LazyDaze
Elder Member
ORANGE SODA
CHAPTER 2: Fortune Favors Fools
11th, June. 20XX 1:36pm
“Well, we’re all lucky to be alive and that’s all that matters,” a tall red headed man said as he tugged on his trenchcoat and adjusted his bowl shaped hat.
“Mr. Redman, being alive is a mere baseline for what’s to come,” the noticeably shorter and older individual stated bluntly as he fiddled with a piece of broken glass he had picked up earlier. He was dressed in similar attire as the red head, but it was obvious it suited the aged individual better.
“And what’s to come?”
“Financially screwing each other,” the shorter and wiser man said as he wiped down his prescription shades before finally letting them rest on the bridge of his nose. He winced as he looked up toward the sun, wondering if the entirety of its heat was solely directed at them.
“Ever the optimist Mr. Spade. Fortunately for us, we have zero liability as passengers,” the red headed man said with a wide grin. However, the taxi driver inspecting his car from a distance gifted them with a nasty glance as he began to take pictures of the accident. Having picked up on this, the red head laughed as he continued. “Even if we were the drivers, it would be hard to defend side swiping a taxi with a protected left.”
“Mr. Redman, I’d be more careful with my assumptions. Many things can influence reality,” Spade said as he scrolled through his phone for the nearest Uber. If possible, he would like to avoid a surplus of attention, necessary or not. That seemed to be a tall order as others seemed to be drawn in by the current predicament. The trench coats also didn’t help.
Eventually, Daniel approached them with a tablet and electric pen in hand. It was not lost on Spade that the cop’s features seemed to harden after leaving Mr. Giordorno. “Hey, I’m officer Daniel, Daniel Black. My buddy over there is comforting the child that happened to be in the car you wrecked-”
“We wrecked,” Mr. Redman questioned with a sarcastic chuckle. “They say a picture is worth 1000 words and a car stuck in the side of another is worth a hefty fine.”
“Speaking of hefty fine,” Daniel cut in almost jovially. “You picked a helluva car to wreck,” Daniel said while passively reiterating that his report would put them at fault. “That’s-,”
“Alvin Giodorno, he is the frontrunner for the Chief Executive position of Lavianna Mezza…I saw the license. Should I also assume that is Graciela, his sole daughter.”
Daniel Black swiveled his head back to the wrecked Mercedes to observe a random assortment of letters and numbers on a semi crushed license plate. His eyes drifted toward the dazed daughter before returning his gaze to the strange men who made his blood chill for some reason. “Ahem, anyways, you’re pretty much screwed. Just say what you gotta say so we can all go home,” he managed to blurt out in a hurry.
Spade, however, had already retreated to the realm of his conscience long before Daniel resumed his harassment. He could not help but feel that this was a fortunate turn of events. It wasn’t every day that Graciela Giodorno made an appearance. In fact, there were ridiculous conspiracies on the internet delegitimizing the fact that they even had a child. Honestly, Alvin having a daughter was almost becoming an urban legend at this point. Fortunately, due to the unfortunate circumstances, she was forced into the outside world for an extended period of time.
Mr. Redman, seemingly in line with Spade’s train of thought, snapped a picture of the masked Graciela. The flash was on. This led to an irate father stomping toward them while Nathan impulsively gave chase to prevent a fight from taking place. That in turn forced the groggy butler to monitor the slowing cars, and the mob potential of passersby who had nothing better to do but tune into the discord of others on a Sunday afternoon. If enough people caught wind of who was involved in said discord, to call the situation chaotic would be an understatement. Mr. Winters, meanwhile, was so preoccupied with securing his surroundings during this time that he failed to see that someone was approaching.
“Arrest these men at once,” Alvin exclaimed while snatching his arm away from Nathan’s grasp.
“Mr. Giordorno calm down,” Nathan advised after stepping in between the two parties.
“Yes Mr. Giordorno, calm down,” Spade echoed, knowing that it would only add oil to the fire.
