Enigma Black (8 page)

“
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you, please don’t take my sunshine away
.” Chase kissed my cheek. “Good morning, beautiful,” he cheerfully greeted me.

“So, it’s all right for you to rip off songs but not me? That’s really unfair.”

“Hey, when you’re as suave as I am, you can make anything sound good.”

“What time is it?”

“It’s about time for the both of us to get up and get ready for work.” I groaned. “My sentiment exactly.”

“Well, it was good while it lasted,” I mused.

“Yes. Yes, it was.” At that moment, the alarm on my nightstand went off. Chase leaned over me to turn it off.

“What? No snooze button?” I teased.

“I have to pull a double shift and will be on-call after my shift for the rest of the week, so I’ll pretty much be M.I.A. for the next few days.”I gave him the best pathetic looking face I could. “Don’t look at me like that,” he smiled, turning his gaze to the ceiling, staring seemingly off into space.

“What is it?”

His gaze remained fixated on the ceiling as though he were in some sort of intense concentration. After a moment, he spoke. “How about you and I have dinner at Angelo’s on Saturday?”

“Angelo’s? What’s the occasion?”

“No occasion. I just figured we could use a change of pace from our normal routine.”

“It’s a nice thought, Chase. It really is. Isn’t it pretty expensive there? After two years, I think we’re well beyond having to impress each other. I don’t want you to spend that kind of money on…”

He put his index finger to my lips. “Don’t worry about the money. I have some extra funds lying around just itching to take my beautiful girlfriend out.”

“Well, when you put it that way.”

“Angelo’s on Saturday, then?”

“Consider my arm thoroughly twisted.”

Chapter Eight

The Proposition

It was pouring outside as I unfolded my umbrella, venturing out from the sanctity of the awning in front of my apartment building. Rain ranked right up there next to Christmas in my book of dislikes. Water splashed up from the sidewalk, saturating the inside of my heels while I trudged down the street, cursing myself for not having invested in a pair of galoshes. There was nothing like having cold, wet feet to start your day out right.

Shortly into my walk, I began experiencing the same sensation I felt the night before. There were eyes on me. I knew it. Although it seemed like a weird thing to think as there were several other people walking along the same drenched pavement. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling. It was more overpowering than it had been the night before. Unable to take the persistent paranoia, I spun around in an attempt to catch the culprit, nearly knocking over a clearly annoyed brunette in the process. She flashed me a dirty look and only scowled at my feeble apology.

Show yourself, you bastard
, I thought to myself. Of course, there was no one there to reveal themselves. Everyone on the street seemed focused on reaching his or her own destination; they were concerned with their own lives, not mine. There was no one who seemed suspicious; no one who stood out. Beginning to feel as though I was becoming certifiable, I turned back around and walked down the sidewalk a little faster. The foreboding feeling continued to surround me.

As soon as I was safe inside my office, I unfolded my sopping wet umbrella hanging it on the hook behind my door. Either I was partially wet or the air was cranked unusually high today as my body shivered from the cold.
No
, I thought,
it’s not the temperature, it’s that icy stare you felt following you in here
. I shuddered at the thought.

I took out the black cardigan I kept in my desk drawer, slipping it on to warm up. Chase loved the fact that I chilled so easily as it made me cling to him like a human heating pad. He always got this cheesy grin on his face whenever I would wrap my arms around him trembling because the temperature had dropped a degree or two. Thinking of Chase and the night we’d spent together just a few short hours ago managed to pacify my uneasiness, making me feel slightly flushed in the process.

“Someone had a good night last night,” Veronica stood in my doorway, looking every bit the supermodel she always did, impeccably dressed with her dark hair framing her porcelain face. If it wasn’t for the fact that she swore like a sailor a person may actually believe that they were in the presence of an angel. “So, tell me about it. I want all the dirty details.”

“There’s not much to tell,” I said. “We went to the pub, then back to my apartment, and… we had a great night.”

