Masquerade: The Tale of Romance, Seduction and ***

May 18th 2010, 2 years and 4 months in the past

The door to the suite slammed open, hands brushed against skin and tangled in hair. The couple moved towards the bed, falling down onto it roughly as the two prodded and pressed at the other’s body.

I gently ran my hand across his jaw, catching the slight stubble of his chin. He moaned at the contact, gently holding me down onto the bed by the waist, his hands kneading at the skin underneath my shirt. I gently moved backwards slightly out of his hold. I couldn’t let things go too far. I pushed his hands away as they went to bring me back, slipping onto the other side of the bed and standing opposite him with a slight smile on my lips. A soft sound escaped his throat as he looked at me lustfully.

“Playing hard to get, Destiny?”

“It wouldn’t be fun if you didn’t catch me first.” I purred.

I gently made my way to the window on the other side of the small room. The room was big enough for maybe four people with a king sized bed, a television, a large spacious area for the kitchen and sofa, and a bathroom to the left.

This man had money, he was loaded with bills, all of which I suspected he had acquired recently. He was spending excessively on items that people with money only buy to show off their wealth.

The drapes were satin and purple, the walls and floor clean and textile, patterns of rich shapes that stood out against the dark sky and brilliant lights of the stars and moon.

The town only had one place of high value and this was it. La Casa de Flores, the House of Flowers, the one hotel in the whole city of Falcon Ridge that addressed clientele of this wealth.

The man, Jackson Tanoan, was not very well known, his wealth pretty much sprang up overnight. His scraggy black hair and gangly figure reminded me of a dog, how he had practically chased me down in the bar we had met at, how he had tried to wile me with his money and buy me gifts. We had met only three days prior and already I had him wrapped around my finger.

Mr. Tanoan caught me by the hips, roughly pulling my body into his, meeting our chests together. He immediately went about kissing down the side of my neck; sloppy kisses that made me cringe at the wet sounds that plopped from his mouth. I pushed him away more roughly this time, enough so that he fell backwards onto the bed. I climbed on top of him, holding him down with my hands. I leaned down so my lips brushed against the skin of his ear.

“Mr. Tanoan, no need to be impatient. Let me go wash up… we can continue this when I get back.” Mr. Tanoan groaned but relented, lying backwards as I slipped off of him and made my way to the bathroom.

I flipped on the lights to the bathroom, shutting the door quietly before whipping out my cell phone.

*He’s here. Make your move.* I texted the words, confident they would receive them. Now all I had to do was stall.

I went about the bathroom restlessly, checking the contents of the room, the cupboards, underneath the sink and even inside the bathroom, looking for anything that could be potentially important. Mr. Tanoan had acquired the suite some two days before; I was hoping to find evidence of that fact.

My fingers brushed against an object hidden in the innermost part of the cabinet. I tugged on it, gingerly taking out the object. It was a baggie and inside there were various computer chips. I clenched my fist in success. This is what we need.

That was when I noticed a dim light flash across metal, shining in the distance, deeper in the cabinet. I froze, gently taking out the object. A heavy set revolver lay in my hands.

Maybe Mr. Tanoan wasn’t as simple as I had first thought.

A loud bang on the bathroom door jolted me to my senses. “Destiny, what’s taking so long?”
I quickly put the revolver back where I had found it, stuffing the chips into my purse and turned my attention to the door. “I’ll be coming out in a second, hang on.”

“Destiny… did I hear you put something away? …What did you find?”

Damn. He’d heard me.

I leaned against the door, securely holding the knob in my hand and locking the door. “What are you talking about? I didn’t open anything.”

His voice had suddenly taken on a different tone; it was low and gravelly, almost threatening. “Don’t lie Destiny.” He paused and I swear I could hear the sound of a pocket knife, clicking into place in the other room. “Let me in.”

I said nothing, bracing myself against the door as it shook with sturdy weight. “I said let me in, Destiny!” He kicked at the door, banged on it with his fist. I refused to let go of the knob.

I looked around the room, heart thumping, as I tried to ignore his cursing and yelling. The only possibly escape could be from the small window. I could reach it by stepping onto the toilet and hoisting myself out; however, it was latched shut and would at least take me a minute to undo. Not to mention we were situated on the sixth floor, jumping down to the ground would be impossible.

