Chapter 1
Faker
Faker
Fog swirled around us as we stood in one of the abandoned New Lock alleyways waiting for my fake IDs. I watched the obscured distance of the narrow alleyway covered with graffiti announcing end of the worlds and that “shit happens” and that the “aliens are coming” feeling a small chill crawl up my back. It wasn’t an “oh my God, we’re going to die” kind of chill it was a “fuck yeah! Creeper come out of the shadows I’m ready to chase you” kind of chill.
I always blamed weather patterns on something paranormal. It was March in New Lock, it had been roasting during the daytime and tonight it resembled a scene from a horror film.
I pulled out a nail file from the pocket of my shorts and resumed to work on my nails while my two companions- Shane and Kurt leaned on either side of the wall glaring at each other.
My friend Quinn was planning a weekend club getaway for our group and for that we needed fake ID’s. It was an over eighteen’s gig and we were all seventeen- except for Shane and Quinn. I was planning to steal my brother’s driver’s license, get my cousin’s IDs’ like a normal teenager but Kurt had a better idea. His ‘trustworthy’ contact from his criminal world was a brilliant forger and it was the ‘brilliant trustworthy forger’ who insisted that we meet up with him at midnight with an envelope of money and no police. I didn’t trust him. Shane didn’t trust him and insisted to come along so he could protect me. Kurt was only looking forward to the thrill of doing something illegal.
Shane coughed again and glanced at his watch, “Well. Where is this “brilliant trustworthy” forger?” he asked suspiciously, “It’s past twelve already.”
“What’s wrong Shaney boy?” asked Kurt mockingly, “Is it way past your bedtime?”
It was past my bedtime anyway.
“You’re a prick,” snapped Shane, pushing away from the wall and standing up to face Kurt, “If it wasn’t for your stupid habit of getting people into shit we’d be at home right now.”
“Nobody asked you to bring your wimpy ass here,” snapped back Kurt, his dark eyes narrowing with rage. He was shorter then Shane but his fiery personality and muscular body made up for it. He looked dark and dangerous with his black hoody and tracksuit bottoms. His dark hair poked out from under his hood. He was pale and scarred. He was my ex and my best friend. He knew how to handle himself and spent half his life getting into fights in the street over something as minor as someone staring at him. I didn’t think that was a good thing but it was adorable. I didn’t know why but everything about Kurt drew me in towards him.
Shane was the opposite of Kurt. He was tall and always wore jeans. He was older then all of us but could’ve been younger with his mop of blond hair framing his tanned long face. He had the look of someone that was pampered by his mother his whole life. He never wore the same thing twice and always smelt of washing detergent. I loved him for his sense of humor and his knack of being on time. Whenever I was with Shane I never came in late. He adored his watch just like he adored me and my friends.
“You want to see…”
“Guys, shut the hell up,” I snapped not bothering to look at either of them, “We’re meant to be hiding here. Remember? Or have you two forgotten with your stupid urge to touch each other again.”
Kurt snarled something that I couldn’t make out and I heard the loud sound of a can being kicked out of the way. I sighed, looked up at Shane, grabbed his arm and pulled him over so he’ll stand beside me. “Quit acting like little kids.”
A small grin made its way across Shane’s lips and he gave me a sidelong flirty look, “You look good in black Alice.”
“One more word out of you and I’ll…” snarled Kurt whipping around to glare at Shane.
Shane laughed and crossed his arms. Both Shane and Kurt had a long history of hatred. Their families- the Crawford’s and the O’Conner’s used to be best friends until their dad’s decided to open up a business. After the shop got successful Shane’s dad was fired and the Crawford’s took full ownership of the business. Since then Shane’s family hated the Crawford’s and the Crawford’s hated the O’Conner’s. Of course Shane and Kurt being the eldest sons of the family were too faithful to their family names to be friends. To me it was like an episode of Romeo and Juliet. I was sorely entertained by their hatred of each other and didn’t hesitate to bring them out with me wherever I went.
“Shh...” I told Shane with a giggle and trembled as his hand came to rest momentarily on my back and then tightened protectively.
Kurt froze as well and the two boys stopped in front of me, shielding me from view. I squinted and made out a dark shape making its way from the depths of the fog. It was wearing black clothes and was obviously a man, carrying a bag in his hand.
