Momentum pg 1-5

The car ride was quiet, the road dark at the early hour of morning.  The young redheaded woman in the passenger seat looked impatient, tapping her fingers against her arm rest and staring out into the darkness just past her window.  Soukasa glanced at her from behind the wheel for a moment, debated trying to make conversation, but decided against it.  They already spoken plenty earlier, just following her aunt’s passing.  If there was any more talk to be had, she’d start it when she was ready.

“Who is he?” the girl asked, as if reading her thoughts.

“A specialist ma’am.  The kind we’ll need to keep you safe until this business gets sorted out.  Your aunt listed his name specifically in the documents.”  Soukasa explained as best she could.

“What’s he like?”

Soukasa had to think for a moment, making sure she chose words carefully.  “He’s… diligent, cunning, resolu-”

“Soukasa,” the girl’s tone became sharp, though her soft voice worked against her.  “I’m not an idiot, and I’m not oblivious.  The vague praises of  one man’s talents aren’t going to do much for my nerves.  What is he actually like?”

Soukasa nodded in understanding.  The girl was sixteen, molded for the past eight years by her aunt to take over a multi-billion dollar economic empire; she could handle the man they were going to meet.  “He’s not pleasant, to say the least.  When not on the job, he’s a shut-in, he’s crass, he’s irate, he’s insensitive, and he’s a general chore to talk to.”

“So you've worked with him before?”

“A few times, none of them were particularly enjoyable experiences.”

“What can I expect from him?”

“Considering it’s been a while since he had work, I’d say laziness, lack of hygiene, vulgarity the likes of which made your aunt blush and turn away more than once,” she paused, reluctant to give credit, but had to admit it was due, “and the most ruthless methodology that you’ll ever encounter.”  Soukasa spoke in a very business-like manner.

Her little employer chuckled in a manner that far exceeded her years.  “Color me intrigued.”

“If it’s alright, ma’am, I’m going to preemptively color you disgusted.”  She turned the car into the long, circular driveway, lit up by lights on either side, up to the booth at the front gate where a guard was posted.  She rolled down the window and gave him a pleasant smile, holding out her ID.  “We’re here to see the… lord of the house.”

“One moment, miss.”  The gorilla of a man turned around to a device on his counter.  “Sir, there are two women here, one is a Miss Soukasa Lien.  Alright.  Yes sir.”  He turned back to them and pressed a button to open the gate.  “You’re cleared to go through.  Have a nice day, miss.”
“You too, buddy boy, you too.”  Soukasa rolled the window back up and drove in.  When they got up to the house, she stopped the car, put it in park, and pulled the keys from the ignition.  She exited and quickly made her way around to the passenger side, but her superior was already shutting the door before Soukasa could open it.

“I appreciate the thought, but I can handle the door by myself.”  She said with a smirk.
Soukasa shrugged and guided her toward the stairs to the front door.  A tall man with slightly greying hair bowed respectfully.  “Good morning Dame Lien and miss…?”

“Fran,” the redhead gave a curtsy of her dress, “Fran DeLetal.  Anice Bow was my aunt.”

“Of course, of course, I just received the news a short while ago, I hadn’t had the chance to inform him yet.”  His expression turned to one of sadness and regret.  “If I may offer my condolences to you.  Your aunt was a fine woman, cunning and beautiful.  Her passing is the world’s loss.”

Fran smiled and bowed her head.  “Thank you, sir.  And your name?”  She added politely.

“Ah, where are my manners?  Leon Redworth, head butler to the master of the house.” He gave an over dramatic bow.

“Leon, pal,” Soukasa addressed him with familiarity, “I’m all for friendly introductions, but Mrs. Bow’s company is more than a little dependent on this girl’s safety and it won’t be long before she’s targeted.  I’d like to be moving again as soon as possible.  Where is he?”  Soukasa glanced back out toward the darkness nervously, half expecting something to already be there.