As expected, Mr. Giodorno charged again only to be held back by both Daniel and Nathan. In the meantime Mr. Redman was laughing himself to tears, and Spade’s demeanor remained unchanged as his eyes continued to rest on Graciela.
“...By the way, you should probably arrest the taxi driver now,” Spade blurted out in between the verbal obscenities being hurled in his direction. He followed his statement by wiping his prescription shades and returning them to their prior position. When he didn’t elaborate, everyone intuitively turned towards Graciela to see the cab driver sprinting toward Graciela with a gun in hand. Time seemingly stopped for all that were within the bubble of that moment; it was often a side effect of horror and disbelief.
Mr. Winters was on the ground. Spade watched with indifference. Nord Redman flashed a toothy grin. Daniel pulled out his gun knowing he wouldn’t be able to shoot without risking killing Graciela. Nathan cursed himself for leaving her unattended as he stumbled in her general direction fruitlessly. Mr. Giodorno shouted god knows what, and Graciela...she could only see a blurry mass growing larger. This dark mass reached out to her as she eventually passed out and collapsed on the ground. The sudden shift in position from his target caused the cab driver turned criminal to lose his balance and fall. A solitary bang quickly followed the thud of a human body. Time resumed and everyone suddenly remembered to breathe again. The two cloaked individuals were gone. The assailant was dead. All were in disbelief.
11th, June. 20XX 8:28pm
“Graciela…”
She could hear her name being called and drowned out at the same time. There was an uncontrollable yearning to seek out the familiar sound that echoed through her conscience. She wondered if she had died. The darkness made it hard to breathe.
“Graciela…”
The warmth from the voice seeped into her soul. It was as if it were a hand, seeking to pull her out of the murky waters. Her eyes opened slowly. Initially, she was unable to see past the bosom of that familiar voice belonging to a hazy face. She felt small in the smiling man’s presence. His outstretched arms seemed capable of welcoming the world; however, in this moment they were only for her. His eyes contained the everflowing kindness therein and his voice emitted warmth at every beckoning of her name. She couldn’t help but drift to this familiar stranger, entranced by his radiance.
As she drew closer to the man, the distance between them expanded. The shadow, created by that same radiance in his possession, stretched, contorted, and loomed like a tower of dread. He continued to smile. His arms remained outstretched. He called out to her.
“...It truly is a wonderful exchange is it not?”
Graciela tried to back away. She wanted to run, fly, or disappear, but her feet remained cemented to the marble floor. By happenstance, she saw a dark feminine figure a few meters away. Her dark, long, entangled hair seemed to shift and float with a mind of its own. If she didn’t know any better, she thought that she could hear it whisper. Whisper horrible things that not even hell itself could echo. Even still...she reached out to this woman; this woman who was more familiar than the man who called out to her. In an instant, the shadow consumed them all.
“MOM,” Graciela screamed as she abruptly shot to an upright position in her bed. She was finally awake.
“I’m here sweety,” a soft voice called out from the other side of the room to officially break Graciela from her delusion.
“Mrs. Giodorno,” Graciela said as if to remind herself who the woman was. Slowly but surely, the shadows of sleep were eventually consumed by reality and her breathing evened out after realizing that it was only a nightmare. Deep down...she knew that it was a memory. She released a heavy sigh before deciding to bask in the familiarity of her room in order to calm down. Plain white sheets, black curtains, dark grey walls, an unusually cold atmosphere, this room was not familiar at all. “Where am I?”
“...Would it hurt you to call me Mom just once,” Mrs. Giordorno said in a huff only to hide that quivering hurt in her voice. It was just audible enough for Graciela to feel bad for a few seconds.
“This looks like the inside of a hotel. I’ve read about them in magazines,” Graciela said while taking her pillow and observing it. Of course she had seen a few hotels on the infrequent rides through the city, but she has never spent the night in one. “...So I passed out again?” Graciela continued, intentionally ignoring Mrs. Giodorno’s earlier statement.
“That is a very cavalier attitude for what has happened,” Mrs. Giodorno admonished. “You were nearly killed!
