The Crazy Kind

Chapter 4: Levi

"Closed! We missed her!" Ace spat as he rammed his fist against the bricks. I stood outside the window, face pressed against the glass, peering into the shop searching for anything that could help us on our search. The way I saw it, we had two options. We could try to figure out where she'd gone or we could come back tomorrow. She had to get her income from somewhere so it was doubtful that she'd skip work. The only problem with the latter was our uncertainty about her allegiances. If she truly was a Shovel, we couldn't afford to wait. News seemed to spread at impossible speeds between the bastards, like they were somehow connected by a single will. It scared me, and I'm fairly certain it scared Ace too. The slightest slip up and they'd be on to us like bees on an invader to the hive. Everything we did, we did out of necessity, however violent or evil it may seem. Even one Shovel we didn't finish off would unleash all hell upon us.

"Stop moping around and help me, then," I called, motioning for Ace to join me at the window.

"What's the point?" he guffawed. "It's not like she'd have left a note saying 'Oh, I've gone off to the far land of Spare Oom. Come find me'." That was, truth be told, very true. We still didn't have anything else to go on, though, so I simply roll my eyes at him and start scanning the shop once again. Was that movement over there in the corner? Yes it was. An extremely burly man that I assumed must be the owner came into view carrying a large tray of newly cleaned glasses. Putting them down on a spare table, he locked eyes with us before marching over.

"I'm sorry, boys but we had to close early today due to..." He cleared his throat, looking sheepish as he finished the sentence, "technical difficulties." He didn't say any more about the issue but we could safely assume he had unwittingly had a hand in those 'technical difficulties', as he put it. I had one hand in my pocket, idly twirling the pocket knife I kept on me at all times. This was one big man who could probably best the combined efforts of Ace and myself if it came down to a fist fight. I really hoped we could avoid such a situation, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"I see. Well we're not exactly here for coffee, sir. We're looking for one of your employees. Iris, I believe," I inquired. The big guy raised an eyebrow at this, looking at us suspiciously.

"And what's your business with her, if you don't mind my asking?" The questions were starting to become both annoying and problematic. We hadn't anticipated any direct interrogation like this. I made a subtle hand gesture to Ace, making sure to keep it out of sight of Muscles in front of us. The two of us had been working together long enough to have our own set of signals in the event that our ability to communicate verbally were to get impaired for whatever reason. Now was an excellent time to make use of that little fact.

"Just old friends from college, sir. We believe she has something of ours that we need." Introducing Ace, the master of fabricated stories. Or maybe not, seeing as he was met with an angry glare from the big man, who proceeded to take a step back, fists clenched.

"Nice try, nitwits, but Iris never went to college. Now get moving before I call the cops," he growled. In my pocket, my fingers were curling around the knife. I didn't want to do it. He was a good man with a good heart who obviously cared about those he worked with, but being chased by cops would only expose us to the public eye, Shovels included, which would only make things worse. That's why I was so relieved when a raspy voice added itself to the conversation.

"Boys? Are you there? I've been looking everywhere for you," the old man trembled as he hobbled over to us, cane tapping away, guiding his path. "Don't run off like that, please. I can't even see where you are anymore." Ace and I exchanged a glance, making a silent agreement to just go along with it.

"Sorry, Dad. We'll make sure to not do it again," I try. Calling him 'Dad' felt so very weird and wrong, but I would have been a fool not to realize that it was a way out of the bad situation we found ourselves in. Forcing down some of the cringe, I managed a light smile.

"These your kids then?" the buff man questioned, eyebrows raised. To any outsider, this definitely would have been strange. The only question was how far he was going to press the matter. To this, our rescuer nodded shakily, and it was completely believable. No tells, no signs of lying, not even the slightest twitch. Damn, this guy was good. "Look after them, old timer. Sure felt like they were up to something here," the store owner advised, vanishing back into the shop soon after.

The elderly man, somehow knowing exactly where we were, put an arm around my shoulders, doing the same for Ace until we were practically in a group huddle. His grip did not match his frail demeanor in any way, being firm and strong. I could tell, there was more to him than he was letting on. What was it, though?

"You boys are looking for a girl, correct?" What? He had no way of knowing that. Had he been eavesdropping all the way since the graveyard? If so, how could a blind man successfully track the same two boys all that distance considering all the other people enjoying an evening stroll. It shouldn't have been possible.

"Who told you that? Who the hell are you, anyway?" Ace brought the words right out of my mouth.