“Wow. That’s…boring,” she said, arching her eyebrow. “I’m astoundingly disappointed in you, Celaine. The look you had pasted on your face when I walked through the door screamed pure, blissful ecstasy. I could have sworn you’d just gotten in after a passionate night of hot, steamy….” An elderly man walked into the bank, instantly whirling around to face us upon overhearing Veronica’s candor. He stared at her in disbelief, his jaw hanging slightly ajar. “Welcome, Sir.” Veronica didn’t miss a beat. “Is there anything I can do to assist you with your banking needs today?”

“No, Ma’am. Just going up there to the tellers.” The elderly gentlemen gestured to the teller booths at the far end of the bank. A red tint spread quickly across his face as he hurried toward the back of the building. Vulgar or not, she drove men of all ages absolutely insane.

“Veronica, you do realize that you’re a teller, right?” I asked.

“Details, details. Anyway, you’re banned from speaking to me until you come up with something good,” she said as she turned to leave my office.

“Wait, Veronica,” I called.

“Banned, I say.”

“No. Seriously.”

Feigning frustration at my request, she turned back around. “You do realize that
I’m
a teller, right?” she stated, pointing to herself.

“No fair using my lines against me. Seriously, have you ever felt like someone was watching you?” I was desperate to extinguish my paranoia.

“All the time. I just wheel around and kick them where the sun doesn’t shine. That usually solves the problem.”

“What if you wheeled around and no one was there?”

“You mean, like a ghost or something? Celaine, didn’t I tell you not to take those pills with alcohol… geez… kids these days.”

“Damn… that would explain the slurred speech and the soiling of myself. Really… Veronica.”

“Seriously? Well, if you want my opinion, I would say you’re probably being a little over imaginative as logic should tell you that, if there is no one there, there can’t possibly be anyone watching you.”

“That’s kind of what I thought.”

“Quit sweating it. If it happens again, call me up and I’ll take you to the place with the lovely padded rooms and the stylish white jackets.” She winked at me.

“Thanks, Veronica… I think.”

“Anytime.” Veronica walked back to the front of the bank, launching her daily assault at Travis on her way.

Ding. Ding. Ding.
The tone sounded, startling me, causing the file I’d picked up from the corner of my desk to fall out my hands. In the middle of the lobby, a monitor methodically lowered down from the ceiling, turning on in its descent. Around the same time as the institution of the curfew it’d become mandatory for all public facilities to install these monitors. They were to be used, presumably, in the event of an attack or for evacuation notifications. In my opinion, President Brooks just wanted to have the undivided attention of his flock hanging on his every word. Simultaneously, everyone stood up to leave their respected posts in order to gather around the monitor. Seconds later, President Brooks came into view.

“My fellow Americans,” he began.

“How original,” I muttered. Veronica shot me an amused look.

“A horrible tragedy has befallen our country with the sudden death of one member of a rogue vigilante duo. For the past few years, this duo has heroically charged themselves with the task of seeking and destroying what has become a very real threat to our country: The Man in Black. Unfortunately, it was during one such encounter recently that one of our country’s own superheroes met their fate…”

I rolled my eyes and headed back to my office.

“Celaine, aren’t you going to watch this?” Travis asked, shocked with my insubordination.

“Nope, I’ve had enough hot air for one day. I‘m beginning to break a sweat.”

Veronica giggled. President Brooks continued, “Our resolve remains strong, and our fight to make our country safe again will continue. We as The People will take down The Man in Black and right the injustice that has been brought upon us…”

I closed my office door.

The rain let up during the lunch hour, allowing the sun to peek out from behind the clouds. I decided to go out for lunch to take in the fresh, moist air—the one good thing about the rain. Taking my cardigan off, I headed out the door and walked down the street. My morning talk with Veronica had helped to set my mind at ease, for now. Everything she’d said made perfect sense. It’s funny how logic could bring you down to earth when your head was in the clouds.

There was a small diner adjacent to the bank. The atmosphere wasn’t great, but the food more than made up for that. It was a grease lover’s haven of saturated fat, and I both loved and loathed its proximity to me. Thankfully, the line wasn’t very long today, allowing me to walk directly up to the counter to order my usual turkey sandwich with soggy french fries. Taking my tray, I sat down in a booth in one corner of the diner.

