Forgetting, Part Two
A few years earlier...
“That’s the last one, you hear?”
Lucy just slid her last two dollars across the table to the bartender and cradled the tequila shot in her hands. Maybe she would finally forget everything after this one, get a couple hours of ignorant, drunken bliss. She tossed her head back, ignoring the bitterness burning down her throat as she swallowed. The glass came down with a thud on the bar.
“If you want another, you should keep the glass intact.” A voice came from her right, and though Lucy had no intention to look at him, she heard the smile.
“I’m done for tonight, actually.” Lucy retorted. “I don’t want a drink from you.”
“Who said I was ordering a drink?” He chuckled. “Water, please.”
It appeared before her a few moments later.
“What do you want?”
“A guy can’t get a beautiful girl some water?”
“The ‘beautiful girl’ isn’t interested and would like to be left alone.”
“See, you say that but you love drawing attention to yourself.” He slid a manila folder to her. “This is you, isn’t it?”
Lucy hesitated before opening it. The pictures inside were grainy, courtesy of poor security cameras. Each one showed a different person: a hooded figure scaling the side of a building, a woman with short hair and a briefcase leaving a bank, and a young student studying in a coffee shop.
“I hate to break it to you, but none of these are the same person.” She closed the folder.
“And yet every lead goes back to you, Lucy Crowe.” A police badge glinted in the corner of her eye as the stranger sat next to her. “How would you explain that?”
Lucy felt her stomach drop, panic spreading through her body like wildfire when he put an arm around her shoulders. Her eyes flicked towards the exit.
“I wouldn’t recommend it.” He whispered. “If you walk through that door, you’ll find a police squad waiting outside. They have orders to take you in, and so do I.”
Lucy forced her breathing to slow, feeling herself shrink under his stubborn gaze.
“Why not just handcuff me now?” She forced the words out. “Save yourself the trouble.”
“Don’t give up so easily, Lucy.” He said. “I’m not here to arrest you.”
Lucy narrowed her eyes when she looked at his face for the first time, studying him. Despite his earlier mood, he was serious now, the smile gone.
“Then, what do you want?” She asked again.
“A deal.” He returned her stare. “And if you agree, I’ll let you go.”
“For how long?”
“For as long as you want.”
“What… do I have to do?”
“Meet me at the coffee shop you like.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You will,” He took a napkin and wrote his name and number. “Call me when you’re ready.”
“Ready for what?”
“To be a star.”