The Story of Blood and Roses

For an hour or so, Anthony's car waited outside a cluster of ill-ventilated buildings. From where we were parked, we could see a dumpster that hadn't been cleared in probably years; it probably had a few rotten and decaying bodies piled up under all the garbage from the look of it. The windows of the car were rolled up, preventing the distasteful smell of the street from filtering into the car. The tinted glass hid us from the view of the passerby's. It was a wonder that Anthony had picked an inconspicuous car for the errand.

It was an old Chevy with numerous spray painted graffiti on it to cover all the bumps on it. Despite appearances, the interior had been redesigned to have tinted glasses, up to date interior decorations and a wonderful music system. From the outside, this car looked like it belonged on the road, parked right outside those buildings.

But we knew better than to believe that it was deceiving anyone. The curious gazes of the people that passed us were enough to let us know that they knew that we were not from around the locality. Some started walking faster than before as if expecting the cops to jump out any moment and take them into custody. It was quite amusing to watch, really.

Anthony, who was smoking a cigarette at that moment, suddenly nudged me on the knee. My head snapped towards his direction, and I saw his head jerk towards the opposite pavement when I looked my eyes with him. The shady looking metal door in the dark indented part between two buildings opened slightly. Light filtered through the crack and we waited patiently as it opened wider.

My eyes caught the sight of the flickering sign that read 'Red Lady.' I must have snorted out aloud because Anthony turned to look at me curiously. I pointed at the sign with a chuckle, and he followed the direction of my finger. He snorted as well, but then stiffened. A girl emerged from behind the door; she wore ripped jeans and a red top. I could clearly see that something glittered over her left breast pocket. Obviously, it meant that she was an employee at the bar. She reached back into her back pocket and hunted for something. I presumed that it was a phone, but was disappointed to see that she pulled out a pack of cigarette. Anthony sat up straight in his seat as we saw the head of the smoke lighting up in an angry red. In the dim light that she stood in, her face was illuminated by the ironic red light of the sign that came of miraculously. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the general direction of our car and I cursed under my breath.

"Time to get out of this car," I mumbled under my breath and I saw Anthony nod. He then sighed and then reached out to open his door.

"Don't," I almost shouted at him. He let go of the door with a start and stared at me. "Let me go out first. We need an alibi for sitting here under such suspicious conditions." I suppressed a giggle as the image formed in my mind.

"I don't trust that smirk on your face," he admitted, but let me go ahead anyway. I loosened the rubber band on my hair and then unbuttoned the first button of my blouse. "What th-" he started and moved away like an innocent little boy, but then realization dawned on him. He burst out laughing and then shook his head as he tried to suppress a smile.

"You play the part of the smug bastard beautifully," I rolled my eyes.

"I'm going to let that one slide." I wrenched the door open and then put on my game face. As I moved out I gasped for air and then opened my hair further. My hands instinctively went to my face as I wiped the non-existent sweat from my brows. I hurried and looked down at the buttons and pretended to humble as I put it together. Chancing a sly look towards the girl, I saw that she was staring at me with her eyes wide and her mouth open. I tried to hide the satisfied smile as I wiped out all the suspicion from her mind. I straightened my shirt and I walked rapidly towards the direction of the bar. I heard the door on the other side open, and I imagined Anthony moving out of the car, with the cigarette pressed between his lips. I saw the girl wink at him and realized that the smug smile was still on his lips.

As I said: smug bastard.

"You know, it was a good plan." I heard him say into my ears.

"I'm a genius, I know," I fired back not sparing him a glance. The interior of the bar was nothing like Poseidon's Realm and I couldn't imagine the sort of change that Cienna must have gone through to shift from this to the ethereal world of Realm.

"Of course you are," I could hear the sarcasm rolling off of his words. I would've snapped at him, but I instantly spotted Joe sitting across the bar.

"Does Joe know what you look like?" I asked over my shoulder.

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