"Oh, where are my manners?" the old man spoke aloud, extending a hand. "Charles. As for how I found out, let's just say I have my ways." Well, that wasn't all too reassuring, was it? He did still appear to be on our side here, so I took his hand and shook it. No use driving off the one person who could give us the information we needed. When I tried to pull back, however, I found myself stuck. Charles' bony fingers had wrapped themselves around my own with a strength that one does not commonly associate with someone as ancient looking as he. "I will lead you to her only on the condition that you bring her no harm."

"Why do you care so much about a stranger anyway? Or have you been spying on her too, you old creep," Ace demanded with more aggression than I felt was necessary. Releasing his iron grip, Charles raised an arm, rolling up the sleeve with the other, revealing the mark that had caused so much pain and suffering. My best friend took a moment to stare before, almost on instinct, lunged forward a short distance before I grabbed him by the wrists.

"Ace! What is your problem!? You can't just lash out at everyone who happens to have a tattoo! If he were really with the Shovels, he woud have killed us by now." As ashamed as Ace looked in that moment, I couldn't help but think about how true that was. While the two of us may have left the Shovels alone for quite some time, finding them to no longer be our problem, any one of them would not waste the opportunity to exact revenge on behalf of their peers.

"He's right, you know? People change. You of all people should know that, Ace. Or should I call you X. What do you go by these days, anyway?" Seriously? X? The very idea of my friend going by such a name amused me. It sounded more like the villain of some TV series somewhere than something you'd actually want to be called. Then again, it was always clear that Ace was not his real name and it was pretty interesting to know of some of his older personas. It also made me wonder who he actually was. What was the name that started it all? Meanwhile, Ace was completely stunned by how much a stranger could find out about him. "Keep a tight leash on that one, please. She's not one of us," Charles finished, handing me a folded up piece of paper and hobbling off on his merry way.

Unfolding the paper, I found that it was an address. It didn't take long for it to be snatched out of my grasp by Ace, who began copying it out into his phone. "Damn, Levi. This chick must be loaded!" His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets as he read over the location, putting the phone between us so I could see too. Holy hells, he was right. Iris didn't live in a house, but a palace. The estate was approximately the size of an entire mall! What would someone with such status be doing working in a random coffee shop that was apparently all the way across town anyway. Seemed like an awful lot of trouble for an income that probably wouldn't have made much of a difference anyway. "We're really gonna trust information we got from one of them?"

He wasn't wrong. All the points in my head were in agreement that it would be completely illogical for her to live in a place like this. Someone like her could easily have pulled off just enjoying life, carefree and without being tied down by a job. She certainly wouldn't find it worth her time to travel so far everyday for the majority of her day. Still, it was all we had. Without replying, I started towards the bus stop.

The journey wasn't long, exactly. It was closer to dull or maybe monotonous. Just a bunch of old buildings similar enough to have been copied and pasted across the city as if it were a document of a computer. How did she stand it? Too much of this would no doubt cost me in the long run. When we finally arrived after what felt like forever, I never knew how much I took variety and difference for granted. It was something you'd never miss until it was gone. The most marvelous sight though? The massive building stretching on for the width of at least ten regular houses put together, highlighted by green gardens adorned with a marble path and ornate fountains.

Gawking at the utter magnificence of the spectacle we found ourselves thrown into, we came embarrassingly close to wandering head first into the door. No shame, though. Anyone who wasn't fabulously wealthy would have been taken aback as well, and man, I grew up in a dump. Such luxury was so alien to me it may as well have fallen from some distant star somewhere out there. Generally, I wasn't the biggest fan of those with such an abundance. As a wise man once said, power corrupts, and I'd lived through enough to recognize how far the saying can go. Iris, though? She was different. From our brief exchange of words earlier, she behaved more like a nicer person who more than likely didn't get out much, judging by how awkward that little encounter turned out. Somehow, something had shaped her in a different direction, and I found it intriguing.

A lone button sat hidden next to the door, concealed well by the unkempt vines festering along the grooves in the pristine pillars. A doorbell? It had to be, right? The plausibility of simple knocking being heard anywhere in this monstrosity was almost none. I pressed it, and sure enough, a pitched beeping resonated through the structure, spilling out through the gaps under the doors. With nothing better to do, I let my mind wander. Adeline used to say I was a dreamer, just like my father. It was a trait she claimed was what allowed us to strive for improvement, not just in ourselves but for the world around us. A blessing, she called it. After everything, though, such a title felt more like a curse.

That mindset comes with its downsides. Having that perfect vision of everything made it so even the slightest flaws stuck out like sore thumbs. The vines, for instance. From a distance, you'd never perceive any difference from the rest of the greenery in the garden. However, the second you looked a little closer, you'd start to notice everything. These vines were so much shabbier than the rest, completely neglected even. They were an abomination that just didn't fit in.

