#1 Shades of Gray- Noir, City Shrouded By Darkness

by Kristie Lynn Higgins

  Back beside the dumpster...

  Kat returned to sleep and dreamed, and her lips moved, reciting a phrase under her breath as she said out loud, "No one can destroy a love that will not die."

  Chapter Nineteen

  When Dreams Reveal Memories

  11:01 P.M...

  Kimberly's view...

  In my warm apartment, I continue to stare down at the road from the kitchen table as if I'm looking for something. Do I honestly believe that woman will return or is it the Un-Men that I fear?

  I laugh, mocking myself as I utter, "The Great Phoenix! I'm actually admitting I'm afraid of something."

  End Kimberly's view...

  The smell of cedar caught her attention, and Kim looked to the chest against the wall in the living room, walked to it, and read the attached letter.

  "Kimberly, here is your mother's hope chest. I know she would have wanted you to have it. Signed, father."

  She glanced at the spare bedroom where she had locked away her mother's belongings and her despair, and wondered if she should do this now. Kim barely got through them the last time without falling apart. She pulled on her left earlobe, wondering if her mother would ever return; it had already been twenty years. Kim turned her gaze back to the cedar chest, knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep if she didn't at least open it. She retrieved the brass key her father had given her, opened the chest, and found a photo album, nicknacks, a wedding dress, and other things. She took the album back to the table and flipped through it, finding pictures of her mother, father, and herself as a child on the pages. One picture caught her eye, her mother was alone and she sat in a high back chair with her hands cupped, holding a silver item. Her mother's blonde hair was pulled back in a bun as usual, and her mother beamed with joy. Kim smoothed her hand over her mother's face. She was eighteen the last time she saw her. There were marks in black ink scribbled on the photo in her mother's hand writing, and Kim recognized the archaic form of writing called short hand. Her mother had taught it to her when she was young and like a game, they used it to pass messages.

  "Glimpse with scrutiny and gaze with light."

  She bit her lip, wondering what the message meant and when did her mother ever use riddles. Kim scanned the photo again and took a closer look at the object her mother held and then retrieved a magnifying glass from her desk. The silver object was a music box with a star on its lid. She lowered the magnifying glass, thinking over the time that woman was in her apartment. It couldn't be a coincidence that her mother had the same music box as that woman. Kim yawned. Maybe she would see things clearer after a good night's rest.

  Kimberly's view...

  I take the two cups and saucers, the bowl, and the plate into the kitchen and then head to my bedroom. I place my gun on the night stand, slide into my comfortable bed, and rest my head on the feather pillow. Maybe I will wake to find that the mess that strange woman caused was only a dream. I turn on my side, I slowly drift to sleep, and at first it's peaceful as the sweet haunting tune of Unfinished Melody plays in my mind. I walk through one of the windowless halls of the Sphinx Corporation, heading towards my mom's office. My mom was Project Manager of Research and Development for the Third Branch Office. Excitement and joy fill my heart for some thrilling word I received as I stroll by a mirror and glance into it. My blonde hair's pulled back in two braids, and I carry an envelope. I realize this is no mere dream but a memory. It's the day I received the acceptance letter from Sphinx University, and I go to tell my mom about the great news. I had forgotten all about that day. Half way down the hall, I hear three shots and women screaming, and then I freeze, terrified.

  My heart pounds as I toss and turn in bed.

  In the dream, the crack under my mom's door glows bright and smoke rolls from it. I rush toward the office, grab the hot knob, and it scorches my hand. I throw open the door, and a blistering air rushes over me as flames consume half the office. I see the body of a woman in the fiery inferno.

  "NO!" I scream and start to go in, but someone grabs me from behind and drags me back. "NO!" I scream again, struggling to free myself. "Mom!" I reach my arms toward the body till something pricks my neck, and the hallway goes black.

