September 13th, Thursday - Casey Silpetti
Casey wakes up in Aiden’s arms and starts when she sees him just watching her. “Morning.”
Aiden kisses her forehead, “Morning.”
“What time is it?” she asks as his alarm goes off, really making her jump. She laughs, “I guess that answers my question.” Aiden leans across her and hits snooze. He settles back over Casey and kisses her, his hands roaming her body.
“Wanna call in sick to school today?” he half jokes between kisses.
“Can’t. I have that meeting with Mr. Mors today after school, which means I should probably go to school, cuz who knows what his connections are, and me ditching won’t look too good.”
“Oh right,” he says, still kissing her as the alarm goes off again.
“Come on, we have to get ready. You still have to take me to Harm’s to get clean clothes.”
“Better idea. You come take a shower with me.”
“Ummm…no.”
“OK…oh, even better idea. I take a shower here, you take my car and go shower and change at Harmony’s. Then you come back here and I’ll have breakfast all ready for you and we go to school. How’s that sound?”
“That…that’s actually a really good idea. You don’t care if I drive your car?”
“No, you’ll be fine. Keys are in my jeans from last night.” He slips out of bed, kisses her on the nose and pads over to the bathroom. “Hurry back babe.” Casey smiles to herself as she dresses quickly, digs for his keys and sneaks out, making sure his parents are really gone. She showers and changes quickly at Harmony’s.
She knocks on Harmony’s door as she goes in. She stops in her tracks and turns around as she sees 2 bodies in Harmony’s bed, both still sleeping. She clears her throat loudly until she hears some rustling on the bed. “Ummmm, you guys might want to get up and moving so you won’t be late for school. I’ll just, uh, I’ll meet you there, Harm.” She hears Harmony mumble an OK and she quickly heads out and back over to Aiden’s, noticing that Harmony’s car isn’t in the driveway, just Jake’s.
—
Casey walks out of the cafeteria, thankful that lunch is finally here. This morning was one thing after another, and she can sense a sleepy afternoon waiting for her. She sits next to Roni and Binks, who both look way too chipper this afternoon. Roni gives Casey back the American History paper that Casey had asked her to proofread. “Looks good, Case. I made a couple of markings where you need to change some grammar things, but otherwise it’s really good.” Casey takes it and puts it in her bag, telling Roni thanks.
Cadence joins them a moment later. Casey noticed in Science that she wasn’t using her cane anymore, and the sling was off. She still moves a little carefully, but that PT must have been doing wonders for her, considering.
They spend a few moments discussing the game last night, when Harmony plops down next to Casey. “Oh my god, girl. Finally, I get a chance to talk to you! I am in sooo much lust!” She proceeds to give a – possibly too detailed – accounting of her night with Jake.
Cadence just watches incredulously, looking completely blown away by how frank Harmony is. Veronica has turned so red, Casey’s almost afraid she might catch fire or melt through the bench. Bianca on the other hand, just listens intently, smiling and occasionally throwing in remarks like “Oh, yeah, it’s nice when they do that.”
Harmony no sooner finishes - allowing stunned silence to fall - when Aiden and Jake show up. “What are we talking about?” Jake asks.
Veronica squeeks, and is completely unable to look either Harmony or Jake in the eye. Bianca smiles and pats her hand.
Aiden grins and leans down to kiss Casey. “I see you saved my seat.” He pulls her into his lap as he sits.
Harmony straddles Jake’s lap and kisses him with gusto, giving Casey the perfect opportunity to use her own line against her. “Hey, get a room you two!”
Everyone laughs as she pulls away and turns to sit across his lap, leaving him smiling bewilderingly and red-faced.
Bianca laughs and passes a cookie over to Jake. “Here ya go, stud. From what I hear, you earned this.”
“Damn skippy Kane. Eat up, you’ll need some sugar to keep up,” Harmony jokes.
Aiden pouts. “Hey. Where’s my cookie? I’m not a stud?”
Casey kisses him long and hard, moaning softly as his hand slips under her skirt to cup her bottom. When they finally break for air, Bianca and Harmony give them both a little golf-clap, laughing.
Casey leans over and whispers none too quietly, “I’ll give you a cookie later.”
Harmony pumps her fist in the air and shouts out, “Hey-oh!” and the rest of the table laughs, even as Casey feels her own face burn from blushing.
They spend the rest of lunch laughing and joking and talking about all sorts of things. Casey tells Harmony not to wait for her after school; she’s going to ride the bus to Mors Tower. Aiden tells her to call him when she’s ready to leave, even though it’s a safe enough part of the city he doesn’t want her riding the buses if she leaves late.
