We got out of the house and we walked down the street. Those kids are playing again in front of that abandoned theater, don't they have school? The sidewalk was wet, it probably rained last night. The bikers bikes are in front of the diner. Did they sleep here? We crossed the street and just as I opened the glass door, the bell rang and Emily came out of the kitchen. "Oh hey kids!" She exclaimed.
"Hey Ems!" Lily charged in and jumped on the seat at the bar.
"Hey Emily," I said as I sat beside Lily.
"You two look happy today, something good happened?" Emily asked.
"Nothing much, just in a good mood today," Lily replied with a wide grin stretched through her face.
"Oh I see, so what'll it be today kids?" Emily asked.
"Mac N' Cheese, extra pepper," I told her "Coffee, hot."
"I'll take what Luna's having," Lily said. "minus the pepper,"
"2 Mac N' Cheese, one has pepper, one doesn't and 2 hot coffees. Fun fact about Mac N' Cheese, Thomas Jefferson fell in love with it in Europe and made it popular here in the Thirteen Colonies, well USA now if you're fancy and up to date." Emily said as she jotted it down on her notepad.
"If Trivia was a country, you're the queen of it," I said as she walked through the kitchen door.
"You know I am!" Emily yelled through the dish door. I gave a slight laugh.
Just the three of us in the diner, there are bikes outside, but no one else inside. They probably went to the shithouse. Not my fucking problem. I'm forgetting something. Something involving a recent addition to my responsibilities. Fuck. Gee. I need to buy him food. I haven't seen him today. Where the hell is that cunt? "Did you see Gee this morning?" I asked Lily.
"Yeah, he was sleeping at the balcony when you were in the toilet." Lily replied.
"Aight, I'm gonna go buy his food, I'll be back in a minute." I said as I got up from the bar. I went out the diner and I walked up the road. I got in the convenience store and I grabbed a large pack of cat kibble. Fucking thing weights more than me. Just as I was about to pay, I heard from behind me.
"Luna!" That fucking voice. What the hell is that cop doing here?
"What the hell do you want Crown?" I sighed as I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"I just saw you grab that big ass bag right there, and thought that maybe you'd want some help," He smiled as he pointed at the bag. My hand was reaching for a bank note in my wallet when he pushed my hand down and paid for it with his card. "It's on me, as a thank you for doing what you did the other day on the bus." The receipt clicked out of the thing. "Lemme grab it for you," Crown said as he saddled it on his shoulder.
"You do know that I can report you for soliciting a prostitute," I chuckled as I shoved my wallet deep inside my pocket.
"Are you a prostitute?" He asked jokingly. We walked out of the store and right in front of the door, I grabbed the sack from him. He doesn't have anything on him, no plastic bags, no singular stalk of celery, no milk.
"Nope, but thank you for the cat food." I said.
"It's nothing much,"
"I don't see you with anything, why were you in that shop even?" I asked. "Are you a stalker or an undercover paparazzi?"
"Technically, the singular term for it is paparazzo, but I know better to not correct you on that term after seeing how fucking scary you are," He said matter-of-factly.
"Why the fuck were you in that shop?" I asked him, sighing.
"I- I umm... I- Will you beat me up if you found out that I am trying to get closer to you?" He stuttered. "Don't take it weirdly, I just you know... you're... I-"
Fucking damn it.
"Spit it out Crown,"
"I- I like like you," That was fucking weird.
Somewhere on the road in a black 2019 Chevrolet Camaro...
"Yes, yes, make sure that the job is done properly,. I don't want another one of my fixers meeting the business end of pig lead." Lori said into her phone aggressively. She turned her phone off and turned the radio on. "Fucking idiots can't even do one fucking job right,"
"I thought you were running a law firm, not the docks," Lincoln said. They were just a few miles out of Michigan, it was a surprise that it took them that long to reach there.
"I'm a lawyer, I represent alleged mob bosses and alleged gangs. It is in the nature of my profession," Lori replied as she took out a hipflask out of her jacket.
"Oh come the fuck on, I thought you were better than this," Lincoln complained.
"What? A girl needs a drink,"
"Not that, why the hell are you using a flask? Prohibition is over you know," Lincoln complained.
"It looks cool, fuck off!" Lori blurted as she took a sip.
"It makes the booze taste like crap,"
"You only drink wine with Arab princes, what would you even know?"
"I would know because my operators love them for some odd fucking reason. Like, just why?" He questioned reality. "Why would you do that, sure putting a bottle of Jack Daniel's in a combat pouch doesn't serve any tactical advantage, but why would you use a flask? Just why?"
"Lincoln, I hereby diagnose you with rich people problem," Lori said. "Also, why didn't you just send your mercs to find Lily?"
"They are called PMCs now for your information, why I didn't do it is because it would be considered an act of terrorism to conduct a paramilitary operation in the United States of America. I'd send my fucking tanks if I could." Lincoln continued. "Plus, to mobilize them I need to make the operation an official operation,"
"Why don't you just declare it as a search party? Legally, you can use anyone as long as they gave their consent to help find a missing minor,"
"Oh yeah, why didn't I think of that?" Lincoln sighed. "Too late now, most of them are in Africa, scattered in the sand, protecting American assets," Lincoln widened his eyes. "Damn, I just realized how fucking evil I am,"
"You war dog," Lori commented as she took a sip from her drink. "But you're not the only one, I'm also guilty of that,"
"I thought this trip to find our sister would be like getting milk, now I feel existential dread." Lincoln muttered as he turned the volume up.
"I just hope that we find them," Lori said as she took one long sip from the flask.
I guess I was too shocked by what he said. I mean sure, he's cute, he's nice, but I'm me. I'm the she-devil herself. Evil incarnate. "Thanks Crown, but-"
"It's okay, it's stupid I know, just forget about it," Crown cuts me off mid-sentence. "I'm sorry," I am the devil. 2 years. I don't think I can just fuck and bail. I'm not that person anymore. I don't deserve love, I don't deserve that happiness. I need to remember that. Fuck, I almost forgot about it.
"How about friends for now?" I blurted. Why the fuck did I say that? Why the fuck did I say 'for now'. FUCK! FUCK!
But I guess it isn't too bad. I have a friend I can trust for now, I have a nice boss that treats me like his own daughter, I have an African-American lady that treats me like a cat, and I have my sister. It's funny how life decided to be nice when the ending is near. I chuckled.
"That sounds neat!" He reached his hand out for a handshake. I shook it. "So, thug-magnet, what is your secret to attracting criminals?" He asked jokingly.
"That's a trade secret."