The flaxen locks of hair illuminated the darkness of the decrepit alley; her custom shoes click clacking on the stained concrete, alerting the rats of her approach.
She stopped midway through, just before the streetlight had given up fighting the shadows, the perfect sapphire orbs scanning the sightless depth.
“Hello?” Her proper call echoed off the encompassing brick walls, prompting the sound of rats scurrying in a million directions.
“You really shouldn’t come down here looking that way, someone might take advantage of you pretty girl.”
The blackness broke ever so slightly as the source of the voice limped into the light.
The female clutched her purse closer; the jewels encasing the exterior digging into her well manicured hands.
The man’s eyes shifted slightly with the movement, smirking up at her even as he dragged himself closer to her. “Tsk, tsk, and here I thought we were friends.”
The female’s gaze shot up and down quickly, taking in the site of the scarred face and thin limbs of the broken man sneering at her, before crossing her arms and returning his smirk with one of her own.
“We are not friends Abaddon, you are a business partner, that is all, and don’t ever forget it.”
Abaddon burst out into a coy smile. “Oh, is that what you like to call it then? Business? You privileged types sure have a way with words.”
The blond raised her lip in a snarl, her gaze drifting down her nose in disgust. “You don’t know me Abaddon, and this privileged type can just as easily flaunt her money somewhere less… opinionated.”
She whipped a wad of bills the same size as the small bag she produced it from and waived it in Abaddon’s face. He reached out for the money only to stumble forward when she snapped it away.
“Not nice Orly.”
Orly didn’t flinch. “Just wanted to reiterate the rules. Now, did you bring what I asked for?”
Abaddon shuffled slightly, his hesitant demeanor drawing him back into the shadows. “It’s not easy to acquire right now…”
“Did you get what I asked for?” Orly’s eyes narrowed as she studied Abaddon’s sudden mood shift.
“The rumors make it nearly impossible…”
“Did.you.get…”
“The supply depletes more every time they find a body…”
“Did you get the fucking chip or not?” The vulgar word lithe off her lips, the harshness softened by her velvet voice.
Abaddon sighed and offered out his fist, clenching it closed as Orly waived an open palm in expectation.
“Well, what are you waiting for Abaddon?” She hissed.
“The price has doubled.”
Orly drew inches in her stance as she pulled her hand back slowly, eyeing the smaller man with contempt. “Not that it matters money wise, but why on earth do you think I would pay you double when I can get it from someone else just as easily?”
“You’re not exactly the type that blends in Orly, don’t think I don’t know what it takes for you to sneak down here.”
Her eyes narrowed into slits sharp enough to stab him for his response. “I think you forget your place Abaddon.”
Abaddon’s face began to twitch under Orly’s icy tone, his involuntary shudder proof that he had not forgotten who was in charge.
“I deal in drugs Orly, not death. If something was to happen and they found your precious little body like the others it could mean certain execution for me. This is it for me, I can’t take the stress.”
Orly’s responding laughter was as cold as her glare. “A dealer with a conscious? That’s fucking rich. Is your heart breaking for all the kiddies you get addicted? All the children that will join the rats in the sewer out of lack of desire for anything but the release you provide in those altered little chips?”
Abaddon’s hand flew behind his back as Orly made another snatch for the chip. She grumbled while he smirked and pocketed the small item.
“Seems like the runts aren’t the only ones addicted.”
“I have no need for your judgment you stupid mongrel, now hand over the chip so I can get out of this god forsaken alley.” Orly’s voice lifted slightly in frustration, widening Abaddon’s smile.
“They are right, addiction is an ugly thing, even on a creature as beautiful as you Orly.”
“I will ignore that disgusting attempt at flattery. Keep in mind I have been doing this since I was much younger than the children you lure in here Abaddon, I have mastered my urges, it is not an addiction.”
Abaddon’s smirk melted into a sneer as Orly’s hand extended out again in anticipation.
“Clearly. Though I can see no reason why an heir to the Hawk fortune would need to come down here to buy something she has ready access to. Perhaps that tells me I am charging too little?”
Orly sighed and gripped the bridge of her nose painfully. “You are already aware that the legal chips have limitations, they do not last long enough for me anymore.”
“Why not have one of your father’s minions alter some then?”
“How would it look if I was caught altering my fathers creation?” Abaddon took a step back from Orly’s flailing arms. “Don’t you know it would ruin the company?”
The sentence was practiced, as if she was repeating a previous conversation to Abaddon versus simply informing him. He felt himself soften as he looked closely at the broken beauty in front of him and began to notice the subtle cracks in her picture perfect façade.
“Is this because of your mother? I heard she hung herself when you were very young. I am sorry about that.”