“By all means, Dame Lien, come right in; I shall take you to him immediately.”  The impeccably dressed butler spun on his heels and walked into the door. It was held open for them by an attractive young woman wearing a pleasant smile.  She bid the two a good evening and bowed her head respectfully, addressing the younger of the two as Miss DeLetal.  Fran insisted on a more casual tone; she wasn’t one for formality.  It was one of the ways she and her aunt differed.

As they walked, they passed several more equally attractive women in the same black dress and white tied belt, as well as a few handsome young men in tuxedos.  Fran caught the eye of one of them, who smiled radiantly at her.  She suddenly felt quite self-conscious and lowered her gaze.  Soukasa, in contrast, simply smirked and winked.

They arrived at a pair of double doors, ornately carved and polished to a shine.  Leon held up his arm and knocked firmly three times with his fist.  They waited a few seconds, but nothing happened.  The butler sighed and tried again, knocking harder, and adding “Sir, you have company.”  Several more seconds of waiting still gave them nothing.  He turned to one of the maids who was dusting nearby and nodded at her.  She smiled and walked quickly down the hall.  Soukasa and Fran looked at each other in confusion.  The butler muttered “one more chance” under his breath and banged on the door, “Sir, you have Dame Lien and the niece of Anice Bow here to see you.”  Predictably, there was no answer.

“Is he asleep?”  Fran asked.

“I doubt it.”  Soukasa replied matter-o-factly

Just then, the maid returned, holding an electronic megaphone.  Redworth gave the two a mischievous smirk and opened one of the doors just a little.  The angle they were at kept Fran and Soukasa from seeing inside the room, Soukasa had a vague guess as to why.  Redworth held the megaphone up to his mouth and spoke through it, the machine amplifying his voice to deafening levels.  “My lord, Dame Lien has arrived to see you.”

Inside there was a scream of surprise, the sound of a swivel chair moving, and the banging sound of someone falling.  “God fucking damn it, Redworth, learn to knock will you!”

“I did sir.  Three times in fact, and called to you.”  The butler rebutted confidently.  It was plain by the look of satisfaction on his face that he was very much enjoying the situation.
The reply was not yelled this time, and sounded more fatigued and sarcastic than angry.  “Did you now?  Well aren’t I caught with my pants down?”

“Quite literally, sir.”

“Yeah, yeah that was uh… that was the joke.  She is literally standing right next to you isn’t she?”

“Indeed sir.”

“And why did you bring her up here?”

“She asked to see you.”  He smiled this time.

“And you just… okay… okay, fine, fine, whatever.  She can wait five minutes while I get the kinks out of my back and take some aspirin; take her to the foyer.”  The tone of the voice was simultaneously vulnerable, tired, and highly irritated.  

Fran didn’t quite understand what Soukasa had meant by “vulgarity”; it was quite bad, but not to the extent she had expected.  Though the remark of “quite literally” from Leon made her blush with second-hand embarrassment.  Soukasa, in contrast, was sharing a moment with the maid who had brought the megaphone, both trying very hard not to burst out laughing.

Leon seemed to show mercy, and nodded.  “Yes sir.” He stood back and was about to close the door, but obviously decided mercy is for the weak and leaned his head back in.  “While I compliment the artistic ambition from the eastern countries, their perception of a woman’s… elasticity worries me sometimes.  It’s simply not going to fit.”

Fran’s face went so scarlet that she wasn’t sure there was any blood was left in the rest of her body, Soukasa and the maid fell apart in a cacophony of laughs, and the positively livid scream that ripped from the room was almost inhuman.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUT!”

The door was quickly shut and the old man retreated away from it.  “If you would follow me to the foyer, the master shouldn’t need long to finish… attending himself.”

Fran followed him silently, keeping her eyes glued to the ground.  Soukasa came along too, trying, with the aid of the maid (whom she’d learned was named Monica) to console the pain of her superior’s virgin ears, having been so thoroughly violated.

