Chapter One
Lia crouched on the roof of an old brick building, which was considerably small compared to the sky scrapers that silhouetted New York's twilight sky. She listened intently to the sounds of the busy streets below, twitching her ear as a bug buzzed idly by. Her eyes begun to adjust to the dimming light and glowed brightly, if anyone should happen to glance upwards, they might have seen the two large eyes staring down at them.
She was always the first and often the only one of her three sisters out patrolling the blocks and boulevards of the metropolis. Her sisters seemed only to be wary of apparent danger, but other wise ignored all the possibilities of it. They frequently accused her of being overly cautious, but in reality, she was only aware of the way things really were. Their lives couldn't be as simple as were the peoples they protected, but rather, there was always someone or something trying to harm or kill them. They were never safe, never unscathed.
Just then she noticed a woman exiting an brownstone apartment across the alley. This, of course, was nothing unusual, except for the fact that she was sporting a pair of sunglasses in the evening and even stranger, she was wearing in a long black coat and scarf over her head in the middle of June. Since there seemed to be no other pressing matters at the moment, Lia decided to peruse this suspicious woman.
She stood and leapt across the alley to the next building which the woman had just left. She peered over the edge and watched her make her was down the street towards the older section of the city. She followed close behind, leaping from one building to the next and then scaling down a wall to the alleys where she ducked behind various boxes and dumpsters. The woman sidestepped off of the main avenue and turned down a small, deserted street where she continued on with a hurried pace.
Lia glanced about to make sure no one was watching and sprung onto a fire escape to ascended to building. When she reached the top, she scanned the small street and spotted the woman easily. The pursuit continued until the woman reached a small bridge on a desolate avenue. She walked underneath it and glanced over her shoulder nervously to make sure no one was following her. Little did she know a pair of silent feet had shadowed close behind her.
She waited a minute or two before another cloaked figure approached her. She tried to act nonchalant incase the person wasn't who she was waiting for, but when they stopped in front of her, she begun to grow nervous again.
Lia noticed the reaction of the woman to the stranger and slowly made her way towards the street so that she'd be able to hear any conversation that might be held. She ducked into an alley across from them and crouched in the shadows, listing.
"Mrs. Jopal?" A dignified male voice asked.
"Yes, that's me. Are you the man I was told would meet me?"
"That I am." The man pulled the collar on his coat up and glanced about the street. "Getting straight to the point Mrs. Jopal, I assume that you have put everything into place?"
"Yes. He will be at this motel at the uh. . . designated time." Mrs. Jopal spoke in a low and nervous voice, but strived to sound professional.
"Very good. This must all go smoothly, no interruptions, no distractions. Do you understand?" Mrs. Jopal nodded and the man continued. "Several associates and I will enter the building, separately, and proceed to bedroom 533. You and Mr. Jopal will be in 534."
"But I didn't ask for-"
The man cut her off. "It's all taken care of. Just give them your name." He waited for her to nod and then continued once again.
"At precisely ten o'clock p.m. we shall enter through the door which joins the two rooms. Do what you must to make sure he'll be silent. When we enter, you must step aside, do not hesitate. The body will be taken care of at a later time.
"You and I will leave the room at ten thirty p.m. If all goes according to plan, which it should, we will walk out with no questions asked. From there, we will proceed to your apartment. Will it be empty?"
"Yes, I've made sure my daughter won't be there."
"She could pose a problem. How long will she be absent?"
"Two weeks. I've sent her to a summer camp and-"
"Excellent. Then we will proceed to your apartment and the rest of our business will be discussed there. We haven't the time now." He glanced about the street again and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Remember, if you fail us-"
"Yes, I know." She said sorrowfully.
The man was silent for a moment and then nodded his head to her. "Tomorrow night then." With that, the two separated.
Lia thought that the whole mysterious ordeal had seemed very professional and to the point. What could be going on? What ever it was, she would be sure to find out.
She climbed back to the top of the building and looked over at the motel which had been mentioned. A large illuminated sign sat atop the building reading, Cheap Rooms. Lia smiled. That seemed to be the right thing to call a motel, especially in New York.
She turned and made her way back towards their attic home above an abandoned factory to tell her sisters and master Kutter about the strange conversation she had just overheard.
Sandra gazed out the window at the tall trees which sped by. She sat alone in the white van which was usually used to transport campers from one activity to the next. Her mother had sent her away to a stupid camp in upstate New York for overly privileged and snobby kids. Of course she had objected, but her mother insisted that the fresh air and decent people would do her some good. That the so called 'harmonious' nature of things would 'calm her temperament', but that didn't last too long. The second she got there she broke as many possible rules as she could. The camp counselors had taken all they could of her, which was three days, and decided it best to send her back home two weeks and four days early.
Mom's gonna be so pissed. . . Sandra smiled to herself. Her home life was rough, always fighting with her mother and stepfather. She hated the life they were trying to force on her- tennis lessons, edict, classes which attempted to teach her how to part of the wealthy, elite, upperclass. She always thought they were asking to much though. How could they even think that a teenaged girl growing up in inner city New York could be proper and innocent? The thought made her laugh.
When she was eleven she had her first cigarette and when she was thirteen she tried crack for the first time. Drugs where expensive, but not when your stepfather earns sixty five grand a year and your mother makes thirty on top that. And alcohol? She'd had to been dragged out of parties drunk several times in her 15 years. Luckily, her parents had no knowledge of any of this and wouldn't even fathom the idea that their precious daughter would venture into such a zone.
The van pulled to a screeching stop outside the bus station. Sandra grabbed her duffle bag and slid open the van door. One of the counselors was waiting for her outside the van and escorted her into the bus station. They silently approached a large desk with many other people crowed around it. The counselor rung a bell on the desk and waited for someone to help him.
Sandra glanced about the station. It resembled a rest stop more then a bus station being only one large room with walls that had a red, orange, and yellow racing stripe painted across them. The chairs and benches where old and worn, the white stuffing contrasting with the navy blue vinyl as it spilled out of the slits and holes.
Just then the counselor grabbed her by the wrist and proceeded to lead her across the room. She tried to jerked her arm away from him, but he just tightened his grip. She looked up at his face and realized that this was the very same counselor she had gotten into a rather nasty conflict and exchanged some even nastier words with the day before. She averted her gaze immediately as he lead her to chair which she plopped down in. Despite it's ugliness, the seat was actually quite comfortable.
"You'll have to catch the 5:30 bus instead of the 4 o'clock one. There was some sorta delay." The counselor said without so much as a side glance.
He sat very straight and tall, hands on his knees. His teal collared shirt and khaki shorts made him look even worse.
He looks like some sorta prick. She thought, glancing upwards at him. She dug through her bag until she found her CD player. She plugged the headphones into the outlet and placed them over her ears. She turned the volume up to ten, blocking out all the other sounds of the noisy little room with the inaudible screaming and strange beat of the music.
The wait would be over an hour long and the bus ride ahead of her would take nearly two hours. She probably wouldn't be home until after 8 p.m. She sighed and repositioned herself in the chair, might as well get comfy.