There we stood as the seconds ticked into minutes. Soon a minute turned to fifteen and still, there was no answer. Could it be that she wasn't home? Maybe the old man had given us the wrong address entirely. A click at the door brought me back into focus to see Ace hunched over at the doorknob, hands fiddling with an unseen contraption. He was trying to pick the lock! We didn't even have confirmation that this was the right place! Who knows what could have happened if we broke into some stranger's house. I doubt they would have been thrilled to have unexpected guests.

"Ace, what are you doing!?" I hissed, resisting the urge to yell at the outright stupidity of his actions.

"If she won't open it, I will." How could he be so calm in this situation? Yes, sometimes he forgets to think things through, but surely even he wasn't this reckless.

"And how do we know old man Charles wasn't just trying to bust us for what we did to his buddies?"

"Sorry, Levi..." Ace retracted the paper clip, tossing it for me to catch, "...But that's still our only lead." The door swung wide open as he turned the handle. This was a big risk that could possibly have cost us our freedom but it was to late to turn back now. Our prints were already on the grounds of this house. Screw it. A jail cell is just a room. We ventured into the mansion, entering some grand form of living room, It was breathtaking. A crystal chandelier illuminated the diamond encrusted leather furniture, silken drapes isolating this beauty from the outside world.

There was just one problem. The amount of dust within the space suggested that it had not been used in quite some time. Strange, seeing as no sane person would allow such class and elegance go to waste. Admittedly, it was a very big house. One person could hardly be capable of making use of every inch of it. Casting our bewilderment aside, Ace and I agreed to split up, if only to be able to search as much of the building as possible. If we didn't find Iris today, she would undoubtedly notice the picked lock and cause all kinds of trouble for us, be it the cops or just beefed up security.

My assumptions about too big of a house for her were soon dismantled in their entirety as I stumbled upon room after room, all sharing the same forlorn state of the living room. Either Iris somehow found a way to confine her life to a small fraction of the estate, or we were in the wrong house entirely. I found both possibilities to be equally disturbing. If the former were true, that would mean Iris simply had enough power to throw an absurd amount of money into space that would never be used, and I couldn't even begin to picture what that would mean for Ace and I if we were caught. If it were the latter, we had just invaded an abandoned mansion and given her ample time to get away, which scared me because we still didn't know where her allegiances lay. Wait, how could we be sure Charles hadn't just led us here to buy time? They both had the mark. It was entirely possible.

The thought of being lured to some unforseen danger irked me enough to walk in a more alert manner, knife drawn in the event that this was a trap of some kind. Spotting a sliver of light emitting from under one of the doors, I crept up to it, poised to strike as I tried the handle. Locked. That was a good sign. Why would it be locked if there wasn't something of value beyond it. In an uncharacteristic moment of rashness, I retreated a few feet, charging forward and fracturing the lock as the door flew open. There, by the window of what I assumed was a bedroom, stood the girl we had practically hunted down all day. She didn't move. She didn't flinch from the crash. Hell, she wasn't even looking at me, instead opting to stare blankly out of her window, as if watching some unknown entity in the gardens below.

"Are you here to kill me? It's this you're after, isn't it?" she inquired, rolling up her sleeve to reveal the tattoo. I felt bad. Hearing that sweet voice sounding so defeated took its toll on me. She was basically a stranger, but still, it hurt. She seemed ready for it, having accepted the fact that there was no way out if I said yes. All my life, I've been so sure, so certain of my intentions but here I was, halted in my tracks not by a weapon, but by a voice. No. I couldn't have done it if I'd wanted to.

"I can't." I tossed the knife aside. Let it rust. This was the one person the blade would never claim.

"Then why?" She finally turned to look at me. There were tears in her eyes. Oh, gods, did I cause that? If I did, where was all the guilt coming from? "Why go through all this trouble if you can't finish the job?" What she'd said earlier wasn't wrong. We had come after her because of that mark, but there was something else on my end. I'd hunted down plenty of Shovels but something was different this time that I couldn't quite place. What was it? Dammit, why was I so freaking compelled to find her, but unable to finish her off just like the rest?

"I..." With a grimace, I blinked back the dampness forming in my own eyes. "I don't know," I admitted reluctantly. Not having an answer was a feeling I despised with all my heart. What was the point in doing anything if you didn't know why you were doing it? It was a question I asked myself before I ever started anything. One should always be sure, lest they waste their efforts on a cause that would never be beneficial.

"Oh, but I do." The click of a loaded firearm could be heard as Ace entered the doorway, raising his pistol to point directly at Iris.