After the final bell, Casey grabs her camera bag and heads outside. In the bag she has the school newspaper camera; a pretty well used Canon Digital Rebel XT SLR that she’s used before. She’s pretty sure that if she gets it back in the locker tomorrow morning, no one will ever know it was gone, and she guards her camera bag with her life.
She sees Harmony sitting on her car hood, Ryan standing between her legs kissing her. Harmony kinda half-waves bye at her, and Casey just shakes her head. She’s about to walk to the front of school, where the bus stop is, when she notices a sign with her name on it.
She stops and does a double take, and sees a man in a very nice suit standing next to a limo, with a sign that says “Ms. Silpetti” in his hands. She walks over slowly.
“Ahh, Ms. Silpetti. Pleasure to meet you.” She recognizes that ultra-genteel voice of Mor’s personal aide, Owen Spiner. He reaches out and takes her hand, and bows at the waist. “I hope you don’t mind that I arranged to pick you up? “
“No, no sir. Not at all, thank you.”
He holds the door open for her, and then climbs into the driver’s seat. The partition is down, and he looks up into the mirror at her. “Is there any place you would like to stop first, Ms. Silpetti?
“No thank you.”
He nods, and starts the car. The partition slides up, and classical music starts to play softly from hidden speakers. Owen’s voice calls out over it, “Please feel free to change the channel to whatever you like, the controls are on your right.” Casey plays with the radio, finding a station she likes better. She opens the sunroof, and pretty much just absorbs her first limo ride, watching the scenery fly by outside.
It’s a quick ride into the city, and before she knows it they’re pulling into a private garage under Mors Tower. Owen holds the door open for her, and whisks her to a private elevator that seems to go up forever. The elevator has a readout for what level it’s on, though only has one button for a destination. The display shows floor 160 when it finally stops.
She’s ushered out of the elevator and down a quiet hallway, until they reach a meeting room. She barely hears Owen say “Mr. Mors will be with you shortly,” as her eyes are drawn to the floor to ceiling windows across from her.
She’s never seen a view such as this before. She walks over as close as she feels like she can, and is amazed to see that she’s actually above the clouds. “Wow,” she says to herself. The city is stretched out before her, and to the right she can see the ocean stretch out into the darkness. It catches her breath in a way she’s never felt before.
“Impressive, isn’t it?”
She jumps, turning towards the man standing silently next to her. It’s Mr. Mors, and he seems to be enjoying the view as much as her. He walks right up to the glass, close enough that Casey almost feels a case of vertigo for him.
“It’s amazing how small some of your problems can feel, when you have a view such as this. But you didn’t come all this way to hear me blather about my choice in property; we came to see if we could come up with a deal we’ll both be happy with.” He motions for her to sit down, which is why she notices the boxes sitting on the conference table.
“First things first, you’ll have to use the equipment that I want. To make that simple, here is the kit I expect you to use. It’s yours, provided you agree to do the job for me. One of my companies builds them, so I figured I could get a good deal on them.” He smiles as he says it, motioning for her to open the boxes.
Inside is a setup that completely blows her away. He starts rattling off some of the features as she looks at it all, dumbfounded. She reverently picks up each box, amazed at everything that’s there…and could be hers.
“Nikon D3. I figured since you already had a Nikon, we’d stick with the same. 12.1 megapixel, 9 frames per second, standard range of 200-6400 ISO, but capable of an expanded range of 100 – 25,600 ISO. A selection of lenses that should allow you to take the pictures that I know you’re capable of.”
He’s not joking there. She sees several Nikkor lens boxes. Her eyes run over their details. 35mm f/2D. 14mm f/2.8D. 105mm f/2D. 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 G. 85mm f/1.4D.
“There are also enough memory cards you shouldn’t have to worry much about that. A storage device you can offload them onto, about the size of a paperback book. We make those too. And a MacBook Pro, with complete editing software.”
“I can’t…”
He cuts her off before she gets started. “Oh, this is not a gift, Ms. Silpetti. I expect quite a bit from you, but from what I’ve seen that’s nothing you aren’t capable of.”
“Uh, Mr. Mors, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful or anything, but where have you even seen my work? I haven’t done much other than the school paper and the yearbook. I mean, I’ve sold a couple of things, but…” she stops for a second before continuing, and he doesn’t answer yet, seeming to realize she’s not finished. “I’m very flattered, but I’m curious as to why you think I’ll be good enough for your project…”
He smiles. “Ms. Silpetti, I hand pick the people that the Foundation awards scholarships for. I’ve seen every picture you’ve ever turned in for any reason at school since you started Jr. High. I also own most of the newspapers around here, and have stocks in a lot of the magazines printed here. And I’ve seen your webpage, though I admit I haven’t bought any of those photographs yet.
“You excel in math, but truly, you love photography, don’t you? I gave you this scholarship so that you could explore that, because I saw excellence in your work. A diamond in the rough, perhaps. I’m offering you a chance to polish that diamond, and to make enough money that college and whatever else beyond will be in reach.