“That’s him,” I whispered resting a hand on Shane’s arm.
“You’re late,” called out Kurt, his voice sounded amused and annoyed at the same time.
“Or maybe you’re too early,” called out the stranger in a raspy voice.
I gasped as he stepped into view; life in crime had taken a toll on him. He was skinny with a mop of twig-like brown hair and a pale tattooed face. A dark tattoo of a snake’s open mouth showing off its sharp fangs spread from his neck and up the right side of his cheek. He was wearing a long trench coat and black combat boots. Stubble dotted his face and his pale blue eyes watched us warily.
I shivered at the sight of him, my hand tightening around Shane’s arm. Shane stiffened. I knew exactly what he was thinking- who the fuck was Kurt dealing with? He looked nothing like a forger and more like a hired killer or something scary like that. I’ve seen enough crime movies to know who to fear and to question my sanity at actually coming here.
“So where’s the little lady that wanted those?” asked the man holding up the bag of ID’s he rattled the bag and smirked. His eyes tried to find me behind Shane and Kurt.
“We have your money, no need for these little games,” said Kurt warningly; his voice had taken on a dark threatening tone that made me shiver again.
“Well I don’t trust giving them to you,” said the man and laughed, “Who knows what you’ll use them for. But as for the young lady- she was the one that requested them and it’s my duty to give them to her directly.”
“What do you know about duty?” asked Shane earning a dig in the side from Kurt.
“I’ll take them myself then,” I said firmly pushing Shane and Kurt aside.
The man suddenly smiled and his eyes raked over my shorts and black tank top outfit. I suddenly felt exposed and disgusted. He held out the bag and I moved forward to take them, he skipped back. I took another step forward with my hand still extended.
Kurt snarled something under his breath again and I felt them both move to shield me. I held my other hand out to stop them and grabbed the bag.
The man’s hand clamped around my arm and I cried out in surprise. He pulled me forward until I was pushed against his body, his eyes glared forcefully into mine.
“Your lack of clothes seem to be calling out to me,” he murmured, “I could give you them for free if you could give me something.”
I felt my heartbeat quickening at the situation I had put myself into. My skin was crawling with goose bumps, it felt like a huge group of ants was suddenly crawling all over me climbing up my legs, my arms and every bit of exposed skin I had. I tried to pull away from him and the feeling got stronger, insects…a loud buzzing filled my ears and I found myself screaming out in horror. I tried to pull my arm away from his grasp and my other hand scraped at my skin, trying to swat away at the invisible insects around me. I heard Shane and Kurt shout something but they didn’t come to my rescue. Adrenaline pumped through my veins and I kicked out, he let go of my arm and dropped the bag at my feet.
I whimpered at his feet, scratching at my skin. The feeling vanished. A red bruise-like mark appeared on my wrist.
“What did you do to her?” snarled Kurt lunging towards the man and grabbing him by the front of his jacket.
The man laughed and effortlessly stepped out of his grasp. His eyes sparkled with amusement and glee, “Good day gentleman.” He held out two wallets and disappeared into the fog.
Shane was suddenly checking his pocket and then cursing. Kurt was furious.
“You piece of shit!” he shouted and tore into the depths of the alley after him.
“Kurt!” I shouted after him, getting up on my feet and looking after him.
Shane grabbed my arm, “Are you ok Alice? Where does it hurt? What did he do to you?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I snapped pulling away from him, “Grab the ID’s.”
Shane nodded and grabbed the bag and stuffed it in his jacket. Tonight wasn’t even worth it but I found myself worrying over Kurt and what the man could do. This was Kurt’s usual emotional breakdown. I didn’t hesitate any longer; I took a deep breath and then tore after them. My feet echoed all around me. The alleyway was a narrow maze filled with black rubbish bags and graffiti. On either side of me were the sides of apartments, their occupants were asleep and unaware of the commotion going on below them. Fog covered the path in front of me making it impossible to know whether or not I was going the right way but I could hear the footsteps in front of me, I could hear the sound of Kurt’s voice as he cursed the man into oblivion.