“Damn it all to hell.” I hissed, keeping one hand braced against the door as I fished into my pocket for my cell phone. I’d gotten a text while I had been searching the room.

*Be there in 20 minutes. Don’t do anything rash.*
Too late for that. Great, I still had, at least, 15 minutes left before they’d get here.

I flinched with surprise, gasping when I heard the repeated lashing of the knife connecting with the door. Was he crazy!? Was he trying to break down the door by driving the knife into the wood, over and over again!?

Knife connected with door, hacking away at the wood, I tried my best to hold the door closed.

A sudden pain shot up my face and I gasped with pain. My hand went instantly to my face, touching my cheek and drawing away. Blood smeared the tips of my fingers and I stared back up at the door with horror. My heart stopped. The very end tip of the knife had made its way through the door which had then sliced through my cheek.

The knife jabbed free of the door and I could hear Mr. Tanoan’s labored breathing. “Got you,” he said and then a chuckle fell from his lips. “Your blood is very sweet, Destiny. Give me more.” Then the knife smashed against the door again and again, more forceful than before and I staggered away from the door, holding my cheek.

This isn’t good. This really isn’t good. My eyes flashed to the cabinet where the revolver was. It was the only possible weapon. I checked my phone, seeing the time, 8 more minutes until help arrived. If I wanted to survive, I needed that gun.

I threw open the door to the cabinet, grabbed the gun, just as the door crumbled against Mr. Tanoan’s weight and constant thrusts of the knife. It fell open with a wheeze and groan, revealing the man, dripping with sweat and eyes flashing with intent. The knife was held threateningly in his hand.

I pointed the gun at him, holding it in both of my hands. My fingers were shaking. Mr. Tanoan seemed to notice my hesitation and he grinned, holding his hands up in a non threatening manner.

“Poor Destiny. Put down the gun before you get hurt.”

I kept the gun leveled, keeping my eyes on his figure. The knife glinted in the light from the window, the tiny amount of my blood on its end shone back at me. “What’s your game, Mr. Tanoan?” I asked as steadily as I could manage. He seemed to look me over, as if trying to discern what I could possibly want. Eventually he spoke,

“I don’t understand you, Destiny. Such a sweet girl… a gun really isn’t a toy.”

I rolled my eyes, suppressing the urge to snap out a retort, “I just want to know why you hid this and what it’s for.”

“Collateral damage.”

“Excuse me?”

He heaved a sigh and took a step forward; I swiftly moved the gun to his face. “Take another step and I’ll shoot.”

He seemed amused as he looked at me. “Destiny, don’t kid yourself. You can’t shoot that.” I said nothing as Mr. Tanoan smiled before answering my question. “The gun is used for collateral damage… anything unnecessary and that needs to be eliminated.”

I studied his face. “Then the computer chips are part of that.” His head jerked up when I said ‘computer chips’. “You steal them and resell them to get money to pay for things… like this hotel suite. And when someone gets in your way… you dispose of them.”

“How did you know about them?” He growled, taking another step forward.

“Stop! I said I’d shoot!” I yelled but he wasn’t listening. He jumped for me and I shot the gun, aiming for his arm. He yelped out in pain when the bullet pierced his skin but he kept coming. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me to the ground. I cried out when my body collided with the tiled floor.

We wrestled with the gun, one hand grasping around my throat and the other went to grab it from my hand. His hold around me was strong and his body surprisingly heavy, but I was able to pry his fingers away from the gun and whack the barrel against his skull. He cried out, grabbing for his head and I kneed him in the groin, watching with satisfaction at the pained expression on his face.

He weakly stumbled backwards, releasing his grip on my neck and I was able to scramble to my feet and kick him squarely in the face, knocking him down. Blood smeared his nose and forehead, his left arm was limp, bleeding from the gun wound, but he glared up at me. I straddled him to the floor, looking down at him through cold eyes.

“I don’t care about the computer chips or the gun, that’s stuff the cops will care about. What I want to know is… do you know the name Kai Darosa?”

