you tomorrow"
He drove off,
Nicky always told me to find someone to be with... but I keep getting reminded of Lena and Clara and how they suffered because of me, and I don't want the same thing to happen to anyone else. Especially Mandy, she is the reason I have hope in a living a normal life. If she is able to live normally, I can too.
The radio station changed to a news broadcast,
"Newest crime reports have just been released, crime rates in Chicago have increased from 52.6% to 82.1% these figures are the percent of serious crimes in a month. The people of Chicago are in civil unrest as gangs increase, recruiting citizens is now a common practice for many ringleaders. Many people say the sudden disappearance of the vigilante known as "The Fox" is a cause of this increase in crime. Pleas from the cities people "bring back the fox" are still going unanswered, CPD officials ensure that they will "handle" the growing crime rate and that there will never be a need for masked criminals. But will the fox show up ever?"
They did make a valid point..., I'm sure they can handle it.
He fumbled with his keys, his lock was barely holding but he didn't need a strong one. He had nothing to hide. He chucked his keys into the bowl, cracked open a beer, took out a slice of moderately old pizza and collapsed onto the couch.
Ahh... this is the life. It can't get better than this...
His phone started ringing, it read "Nicky"
...oh no It can.
"Nicky? What's going on?"
"Nothing, it's just... it's been soo long, I'm missing you...Nigel?"
"Ohh, you found out. How did you..."
"Well one of my friends in work was following someone who knew The Vigilante and recommended him to me and it turned out to be my FREAKING BROTHER!"
"Gah! Not so loud! Nicky... I'll explain that later, so you're in charge of a Retro revamp shop? That's really good"
"Still spying on me?"
"Yeah, I'm on your social media, remember? Jacks? How's he doing?"
"Well... I can't say he didn't miss his uncle for the first few years, gradually he overcame all his problems and eventually ...you"
He hated himself for that and regretted it everyday. Even he got over it, but that hit him hard.
"I just wish things were different, Nicky"
"They could've been, if you'd listened to me"
"You wouldn't understand, if you had the power to make a change...would you take it?"
"Not if it hurts the people around me, Aid..."
"It's Nigel and I'm coming to you"
"Wait... Nigel, are things different?"
He sighed,
"For you, no. But for me? Yes"
"I hope so, Nigel I really do"
He placed the phone onto the table,
Things have changed haven't they?
He slipped a digital trip in to his ear and jumped on to the bed.