Outlanders

Chapter 7: Operation Shadow

The air grew cooler, the city never wavering its business from the busy people that dwell in it. The night twinkled along the city lights, while trees swayed roughly against each of their branches. The honking horns of citizens’ cars blared, their urge to escape from work washing over. People walked to and fro speedily, the late night cold too much for the straying side walkers. The sound of footsteps filled the streets, the droning of conversations between beings continued to echo throughout passerby’s ears. Lawrence’s footsteps walked along the concrete sidewalk, his eyes forward. Striding forward to keep up with a content appearance. His eyes scanned his surroundings, landing on two girls coming the opposite way from where he was heading, their eyes widened with confusion. Lawrence didn’t dare to grab eye contact with other people he didn’t know, continuing at his pace.

As he paced away from the two girls, they whispered loudly, “Do you think he’s a cosplayer?…” One girl spoke.

“No no! He’s definitely some sort of actor!” The other spoke in turn. As they continued to debate on his appearance, Lawrence turned his head in their direction, watching their figures slowly distant themselves.

Lawrence’s hand reached his face, “Well…this is great…” He sighed in exhaustion. As he continued his walk from across the bridge, he caught sight of someone familiar. A man with a suit and hair slicked to the side. Lawrence’s eyes widened, his sight stuck to his target, slowly fasting his pace. The man's silhouette came closer, his back turned to Lawrence.

Lawrence’s hand reached his shoulder, “I’m here” Lawrence spoke in a low tone. The man's stature turned to face Lawrence, his cloudy-blue eyes landing into Lawrence’s.

“Well, you made it, I thought you’d won't go through with this” Griffin spoke as he looked upon Lawrence. Lawrence’s attire was different from his regular clothes. A white collared shirt, rolled up sleeves just above the elbow. A black vest hugging his body shape, black dress pants and vintage black leather dress shoes. The black tie completed his professional outward appearance. His unkempt hair now fixed upward, his side burns had faded into his skin. His embered eyes show brightly amongst the faded lights close to him.

With a begrudging sigh, Lawrence spoke, “I was thinking about it for awhile…but I didn’t expect to be dressed like this..” Lawrence looked down at his clothing that felt so foreign. Lawrence’s eyes glanced up at Griffins, “I look like I’m some sort of bad boy bartender..” Lawrence whispered to Griffin.

Griffin's hands combed his hair with his hand, fixing any parted strands, “That’s the plan” Griffin spoke calmly.

Lawrence’s eyes stared, “What…do you mean?” Lawrence’s tone filled with curiosity, his eyebrow raised.

Griffin's eyes looked toward the opened front of the restaurant, it’s grand entrance for only the rich and famous. It's glamorous, flashing sign shown for all to see, a rose in all its glory, the words “Rose Withers” plastered onto its front.

“If you don’t remember what the plan was, it’s for you to pose as a bartender, very simple” Griffin spoke matter of factly. His head turned once more to Lawrence, “Tristan explained that he found something among William Kingsons records of meetings…A woman came to meet with him very…coincidentally” Griffin's tone lowered, so that no eavesdroppers could snatch the information he was giving to Lawrence.

Lawrence’s eyes widened slightly, his eyes searching his face for answers. “This was around the time of the fire taking place…The fire started around 10:35 pm.” Griffin's tone began to lower in thought, “But this meeting took place nearly 30 minutes afterwards..”

Lawrence’s expression narrowed, understandment and confusion fused together of where Griffin was coming from. “Thing is…the timing is not only coincidental, but the security cameras too”. Griffin then began to pull out his phone, the electronic screen illuminating his facade. After a moment, Griffin's tiny screen turned to Lawrence, the footage already beginning to play. The security camera recording the front entrance of William Kingsons company, nothing out of the ordinary. Lawrence’s eyes caught a figure of a woman, the color of her skin was tan, her hair black. Her pace was fast, as if she hurried to do a task. Her appearance seemed ragged and disorganized, as if she had a fight with a group of men. Lawrence’s eyes grew wide, a silent gasp escaping his lips. On closure inspection, black marks seemed to cover her from head to toe. Lawrence’s eyes quickly looked up from Griffin's electronic blue light.

“She was at the fire” Lawrence spoke with surprise tinged in his voice.