As I sat down to eat, I took my phone out of my purse, revealing a missed call from Carrie, Chase’s mother. Shortly after we’d begun dating, I adopted Chase’s family as my own. They’d reminded me so much of what I‘d lost. Through them, I almost felt as though I’d reclaimed a part of what I’d lost at The Lakes. Chase’s sister, MaKayla, had the same mischievous nature about her as I remembered Jake having. She and I had hit it off right away. Like Chase, I couldn’t picture my life without any of them.

After only a couple of bites of my sandwich, my comfort level was beginning to dissipate again, giving way to an eerily familiar feeling. It was stronger than ever now. Taking Veronica’s advice, I tried ignoring it, but it was just too strong for me to ignore this time. Without lifting my head, I slowly looked up from my table to scan the diner for its source. There were people all over as the place was starting to fill to almost near capacity now that the rest of the lunch crowd was filtering in. Across tables filled with business men in suits, my eyes searched. Like me, most of them were on their lunch hours and probably didn’t have the time to put into stalking at the moment.

Intermingled with the business-types were a couple of lone families who’d bravely ventured out of their homes, testing their fates for a slice of one of the diner’s famed pizzas. I scanned around some more… nothing… nothing… then… bingo. He was sitting alone in a booth on the other side of the diner. His very stare pierced my face like a blade. I could feel my skin getting hot as though his eyes were emitting heat. The man wore black. Black slacks and a black button down shirt. His hair, slicked back, was also dark in color; his eyes were a deep chocolate, even deeper than my own. I guesstimated his age to be somewhere around thirty, perhaps thirty-five. As creepy as his staring was to me, I had to admit that he was ruggedly handsome. Yet his look reflected one who was extremely troubled, too. The staring was blatantly obvious. He didn’t try to hide it and, even though I wasn’t looking directly at him, I could tell he knew that I was on to him. Should I look up and acknowledge him? Should I just leave? I wouldn’t get the chance to explore the answers to these questions as, at that moment, he was walking to my booth.

“May I have a seat?” he asked more politely than I would have expected.

“Actually, I was just leaving,” I replied, standing up. “It’s all yours.” The look on his face turned to one of shock. Obviously, he’d never had a woman be anything but complicit to his requests before.

“Wait, I’d like to speak with you.”

“I’m sorry. I’m in a relationship.” I grabbed my tray from the table.

“I didn’t come over to ask you out on a date. Actually, I wanted to speak with you about a business proposition.”

“I’m sorry. I’m not for sale, either.” I was beginning to get annoyed and was close to breaking out the mace that was tucked away in my purse for just such encounters as this. He laughed. I’d apparently made his day.

“No, not
that
kind of business proposition,” he chuckled.

“Fine, I’ll humor you if you answer one simple question for me.” I set my tray back down on the table, trying to sound threatening but, from the looks of this guy, he didn’t threaten easily.

“My name is Blake Cohen.”

“That’s not what my question was going to be.” We were both sitting down, staring at each other from across the table.

“All right then, what is this mysterious question?” His smugness was quite upsetting.

“Why have you been following me?” The smile completely vanished from his face, revealing that I’d taken him completely off guard. I clutched my purse tighter, prepared to use it as a blunt object if necessary.

“So, you knew that I was following you?” he asked. “Maybe they haven’t made a mistake after all. Your instincts are quite impressive.” He paused for a moment before speaking again. “The answer to your question is contained within my purpose for being here with you right now.”

“I’m listening.”

“Have you ever had a feeling of utter helplessness? A feeling like you should be able to do something, but you know that you aren’t physically able to do it, nor do you have the means with which to carry it out?” My thoughts returned to the day of the explosion, to my family and to the knowledge that I could do nothing to save them. He studied my expression thoughtfully and continued. “What if there was something you could do? What if you could be given the tools to defeat The Man in Black? What if you had the power to ensure that no one else suffered the same loss as you have?”