Chapter 6 Indi
SIX
INDI
Haze wants me to join Charlotte's Web…an illegal, underground network.
I shook my head as I walked through the main street of downtown.
Something I instantly regretted considering I was wearing a fucking skirt.
The weather had turned from cold to freezing, and it had even begun to flurry outside.
“Fuck, it’s cold.” I shivered. I pulled Haze’s leather jacket close and unintentionally knocked my phone out of the pocket and onto the sidewalk.
“Shit!” I bent down and scrambled to pick it up, wiping snow from the cracked glass screen.
“Haze is going to kill me if—” I stopped, noticing the reflection of a strange man.
I wouldn’t have even noticed him if he didn’t stand out so much, dressed like a middle-aged man from the seventies.
He seemed to be staring right at me, and before I could even blink, I watched him take a photo of me with his phone.
“What the fuck?” My heart began to race as I slowly stood up.
Take a deep breath, Indi. You’re just paranoid. Everything is fine.
I tried to shake my fears away and continued walking down the crowded street.
I couldn’t help but feel nervous, as if the man was still watching me.
So, I stopped at the coffee shop and ducked inside.
As I waited in line, I checked my phone.
It was not only cracked, but glitching. Which meant I had no way to text Haze.
Shit.
I casually looked over my shoulder and noticed the same odd-looking man standing outside the coffee shop. “Now what?” I mumbled to myself.
“I’m sorry?” I spun around to see the barista smiling at me. “I didn’t catch that. What did you want?”
“Oh, uhh, just a large black coffee.”
The barista made a face. “A large black coffee? You sure you don’t want anything else with that?”
I looked back at the man, still outside, only now he was on his phone. “Actually.” I faced the barista. “Cinnamon. Lots of cinnamon.” The barista made a face as she wrote my order onto a blank cup. It didn’t take long for the woman to hand me my coffee and wish me a happy holiday.
I waited inside and held the hot coffee close until the man turned away. And when he did, I quickly rushed out the coffee shop door and back onto the sidewalk.
“Just keep walking. Everything is fine.” I walked around for a few minutes, heading back to the car.
“You’re just being paranoid. That’s all it is.
That’s all—” I glanced over my shoulder to see the same strange man maybe ten feet behind me, and as I tried not to gasp, his eyes met mine. And he smiled.
Shit.
I quickly ducked into a nearby alley that I knew led to the other side of downtown. It was dark and empty, and if I could get through it, I’d be back at my car in no time.
Almost there.
I walked faster, hearing footsteps behind me.
Fuck. Walk faster, Indi.
I picked up the pace and kept pushing forward.
Almost there. Almost there!
I turned a corner to find the rest of the alley gated off. “What the fuck?” My cheeks burned as I searched for a way around. There wasn’t one. “No, no, no. No!” I kicked the metal chain gate and spun around to find the creepy man standing directly behind me.
“Hello, Indigo.” The man smiled as he said my name, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. His cheap cologne and aftershave made me want to barf as I stared back up at him.
My breathing increased and I tried to walk past him, but he kept cutting me off. “Excuse me, sorry,” I groaned. “I just need to—fucking move!”
The man roughly pushed me back into the metal gate.
“I don’t think so.” He stepped even closer and glared down at me.
“You see, I was hoping to catch you on your way out from your old apartment, but it seems you’ve moved.
” He tilted his head, and his large double-bridge glasses slid to the tip of his wrinkled nose.
“The weird thing is, when I tried to track down your new address, nothing came up.” His brows furrowed. “Now why is that?”
“I–I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please, I need to—” I tried to push past him, but he once again shoved me into the gate.
The man tsked. “No, see, I work for some really important people, and well, they have questions.”
My eyes bolted from his to the empty alley behind him. “Q–questions?”
He nodded. “Oh yes. Lots of questions. Questions that only you would have the answers to. For example...” He leaned down closer and whispered in my ear. “Where is Haze Osvaldo?”
My eyes widened. “I haven’t seen my brother since the night he left. Ask the police! I’ve told them everything!”
The man laughed. “I don’t buy it, Indigo.
You know why?” Before I could answer, the man pulled something from his jacket.
“Because I’ve seen you.” He unfolded a stack of photographs, taken of me throughout the last couple weeks.