Griffin nodded in his observation, “I notice black marks along her face and on her clothes…it’s burn marks” Lawrence’s eyes glanced all over the freezed image, his mind piecing together. “She was at the front desk…” Lawrence spoke under his breath. “She was the one that led me to my father…” Lawrence’s hands began to close into a fist, anger slowly rising inside of him. His mind enclosing himself.

Suddenly, Griffin's hand was placed onto his shoulder, “I can see that you’re angered,” Griffin spoke with sincerity in his voice, “but we have to wait this out, we don’t want to make irrational decisions.” Lawrence’s eyes stared at Griffins, his breathing slowed.

“Ok…” Lawrence sighed, calming himself to keep his composure. Lawrence glanced at Griffin once more, “Explain to me why you wanted to show me that?” Lawrence questioned.

Griffin glanced at the freeze frame, taking in all of the figures' features. “Just in case we come across uninvited guests…” Griffin answered as his phone slid into his pants pocket.

Lawrence huffed, “Well, what’s the plan with you?” Lawrence crossed his arms, waiting for his answer.

Griffin's grey-bluish eyes flickered, “My plan is to talk with William himself, as to his injuries and his filed case, it would be wise to check on the person who was attacked, see if they have new information…” Griffin turned his back to Lawrence, walking away. “That would be a good decision as a detective, no?” His figure turned halfway to Lawrence, Griffin's eyes seemingly to smile at him.

Lawrence grinned slightly, “Ya, I’m sure it is” Lawrence agreed as he walked past Griffin, Griffin following suit.

“Before I forget…” Griffin spoke out from behind Lawrence, Lawrence soon halted from his voice.

Lawrence turned to him, seeing a black leathered glove held out in front of Griffin.

“To not cause any problems.” Griffin stated, his hand placing the well-made glove into Lawrence’s hand.

Lawrence glanced at Griffin for a moment before he could put on the slick glove, covering his shining metal from prying eyes. Lawrence then proceeded to pull down his white collar shirt until his folded sleeve descended to his wrist. Griffin continued to stride forward, the staircase leading straight into a golden lighting inside. Lawrence followed close behind, careful to not cause suspicion from oncoming or passerby guests. The sound of chatting persona’s echoed as his foot stepped inside the open restaurant, his eyes taken in the sight he saw before him. White table clothes covered the large room, the ceiling high above with it’s chandelier like decor. Roses safely captured in vases littered the center of the delicate silk snow cloth, like a flower in winter. A large brown oak table sat in the right side of the room, it’s selection of alcoholic beverages seemed to be endless along it’s designated selves. Lawrence’s insides twinged, a sense of nervousness created onto him ever so slightly. Griffin halted, his eyes glanced at Lawrence, searching for his attention.

After a moment of Lawrence taking in his sights, Griffin's head nodded in his opposite direction. Lawrence’s eyes shifted to where his motion was, a man with grey hairs from his sideburns sat happily amongst the many customers in the restaurant, his smile wide and open. His one arm laid in an open cast, a dinner plate with a chicken crisped to perfection,cutted to an equal evaluation that professional chefs would approve. A salad in its dressing that seemed so filled with green it could be a forest. Lawrence’s eyes shifted once more to see two people sitting across the gluttonous man, another man of what seems to be of younger age, his hair seemingly a blue tint, as if a cloud had become one with his hair color, his smile gentle. A woman sat next to the young looking man, her hair a shining orange. The light of the room almost made her hair seem to glow like a fire in a fireplace. Her hair laid over her left shoulder in a near styled loose braid. Lawrence then noticed that that man was William Kingson, the man's smile seemed to twist Lawrence’s emotion. Lawrence glanced back at Griffin, giving a nod to his confirmation of going straight for his target. Lawrence’s body then moved to the bar, it’s structure growing closer and closer with every step. The sound of guests chatting in their seats filled his ears, the collective voices crowded together to make a drowning noise he could not even cooperate with. His human hand touched the thick latch that joined in with the dark oak table, lifting it up and settling it back down once he was behind the large bar. A long section of alcohol laid on its shelves glistening in its white light behind it, it’s liquid illuminating. Few other bartenders entertained the guests with shakers into fancy wine glasses, like circus acts satisfying onlookers. His eyes scanned the area in front of him, the crowds of bodies covering the entire room. His eyes only set onto the bodies he recognizes, as if they stood out completely from the rest.