Orly’s eyes blazed with anger, her lip curling up till it twisted her face. “You did not know her, you have no right to be sorry. I was only eight so I don’t remember anything; as far as I am concerned she is just a memory. Now hand me the fucking chip before you join her.”
The click of guns being cocked drew Abaddon’s attention past Orly’s vexed expression to the light just beyond the alley entrance. The glint of two individually held handguns sparked in the dim light, it’s menacing threat clearer than the half hidden faces holding them.
“You brought others with you? What about our agreement?” Abaddon leaned into hiss at Orly.
“You said it yourself, someone may try to take advantage of me. Now the chip please.”
Abaddon grumbled as he reached into his pocket, his eyes focused on the barrel of the guns that seemed to follow his every movement. He held out the chip for Orly, holding his empty hands up for the ghostly henchmen.
Orly held the chip up, her eyes struck with yearning as she rotated it in the light. She reached into her bag and held a stack of bills out for Abaddon, who cautiously accepted them.
“This is only enough to cover the original price Orly.”
“I docked for bad customer service Abaddon. Remember this next time I am in need of your services.”
He made a move towards her but jumped back when a lid flew off a nearby trashcan.
Orly laughed as Abaddon stared in horror at the dead rat next to him, the remains of its head strewn all around the receptacle it had been skulking on just moments before.
“They are excellent shots Abaddon, that will be the only time they miss.”
She turned to walk away, leaving Abaddon standing petrified to the spot; his heart beats nearly audible in the emptied alley.
“What does a little rich girl need anyways? What do you seek in that world that you can’t buy for yourself here?” Abaddon called out to Orly’s retreating figure, his surge of adrenalin quickly changing to anger.
She turned back to him, the street light behind her shadowing her face save for the burning cerulean of her orbs.
“A moment of peace.”
Orly pulled her coat in closer as she entered the door of the limousine that suddenly appeared, the armed men disseminating back into the shadows from where they had come, leaving Abaddon dumbfounded as to the meaning of her last words.
The silence of the immense home was deafening, save for the occasional rustle of a servant trying desperately to be quiet.
Orly ran her hand along the plush material that lined the wall encompassing windows in her room; the clear glass allowing an unobstructed view of the vast grounds that surrounded the home, drawing the eye to the many gardens bursting with color.
She watched the weeping willows sway in their centurion post, their branches gently sweeping the blood red roses they guarded, the roses planted in honor of her mother.
The visions of that night slowly crept into her mind; the fear she felt as she watched the rope thrown over those swaying branches, knowing it was already over. Orly felt a shudder as she remembered those terrifying blue eyes staring up at her, locking her into place seconds before her mother’s body hung from the branches.
The sound of the door knob turning broke Orly’s trance.
“Will you be having dinner in here Miss Hawk?”
“I’ll not be having dinner tonight Elena, I’m not feeling well and wish to be left undisturbed.”
Elena bowed knowingly and took her leave, softly sealing the door behind her.
Orly made her way over to her armoire and took out a decorative wooden box which she gently placed in the middle of her vast bed. She removed her clothes, preferring the unrestricted feeling of her own skin, and sat herself down in front of the box.
The glasses inside looked ordinary, even comical in their width. Only small vine like wires extending from the arms gave any clue that they were anything but sunglasses. Orly examined the small needle inserts that would attach into her veins, giving her the extra boost she now needed to truly feel all the effects.
She searched the crook of her arm for unused area and inserted the probes, attaching the wires while the rush of anticipation caused her blood to burn.
As she placed the lenses on her face, she inserted the chip into the side of the lens and ran the last wires over her earlobe, attaching them to the insert behind her ears where the kill switch lay.
The effect was instant.
The room melted away allowing the sun to gently warm Orly’s cold skin as she spotted her usual seat, set slightly back from the edge of the lake.
Prancing over giddily, Orly dropped herself into the wooden chaise as she scanned the picturesque view of her dreams.
The crystal clear lake mimicking the cloudless sky above her as the dense thicket of trees around her moved invitingly with the wind.
She closed her eyes to capture the moment and caught the whisper of another heartbeat, a soft rustle of movement alerting her of its approach.
Orly’s heart warmed with the comforting thought of her childhood friend.
“Oh Paenitet, what took you so long friend? I though you would be here waiting for me.”
Orly opened her eyes and smiled as the tawny bird cocked its head to the side, balancing itself precariously on her chair.
She ran her fingers along its smooth brown feathers, the nightingale’s familiarity drawing emotion from her, causing her eyes to tear.
“Will you sing for me? I like when you lighten my moods with your music.”
The bird appeared to nod in response and instantly opened its beak, its voice filling the dense woods with its captivating sound.
Orly let her mind clear as she stared at the soft blue waves that danced along the surface of the lake seemingly in tune with the nightingale’s hymn.