“It was a car wreck, Mrs. Giordorno. They’re more common than you think,” Graciela said as she fluffed her pillow and returned it to its proper place. Graciela decided to lay down in an attempt to be the calm one. It was obvious that this would be a trying experience. “I’m also assuming nothing is broken,” Graciela said while waving her arm around in the air before allowing it to flop back lifelessly on the cold satin sheets.
“Graciela...someone tried to kidnap you.”
11th, June 20XX 8:12pm
“Officer Ward, Officer Daniel, the Chief is ready to see you,” The blonde at the front desk said without making eye contact with the two addressed individuals. Her focus was placed on the growing stack of folders.
“Thank you. Blonde looks good on you by the way.” Nathan said in an attempt to forestall his judgement; however, the receptionist was so lost in her own work that she ignored him. Daniel patted the rookie on the shoulder to save him from excess humiliation. They would soon have their fill in a few minutes after all. Begrudgingly, Daniel led Nathan to the Chief’s office.
“Shut the door behind you,” the Chief said as he took a sip of his tea. Daniel obliged, closing the door ever so slowly to bask in whatever peace he had left. “Have a seat,” The Chief said without a hint of anger or glee. Of course, Daniel and Nathan sat without hesitation. It was as if the Chief's words pulled the invisible strings attached to their bodies. The trio soaked in silence for the next few minutes save for the infrequent audible slurps of tea from the Chief. Nathan would occasionally glance in his partner’s direction in an attempt to gain some understanding of their current predicament. Rather, he wanted to know how they would get out of it and when. After all, they both had families to get back to. It didn’t help that Nathan’s phone had died a few hours earlier. Whatever the case, if the apparent activation of Daniel’s sweat glands were any indicator of the future, they were swamped.
The chief finished his tea and gently placed it on the coaster so that only the faintest of metal clicking could be heard. “I will give you a chance to explain,” the Chief began with his hands clasped. The white of his knuckles easily betrayed his calm and collected mask. “The chance to explain how two officer’s could screw up so royally.”
This time the two officer’s did share a glance before turning to face the Chief once again. Neither one wanted to speak. Correction, neither had anything to say. Nevertheless, a raised eyebrow from the chief baited Nathan into opening his mouth, rookie mistake.
“There is no explanation,” the burly Chief shouted as he backhanded the ornate teacup into a nearby wall thereby discarding his well crafted mask of propriety. Nathan flinched. Daniel did not.
“You had one job, and that was to kiss Alvin’s ass! You two couldn’t even do that, but it gets worse...so much worse,” The Chief said as he gradually seeped into a seemingly calmer state, but the two officers knew better than to fall for that ruse. This time, it was the trembling grey mustache that revealed his true emotions. It was soon complemented by a fervent redness that returned to his face after removing his palm from his forehead.
“Rookie, you nearly let his daughter die.”
Nathan’s eyes instantly shot to the ground. It hurt to hear your own thoughts exit the mouth of others. He couldn’t help but replay the moment in his head, thinking of the tragedy that could have taken place. If not for-
“Divine intervention, a stroke of luck, bad coordination? I don’t know how it happened, but we’re lucky the assailant was just as dumb as you two and tripped to his death.” The Chief took time to chuckle in disbelief at the level of absurdity that reality was. “Hopefully, when Alvin becomes Chief Executive he won’t cut the little funding we do have,” the Chief said just before he started incoherently mumbling to himself. Perhaps he could have continued for the next few minutes, but a cough that Daniel could hold back no longer brought him back to the matter at hand. Daniel instantly cursed every cigar he ever smoked, and vowed to never do it again.
“Ah Daniel, one of my most vetted officers. You are supposed to be training this pleb,” The Chief said. The statement was saturated with disappointment and Nathan couldn’t help but feel as if the chief had forgotten that the pleb was still in the room.