The sound of traffic exploded around me and then the sound of police sirens filled the air. I heard Shane shouting out a warning about someone following us and then I found myself sprinting for dear life.
Shane caught up with me and grabbed my hand. “Where’s your car?” he shouted at me.
“I don’t know!” I wailed at him feeling panicked. My heart quickened its pace slamming painfully against my ribcage.
He said something else then pulled me in the other direction of the alleyway. We were running through another alleyway, this one was cleaner and led towards the city park. I recognized the signs in Latin and the windowless walls.
The huge park gates loomed over us, a sign told us that it was covered in paint. The fog obscured the large foliage of the forest in front of us. Everything looked forbidding and ominous that night. I hesitated at the gate but when Shane climbed over I had no choice but to follow him. My feet landed on the other side with a loud thump.
We sprinted on, feeling relieved, the forest extended in front of us, our feet tripping over the invisible undergrowth, our skins getting scratched by the thick branches of the trees that grew in our path. Just as we thought that we were safe I tripped over a bush and screamed as I rolled through the forest floor. Dirt and twigs tangled in my hair and filled my skin before I fell down on my back in a large clearing.
There were muffled cries and Kurt and Shane rolled on the ground beside me. Wincing in pain I sat up and then lay back down again with a sigh as three police officers stepped into the clearing.
“Twelve thirty-five- we found them trespassing New Lock park armed with a penknife and carrying an envelope with money. It contained one hundred fifty dollar notes,” said inspector Stevens throwing a brown file in front of my dad- Dermott- the mayor of New Lock.
I grimaced, crossing my fingers behind my back. I really hoped that we weren’t going to end up in jail. I wished that we won’t end up in jail. Kurt and Shane stood on either side of me, their hands pinned at their sides and their backs stiff with tension. Neither of them looked at me while we endured a painful twenty minutes in the police station and then were put in a squad car to visit my lovely dad. We were in shit and we knew that no amount of lying could get us anywhere. For once my sweet charms were no use and Kurt’s manipulative words would only put us in more trouble then we already were in.
Dermott looked at the file in front of him coolly, the bald patch on his head gleaming in the reddish glow of the lamps around him. His eyes were light and furious. His cool façade wasn’t fooling anyone; I knew that inside he was fuming, ready to explode as soon as the inspector was out of the room.
“And what are you trying to say?” he asked carefully.
“Your daughter and her friends are in trouble,” replied the inspector coldly, his voice held the firm message that nothing Dermott could say could get his precious daughter out of trouble.
“I assumed that much,” said Dermott coldly, “But what I mean to ask is what your theory is?’
“Drug dealing,” replied Inspector Stevens, he walked really straight, as if a poker was shoved up his ass. He looked like someone that still lived with his parents, dark hair and a clean-shaven pale face, I suspected he was in his early thirties and judging by his bare left hand he was unmarried and possibly had no kids.
“We weren’t dealing drugs,” butted in Kurt.
Dermott gave him a cool stare that dared him to continue and told him to shut the hell up before he got himself into more trouble. “Yes? Do you have anything to say Mr. Crawford?”
Kurt shook his head. I could tell that it took all his self control to stay quiet.
“We received a call at eleven o’clock tonight,” said inspector Stevens, “It was an anonymous tipoff that a dealer was in town. They gave us an address too, Green Lock avenue. The dealing was meant to be taking place at twelve.”
“And did you see the dealing taking place?”
“No. But when we arrived at the scene we saw them making a run for it.”
“We weren’t making a run for it,” said Kurt again, “They were chasing me.”
“Quiet.” Snapped Dermott and gave him a threatening look before turning back to inspector Stevens, “And did you talk to the children?”
I hated the way they referred to us as children.
“Yes.”
“And did they tell you what they were doing?”
“No. They told us they were just hanging out.”
“Did you search their bags?”
“Yes.”
“Did you find anything out of ordinary? Drugs? Or anything that suggests that they were committing a crime?”
“No. We only found the money and the penknife.”
“Did the penknife show any signs of use?”
“No.”
“Mr. Crawford what do you use this penknife for?”
Shane and I looked at Kurt. He shrugged, “To cut up food. What else is there to use it for? Stab-“
“What was the last thing you used it for?” interrupted Dermott.
