The Setup

Chuck Rossi
He paced back and forth in the corner of his bedroom, away from the window. It had rained earlier in the night, so he opted not to go out. Staying in however was suffocating. The room still smelt of her reminding him she was no longer there. Fuck it, he thought, grabbing the pair of jeans he stepped out of hours earlier and pulling on his jacket. The early morning air was cool, but a welcomed relief as he walked the dimly lit street of his new castle neighborhood. Most of the residents were old money or upper middle-class new money. Not so rich to live in the more exclusive Valor heights, but rich enough to afford modest luxuries. He had moved there out of guilt, or maybe it was that he could never see himself stooping any lower than this even out of defiance. He had wanted to branch off on his own to punish his father, though if you asked him, he would say he didn’t give a fuck what the out fart thought of him or what he does with his life. He had tried to slum it on his own but after 3 days it was self-evident. He would never survive without his father’s money. So, he was in what he considered a slum of a neighborhood living the right kind of life, an honest life. After thirty minutes of walking up the block and turning back, his phone rang and there was a jolt of excitement from his heart as he knew what it was the distraction he had waited for all night.
“Chuck Rossi” he answered as he sprung into a jog back to his apartment.

Guinevere Gigi Estrada
Some say the world will end in fire, some say ice. Gigi contemplated frost as she sat on the cold metal chair that was clearly meant to intentionally make her feel uncomfortable. Frost was such a morbid prick, Gigi thought likening the end of time to such extremes. What if it never ends or what if it does, but it just fizzles like a dying community? She thought with all the technology and humankind’s need for control; it was unlikely the world would never be caught completely off gourd in that regard. We would see it coming like an inevitable collision on an icy road.

A loud bang of the heavy door pulled her from her thoughts, and she looked up to see a tall man with a scruffy beard and short dark curly hair. He apologized for the long wait and insisted that it was because of a particularly busy night. It sounded like complete bullshit, but she let it pass with an equally empty response that seemed to get the conversation started. He made a continued effort to look her dead in the eyes each time he asked a question, but every now and then when he looked down to take notes in his small leather notepad, he would steal a glance at her chest. Eventually Gigi pulled at her black mini leather jacket. A year ago, she wouldn’t have been caught dead in the skin-tight, low-cut yellow dress she was wearing now. There were a lot of things she had done in the past year that she would have never done, and she had come to accept that there would be a great deal more that she would do in the future.

For the time being she was sitting in the Everton police department answering questions about her engagements earlier that night. He had introduced himself as detective Chuck Rossi, a name which had pulled Gigi up from her slouched position when he said it. She answered his pointed questions the best she could but as she did not know the answer to most of his questions, there was a natural prediction as to the destination of the line of questioning. Gigi knew nothing and would be of no assistance at all. With every question she had expected the detective to grow agitated, but he did not. He kept the same expression for the entire conversation. He was satisfied that she knew little to nothing of the drug overdose that had occurred that night, and she had responded in adequate horror, as he had explained what happened. He returned her clutch and encouraged her to give him a call if she remembered anything. On her way out of the room she inquired where she could go to find her friend who had also been taken in to be questioned. But as soon as the question was asked, it was answered. Gigi spotted Sophie across the room of the near empty police station. Sophie had looked like she had just survived a crucible. She had always been prone to anxiety and often required a voice in her ear to assure her of her security.

“Are we ok” Sophie asked, looking over Gigi's shoulder

“Are you ok” Gigi asked in response locking her arms between Sophie’s.

“If my parents find out about this, they are going to kill me,” Sophie responded as they stepped outside into the cool summer morning air.
“What are they going to find out, we didn’t do anything wrong, just relax” Gigi encouraged her as they walked towards the exit of the police station.

As soon as they reached the curb, a dark blue Nissan Altima pulled up next to them and the front window rolled down. Stef stuck his head out and told them to get in before rolling his windows back up again. Stef was Sophies’s on again, off again bae. He was the rough, ambitious kind that never had any original ideas of his own, but none the less wanted the glam and fruitfulness of a good one. He was the same height as Sophie, which meant when she was in her signature pumps, she towered over him. He was the kind of man who took that kind of thing to heart. So whenever they were on again, she would wear fewer heels and more flats. Stef was from a less endowed part of town, but he had a handsome face which made him an interesting thing to look at in the more affluent part of town. He made every effort to look like he came from money, but in a way that made it obvious that he was not. His dark blonde hair was always done just right and his clothes were the most expensive he could find, tough they often looked hideous.

They drove in relative silence to Gigi’s dormitory on the main campus of Keller Bregman University. Gigi suspected that as soon as she had left a fight would erupt between to two wayward lovers and before her final goodbye, she gave Sophie a sorrowful look.

“Call me later ok” Sophie said giving Gigi’s neck a squeeze.

“Alright alright, let’s go” Stef said impatiently, and Gigi slide out of the car. Before She could turn to wave goodbye to Sophie, the car sped off into the morning.

Gigi was glad to be back in her room, it was a haven she had long been indifferent of but in that moment appreciated. She fell into her routine of showering and then to sleep. As She welcomed the warmth of the water on her skin and thought back to the police station about the man who had interviewed her.. Her thoughts swayed in and out as she curled into the covers beckoning sleep and it came.

David Knox

“What the fuck happened, I thought you said you had the formula down this time, “David shouted in the phone. anxious and impatient for the response on the other end of the line.

“I dunno what to tell you man I did it exactly like you told us to” a voice shot back.