“Well that was enchanting.” Orly praised as the ballad ended, the bird preening its feathers in thanks. She held her palm out, inviting the nightingale to her hand, which it quickly accepted.
“I remember when father brought you to me; he described you as an ordinary looking bird with such a beautiful gift.”
The dull tan feathers on its head raised slightly, its dark eyes staring intently as Orly spoke.
“You were beautiful though, much more than he or anyone else saw. He thought you would help me to forget, but your eyes always…”
Orly paused as the bird’s eyes began changing before her, taking on a powerful ochre colored tint she recalled so well.
“…They always seemed to remind me of my mothers.”
The eyes continued to morph until Orly was positive it was her mother’s gaze staring at her from the russet bird.
The scenery began to darken all around her, her visions melting into pitch black space.
“What is happening? How can this even be possible?” Orly jumped up in a panic, startling the nightingale who hovered while she watched the water seize into a eerie calm.
“Orly, sweet Orly, do you still miss her, even after all these years?”
The familiar voice seemed to taunt her from the depths of obscurity.
“You are not supposed to be here, this is my heaven.”
“But you invited me in Orly; you’re the one who is thinking of me.”
She slowly turned back to where Paenitet had been floating moments before, the nightingale bearing her mother’s soul now replaced with a hawk gazing at Orly with menacing blue eyes.
“Do you not remember why I bought you Paenitet?”
The voice was like ice-cold fingers trailing down the length of Orly’s body as she attempted to gather her breath enough to answer.
“To remind me that I didn’t see anything.”
“She left you Orly, she left us.”
“Yes, she left us.” Orly nodded to the hawk.
“She abandoned us for her own selfish reasons.”
“Her own selfish reasons.” The responses fell out of her mouth without emotion.
“She did not love us Orly, I loved you both, but she only loved herself.”
The invasion of her heaven and the long repressed truth was too much for her.
“NO! She did not love you! That is why you killed her that night, that is why you took her life. She loved us enough to want to leave; she knew what you were, what you had done, and she was going to take us away. You strangled her and then hung her from the tree, ruining her memory to salvage your own damaged ego!”
Orly gasped at her boldness as the hawk’s sapphire blue eyes raged with anger, the look a mirror image of the one that was burned into her memory that fateful night.
“It’s a shame you can’t just forget what you saw.”
“I will never forget what you did.”
“Shame, and such a beautiful gaze.”
The hawk ripped Orly’s eyes out before she could even react, the warm liquid trailing down her cheeks as the pain ripped through her senses. Her hands flew to where her vision had been seconds before, screaming as she fingered the severed nerves that hung from the sockets.
Orly frantically searched for the exit button behind her ear, ripping out patches of her hair as she dug in vain for the escape.
“The only way out of heaven is hell Orly.” She heard him chuckle as a powerful set of hands wrapped around her neck.
“What are you doing?” She gasped as the grip tightened, putting pressure on her air passage.
“You want to be closer to your precious mother, then you will share her fate.”
Orly’s nails scratched at the thick arms locked into place while they slowly stole her breath, kicking and struggling blindly against the unrelenting lock on her neck.
Orly could feel the darkness creeping into her mind and she used her final breath to plead, “Father…”
“Wasn’t this press conference supposed to start at noon?”
The rest of the reporters nodded at the disgruntled question as they shifted their gear in the blazing sun.
The elevated platform emblazed with the Hawk insignia, a hawk head centered in an eye, remained void of the spokesperson they all awaited impatiently.
“Did you see The Times broke the story on another victim?”
“Another addict no doubt.” One of the men grumbled under his camera weight.
“It doesn’t say, just says they found him with bite marks all over his body. A witness said that the playback on the chip showed him being mauled by aliens.”
“So they are sure it was linked to Oculos Caeli?”
The conversation was interrupted as a sliver of a suit approached the microphones, causing the reporters to clamor for the closest spot near the podium.
“Ladies and Gentleman, my apologies for your wait, I now present to you the CEO of Hawk industries, Mr. Balor Hawk.”
A sea of red lights suddenly appeared as all available lenses turned towards the approaching giant of a man.
“Welcome all of you, I am pleased that so many of you are concerned enough to come out today.” His face matched his somber tone as he widened his hands around the large circle of staring eyes.
“Mr. Hawk.”
“Mr. Hawk over here.”
“Mr. Hawk I have a question.”
His name dropped from every mouth but Mr. Hawk showed no signs of anxiety as he raised his hand and lowered the volume with one movement.
“I know why you are all here so I will give you the information we have and I am positive that will answer most, if not all of your questions. I only ask that you wait till the end before you interrupt me with your witty comments.”
A chuckle resonated through the crowd and then quieted quickly as they waited for Mr. Hawk to continue.