He spit blood out of his mouth and sneered up at me. “You think I’ll talk?”

I grasped the collar of his shirt. “You will. The cops are going to get here in less than 5 minutes. Now, answer the question.”

He stared up at me through half-lidded eyes before he smirked. “Yeah, I knew a girl named Kai Darosa. She came down to the pub when I still worked there before I got this gig.” He indicated the computer chips in my bag. And I nodded in understanding. “A pretty girl, almost as pretty as you, Destiny with the same auburn hair and blue eyes. More wild, though, carefree, was always looking for a party.”

My grip on his shirt tightened. “When did you meet her?”

He huffed. “Some time ago, Destiny. I can barely remember.”

“Try.” I ground out. We glared back at one another. Then, the sudden sound of sirens went off outside. I cursed lowly and Mr. Tanoan let out a triumphant hum.

“Didn’t get the information you wanted, huh, Destiny?” He studied my face as I grabbed the revolver from its place on the floor. I never moved from my spot above him, however, so he was unable to move.

“Doesn’t matter. I did my job.” I said, staring down at him dispassionately.

He half smiled at me, it was cold and cruel. “Never did see her again after that incident at the pub.” My eyes shot open, wide and my hands shook with surprise. They circled around his clothes, grabbing the linen and pulling him so our faces were so close together.

“What incident? What are you saying?”

The sound of footsteps outside and the door bursting open made me flinch slightly. “Police, nobody move!” came the voices as they swarmed into the suite.

“We’re in here.” I didn’t move my gaze from Mr. Tanoan.

He crooked a smile at me. “You’re a mysterious girl, Destiny. A wily, seductive actress, I was fooled.”

I saw the jacket of the Falcon Ridge officer and the hands that grabbed Mr. Tanoan from me. Everything was a blur after that; I was whisked to my feet. I remember handing over the gun and the computer chips. I remembered Tanoan being pulled from the room and the officers all scoping out the suite for any more leads. Then I remembered hands grasping my arms as I slid tiredly into someone’s embrace.

“Whoa, hold on there, hero.” A smooth, Australian accent brushed close against my ear and I looked up into honey-colored eyes.

“Archer…” I whispered his name, smiling slightly up at him. “Glad you could make it.”

He smiled sweetly down at me. “Eh, don’t worry about it kiddo. Everything’s gonna be fine.”

“K.” I whispered, closing my eyes. Exhausted from the ordeal, Archer was forced to walk me outside of the building where we met with the Head Detective. He eye-balled me with a scrutinizing stare.

“Are you insane?” I sighed. I had expected him to make a big deal out of it. “Why didn’t you contact us sooner!? Why did you take the initiative and go into his suite!? Don’t you know how dangerous criminals are!? Youngsters, I can’t believe we sent you out on such a mission… and for your first time!”

“Hey, hey, hey alright, calm down.” Archer gently rested a hand on my shoulder. “She did alright for a newbie. Imagine, we even got a full confession from the guy.”

“He admitted he sold the chips to get his money and that he has no qualms about killing an innocent if they get in his way. I’m proof.” I pointed to my cheek and the Head Detective frowned but I continued, “I bet if you check the ballistics on the gun you’ll find that the bullets that killed the last victim we found will match the revolver.”

“We can take him in under charges of second degree murder and solicitation.” Archer added, “With all the respect you deserve, I’m telling you, congratulate the poor girl," he paused and almost as an after thought, added, "sir.”

Begrudgingly he mumbled out a “Congratulations” before sweeping away from us and heading towards the other officers. Archer ruffled my hair with his hand, grinning down at me.

“Be proud, kiddo. You did great.”

I smiled, pushing him away playfully before I turned my gaze on Mr. Tanoan, leaning against the car, hands handcuffed behind his back. He caught my gaze and smiled back at me, I glared.

He knew more then he was saying. I’d got a glimpse of that inside. Whatever it is he wasn’t saying… I’ll find out.

And thus, Destiny removed her mask and revealed herself as Cliesa Darosa, the newest Falcon Ridge police officer and crusader. This case was the start of her climb and would be the basis of her inspection into the crimes in Backwater City.

Cliesa was ready to take down anything in her path.