“Now to do that, I’d like to not only have you do this current photo shoot, but also work a long standing agreement with you. I’d like first shot of any picture you take, any picture – no matter what it is. I’m interested in a wide, wide variety of subjects. I will pay a fair market value for any picture I choose, more so if I wish to have the original and have you delete any copies. And I do mean a very fair market value price.”
“I already take photos at school for the yearbook and the paper, as well as for a class, how will that work with this deal?”
“They would be included. This camera and the storage devices are setup to only be accessible by that laptop. And the laptop is setup to automatically upload previews to me, so that I can choose whether I want them or not. Don’t worry, they are nowhere near a resolution where I could use them without paying you, you are safe there.
“I would ask that any picture you take without using this camera, that you would give me first shot at as well. I understand that sometimes cameras are used for… personal matters. And sometimes you may shoot things that may not be acceptable to the public, or even legal for that matter.
“None of that bothers me. Nothing will ever be discussed beyond price, and I will never pass on anything to anyone else without permission. Only if you feel totally safe in this arrangement will there be a chance that you take pictures of things that actually interest me. So yes, I want access to anything. As I said, this camera is completely setup to do that, and it would be a deal-breaker for me to change that.
“Any photos I do not want are yours to do with as you please. I have a website already setup that your computer can connect to and upload the photos to. I can choose if I want any of them, and we can work out payment through it as well. I would suggest going to open a checking/savings account, if you need assistance I own a few banks around here, just call and ask Owen to help you. Once you do get it setup, get the information to Owen so that we can just wire the payments to your account.”
“Now, since I am helping outfit you for this proposal, I will only pay a flat fee of $1000 for the photo shoot I need done this weekend. That will be for any pictures that I want, those I do not, you keep and can sell as you wish. But it will be a flat fee this one time only. Don’t be surprised if I offer $1000 for a single photograph in the future, provided I’m interested enough in it.”
“How long would this arrangement last?”
“Good question. I would at least like to get my return on investment. So if you wish to keep the equipment, the arrangement would last until you sell me $10,000 worth of photographs. If you chose to break the arrangement earlier, the equipment is forfeit.”
“So, once you buy $10,000 of photos from me, I would get to keep all this? Do you really think you’ll want $10,000 worth of my photos? Won’t that take forever?”
He laughs good-naturedly. “Ms. Silpetti, I’ve paid ten times that for specific photos in the past. For this arrangement to work, you need to be assured that I will be a very good patron, someone not afraid to pay what a photo is worth. You’ll find that the goal of $10,000 is probably much smaller than you imagine, and after that there has to be other reasons for you to wish to stay in the agreement.
“Although that does lead into another point I’d like to make. If you accept this agreement, you must swear that all photographs you take are truly up for sale. We can haggle for the price, with a cap of the $10,000 goal of the overall agreement, but you must sell me a photograph if I want it. There can be no refusals to sell.”
“What about any experimental work that I try out? Different lenses, PhotoShopping, things like that?”
“I would hope that you would try different styles, lenses, experimental work. I am interested in all of that. However, I would like first option on everything to be original, not edited. If after you photoshop or edit it you would like to resubmit it for my approval, I will be glad to take a look and reconsider.”
“Will there be more specific assignments in the future, or will it all just be whatever I take shots of?”
“If your work is of the quality I expect, then there might be many assignments in the future that I will offer you. Those will all be negotiated outside of this agreement.”
“What all do you expect photos of this weekend? And what format and resolution would you expect for these photos?”
“For this weekend I need your typical PR photos. I need you to tour the building. So photos of the lobby, the atrium, offices, meeting rooms, the lobby, infrastructure, personnel. Some aerial photographs of the building and my home. Interiors of my home, some portrait work of my most important employees.
“I would prefer all photographs in RAW format, but I understand in some situations you might prefer to shoot JPG for speed. But if possible, always try to shoot RAW. Highest resolution you can as well.”
“Um, how am I supposed to take aerial photos? I mean this is kind of the highest building around, so I can’t exactly get above it and shoot down.”
“My personal helicopter is parked on this level. It’s more than capable of giving you a platform to shoot the tower. If you ever need it for a personal shoot of the city, I’m sure we can arrange something. Or even if you’d just like to use it for a romantic date, perhaps? The city is quite beautiful from the sky.”
He leans back in his chair and smiles at Casey, steepling his fingers in front of his face. “Do we have a business arrangement, Ms. Silpetti?”
“Can I think about it and let you know tomorrow morning? First thing, I promise…”
His smile falters here. “I understand this is something that might require some thought. However, I haven’t made arrangements with my normal photographer for this weekend, so if I have to wait until tomorrow, I’m afraid I can only offer you $500 for the assignment, as I’ll have to call and put a deposit on another photographer tonight, just to cover my bases.”
