The Second || 𝘩.𝘴.

『12』| 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙸-𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙾

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THE
SECOND
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CHAPTER
TWELVE
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THE
ANTI-
HERO
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[[ IVY. ]]

It's been twenty minutes. An unbearable twenty minutes of sitting here inside this coat closet since all I heard was shouting and crying from the room next door. The walls felt paper thin, so I made out some of what Dixie and the leader, Harry were telling each other, though the claustrophobia was slowly kicking in and the walls felt like they were closing in on me. It's been over twelve hours of guilt, feeling like I could not sit still in this tiny apartment, and pleading with Clementine for a quick trip to the smoothie shack Harlow's a few blocks down. I only got my hopes crushed when she got utterly impatient with me and told me to wait inside the coat closet until someone who could take me was there. I couldn't blame her. Being forced to stay here and comply with these absurd and burdened people dwindled my patience to its core, and I was merely hanging on by a thread. Though a part of me resonated with them, not being able to feel the cool post-fall breeze outside for quite some time now had me wrapped in what felt like a case of cabin fever.

I gasped when Clementine pounded on the closet door. "Hey, the prepubescent lady inside my coat closet. Your dad has texted you about twenty times now, and I will need a passcode to your phone."

"Zero," I said, feeling an existential crisis whelm me at the sound of nonchalance in my tone of speech.

"You're telling me you're one of the head CEOs for a security company and your passcode is straight zeroes?"

"I'm telling you just that." I chuckled, shrugging.

"Outrageous. Alright, well I'm telling him you're all booked for another night, mimosas and all, whatever you seventeen-year-olds like to do by your leisure."

I was sitting inside a coat closet. That's what my life came down to, now whatever coming-of-age rendition of 'Carrie' I've got going for me here, I was practically forced to sit here and lament my life's biggest decisions. Come to think of it, the CEO was quite the label Starlight Security's got going for me, though behind the scenes it was far from it. I had less of an expressive say in the company's sole idea and trademark of systemic justice, even the architecture branch of the building had been off limits. Because of that a part of me always wondered if Starlight Security was the right fit for me, but they had a sick snack table at the commercial shoot and all my favorite indulgent goodies were on a fold-up prepped just for me. What I couldn't have a say in, was that I probably prioritized my perks to this position, and fuck, it was snacks.

Meanwhile, as I held my head in my hands in silent thought, I'm shocked when I hear the hinges of a door burst open and Clementine whaling and cursing at whoever had been at the door.

"Knocking. Knocking would've been a terrific idea, don't you think? What the fuck was that!" She shouted. "No. No, you guys can't just walk in here like the door didn't fucking blast the fuck off. What is going on?! Someone better start fucking talking!"

"Doorbell's busted." It sounded like Ace in response.

"Fuck this shit, I'm out of bullets." Vera cursed. "Harry? Any brilliant ideas?"

"The girl. Where is the girl." Harry grumbled in frustration.

"We're being tracked, that doesn't make any fucking sense. How are we still being traced?"

"The reporters, the fucking reporters. There had to have been someone on the inside of the underground joint. I... Harry. What the fuck are we going to do?"

"The girl. Where is Ivy? We're going to get the fuck out of here, and we're going to keep moving. That's all we can do. Max, can take care of it. Shut it all down. Just shut it all fucking down."

"I'm going to need time. A generous amount of it. And I'm going to need my shit. All of it. What the fuck, someone just... Just name a place we can blend in, lots of people, lots of distractions, a den, anywhere. Where?"

"Come on. Kid. They're summoning you, or some shit. I don't know what the fuck is going on."

"Cops. W-we shot at so many of them, but too many people were in that club. It was too risky, even for the cops that were a new low, to involve civilians."

"Breaking the internet, cracking into the people; accounts that practically track us for those fucks. It's practically a free pass."

"Dammit." I cursed as Clementine swung the door of the coat closet open, grasping me by the arm as she dragged me out.

"All I know, is I'm not fucking around. The cops get involved, any single one of you bite the bullet, get caught in the crossfire, I'm done. All of you are done. This is a mess. I want every single one of you out. I'm fucking sorry Harry, but you guys have to go. Now. I don't give a fuck if I sound selfish, I am not letting any single one of those hell-driven fuckers inside this apartment."

"Look, nobody has to leave. We can figure this out, alright?" Ace tried to reason in grave distress.

"Is it just me, or is everyone being fucking irrational? What has gotten into you guys? You know what, on second thought I don't wanna know. I understand we're all desperate to see an end to this fucking chase but think about it. Just as long as the police piggyback the bill of rights, they can entertain the intimidation phase for as long as they'd please. Because believe it or not, just as long as we're out in the open, that's the fate we're dealt with. We ride, we die. In between, we've surely got a lot of fucking ground to stomp. Following?" Vera snapped, puffing on a cigarette as she had snagged bullets from Carmen, reloading the gun. She tucked the weapon into her back pocket, puffing on a cigarette as she quickly glided into the bedroom where she had hurriedly grabbed all of her things and hauled her suitcase into the hallway.

"Wherever I go, you know you're all asking for my father to be just as much on your ass as the cops, correct? Just-just clarifying." I sassily remarked, scrunching my nose with a sarcastic motion to my hand.

"So you agree. You're an abomination." Carmen retaliated, rolling her eyes as she groaned, trudging off into the bedroom next to Vera's where she had begun gathering her things in a disorderly frenzy.

"I'm not going anywhere without my things. That's that." I glared at Harry who ran his fingers through his hair.

"We'll take you on a full-blown shopping spree for everything your heart may desire."

"Deal." I shrugged, caving into his words. "Harry?"

"Yes, Ivy." He exhaled, tucking his gun into his leather suitcase, eyes meeting mine.

"There is something about Starlight Security. But... My dad. My family. Everything that would come from it. I don't know if it's worth the splurge of words."

"Oh, you'll know. And the point of keeping you here is solely so you have all the time you'll need to decide."

"I don't know what it is I'm deciding here." I felt my inhibition solely at the moment. "And to tell you the truth, I'm... I'm just scared."

"We all are." Harry chuckled. "In this team's defense, we were all uncertain of you being an asset, more so just as villainous as the Starlightees."

"I'm not a murderer. I'm not."

"I'm sorry." He empathized after a lingering silence. "Nothing is ever as it seems in this city. The people you trust have blood on their hands, nobody is safe, and the weight is on the shoulders of millions. It's Blue Velvetina, after all."

In the depths of contemplation, after the chilling words that Harry spoke into the atmosphere, my mind was conclusively made up. I'd leave. I'd leave everything behind too, and I'd find redemption somehow. As unlikely as it seemed, the mafia was on my side, and that had to be worth something. I intended on finding out why.

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