Mirror Majesty

17: The Man of S.O.C.S -- MARCUS

Marcus parked his car outside of City Greek Mall. He leaned his head over the steering wheel and looked at the grand structure. A rich entrepreneur eight years earlier built the mall as a homage to his love of Greek architecture. The entrance resembled that of the Parthenon with its many carved stone Doric columns and ornate friezes depicting stories from Greek mythology. Statues of the ancient gods filled the alcoves between the shops. Some even graced the food court around the custom made merry-go-round where young kids had the chance to ride the winged pegasuses. Nancy swatted at Marcus's head from the passenger seat.

"Hey, Earth to Marcus," she said with an impatient scowl. "We gonna go inside or what?"

"Yeah," said Marcus cutting off the car's engine. For some reason his mind seemed to be elsewhere. The thought of Hope filled him with an unshakeable feeling of danger. He prayed she was alright, wherever she happened to be.

The two exited the car and walked towards the entrance. A group of kids weaved between the columns against the humdrum of their angry mothers. The sliding doors opened and light from the curved glass ceiling fell on a massive market of shops and eateries. The center aisle was bursting with fountains of stone fish squirting water and potted trees and shrubs cut to look like mythical beasts. Where most retail shops suffered, the City Greek Mall was not one of them. Usually full of young people looking to hang out or bored parents looking for something cheap to entertain their kids, the mall was always bustling with people. A stampede of mall walkers strutted by with their leg weights and sweatbands, clearly taking advantage of the cool air conditioning to get an exercise in away from the warmth outside. This winter season was turning out to be a hot one for Texas. If the holidays weren't apparent yet, many shops already had their Christmas decorations up not to mention their Black Friday sales.

"Marcus," said Nancy stopping outside a shop window. "Oh my god!" She jumped with joy. "Dillards is having a shoe sale this Friday. I could totally use a new pair or two."

"Nancy, focus," said Marcus. "We didn't come here for you to window shop."

"Fine," pouted Nancy. "Where are we supposed to meet Laura and Jorge again?"

"I think they said at the Coffee Caravan."

"Where is that?"

Marcus checked the map.

"Looks like it's over by the Macy's."

The two hiked passed a video game store, a lovely smelling pretzel place, and a clothing shop blasting hit music until they came to a dimly lit rustic coffee shop in the style of an old western saloon. Jorge stood outside the door playing on his phone while Laura leaned over the metal grate to splash her fingers in the water.

"You made it!" shouted Laura jumping up to Marcus and Nancy. "Jorge, they are here!"

"At last," said Jorge placing his phone in his pocket. "Let's go inside."

They each pushed through the flapping saloon doors arriving in a huddle at the counter. An uninterested girl with long nails and a cowboy hat gave the group an apathetic look. She sighed and plainly spoke a series of rehearsed lines.

"Welcome to the Coffee Caravan. What grub can I wrangle up for you partners? Yee haw."

"We are here to talk to your manager, Brice."

"Usually people order first before asking for the manager," said the girl behind the counter. Jorge didn't respond. The girl rolled her eyes. "I'll go get him."

She vanished into the back part of the shop. Soon a scrawny tall man with a beard appeared. He wore a brown vest with a sheriff's badge that said MANAGER on it, and on top of his head was a white cowboy hat. He took one look at Jorge and folded his arms.