Twisted Loyalties

Mia Anderson doesn’t believe in fate, but can’t resist the feeling that the universe wasn’t on her side. She stared at the pile of bills on the kitchen counter, each one demanding more than what she had in her pocket. The walls of her apartment seemed to close in on her as she let out a frustrated sigh. “Tommy!” she yelled toward the hallway, where the sound of furious typing echoed. Her brother was again sitting in front of the computer for long hours, as was his habit. "You’re not hacking NASA for the tenth time, are you? Or do you care to help me figure out how we'll pay this month’s rent?" Tommy, a lanky teenager with a mop of curly hair and an attitude most adults dislike, appeared in the doorway. He grinned sheepishly. “NASA?? That's old stuff. I’m onto something way cooler.” Mia rolled her eyes. “Yeah? Is this ‘cooler’ thing going to help pay the electric bill or buy some groceries? We're basically living on cup noodles now. Looking slightly discouraged, Tommy’s grin faded as he walked over to the table. “We’ll get through it Mia, we always do.” Once upon a time, she would have taken his word for it, but things had gotten more difficult lately. The night shifts at the diner, the additional jobs, and the general hustle were beginning to wear her down. Tommy was her responsibility and she was willing to do anything to protect him from the rest of the world if necessary. “Listen Mia”, Tommy began to stutter like he did when he was about to drop a bombshell, “I uh, might’ve come across something big, like, massive. Mia squinted her eyes and sighed, she was already used to things like this. “How big are we talking about? Big enough to sort out bills or big enough to get you in jail?" More like big enough to make us a fortune,” he said, whispering like he was part of some secret mission. “I was snooping around on the dark web…” “Tommy!” Mia interrupted him immediately, her voice sharp. “I’ve warned you to stay away from that stuff, it’s very dangerous! You're playing with fire.” “I know, I know” Tommy said, holding his hands up in surrender. “I found something about Blackwood Industries, they’re creating some kind of new AI tech that’s not completely legal.” Mia choked on her spit when she heard Blackwood Industries. Everyone knew not to mess with the Blackwood. He was one of those guys that made headlines for ruthless business deals and his unapproachable personality, not to mention his chiseled jawline. “What’d you find out?” she asked. Tommy came closer, visibly excited. “They’re creating something that can control everything. I don’t have all the details, but I can do more research.” Mia frowned and disagreed immediately. The protective older sister instinct kicked in on reflex. “You’re not researching anything, we’re not meddling with anything that doesn’t concern us.” It was too late, the universe was always against them and this wasn’t an exception. Just as Mia was going to bed, she heard a knock at the door. It seemed to vibrate through the whole house and send a chill down her spine. She sat up feeling her heart beating fast in her chest. “Who could that be?” she said to herself, as she looked at the time on her clock. It was past midnight. Nothing good ever happened after midnight. She moved silently to the door, checking through the peephole. She froze for a second, her heart raced faster than before. Standing outside the door was a man in a black suit, followed by two hefty guys. “Mia Anderson?” the man called out with a calm but authoritative voice. Mia fumbled nervously with the key as she tried opening the door, and when it opened, it was just enough to see his face. “Who are you?” The man gave a fake smile. “Mr. Blackwood wishes to have a word with you and your brother.” Mia’s heart stopped. This was not happening. “And if we’re not interested?" The man smiled even more, and Mia could swear the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t a request.” Tommy came behind her looking pale as if he'd seen a ghost. “Mia, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” “It’s okay,” she said softly, squeezing his hand. “We’ll get through this.” She closed the door behind her as she stepped outside, “Why does Mr. Blackwood want to see us?” “Be careful he’s going to make you an offer you can’t refuse” the man said with a straight face. Mia laughed out loud. “Sounds like something out of a bad mob movie.” The man wasn't moved a bit. “Ms Anderson, Mr Blackwood doesn’t make bad offers, he’s waiting for you.” Mia looked at Tommy, who was staring back at her with fearful eyes. She turned back to the man, more determined than ever. “Fine, we’ll meet him.” As they moved towards a sleek black car waiting at the entrance of their apartment, Mia could feel that she was about to go into a world way darker and more dangerous than she’d ever pictured. For the first time in a long while, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to protect Tommy or herself from what was coming their way. One thing was certain, life was about to get a lot more interesting.