A little more than five minutes later, a man descended the stairs.  He looked around Soukasa’s age, maybe a little older, his hair was short, but not recently cut, nor washed as far as Fran could tell.  He had not shaved recently, and had an uneven beard and mustache growing.  He wore a thoroughly wrinkled white t-shirt and a ratty old pair of sweatpants.  His skin was pale, probably from lack of sunlight, and his eyes had dark circles around them, denoting a significant lack of sleep.  He walked without dignity. His back was slouched, one arm limp at his side, the other slid along the railing, and the sharps features of his face were twisted in an odd grimace of annoyed discomfort.

“Leon, get lost.”  The man commanded bluntly.  The butler bowed and left the room without reply.  Monica was not given the courtesy of words, only a glare, which she was unfazed by.  She gave a slip of paper to Soukasa and left.  The man nodded toward the slip and half sneered.  “What’s that?”

“Her number.”  Soukasa replied with an innocent expression.

He paused for a moment, then shook his head.  “You know, I don’t care, feel free to come into my house and fuck my maids whenever ya please,” the sarcasm in his voice was downright hateful.  “Now, I’d like to know the reason you decided to come here at this ungodly hour of the morning, if ya please?”

“Anice Bow is dead.”  Soukasa crossed one leg over the other and leaned forward.

The resolute distaste in the man’s face faltered a moment, giving way to uncertainty that made him almost look like a lost child.  But the shell quickly reformed and his jaw tightened.  “What is this, a joke?  Was this her idea?  She actually sent you all the way out here?”

Soukasa was unsurprised by his reaction.  “It’s not a joke.”

He gave an undignified snort of contempt.  “Yeah, sure,” he spun around on his heels and started walking back toward the stairs.  “Always a pleasure, Souk.  Talk to Leon he’ll point you to the nearest desert so you can find a cactus to fuck yourself with.”

“We’re not done talking yet.”

“Yes, we are,” he stopped and began turning back toward them.  “Honestly, Anice has better things to do than-” he was cut off by the sudden force of a palm across his left cheek.  Shock stopped the pain momentarily, but anger rose up as the sting began to register.  His enemy was a girl, a red head, he had barely noticed her before.  Now however, she had his full attention.  “Why, you, little…”  He raised a hand to retaliate.

“MONTY!” Soukasa’s voice split the air with more severity than she’d ever used before; her late employer proud.  It was enough to make the man stop and look at her with a cold expression.  He was halted momentarily, but now her head was racing and trying to figure out how to diffuse the situation.

Fran hadn’t flinched when he raised his hand, and even now her eyes were locked on him, giving a just visible effort to hold back tears.  She wasn’t going to wait.  “I am Francine DeLetal.  Anice Bow was my aunt.  She died less than a day ago.   Men and women talked about her like an object and me like a tool.  People she once called friends belittled her memory with rumor after rumor as though everything about it was obvious!  And you’re standing there and talking like it’s a joke?!”

The man focused on the girl, surprise registering alongside the now unsteady anger, then he lowered his arm, shifting his eyes from Soukasa to Fran and back again.  The uncertainty showed in his face again, soon replaced by realization, then resignation.  “Jesus Christ, you’re serious.”  His ferocity left him quick.  He walked to a table where a glass bottle holding amber liquid sat.  Taking the crystal cork out of the bottle, he took a drink and sat down.  “Less than a day.  Got anything more specific?”

Soukasa took up the conversation here, motioning for Fran to come back to her.  “Around 18 hours ago.”  Fran ignored her motion, staying right where she was.

“Suppose I should’ve seen it coming after she went into the hospital.  Do they know how?”  His anger had almost completely subsided now.  Soukasa could feel her opportunity coming.

“No.  She was in good health just a few months ago.”

The man raised an eyebrow at her.  “They aren’t thinking poison are they?”

“We don’t think so, but it’s not something we ruled out.  They hadn’t done any tests by the time we left.”

The man rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.  He kept his head lowered, eyes closed, thinking to himself.  “So why come here?”

“A job.”  Soukasa reached into her coat and pulled out an envelope. It was small, white, with a single sheet of paper inside.  She set it down on the coffee table in front of her and slid it in his direction.  “One last request from Anice Bow.”