“I understand. Can I at least have a couple hours? I just…this is way more than I expected and…it’s a lot to take in.”
His smile comes back in full force. “Of course. My normal photographer is somewhat… flexible. But I have to know by ten tonight. That is when I will call and setup a deposit for him to do the job, at ten precisely. I hope to hear from you soon.”
Casey shakes Mr. Mors’ hand and tells him she’ll be in touch. Owen stands up from behind his desk as Casey walks out of Mr. Mors’ office. “Where shall I drop you Ms. Silpetti?”
“Ummm, excuse me?”
“Where are you going? Where shall I drop you?”
“Oh, um, can I make a phone call first?”
“Or course, you may use my phone. Just let me know when you’re ready to go.”
“I…I can use my phone, I just didn’t know if your schedule was tight and you needed to go.”
“Take your time Ms. Silpetti.”
Casey calls Aiden and finds out his practice just got over. She tells him she has a ride back to campus and she’ll meet him there. She tells Owen she’s ready to go and he takes her back down to the limo. Once Owen puts the partition up, Casey calls Cadence. She doesn’t answer, so Casey leaves a message, “Hey Cade, it’s Casey. I uh, I was wondering if I could talk to you more about some things kind of along the lines of what we talked about last night after the game. I’m heading back to the school right now and then don’t really have any plans after that tonight, or I could meet you in the morning before school. I hope your PT is going well. Call me back. Bye.”
They are almost back to school when Casey’s phone rings. She looks down and sees Cadence’s name on the caller ID. “Hey Cade, how are you doin’?”
“Just finished PT, and almost home. You said you needed to talk?”
“Yeah… uh… what are you doing tonight?”
“Well, mom and I are fighting again, so I’m not exactly ready to go home. I was probably going to go for a walk or something, so I guess if you want to get together I can. I’ll be waiting at school, outside the Student Center.”
“I’ll meet you there Cade. See ya.”
The limo pulls into the school parking lot and Casey thanks Owen for the ride. She finds Aiden by his car and he gives her a big kiss. Casey tells him she’s gonna go hang out with Cadence for a while, but she’ll call him for a ride when she’s done. He says he’ll tag along, and Casey protests, saying they have some girl talk to take care of. He grabs her bag and says, “OK have fun,” as she tries to take it back. “Nope, you get this back later when I take you home.” He gives her another quick kiss and she heads off toward the Student Center to find Cadence.
Casey finds Cadence sitting on one of the benches outside the student center, “Hey Cade. Sorry it took me so long, I had to tell Aiden what was going on. You wanna’ walk around?”
Cadence slowly stands up, “Sure.” In the soft light of the security lamps, the other girl looks like she’s been through the ringer. Her face is paler than normal and drawn. A few hairs have freed themselves from her short ponytail, and are stuck to her cheeks. But although she walks a little slow and still softly on her right leg, she walks better than she has since before the attack. Her eyes constantly scan the area as they walk, and Casey knows that she’s ready for anything.
They walk in companionable silence for a while until they’re off campus, walking through the old neighborhoods. Casey breaks the silence, “So, umm, you probably want to know what I wanted to talk about…” Cadence doesn’t say anything, just nods, which Casey assumes means to go ahead. “Well, you know how you wanted something of Roni’s to help find her, and then next thing I knew you were telling me where she was? And, um, in the hospital when you told me and Aiden that if we ever needed anything and your voice got all…different?” Cadence still doesn’t say anything, but Casey can feel her tension rise. “And, I asked you what you thought about the new guards, and you said he’s not good…I just, well…” Casey stops walking, trying to figure out how and what she’s trying to say. “It seems like you know more about this world…the um, possibilities I think he called it, of this world, and I guess I’m just figuring out that things aren’t always…well, that there’s more to things and people than I thought, and I don’t really know what or even if there’s anything I can do about it, but…” She stops again, and Cadence waits for her to continue. “I’m just not sure that whoever took Roni is done with her, and even though she seems to have more people protecting her, I’m not sure they’re the right people, and I’m worried, but I don’t know what to do about it, or them, or anything really.” Casey suddenly starts walking again, “I’m sorry, I’m not making any sense am I?” Under her breath she mutters, “This is crazy…I sound crazy…”
Cadence is still standing where Casey had stopped. “If you think that sounds crazy, then you don’t want to hear the answers I’d give you. Why are you even bothering with this? You’re begging for trouble, you have a good life it seems, why don’t you just let this go?”