“To cut off a price tag…”
“That is really well but what about the money?” insisted Inspector Stevens, he looked angry.
“What did you need the money for Mr. Crawford?”
“It’s mine,” I piped up.
Dermott’s nostrils flared as he glared at me, “And what did you do with the money?”
Shane and Kurt both stared at me, ready to agree with whatever I was planning to say.
“I gave it to Kurt for fixing my car.”
“That’s true,” said Kurt, “Someone had broken her windscreen. I replaced it for her.”
“As you can see Inspector, those children have done nothing wrong,” said Dermott glancing back at the inspector, he looked more relaxed now, “The evidence you suggested might’ve made them look guilty but you didn’t ask them the right questions…did you not?”
“We searched them. But we didn’t question them.”
“What I don’t understand is why you would order your team to chase a couple of teenagers when the real culprits have escaped. That really tells me a lot about the police force nowadays don’t you think?”
Inspector Stevens stiffened, “What are you trying to say?”
“I am in charge of the police force. Next time you receive a tipoff I’d like to be informed about it shortly. Next time I don’t want to be dealing with a group of teenagers that are apparently the ‘dealers’ next time I want to see results. I won’t ignore that those children have been trespassing the park at this time of the morning. I will contact their parents and make sure that they are punished for their actions. Keep the money. You may go.”
I could see the Inspector hesitating, broken up between the desire to question us further or to take the money and go before he’ll lose his job. My dad had a smooth way with the police. The Inspector muttered a bye and walked out of the room.
There was a moment of awkward silence as the three of us waited for my dad to blow a fuse but…there was nothing. I sighed with relief, “Well now that we’re done…”
“Ten years…” snapped Dermott angrily, “I was in this office for ten whole years! Do you have any idea what you’ve done? We have a reputation to uphold! I have an election to get prepare for! Do you have any idea what your little stunt has nearly cost us?”
I rolled my eyes; reputation meant everything to the Shield’s family. Dermott was lucky to be loved by the people and he was elected to be mayor twice in a row. He was obsessed with his job as a politician and gave out shit anytime my older Martin and I did anything to “mess up the Shield’s family name”.
“What image are you trying to give us Alice? First we have a homosexual in the family and now a criminal?” continued Dermott, his face reddening with his rage, both Shane and Kurt gave me knowing nods at the mention of a homosexual in the family- the whole town knew about Martin’s gay tendencies. “Do you have any idea what your little stunt nearly cost us? I might’ve been able to talk you out of trouble once but I won’t be able to do it again! And you two boys! What are you doing encouraging her to behave in such an unlawful disgusting manner…?”
“Calm down dad!” I said rolling my eyes, “We weren’t dealing drugs.”
“I don’t care if you were or weren’t. What annoys is what you were doing out of the house! Who here is responsible?”
I opened my mouth to reply but then Kurt stepped forward, “I was responsible.”
A vein pulsed in my dad’s neck and he glared at him, “Kurt Crawford. You have a criminal record don’t you?”
“I don’t think my criminal record has anything to do with what happened tonight,” said Kurt coldly.
“Are you out of school?”
“No,” Kurt raised his chin proudly and I knew what reaction my dad would make at the sound of the name, “I go to St. Brutus’.”
Dermott looked momentarily impressed then he shook his head and waved a hand out of the door, “Get out all of you…”
We exchanged gleeful looks and rushed towards the door but then, “Except for you Alice.”
I groaned and after receiving a sympathetic smile from the Shane and “I’ll wait for you” from Kurt I turned back to my dad. “What’s up?”
“You know I’m disappointed,” said Dermott.
I nodded and shrugged, “You’re always disappointed, it’s a matter of getting used to it.”
Dermott glared at me then his face softened, “This office is important to me Alice, you know that don’t you? I don’t want anything to ruin this…so could you please abstain from police chases and go back to shopping?”
I rolled my eyes, “Yeah whatever, shopping got that.”
I turned my back on him and walked out of the room slamming the door shut behind me. Kurt was waiting for me at the other side a smirk on his face. He held up the bag filled with fake ID’s. “At least you got this.”
I grinned, shopping would have to wait. Everyone knew that even a simple shopping trip with me ended in disaster.