“I-I’ve been doing my best but,”
“Daniel...at least the rookie knows went to shut the hell up.” That was all it took to cause Daniel to share Nathan’s fascination with the floor. “In other news, apparently the convenience store was robbed while you two were on your comedy tour,” the Chief continued. “We received an extra complaint that one of our officers helped in this regard by eating snacks before he had paid for them.”
Daniel refused to look up toward the chief. In fact, Daniel did his best to unlock his latent powers of invisibility. However, he knew there was no way to avoid the daggers that were bearing into his crawling skin. As he tried to think of pleasant things such as his wife’s cooking, his 20s, Nathan slipping on that one shift, a mental image suddenly pierced his thoughts. His eyes widened when he remembered the teenagers that had entered that very convenience store prior to his own rushed departure. They had to be the culprits; the timing was too perfect. Conveniently, he chose to forget that he did not pay for his snacks; nevertheless, Daniel couldn’t help but wonder what level of lowlifes robbed a convenience store in broad daylight. Actually, he couldn’t help but wonder who complains about unpaid snacks during an emergency. The people of this city were a lost cause for sure. Knowing that mentioning any of that now would lead to nowhere, Daniel swallowed his thoughts and allowed the chief to continue.
“Look,” the chief began as he hunched over the desk that separated the two parties. “It is bad enough that in this city of “freedom” we are little more than decoration. They’ve even started calling us the Blue Babysitters. Bad publicity is all we need to officially be abolished. People are really starting to push for that nonsense.”
Daniel's brows furrowed while Nathan did his best to suppress a smile. It was a pretty hilarious nickname. As with all jokes, it wasn’t too far from the truth. A truth he wanted to turn into a lie. Nevertheless, his thoughts were not hidden well enough. The Chief quickly turned his attention to the rookie officer. “And Nathan, I don’t give a damn if you were the hero of Lavianna Mezza. That was many, many years ago. If you think you can waltz in here on reputation you’ve got another thing coming. I don’t need a hero, I need officers who don’t end up on the news.”
“Understood sir,” Nathan said, looking up toward the Chief for the first time. Meanwhile, Daniel did his best not to sigh in relief; however, the dip in his shoulders did not go unnoticed by the Chief
“Oh, I’m not through with you Daniel.”
Crap
“Whenever you screw up it is a reflection on me. So logically, if a situation arises in which I will have to fire Nathan, I will have to part with you as well. Are we clear on that?”
“Y-yes sir, absolutely sir,” Daniel said after his retirement flashed before his eyes. “I...is that all sir.” Years of experience taught him that their scolding was officially over and the temperature of the chief had fallen back to normal, somewhat. In other words, it was safe to speak.
“Yes, yes get out of my office before I burst a blood vessel. Oh, I almost forgot, I’ll need you two to write formal apologies to Spade and Nord. They probably don’t care, but it’s just a way to cover ourselves.”
“Come again,” Daniel, who had to re enter the room after leaving so fast, asked.
“Spade, and Nord. They were probably wearing trench coats, but in the summer…I don’t get those two,” the chief trailed off.
“Spade? You mean...that Spade,” Nathan asked much to Daniel’s dismay.
“Yes, and Danny Dumbs here did a good job of harassing him,” the Chief said with a rather irritated tone.
Feeling another tirade brewing, Daniel quickly urged Nathan to follow him out as he hurriedly agreed to write the apology.
11th, June 20XX 8:20pm
“That was a dirty trick you played earlier today Mr. Redman,” Spade said as he captured Nord’s white pawn with his black knight.
“Hey now, don’t pin it on me. You started it,” Nord said as he moved his Queen across the board to threaten Spade’s exposed Bishop.
“I cannot disagree, but at least I was subtle. Also, it was effective since we got away without any hassle,” Spade countered. He couldn’t believe that Nord would actually leave the flash on while snapping a picture of someone’s daughter. After going over that thought again, the flash seemed to be the least problematic part of the act. “Nevertheless, I wouldn’t have known that given the opportunity to flee, our target would go for kidnapping. It went against everything in his profile. I estimate the odds of his actions today were about 11 percent.”