His eyes darted to an empty space at the end of the large table, his safe spot that seemed only too good to be true. His pace stopped at the ghosted seats before him, beginning to take out the fancy glasses that seemed way too expensive for his taste, let alone paying for something so extravagant. A shaker sat next to the unused beer tap, it’s silver cascade shining from the head light over the head of the bar. His eyes looked to where William Kingson and his other guests sat, a head of black plain to see from his point of view. Griffin gave William a slight smile, as if just to keep him at William's good side.

Suddenly, a man came up to Lawrence, sitting down on the round chair with a near thud, “Got any Barley?” The man's voice croaked, his eyes barely making eye contact with Lawrence.

Lawrence’s expression turned friendly, but on the inside he wanted to see the man in no tomorrow, “Of course…” Lawrence responded as politely as he could, his mind trying not to make it worse for his anger to burst at a man for being disrespectful for only what could be a moment.

“Ah so that’s the case…” Griffin spoke with sincerity in his voice, his eyes staring into Williams glass, the liquid drifting inside its transparent cage.

“Of course! My company would have gone up in the tabloids!” Williams' voice shouted, his mouth nearly stuffed with his now two slices left of chicken.

“Yes, that would be terrible” Griffin agreed with a light laugh, his mind continuing to layer his theories that he planted very much earlier before he came to Williams' table.

“It is a good cause that you took up his case.” The woman took a small bite of her small dish, her eyes glancing down at her designed plate. Her eyelashes layered with just enough mascara. Her tone was sweet, as if honey had taken form into her words.

“Yes, I’m sure if you didn’t, Mr. Kingson would have most likely been very unhappy and started to demand that the case be opened right as it had ended!” The man glanced at Griffin, his gentle smile plastered onto his face. His voice seemed smooth and coarse, as if a stream could have a voice.

Griffin smiled once more, “I’m sure there would’ve been more detectives that would be more than happy to take his case…I mean, it was very unusual for someone like that…someone extremely dangerous to attack a noble man such as Mr. Kingson…” Griffin's words softened, his tone giving a sense of sympathy.

The man took a sip from his clear glass, the water reaching to his lips, “Yes…very unusual…” The man's tone lowered, his demeanor changing ever so slightly. Griffin began to feel chills up his spine, the man's tone that seemed unwavering of his gentle outlook, changed for even a second of something completely different.

Griffin's smile disappeared, his eyes glancing between the man and the woman, “You have something to say about this mysterious person?” Griffin questioned the man.

The man's eyes stared straight into Griffin, as if he’s searching for his soul deep inside him, “Well…for starters…this mysterious “armored man” has some sort of interesting characteristics about him…” The man then sat his glass down, his hands bridging in front of him, “ Mr. Kingsons abrasions are far too severe for a normal grip…let alone strangulation.” The man spoke matter of factly, his eyes never leaving Griffins.

Griffin's eyes stayed on the man, “That is a very good observation, but I don’t believe you are a medical doctor or nurse…” Griffin responded.

The man chuckled, “While I am not a medical personnel, it's common knowledge to know the extent of a “normal” abrasion and “unusual” abrasions..” The man said, his voice seemingly tinged with a hint of something that Griffin could only assume as a threatening tone.

Griffin's eyes flickered for a moment, “Ah..of course…” Griffin smiled friendly, his mind questioning the man's motives from his verbal tone. the tone that seemed not noticeable to the people around, but only straight to him.

Lawrence’s eyes focused onto the table that seemed so far away, his mind giving him worried thoughts that seemed to appear from thin air. His stare drifted to the other guests among the bar, the classical melody playing, echoing to the ceiling above.

“Well~ I've never seen you here before…” A voice called out, his mind startled. Lawrence’s gaze shifted to the voice, a woman standing before him, her arms loosely crossed. Her black front strands of hair pulled back, a hair pin clipping the separate strands from falling away.

Her dress in a singular red color, a color that could be resembled to a rose. Her frilled straps held her shoulders, the fabric smooth from just a glance. Her tan skin almost glowed, as if gold had replaced her human skin. Her obsidian hair shined under the head lamp, as if a spotlight were to show her graceful presence. Her dark brown eyes seemed to scan up and down, observing the young man before her. Lawrence blinked, “Ah…ya I just started working here a few weeks ago” He said calmly, as if he had said it many times.