Ax was the cook he had found through a Russian connection a month ago. He was assured that Ax was a genius In the business his was the best shit money could buy, with the consent of the mafia of course. Ax was a smug prick, but he was all David had on such short notice. He was running low on supply and he had already stepped on the product twice. David needed Ax, but if Ax couldn’t figure out the formula, then the whole operation would be screwed. David hung up the phone abruptly and sent a quick text.

. -Where u at?

Then there was that idiot Stef, always trying to overreach, always adding more gasoline to the fire. His side piece got dragged in for questioning last night and who knows what that train wreck might have said. The cops are probably getting ready to kick my door in now. David thought as he threw back a glass of vodka and checked his phone again. Then he poured another glass, and as he brought it to his lips, the phone rang.

“what the hell is taking so long” David asked trying not to let his anger get the best of him.

“on the way, she said they don’t know nothing” Stef responded in an attempt to defuse the situation.

“Why don’t you let me decide if they know something or not, hurry the hell up” David snapped back before he slammed the phone down on the counter. David downed the glass of vodka and anxiously tapped anxiously on the counter of the small unassuming two-bedroom house in the sleepy Armville neighborhood. David had chosen this house as their headquarters because it met the specifications that Mac had established, and he had seemed to know what he was doing, so David went along with his plan. The house was cozy and would have made a pleasant home for a small family, but for them, it was simply a means to an end. In place of beds there were storage bins and fold up tables in the bedrooms, and in the living room there was a facade of a real home. A leather sofa set and a glass center table. There was a television that had never been used and a kitchen with no food or utensils. All the bills were paid on time, the lawn was always neatly cut and they always made some attempt to make it seem as though someone actually lived there. Every few days they would even bring garbage around and put it out. David had settled into a routine here. He tried not to make waves, never invited conflict, he was good, until now.
Stef is a bragger he can’t help himself he even brought that Sophie to the house a few times. All it would take for the whole thing to go up in smoke was for the little brat to say something she shouldn’t. After what felt like the longest 10 minutes, David heard a car pull up in the driveway and sprung to his feet to see who it was. He recognized the dark blue Nissan and rushed to the door to meet an agitated Sophie, who pushed past him into the house. Stef trailed close behind and David shut the door behind them. Before David could start with his questions, Sophie started like a cornered puppy.

“What more do you want me to say, they didn’t know anything about anything Dave, if they did, they would already be here” she said thrusting her arms out in a pleading gesture.

“she’s right D if they had something, they wouldn’t let her go” Stef interjected

“si down, both a ya, come on let’s all just take a breath” David said after a deafening moment of silence

They both look at each other and then back at David who motioned to the couch and Sophie slowly backed into it and sat, never taking her eyes off David. Once she was seated Stef sat next to her perched on the edge of the couch as she did. David could tell she was scared, and he wanted to take advantage of that. He lunged at her and grabbed hold of her hand. He could read the shock and apprehension on both of their faces.

“let me get you a drink huh, relax, what do you want, we got vodka, Gin, whisky?” He asked, holding on to her hand and looking her in the eyes. Her pupils were dilated. She must have taken something before she got there.

“Gin” Sophie responded, trying not to pull away her shaking hand.

“Gin” David shouted to which they both jumped. David let go of her hands and moved to the counter in the kitchen. He grabbed the glass he was using before and opened the brand-new bottle of gin he had brought with him two days earlier. He handed her the glass and sat back in the chair next to her.

“Let’s start from the beginning, How did you end up at the police station” David asked in the most calm voice he could muster.

Sophie fingered the glass as though uncertain if it was safe.

“We were at the party and I just….” She began

“We? Whose we?” David interrupted and brought his face closer to hers.

She looked down to avoid his now fierce gaze, but then as if in defiance looked up again and pulling herself back in her seat.

“Me and my friend Gigi, she’s not in it though she was just there for a good time. She saw nothing. Everything was fine until someone called the police,” she spoke more quickly now, as if in haste to be finished with the conversation. “We didn’t even know what happened until the cops started picking people up. I had nothing on me I made the hand off earlier. Then we got to the station and the cops start asking about some dead girl from the party. The cop said it looked like she ODed.” Sophie continued

“And she called me as soon as shit started to go down” Stef added inching even further onto the edge of his seat. David shot him a disapproving look, and he fell back to his original position.

“And what did you tell them?” David asked, looking back at her.

“Nothing” she sighed in what seemed like relief.

“I told the guy I didn’t know the dead girl, he asked how I got there I told him some guy invited us to the party, that was it they let me go I swear” she continued.

“I believe you “David said after a long pause steering into her eyes, then he fell back into his chair.

“what about your friend, what did she say to the cops?” he asked, rubbing his chin.

“I don’t know what she said, but she didn’t know anything, I’m telling you. She got released too, ” Sophie insisted.

“Well, just to be sure, I want you to find out” David replied with a nod.

Sophie put the glass to her mouth and took a sip, then looked over to Stef as though she had just dodged a bullet. David turned his attention to Stef, whose hands were clenched so tightly together it looked like he was having trouble taking a dump. David looked him in the eyes and allowed for a very uncomfortable few seconds. Then David slowly stud up and grabbed his backpack from the floor beside him. Both Sophie and Stef rose with him.

“We are shutting things down for a minute” David said throwing it over my shoulders

“what are you kidding” Stef shouted almost reflexively.

David looked back at him, and he immediately backed down.

“I’m sorry, ok man. All I am saying is we are on a high right now if we drop out then somebody else could step in and take over our shit.” He explained in a lower pleading voice.

“and all I’m saying is that bodies are dropping all over the place, so until we know what the cops know we are shutting this shit down” David responded in a commanding tone.

“For how long?” Stef asked following David to the door.

“until I say” he responded walking out the door and slamming it behind him.