  I sit up in bed, shrieking and crying like a child for her mother, and silence follows the shriek as I franticly search the bedroom, finding no smoke or fire only darkness. I sob in my hands, unable to control the fear and anguish the dream induces, and it has been years since I cried like that. I've never come to terms with my mom leaving me and this dream proves it. Some time passes as I weep, and then I wipe away my tears and the sweat from my brow. Still shaky from the traumatizing nightmare, I go to the bathroom, splash water on my face, and stare at myself in the mirror. Was the fire a memory? My body aches for the emotions that had been invoked as a realization sinks in. If it was... A horrifying thought crosses my mind and I gasp.

  "Oh my Zeus! My mom didn't leave us! She died! She died in a fire."

  I remember the shots I heard and realize my mom didn't die; she was murdered. I turn, leaning my back on the sink. I must have blocked out the memory. I look at the star burn on my right palm and know the door knob is where I received the burn, so it can't be a nightmare. I walk back to my bed and lie on it. Why did my father tell me my mom left? I grip the blankets with my fists, drowning in my own grief and confusion. Why did he lie to me?

  Chapter Twenty

  Assassins Guild

  11:37 P.M...

  In the center of Noir and several miles underground, Thanatos stared at a hundred foot monitor, compiling and storing information. He had spiked blond hair with red dyed tips and a small tuft of hair under his lower lip. Metal music played loudly, filling the chamber with grinding guitar and booming bass. Surgical steel pierced his left eye brow, his nose, and both of his ears. He wore black leather pants, black combat boots, and no shirt, and both of his nipples were pierced. He sat in a white recliner chair with an attached swivel keyboard. The large sphere room housed hundreds of cables and wires that ran from the ceiling to a large machine. Thanatos authorized and regulated Life Closings.

  Five hundred years ago, the Assassins Guild was forged, legalizing the killing profession, and every Life Closer registered their alias, so no two were alike. Their alias would be retired for twenty years after their death. Closers only accepted work approved through the Assassins Guild, and after the appearance of the Dry Clouds, the Guild split into two factions. The Dark Half formed the Assassins Union, and the Light Side formed the Assassins League. Thanatos organized the Assassins Union and the one known as Voice organized the Assassins League. Thanatos and Voice were known as Regulators.

  Thanatos at times of boredom hacked into Voice's network and took peeks at certain Closers he developed an interest in over the years, and this day was another one of those occasions.

  "Wired!" he exclaimed. "An old report from the Phoenix." He looked over the document with interest. "Whoa! It is a first, so your Moscow Closing did not go so well." He ran his hand through his long spiked hair. "It is a shame, and a dark mark on an other wise spotless record." He opened another file, finding an e-mail between the Phoenix and Voice, and he chuckled. "Voice, you think I would only waste the Phoenix's talents, and here I thought you were the one wasting them." He leaned forward, rested on his elbows, and examined the Phoenix's latest report. "The Topa Closing went well, but it looks like you had your first encounter with the Un-Men. I wonder..." He stroked the blond tuft of hair. "Will these bio-mecha assassins eventually make human Closers obsolete or is there something in man's spirit, in human ingenuity that cannot be replicated?" He looked to his huge monitor as if the answer would materialize there. "I would like to know, but only time will tell."

  Thanatos left Voice's network and returned to his own, and with uncanny speed, he approved or denied Life Closings from corporations or individuals and filed Closing successes, failures, and cancelations.
He did each one in less than a minute. Thanatos paused from the influx of data, cracked his knuckles, rubbed his face, and then returned to the requests and filings as he read an interesting one out loud, "The Valhalla Corporation has requested a Life Closing, and it is based on a Life Closer Clause for one of their contracts. Let me see." He tilted his head side to side as he went over the document. "The target violated their contract. Hmm... There is enough evidence here to convict if they went to court, so I will approve this Life Closing for one Vic the Vulture." Thanatos bowed his head, mocking reverence. "May he rest in peace."