The woman smiled softly, “I figured” She responded, taking a seat right in front of his vision from the table he was observing. The sight of Griffin's ebony hair no longer in view.

Lawrence’s mind shifted, her familiarities to the woman in the security footage coming to fruition. His mind expected for someone as suspicious as the woman sitting in his view to expectantly distract him.

Lawrence sighed, “What can I get for you?” He asked, his gloved hand on the dark oak table.

The woman pondered, her gaze quickly glancing at his gloved hand before her gaze could return to his face.

“Just a red wine, Fire Lily…” The woman answered, her body leaning on the shined wooden table, her head resting on her right hand.

Lawrence nodded, turning to the wine section, the sight of a fiery colored bottle in his view. The feeling of her stare sent chills up Lawrence’s spine, as if she was silently judging him. Lawrence took a deep breath, and opened the wine bottle, the cork popping off. Lawrence reached for a wine glass, the translucent structure taking in the electric light blue from behind where it once was. The red fiery liquid filled the glass, it’s color swirling inside the glassware. Lawrence turned, his eyes only looking to the glass being set down in front of the woman, his human hand delicately sliding the glass to her, the liquid drifting.

The woman raised the glass to her lips, “Thank you..” she said as she took a sip from the wine glass.

Lawrence responded with a nod, his mind slowly going elsewhere to his theories set in his thoughts. His thoughts of the woman’s appearance here at a coincidental timing would be too good to be true, unless it was planned.

“You seem to have worked here for years…” the woman spoke, her tone soft.

Lawrence’s eyes laid on the woman, “In a way I suppose, I’ve decided to come back here after I had a few issues with family out of the city…” Lawrence answered, another white lie dusted into their conversation.

The woman smiled softly, “Of course…Family is an important part of anyone’s life…” the woman agreed, sincerity tinting her voice.

“But to come back to such an extravagant place? I’m sure you were highly paid that you had to come back here…” She said, her eyes glancing at Lawrence.

“It is a good paying job, yes…” Lawrence spoke, his arms crossed. “But it is just a way of getting by for anyone else” Lawrence continued, “The world can be greedy, so you have to do what you gotta do to keep yourself afloat” Lawrence spoke with truth, his opinion unwavering from his thoughts.

The woman chuckled, “That is true, very observant” the woman complimented, her lips pressed to the glass. Her glass was placed on the dark oak with a clink, the room seemingly almost silent for a moment.

“May I ask what that glove is for?” The woman questioned, her eyes narrowing. Her fingers intertwined in front of her face, her dark eyes never breaking her gaze.

Lawrence’s heart jumped, her gaze seemingly seeping through to him. “A burn…” Lawrence started, his gaze looking down at his hand placed on the table. “A third degree burn to be exact…you can say that I don’t like showing my scars…” Lawrence soon gave back the same stare, his thoughts pulling together to suspect that she may have already known about him in the first place.

The woman suddenly laughed, “So that’s your way of saying that you suspect me?” The woman grinned, a grin almost seductive to persuade him to cave to the truth.

Lawrence’s eyes grew hard, “I know who you are, the woman at the front desk, Lily Cara” Lawrence’s tone darkened, his mind only set on the person before him.

The woman closed her eyes, “what of it?” She questioned, her tone seemingly less sweet then it was from when she first sat down. “I know what my placement was at the physiatric building, I just had someone who saw my talents far more than your father did…” Her eyes opened, a tinted red glow stemmed from them.

Lawrence’s brow began to sweat, nervousness crawling it’s way up to him. “What do you mean?…” He questioned her, his emotions slowly ascending.

The woman laughed louder, a creeping feeling of danger rising. Lawrence’s surround sounds stopped, time felt slow, the same feeling as when his father laid dead in the alley. “The capability to bring out every one of my abilities…” her tone lowered, her hands quickly fell to her side, as if to pull out something.