“But 100% reality,” Nord said as he captured Spade’s Queen with a Knight. “Maybe we should have just let things run its course eh?”
“Perhaps,” Spade said as he scratched his chin thoughtfully. Eventually he decided to move a pawn forward before continuing. “But we were using him to catch the big fish later. It would have been better if he had gotten away. I digress, who knew we would get into a wreck that would blow everyone’s cover early.”
“Think our reputation took a hit? Check,” Nord said as he captured another piece.
“No, we weren’t called here to investigate that small timer, or bring down the Easy Eights. It was a way to kill time,” Spade said, moving his King away from danger.
“I almost forgot. The immortal right,” Nord said as he moved another piece.
“The immortal,” Spade confirmed while capturing Nord’s Knight with his Bishop.
“Do you think he’s real? The immortal I mean. The videos sure look convincing, but I can’t wrap my brain around it.”
“My job is not to decide whether he is real or not. My job is to find the truth. I find it extremely difficult to strive for such a concept when I pick sides before the game begins.”
“So you wouldn’t rule out a reckless, immortal vigilante running amok through this city? Pretty strange if you ask me. Check.”
“Stranger than a cab driver tripping over air and shooting himself dead,” Spade asked, moving his king once again.
“Almost as strange as the growing number of unexplained disappearances. Check,” Nord said with a frown. He was growing frustrated with Spade’s evasive techniques.
“...Strange indeed.”
“Indeed.”
“I doubt the cab driver was connected to the kidnappings,” Spade said as he moved his King once again, successfully cutting off Nord’s train of thought. “However, I find it hard to believe we were hired to chase fairytales instead of the very tangible problem of people vanishing from the streets. I have a feeling that this city has a lot more to offer than urban legend and mythos. If we tread carefully, and quietly maneuver without disturbing the shado-”
“CHECKMATE, I DON’T CARE! YOU LOSE! I WIN,” Nord said as he slammed his Rook into its final place. Spade observed the board for a bit and his eyes widened when his gaze returned to Nord.
“I suppose you-, wait...Black widow at 6 o’ clock,” Spade said with a sense of urgency that caused Nord to fall over his wooden chair and roll toward a nearby wall. When he finally stood up to confront the beast, nothing was there. Instead of a spider there was only Spade, who was walking away, and a chess board that appeared to be in the same condition as it was prior...if you ignored the fact that all the colors were inverted. Upon closer expectation, Nord would find that all of his pieces were replaced by Spade’s black ones. Moreover, Nord’s King was now in checkmate.
“...Spade, what the hell did you do?”
“My dear apprentice, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Spade said as he continued to walk away from his flustered apprentice.
“You cheated,” Nord said while tossing a chess piece not so harmlessly against the dark grey walls of the room.
“Please accept your loss gracefully.”
“I...I won already! You saw me win!”
Spade stopped and turned to face a seething Nord. “Can a third, unbiased party verify that,” Spade said with a raised brow.
“I…………God?”
“I said unbiased.”
“Draw?”
“Draw.”
****
Graciela’s shot up from her bed for the second time today when she heard the words that fell from her step mother’s lips. “I...was almost kidnapped,” Graciela asked with a tone of disbelief and worry.
“Kidnapped, killed, taken hostage? God knows what that sick man’s intentions were,” Mrs. Giordorno said as she slowly succumbed to quiet. When Graciela didn’t respond Mrs Giordono, who could no longer hold back the tears in her eyes spoke softly. “He had a gun Graciela.”
Graciela could have sworn she felt death tap her on the shoulder as the temperature of the chilled room plummeted further. She sank deeper into her sheets, thinking about the series of events that had led her to this room. For a brief second, it was enough to vanquish any thoughts of freedom and exploring the outside world. Then the feeling passed and she was...excited. As her attention drifted to her deeply disturbed step mother, she wondered if this is where she should comfort her. However, it would also mean ending this cold war. Before she would have to decide, Kraus barged into the room, the color seemingly drained from his face.