  Time had no meaning in his world only the information, and he continued working when a data stream caught his eye. "What do we have here?" He opened a new document. "Two Closers from the League request permission to work the Dark Half. Hmm... They are the Raven and the Wolf, and they are strictly Light Side hit men. What Closing could have brought them here? What is so important Voice, you would send two of your own instead of contracting out to one of my Closers?" He opened the attached forms and scanned through them. "I see. Valhalla requested the Raven and the Wolf to conduct the Closing for Vic the Vulture. Hmm... There is another request." In disbelief, Thanatos read it over three times. "These two will be conducting a second hit. This is unexpected; it's a Life Closing Clause for a member of the Assassins League. Oh my. They will be Closing a Closer, so who are they after? Oh... Very interesting, and I did not see this coming." He shook his head, and his wild hair bounced with his movement. "It will not be an easy Closing, but one of mythic proportion." Thanatos leaned back, closing his eyes. "I will have to keep an eye on this one and root for the underdog."

  Chapter Twenty-one

  The Chairman

  October 16...

  Saturday...

  10:01 A.M...

  Hellenistic Sector, Business Vicinage...

  Determined to find answers, Kim drove to the Sphinx Corporation Third Branch Office, went up to her father's floor, and impatiently sat in the waiting room. She wore a black pant suit with a white shirt. Kim rapped her finger on the couch's arm, going over what she would say to her father when her thoughts were interrupted.

  "The Chairman is finishing up his meeting now," the secretary said. "He'll be ready to meet with you shortly."

  "Thank you, Cathy." Kim glanced at a man sitting across from her in the waiting room. He wore glasses and a navy blue business suit and paid no attention to her as he read the Noir Daily News. She glanced at the coffee table at an issue of the Conglomerate World Magazine with the headline Topa Murdered! Corporate Life Closing or Drug Hit?

  "It's a shame," the man said from behind the newspaper.

  Kim peered up startled. "What?"

  "I'm talking about Topa; it's a shame Closers exist." The man flipped a page, keeping his gaze on the print. "I mean what kid grows up saying I want to be an assassin?"

  "Ms. Griffin, the Chairman will see you now," Cathy said.

  Kim stood, eyed the man, and thought it was odd that the man would say something like that to her. She walked down the hall to her father's office, glancing once more at the waiting room.

  Another man walked into the waiting room also wearing a navy blue business suit. "All right part timer, break time's over. Zax, I want you to make sure levels twenty-four through twenty-nine are secure."

  "Right. I'm on it." Zax stood, removed his glasses, and placed them in his breast pocket. The pocket had a Sphinx Corporation Security badge clipped to it. He handed the second man the newspaper and walked down the hall toward the elevators, and once he was out of earshot, Zax removed a cell and dialed a number. "Please connect me with R.G." He waited a few seconds. "Delivery Man here, Ms. Griffin has come to see her father as you predicted." He paused, listening. "Understood, I'll continue to monitor the situation."

  Down the hall, Kim opened the door to the Chairman's office and stepped in as her father stood, welcoming her.

  "Good to see you again, Kimberly. Have a seat please." He motioned to a chair, and once she sat, he returned to his seat. "I have the pleasure of seeing you twice in one month."

  "Do you see pleasure on my face?" Kim snapped as she gripped her black purse tightly.

  "No, you do seem upset," he said and questioned, "What's wrong?"

  "What's wrong? What's wrong?" She stood, smacked her palms on his desk, and her purse fell to the floor. "Why did you lie to me?"

  He started to ask what he lied about, but she interrupted.

  "Why did you tell me mom left us?" She saw dismay sweep over his face.

  He noted anger mixed with hurt filled her expression as he asked, "What do you know?"

  Tears rolled down her face. "She died. Mom died!"

  He stood as anger rose in his voice, and he demanded, "Who told you?"

  "Told me? No one told me! I remembered." Kim tapped her chest. "Hades! I was there!" She slumped to the chair as horrific memories weighed heavy on her, and she stared at her knees. "I can still hear the fire roaring and smell... smell cooking flesh."

  "You did see. I don't know what to tell you. I..."

  "Tell me?" Kim looked up. "Answer my question! Why did you lie?"