Lawrence’s eyes widened, his instinct kicking in, “s**t!” He cursed as he began to jump out of the bar area, his adrenaline jump starting. Suddenly a gun sound rang out, his feet running straight to the exit. A sound emanated from above, his pace stopped. The sound of falling glass came closer, his head rose up to see an oncoming falling chandelier. His arm raised, the falling chandeliers glass shattering to pieces, the golden chains and the plastic candles broken. The main part of the chandelier landed hard on his arm, his body kneeling from its impact. His eyes squinted at the falling glass, the immediate sound of screams rose. The people who were once joyous descended into fear, crowding out of the restaurant. The scattering feet rambling to escape death. Lawrence’s eyes scanned wildly, the few people that had sat so close to him were injured, wincing at the pain in their bodies. Lawrence’s emotions finally broke out, the chandelier lifted off his body, a large clunk escaped the chandelier.

Lawrence's body rose up, his fists clenched. His body turned, seeing the woman holding two large guns. The guns shined a silvery color, the barrel a transparent blue. The scopes were hologram-like, the blue glow lining clear to see from a distance.

“This is what my abilities are capable of!” The woman shouted, her one gun resting on her shoulder. Her eyes almost seem to smile, her grin mischievous.

The woman stepped down from where she sat at the bar, her clicking shoes echoing the now empty space.

Lawrence scoffed, “So you can make a few toys for yourself?” He spoke out loud, his tone low. His sleeve that once covered his mechanical arm became wrinkled and torn, the glove almost still intact.

“More like my hobby” The woman corrected him, her guns pointed straight at him. “Now unless you want to end up dead, I suggest you surrender” The woman announced, her eyes staring dead in Lawrence’s face.

Lawrence’s expression turned to anger, “like hell I’ll let a lunatic woman run havoc” He stepped forward, his pace quickening.

The woman frowned, her expression furious. “That hurts my feelings…” She spoke once more, her guns firing. Lawrence ducked into a flipped table, the bullets of her gun whistling by, the wood splintering from its forces.

Lawrence’s eyes scanned the room, looking for an opportunity to appear in his mind.

“Hope you didn’t forget about me” A voice called out, the bullets continuing to fire. Lawrence’s head turned, Griffin sat behind the table behind Lawrence, his suit coat open to see his white shirt and black tie, his gaze hard.

“All I can say is that I’m glad you're here” Lawrence shouted, his reflexes kicking in from a bullet too close to his face. Griffin pulled out a glowing looking ball, it’s hue glow illuminating his hand.

“On my go” Griffin shouted to Lawrence, Lawrence nodding in return. Lawrence peeked from his table, the bullets had begun to stop, a red bar appeared from her guns, indicating low ammo.

“Now!” Griffin yelled, the hue ball clicked, his arm pulling back and throwing it. The ball landed next to the woman. The woman’s eyes widened, her instinct to flee was short. The ball exploded into a white light, her arms blocking her from the oncoming flash.

Once the flash had reseeded, Lawrence lunged out, his pace running full force to the woman. Her body staggered from the stun, her hand covering one eye, her vision blurry. The figure of Lawrence’s body coming closer.

“Damn it…” The woman cursed under her breath, the gun pointed to Lawrence. Her vision blurry, she blindly shot the gun. Lawrence’s eyes grew wide, the bullet whistled by his shoulder, skinning his top shoulder. Without a thought, he continued to pursue the woman, his human hand trying to hold the bleeding through his right shoulder. The woman’s gun switched, a ball came out of its barrel, exploding into a black plume of smoke. The smoke covered Lawrence’s surroundings, his eyes only seeing the black matter around him. Once the blackness had slowly begun to disappear, the woman was gone, as if she disappeared into the air. Lawrence squinted his eyes, his anger flowing through him. Griffin trotted to Lawrence, “Lawrence! Are you ok?” He questioned, worry tinted his voice.

Lawrence’s breathing became a bit haggard, “I’ll be fine…” He said, his hand squeezing his injured shoulder. The blood soaking into his white shirt, the blood trailing down his silvery parts.

Suddenly, a shock ran all across his body, his eyes only seeing blue lining, as if lightning was living inside of him. Lawrence grunted in pain, causing him to fall to his knees. The pain continued to travel through, the shock making Lawrence unable to stand. Griffin's eyes grew wide with worry, “Lawrence? Lawrence!” He shouted to him.

Lawrence’s eyes began to darken, Griffin's shouting began to fade, until he could see nothing but darkness.