“As you know there have been a number of deaths that have been tied to the Oculos Caeli chip. We at Hawk industries are devastated for the families of these individuals and mourn alongside them. That being said we want to make clear that the Oculos Caeli involved in the deaths are not Hawk direct technology. The chips found in the glasses of the deceased have been altered to allow the user to spend more time in the alternate vision, and allow the stimulants to affect the body much more than we regulate for. We at Hawk industries take the safety of our consumers very seriously but we cannot account for the items purchased illegally, making them out of the range of our control.
Though this epidemic is not linked to the rigorously maintained Hawk software, we do feel a sense of moral obligation as a company. Hawk industries has begun talks with the government to create a variation that will help wean those that have found themselves addicted to the altered version in a safe, legal manner. We have already developed the software and urge the families affected to encourage those that battle this addiction daily to come forward so that we can help them before it is too late.
Out of respect for those still in mourning I will not be answering questions today. Thank you all for coming.”
Balor Hawk offered a somber grin and took his leave, the reporters still silent as they filtered his speech. He could hear the murmurs gain momentum as he stepped into the awaiting elevator.
“Wonderfully given sir, very sincere and heartfelt.” The thin man who had introduced Balor gripped his paperwork as he overflowed with praise.
Balor’s eyes watched the floor numbers light up as the elevator ascended. “Did the senator send over the paperwork for the program?”
“Just received this moment Mr. Hawk, legal is reviewing it as we speak.”
“Everything as originally requested.”
They did not refuse one thing Mr. Hawk. The word is one of the senator’s sons was found a few weeks ago and that drove the vote.”
Balor frowned as the doors opened unto the private office. “Such a tragedy to have an addict for a son.”
“Yes sir.”
“My hope is that this program helps at least one person get back on track.”
“And the money the government gives us to fund it won’t be bad either Mr. Hawk.”
Balor shook his head, the ocean blue eyes churning with disappointment as he served himself a drink. “Do you know what Oculos Caeli means Mr. Walters?”
The man waived his hands in response to Balor’s offer for a drink. “No.”
“It is Latin for eyes of Heaven; do you know why it is appropriately named?” Balor sat himself in the leather desk chair, balancing his brandy glass in one hand.
“No.” Mr. Walters waited anxiously as Balor took a sip from the amber liquid.
“Because our creation allows you to experience your perfect dream, it allows you to see, feel and live in your own personalized heaven. Now the world being the way it is, we humans need that release, but some of our buyers have gotten lost in the blurry lines, and it is our responsibility to guide them back. We are public servants Mr. Walters, it is not about the money, it is about our moral conscious as a company.”
Mr. Walters stood dumbfounded by the verbal lashing, his mouth agape as he stood unsure of what to say next, but Mr. Hawk dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
“I hope I have clarified things for you Mr. Walters, perhaps you can ponder it over lunch.”
Walters turned and practically ran from the room as Balor turned his attention to his messages.
The first face to appear on his screen cleared his throat before adjusting his uniform and speaking. “Mr. Hawk, I don’t mean to tell you this way but your secretary states you are not scheduled to return home for another week, and I think you would want to know that we have found your sister Orly, what I mean to say is, unfortunately Mr. Hawk.” The man cleared his throat more forcefully and rubbed his hand along his badge. “Mr. Hawk, your sister Orly has passed, it appears to be an overdose but we will not know for sure till the autopsy is complete. When you find time of you could please call the Police Department at …”
The rest of the message drifted into the background as Balor digested what the officer had said.
Orly dead?
He had known she was an addict for many years, but this…
“Orly, always so selfish.” He wiped the moisture from his eye as the screen warned of an incoming call.
Hawk answered and sneered at nervous looking man on the screen.
“Mr. Hawk, I know you said you don’t want me calling you directly…”
“And yet you did Elvin.”
“Well we have a bit of an issue you see, the distributors are requesting more chips, they state the altered ones are selling out before the new shipments arrive.”
“I assume you don’t watch the news then Mr. Elvin?”
The man hesitated before continuing with his speech. “Um, well the demand is getting higher, people think it gives you a different, more intense high…”
“Stupid fucking addicts, even when they know you are killing them they still can’t help themselves.”
“Well Mr. Hawk, if you can get us some more…”
Balor rubbed his chin as he watched the man twitch and squirm on the screen. “Tell the distributors there will be more by Monday.”
The man grinned and leaned to turn over his monitor.
“Oh, and Elvin?”
“Yes Mr. Hawk?”
“Contact me directly again and I will create a special chip just for you.”
Elvin’s eyes filled the screen as he hastily disconnected.
Balor leaned back in his chair and turned the brandy in his hand.
“Best fucking public service I have ever done.”