Casey doesn’t need long to think. She’s already made up her mind about what she’s doing, and it doesn’t matter in the end if Cadence will help her or not, although she’d rather the help. “Roni is in danger. I just know it. And she’s a good girl, she doesn’t deserve it… and… she’s my friend. And I don’t have many of those, not until recently, and I’m not gonna let something happen to her if I can stop it. So I’m not gonna stick my head in the sand and ignore what’s going on. Now do you know something, or not?”
They stand in silence for a moment, both girls staring into each other’s eyes, judging, thinking. Casey sees something shift in Cadence’s eyes, a decision made, and realizes she must have said the right thing.
Cadence starts to walk again, and Casey moves to keep up. The other girl finally breaks the silence.
“I was thinking the same thing too… that V is in trouble. Nothing that happened out there made sense, and what I saw… and how she was ‘rescued.’ I can tell there is something special about her too, I noticed it my first day at school. They assigned her to show me around and to my first few classes and all… and I could tell that there was something different about her.”
She falls silent again for a long time, lost in thought. Casey walks next to her in silence as well, waiting, letting the girl get it out on her own terms.
“You’re right that there are things out there beyond the norm. Good things, dangerous things. More dangerous than good.” Her voice gets lower, and Casey strains to hear what she says next. “I’m one of those dangerous things. I don’t want to be… but it’s in my nature. And there are things out there looking for me… that’s why I told you that ya’ll would be safer away from me. I can’t stand the thought of anyone being put in trouble because of me.”
She falls silent, plodding forward but no longer paying attention to their surroundings, just staring at the ground. Casey can see a haunted, tortured look in her eyes.
Casey stops, and rests her hand on Cadence’s shoulder, stopping her too. “Hey, Cadence, I’m glad you’re around. If it wasn’t for you, Aiden and I might have never made it off that street. And who knows what would have happened to Veronica if you didn’t try to stop those guys. You did good, real good.”
Cadence looks away, blinking sudden tears that have silvered her eyes. They both start walking again, Casey giving the other girl time to compose herself.
They’re quiet for a long time, and when Cadence finally interjects her next remark, Casey is completely unprepared for it.
“Her bodyguard is a vampire.”
Casey stops, and Cadence does as well, turning to judge her reaction.
“A vampire.”
“Yep. From the feel of things, an old and powerful one, and probably not too nice either.”
“Seriously, a vampire?”
A grin fights to cross Cadence’s lips. “It could be worse.”
“Worse than a vampire?”
The other girl just nods, and waits for Casey to come to grips with what she said, or turn and run from the crazy girl standing in front of her. Casey bites her lip, thinking about what Cadence said. She turns toward Cadence. “OK, the one you met is a vampire…do you think other one is too? Do you think all the mayor’s men are vampires? Oh, and uh, what’s worse than a vampire?”
Cadence smiles at her. “Wow, you took that pretty easy. You’re tougher than I thought, Casey,” she says, playfully punching Casey’s arm. Then she turns serious again. “I don’t know about the other bodyguard, but if there were two out there, probably not. The game started when the sun was still up, so the vamp must be the nighttime guard. I doubt all of his men are, but if he has one that old and strong, he probably has more.” Casey notices that she ignores the question of what’s worse than one.
They start walking back toward the school, slowly. “How do you know these things, and ummm, what do you mean that you’re dangerous? Who are you dangerous to?”
Cadence doesn’t answer for a while, and refuses to look over at Casey. “I’m dangerous to all of ya’ll. I have people trying to find me, people that aren’t nice. You asked what’s worse than a vampire, the people after me are. So I understand if you don’t want to talk to me anymore. And I can’t tell you how I know all this… my mom would kill me and move us out of here if she knew what I’d already told you.”
“So you’re not really dangerous, but whoever’s after you is…right?”
She laughs without mirth. “Depends on who you ask. But I swear to you, I’ll never knowingly hurt you, Aiden, Harmony, Veronica or Bianca. My word is my bond.”
Casey’s stomach starts growling and she checks the time on her phone, it’s already after 7. “Cadence, I really appreciate you telling me this stuff that you know. I’m sure there’s a ton more that I don’t know and there’s still a couple things I want to talk to you about, but I’ve really gotta go. With the dance and everything tomorrow I don’t think we’ll have the chance, but do you think we can talk more on Saturday or Sunday? We can meet for coffee or lunch or something…”
“If you let me help you. I don’t want to see anything bad happen to V. I’m not used to people being that nice to me, wanting to do the friends thing.”
Casey and Cadence walk the rest of the way back to campus in silence. They stop near the student center. “I’ve gotta call Aiden for a ride. Thanks again, and my offer still stands if you ever need to talk or just want to hang out, call me.” Casey gives Cadence a quick, careful hug on impulse then calls Aiden to come pick her up. “It’ll be a few minutes before he gets here, you want me to walk you home, or you good to go?”
“I’m good. Ya’ll have fun tonight. Be careful, Case.” She turns and starts to walk back towards her place.
Casey meets Aiden in the parking lot and climbs into his car. He leans over and kisses her. “How’d your meeting go?”
“Good…great actually. He offered me a pretty sweet deal, but I need to check something out before I say yea or nay. I have to call by 10 and let him know or I lose half the money. Can you take me to see Faust?”
“Casey…what do you need to see Faust about?” Aiden asks.
“I just have one question for him, and since he never gave me his phone number, I have to go see him, I can’t just call…and you told me not to ever go see him by myself again and I promised I wouldn’t. So, can you take me to see Faust? It needs to be soon.”
“Are you going to tell me what this is about?”
“It’s kind of complicated…”
“Casey -“
“Fine, but can it wait? Seriously, I need to see if he’s there ASAP.”
“You’ll tell me what this is all about, won’t you?”
“Yes, as soon as I have the details, I promise. Please, Aiden, can we go?” Aiden drives off to Faust’s. Casey holds his hand the whole way there.
They get to Faust’s and Aiden shuts off the car and starts to get out. “Ummm, Aiden, can you just wait here? Seriously it’s only one question, I won’t be long.”
“No! I am not waiting in the car Casey!”
“OK, how ‘bout you give me 15 minutes and then come up if I’m not back down here by then? It shouldn’t take any longer than that and if he’s not here it won’t take that long at all.”
Aiden thinks about it for a minute and finally agrees. “Fine, but if you’re not down here in 15 minutes I’m coming upstairs.”
“Thanks Aiden,” Casey says as she leans over and kisses him before getting out. “Fifteen minutes.” She heads up and knocks on Faust’s door. (random roll to see if he’s home: 73) No one answers the knock, and the door stays closed and locked. He must not be home. Casey knocks one more time, just to make sure, and when no one answers she heads back out to Aiden’s car.
“That was fast.”
“Yeah, he wasn’t there.” She checks the time and sees that it’s already 8. “Can we wait like 15 minutes and see if he comes home? Then I’m buying you dinner…or did you eat already?”
“Fine, and while we wait you can tell me what you need to check out with Faust. I grabbed a snack at home, figured you’d be hungry so I didn’t eat dinner. So…what do you need to talk to Faust about?”
Casey takes a deep breath and lets it out. “OK, so you know I came down here to see him and you got pissed at me for doing it…but I got a lot of info from him that day. You were here when he said the stuff about possibilities, how when I need things, they tend to happen, and I thought it was crazy that day, but the more I think about it the more I realize it’s true. I’ve almost always been able to find a place to stay, I haven’t starved to death, I haven’t gotten really hurt…I’m pretty much OK after everything that’s happened in my life. I mean, I got the scholarship to go to school at Holsey, which means I shouldn’t have a problem getting into college, which I know would have been super difficult. Plus being at Holsey means I had access to a darkroom, so I could actually make some money, and whenever I needed it most, I sold a picture or two. Now I’m being offered this great opportunity from Mr. Mors. I really believe it now, and I think there’s a little bit of it in everybody, you just have to look for the opportunities. Does that make sense?”
Aiden just nods, so Casey continues, “And you know how he said Roni is pure possibility?” He nods again. “Well have you noticed how things calm down around her, people are happier, good things happen?”
Aiden starts to nod again automatically, but then thinks about what Casey has asked. Casey remains quiet until Aiden finally speaks. “Yeah, but isn’t that just her personality?”
“I think it IS her personality, but it’s her personality because of what she is. And, I don’t know exactly what she is, Faust won’t tell me. He says she doesn’t even know what she is, and if I want to know what she is, I have to help her realize what she is. He said that once she realizes, she’ll need to be strong because then she’s really in danger. And she’ll need people to help her.”
Aiden nods again automatically, but Casey can see him trying to wrap his mind around it and she waits before continuing. “Do you really think you can help her if she gets kidnapped again, or if someone comes after her to try and kill her?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. But I know that I finally have more than one really good friend, and I couldn’t bear to see anything happen to any one of them if there was a chance I could do something to stop it.”
“OK, so what does all this have to do with you taking a job with Mr. Mors?”
“Well, Faust said that everyone is either a Player, a Pawn or a Piece…kinda like in chess. He said there aren’t many Players, but they’re strong and the mayor is one of them, and the lady that runs Legal Tender is one of them…Alanna, I think he said her name was. Anyway, he said that most people are Pawns. They might have a little bit of themselves tuned into the possibilities, but basically are just that…pawns. He said that the Pieces, they’re stronger, they can actually change how things are in the world. He said it’s a game, the Players control the Pawns and Pieces, and it’s all about power. He said I’m a Piece now, but without what he told me I would still be a Pawn with possibilities. I still don’t really understand a lot of this. Anyway, he said that the more people you have aligned with you, the more power you have. Like how I owe him…he gains more power because of that. He warned me to be careful because you don’t want to promise to help or be under someone because then you’re bound to them and you don’t always know how or why. I just wanted to see if he knew anything about Mr. Mors that would make me not want to be indebted to him. I mean, I didn’t feel any ummm…badness when I was around him, but I just wanted to double check. He said if they were strong I would feel something.”
Aiden just sits absorbing. After a minute or so he asks, “So, when I told him that I go where you go, that helped you?”
Casey doesn’t answer right away. “I think so, but I don’t really know. I do think that when Cadence said she’d do anything in her power for us at the hospital, I think that helps both of us.” They both jump as the alarm on Aiden’s phone goes off.
“15 minutes are up babe. He’s not back. I’m not sure I really believe all of this, but you do, and I meant what I told Faust. I go where you go…whether I understand why or not.”
Casey looks toward the building, then turns and smiles big at Aiden. “OK, what are you hungry for?”
He smiles lecherously at her, “Well…”
Casey playfully punches him in the arm. “Come on, food Aiden, I’m starving.”
“Mexican?”
Casey’s stomach growls loudly at that moment and they both laugh. “I think my stomach says that sounds good.” Aiden drives them to a little dive restaurant. They eat as Casey tells him all about the offer Mr. Mors has given her.
“Casey, I’ve known him for awhile because of Chance, and I don’t think he’s evil.”
Casey breaks in, “I never said he was evil. I just wanted to find out what Faust thinks of him since he knows a little bit more about all this than I do.”
“I know, Case. I just don’t think you have anything to worry about. And he has spent well over $10,000 for a single piece of art that he likes. I say you go for it.”
Casey sits there for a little bit, quietly munching on chips. Aiden is silent, holding her hand and letting her think things through. She checks the time, noting that it’s almost 9:30. Taking a deep breath, she looks at Aiden, “I think I’m gonna do it. I mean, I’m not really seeing a downside here.” Casey pays the check with the money she still has from Faust and they go out to Aiden’s car. She takes another deep breath and calls Mr. Mors’ office.
The phone rings twice and is answered by Mors himself. “Ms. Silpetti, I was hoping you’d call. “
“Mr. Mors! Good afternoon sir, I wasn’t expecting you to answer…”
He chuckles warmly. “I had your caller ID set to ring straight to me. Owen is busy with other things, and didn’t want to trust your call to anyone else. Have you come to a decision?”
“Yes sir, I’d like to take you up on your offer, if it’s still there.”
She can hear the smile in his voice. “Of course it is! Wonderful, I was hoping you’d agree to this. Hmm… with the dance tomorrow, I’m sure you’ll want to have your equipment to play with… I can have Owen pick you up if you’d like to sign the paperwork and pick it all up tonight.”
“Pick me up?” Aiden shakes his head when he hears her say this, and mouths ‘I’ll drive.’
“Yes, is that ok?”
“Actually, I’m with Aiden right now, but we could pass that way, we’re not too far away.”
“Absolutely! I’ll have Owen waiting for you, Aiden knows the way up. Splendid. And Ms. Silpetti, we’re partners now. I insist you call me David, no more of this Mr. Mors. I’ll see you soon.”
She hangs up, and repeats the conversation to Aiden. Aiden smiles and gives her a high-five. “Awesome Case!”
They drive through the streets and get to Mors Tower quickly. Another fast ride up, and David Mors is waiting for them in the same conference room. All of the equipment has been bagged up in a nice messenger bag and camera bag.
David lets her read the agreement, which is written exactly to the terms he stated. Luckily, it’s not written in legalize, and she finds nothing that worries her. They both sign and David shakes her hand.
“I was hoping you’d agree to this, so I actually had the laptop modified with a high-speed cell modem. You’ll now get the internet anywhere in the city. I figure you might find that useful. There is a folder on the desktop with a copy of our agreement, all the instruction books for all the equipment and the upload portal. There is also a 24/7 number for Owen on there, if you need anything at all from me just call. And don’t forget to get Owen your banking information; I’ll wire you the $1000 for Saturday as soon as you do.
“Speaking of Saturday, if you could be here by 2pm, I’d appreciate it. I realize you have a late night tomorrow, I figure that should give you plenty of time to get ready and rest. Thank you again Casey, I’m sure you won’t regret this.”
“I might not get an account open ‘til Monday, but I’ll talk to Owen as soon as I do. Umm, will you have a specific shot list for me on Saturday, or will someone just be walking through the tower and your home with me pointing out the areas you need photos of? I’m assuming you want the exteriors during the golden hour, right? Also, are you gonna want some nighttime shots, like of the exteriors and the skyline?”
“All of the above,” he smiles. He pulls out some money from his pocket, and counts off five crisp new $100 bills. “Since you won’t have an account, we’ll settle for cash. Half now, half on Saturday when you finish.” He hands it over to her.
They shake again, and he walks them both out, talking jovially with Aiden. They get to his car and Casey can’t stop grinning, her hands itching to start taking photos with her new gear. Aiden takes the messenger bag from her and puts it in the backseat. He starts to take the camera bag, but Casey just shakes her head no at him. He laughs out loud, kissing her quickly before he opens her door. “Get in Case.” He heads around to his side to get in and starts the car. Casey’s just sitting in her seat, her hands softly caressing the camera bag in her lap. “You’d better open it Case, before you wear a hole in it. I take it this means I don’t get my cookie tonight?”
Casey laughs and smiles over at Aiden and he thinks this is probably the happiest smile he’s ever seen on her. “Sorry, I didn’t bring any cookies with me tonight…I’ve been kind of busy, no time to bake.”
“Will you spend the night with me again Case?”
Casey bites her lip and looks down at the bag, opening it. “I…I don’t think I should tonight, Aiden. I did last night, and I don’t know what’s gonna happen tomorrow night.” She takes out the camera body and snaps a short lens on it, turning it on and fiddling with the settings. She turns it on him, snapping a few photos, Aiden’s face in focus as he drives, the street lights blurred in the background. “Wow. It’s kinda nice to know right away if your pictures turn out or not.”
They get to Harmony’s house and Aiden turns off his car, grabbing her school bag and her regular camera bag, handing the messenger bag to her. “I’ll help you carry stuff in.”
They carry everything up to her room and the second she flips on the light Harmony comes into her room from the bathroom, her face covered in a mud mask and not noticing Aiden. “Girl, you’re out way late. You need to go to bed, like right now. Have to get your beauty sleep for the dance tomorrow.” Aiden can’t help but snicker at Harmony’s look, which makes her notice him. “Dennison, you have no idea what we women go through to look good for you guys. This is nothing.” She notices all the bags they’re now setting on the floor along one wall. “What’s all that?”
“My school bag, camera bag and my new stuff. I got a job, Harm. Mr. Mors gave me all this in exchange for taking photos for him. It’s kind of a long-term agreement, but this is way top of the line gear,” Casey says excitedly.
“Sweet!’
“Yeah, I know. Anyway, go finish your stuff Harm. See ya in the morning.”
Harmony gives her a hug, “This is pretty awesome for you, isn’t it Case? Don’t stay up too late you two.” She doesn’t wait for an answer, just slips back into the bathroom and shuts the door.
Aiden shuts Casey’s bedroom door. “Why do I have the feeling you’re not going to listen to Harmony and you’re going to stay up late, digging through all this stuff?”
“Maybe cuz you know me too well,” Casey teases, grabbing the messenger bag and the D3 as well. She kicks off her shoes and sits on the bed. “Well, come on, unless you’re leaving.” Aiden slips out of his shoes and lays down on the bed behind Casey, kind of wrapping himself around her. He traces circles on her leg as she pulls out the computer and turns it on, hooking up the storage drive. She turns on her camera and connects it to the computer using a USB cable. She saves the files to the drive and deletes them from the camera. She connects to the internet and it automatically uploads the previews for Mr. Mors. She pulls up the few pictures she took for Aiden to look at. “What do you think? They’re really sharp…and the resolution, I could blow these up huge and they’d still be crystal clear.” She leans forward, zooming in on different parts of the pictures, examining them as Aiden’s hand moves higher up her leg.
Aiden’s voice is husky as he answers, “I think you should put everything away and let me have my cookie.”
Casey’s pupils dilate as she realizes how high up Aiden’s hand has moved, his fingertips just on the other side of her panties. “I…” she has to clear her throat, “I don’t have any cookies.”
“I know…” he growls as he slides off the bed. He closes her laptop and takes everything off the bed, setting it on her desk.
“Aiden, I don’t think tonight’s a good night for this. We both need to get some sleep; it’s gonna be a long day tomorrow.” He leans over her on the bed and kisses her, pushing her shirt up, his hand splayed across her stomach as she moans. Aiden nudges her knees apart, kissing the curve of her neck. “Aiden, not tonight, really.” He presses his whole body to hers, Casey’s hips involuntarily bucking toward him.
“Your body’s saying go ahead, Case.”
“Only cuz yours is right there. Please Aiden. Harm’s parents are here, I don’t want to get kicked out.” He takes a deep breath, rolling off of her. They both lay there for a moment, before Aiden gets up.
“You’re right Case. I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about that.” He leans over and kisses her gently. “Sweet dreams babe.” Casey follows him down to let him out and sets the alarm, waving out the window as Aiden drives off before going to bed.