They were mostly me and Aiden, him wearing his bike helmet and concealing his identity.
But the last photo he showed me was of Haze picking me up on his motorcycle.
“We’ve been following you for some time, Indigo. ”
We?
“And from what I’ve seen, you know exactly where your brother is.
” He pulled a gun from behind him and pressed the tip of the barrel into my cheek.
I quietly sobbed and begged him to let me go.
“Shhhh. I’ll let you go. But first, what I need you to do is point me in the right direction.
” He pressed the gun harder against my face. “I’m waiting, Indigo.”
I trembled with fear. Why did I have to drop the phone? And why did I ever think cutting through the alley was a good idea?
And then my instincts kicked in.
“I–I’ll tell you.” His grin grew at my words. “Just move the gun and I’ll tell you everything.”
He huffed. “Deal.” He lifted the barrel from my face and stepped back as I exhaled in its absence. “Alright, Indigo. Spill.”
My lips curled. “As you wish.” My hand removed the lid of my coffee, and I swung the paper cup, spilling the entire thing all across his face. He cried out and screamed while stumbling back, shouting about his eyes. “Enjoy the cinnamon, you fucking creep!” I shoved the man over and ran past him.
His raised voice could be heard, along with his heavy footsteps as I ran back down the alley. I would’ve escaped, had he not caught up to me.
“Oh, no you don’t!” The man gripped a handful of my hair and yanked me back.
I fell backwards onto the wet, icy concrete and hit my head.
The pain pierced through my skull, making me groan.
My vision blurred for a second, and as I looked up, I saw the man.
He was glaring down at me, his face all red and burned.
“You little bitch!” He kicked my side, making me cry out.
“I tried to be nice, but you leave me no choice.” He grabbed my arms and pulled, dragging me back towards the opposite end of the alley.
“Fucking whore,” he grumbled. “I better get paid extra for putting up with this shit.” The man dropped my body near the gate.
“Now, where is my fucking gun? Ah, there it is.” He picked his weapon up and walked back over to me.
“Please,” I begged.
The man scoffed and crouched at my side. “I’m afraid it’s a bit too late for pleasantries, sweetheart.” He lifted the barrel and aimed it at my skull. “But I’ll tell you what, if you tell me all I need to know, I’ll make your death quick. How’s that sound?”
The odd sound of a thump pierced my ears, and my entire body went rigid as the man stared down at me. My eyes struggled to raise, but when they did, they met a set of familiar green irises.
Felix.
The man’s eyes rolled as he slumped over and fell to the ground. I noticed a large dart, seeded in the back of the man’s neck. I looked back at my older brother, dressed in usual military attire and mask, holding a large dart gun. “Nice move with the coffee, baby sis.”
“Indi!” Haze rushed to my side. “Are you okay?”
I groaned, grabbing my head as he helped me to my feet. “Yeah, I’m okay,” I strained.
“How’s your head?” Haze asked.
I rotated my neck and winced. “Ah, no complaints.” Haze tried not to laugh while Felix rolled his eyes. I looked back down at the unconscious fucker on the pavement. “Any idea who that is?” I pointed to the man.
Felix bent down and searched the man’s jacket, finding only his phone. “Whoever he is, he traveled light. No wallet, no keys, nothing. Just a phone.” He tried to unlock it. “Unfortunately, it’s password protected. Nothing my associates can’t handle.”
Haze looked down at the creep. “He’s fucking lucky I didn’t get here first!” He kicked the man’s body.
“Hey, easy now.” Felix looked up at him. “There’s no point in beating him while he’s down.”
Haze kicked the man again. “What do we do with him, Felix?”
Our older brother stood, pondering for a minute. “Have Aiden take Indi back to the apartment. We’ll take him to a web warehouse, see what we can learn from our little friend here.”
I made a face. “Excuse me? I’m not going anywhere. I’m the one he was following!” They both looked at me with the same face. “No, I’m going too.”
Felix looked at Haze and crossed his arms.
“Indi.” Haze moved closer to me. “We don't know who this guy is…I need you to go back to the apartment where I know it’s safe.”
“Haze—”
He shook his head. “No.” The single word took me back. “I need you to trust me, little sis.”
And as much as I wanted to argue, I knew he was right. Besides, what could I do? I wasn’t a member of Charlotte’s Web.
“Fine.”
FELIX