  He glanced at a phone sitting on his desk and turned back to her. "It was so long ago." His gaze became distant as he recalled that day. "My secretary found you lying outside my office unconscious and when you finally came to, you were traumatized and couldn't speak. I had no idea if you had seen what happened in your mother's office, but I guessed as much and never pressed the issue, and later you didn't remember, so I thought it best the incident remained buried."

  "You thought it was better I believed mom ran away and abandoned us instead of the truth? Instead of telling me she died?"

  He regretted that decision. "Yes."

  She leaned over and picked up her purse from the floor. "What happened?" She set it beside herself. "Where's mom buried?"

  "I only know the latter of the two; the body is buried in Hades Cemetery. I always feared one day you would find the tombstone and discover that she was lay to rest there."

  She wiped her eyes. "Who murdered her?"

  "Murdered?" He handed her his handkerchief.

  Kim took it. "Yes, I remember gun shots and screams." She wiped her eyes again and blew her nose.

  "The matter is still being investigated."

  "Still after all these years?" She thought a moment and then asked, "By whom? Noir Civil Police Force or Sphinx Corporation Security?"

  "The N.C.P.F. and Sphinx Corporation Security."

  Kim fisted her hands, controlling the rage that wanted to scream at her father. "What leads do they have? Who do they suspect? I want answers!"

  He gazed at the picture on his desk and picked up the frame. "Your mother was so lovely." He faced his daughter. "How you look like her. See." He turned the frame, so she could see the picture. "You have her blue-green eyes."

  The photo was of Theresa holding a music box, and it was the same picture as the one in the album from her mother's hope chest. Kim looked at it more closely and saw there was no shorthand scribbled on the photo.

  "Your mother loved that music box; it played some old melody from around 500 B.D.C." He wondered out loud, "Who was the composer? His name was... was..."

  "Ginn L. Irynkissgthie," she answered.

  "Yes, it played his Unfinished Melody."

  Kim stared at the music box, pulled on her left earlobe, and questioned, "Where did she get it?"

  "Get it? She made it." He turned the frame around and gazed at the photo. "It's one of a kind." He glanced at the phone again then back to the photo. "Something your mother was working on in Research and Development. It was more than a music box; it was a data storage unit."

  "One of a kind?" A bad feeling rose from the depths of her stomach. "What happened to it?"

  "I don't know. I assumed it was destroyed in the fire. I looked through all her thin
gs, but never found it. I think she would have wanted you to have it."

  "May I?" Kim held out her hand for the photo, and her father handed it to her. She examined the music box and was sure it was the same one the woman had. She handed back the frame and asked, "Who would I speak to about mom's murder?"

  "Detective Moore at N.C.P.F. and Orthos. He's head of my security."

  Kim nodded and stood. "I'll want to talk to you later about it."

  "My door is always open." He walked his daughter out of his office and down the hall to his secretary's desk, then he watched as Kim entered the elevator, and he turned to the secretary. "Cathy, hold all my calls and cancel today's appointments."

  "Yes, Mr. Griffin."

  He returned to his office, sat, and stared at the phone again as he contemplated his next action and then picked up the receiver. "Get me Head of Security."

  "Yes, Mr. Griffin," Cathy replied.

  Within a few minutes, a man's voice came over the phone. "Orthos here."

  "We have a problem. My Kimberly has remembered the night of the fire and will most likely investigate Theresa's death."

  "What can she find out? The N.C.P.F. have nothing."

  "Kimberly can be very resourceful."

  Orthos paused and then asked, "Do you want me to take care of it?"

  "No!" Mr. Griffin blurted. "She's my daughter." He composed himself. "For now watch her. I don't want Kimberly to complicate things."

  * * *

  11:29 A.M...

  Hellenistic Sector, Residential Vicinage...

  Nexus Apartments...

  Kimberly's view...

  I return to my apartment, sit at the small round table, and I drink a tall cup of Spiced Chai tea I'd bought from the local coffee shop. I still have the bad feeling in the pit of my stomach as I flip through the photo album till I come to the picture of my mom holding the music box, and I read the short hand again, "Glimpse with scrutiny and gaze with light."