“Lucille, I heard a commotion and came to check on-,” his eyes then fell on Graciela who returned his gaze apprehensively. It didn’t even take a full second before he had Graciela in a tight, but comfortable embrace. Mrs. Giordono stood up hesitantly, reaching out and pulling back a few times before she finally joined in the embrace. They remained like that for the slow silent minutes that followed. Eventually they all pulled away, and Graciela took it upon herself to be the first to speak lest the question in her heart destroy her from the inside should it be left unanswered.
“Where is Dad?”
The tone in which she asked it suggested that she already knew the answer would be unpleasant. The nervous glance Kraus and Mrs. Giordono shared, seemed to express similar sentiments. It was all Mrs. Giordono could do to flash a broken smile which meant the task of answering the question fell to the butler.
“Your father...he hasn’t returned from his board meeting. However, I’m sure he will be elated once he finds out you’re awake,” the butler reassured.
“Tell him I’m dead,” Graciela said as she turned to her side and pulled the plain covers over her body. Mrs. Giordono, and Kraus once again reached out to Graciela as if she were a hot pan. However, this time hesitancy won out as they decided she wasn’t entirely wrong for feeling the way she did.
“Come now, surely you don’t feel that way. He’s a busy man. Soon, he will have the entire city to look after.”
“We can only hope he doesn’t treat it like his family,” Graciela said with dramatic wave of her hand without turning to face Mr. Winters.
“Graciela,” Mrs. Giordorno exclaimed, obviously appalled by such words; however, she couldn’t come up with a sufficient rebuttal that went past pointless exclamations and detractions.
“I think what Lucille….what Mrs. Giordono wants to say is that you have to look beyond the surface. I’m certain your father cares about you. The man even rented out this entire floor of the hotel on a moment's notice.”
“He wanted to be sure that today’s incident was a fluke, and not an organized plot. I’m sure you’ve been watching the news...with the kidnappings and all,” Mrs Giordono said, continuing Kraus’ thought. Graciela could only roll her eyes. Of course she had been watching the news. She had also memorized a variety of paid programs for the hell of it.
“Besides, the entire ordeal was my fault. I feel absolutely horrible…,” Kraus said more to himself than anyone else.
Graciela, opened her mouth to say something to put Mr. Kraus at ease. She was certain all drivers made mistakes once in a while. However, everything she wanted to say became stuck in her throat and sunk back into her heart. In all honesty, she was eager to fall into the embrace of sleep once again and put this day behind her, with the rest.
Sparked by Kraus’ latest statement, Mrs. Giordono began fiddling with her thumbs before addressing the elephant in the room. “Kraus...I have to ask, regrettably so, um...what actually caused the wreck in the first place,” Mrs. Giordono said in her soft unassuming voice. The question even brought Graciela out of her world of self loathing. She did not turn towards either of them, but her stilled breathing was enough to show that she was listening. “Alvin didn’t really have time to speak to me about it, and I can’t imagine you running a red light out of the blue. You’re usually so attentive...”
Kraus’ eyes shifted between Graciela and Mrs. Giordorno as his mouth seemed to contort and move on it’s own. It wasn’t the fact that it was he who ran a red light that damned him. It wasn’t even a matter of him, a professional, being distracted that urged him to suppress an answer that he knew would probably satisfy her inquiry. On any occasion, he would never be caught saying these words, but for some reason this one truth could not be held back by will alone. It begged to be thrust out into the open, naked, and uninhibited. The truth was…
“I...I saw a woman,” Kraus said. He could feel himself burning red. Whether it was from embarrassment, or from the content of the message he did not know. Mrs. Giordono could not hide her anger, or confusion at such a statement and her expression begged Kraus to elaborate. Unfortunately for him, he needed no such coaxing.
“I fell in love,” Mr. Winters said softly. It was as if he could not believe the truth himself. His bones quaked and quivered while droplets of sweat joined hands with his denial, yet his heart knew what the mind later confirmed. “I...I think I’m in love Mrs. Giordono.”
Last edited:
