Loose ends
Primrose scurried around her apartment getting ready; she did not want to be late for her first date. Just as she walked past the giant brass mirror against the wall, she caught a glance of her reflection. For a moment she almost didn’t recognise herself. Mesmerised by her new look her mind wandered to the first day. The day she accepted her new life.
Aiden: Ready, Ms Harper?
Prim: Everything between my ears hurts Aiden, why did I agree to this!
Aiden: Aside from the fact that it was free?
Prim: Ha Ha.
Nurse: I have your discharge papers all set, Ms Harper. Please review the aftercare package once again. And all the clinic numbers are in the blue folder with your prescriptions.
Prim: Thank you, Elise, you’ve been so good to me.
As the nurse smiled and left the room, Prim looked up at Aiden.
“Did I really look that bad that The Elites offered this to me?”
Aiden: It is not about you, per se. More what’s good for the Circle. In your case, a sharper bone structure.
Primrose sighed as she got her things together. The ride home from the hospital was mostly silent between Aiden’s suspiciously hushed phone calls. Prim looked out the window deep in her thoughts. Would she ever truly be herself? Yes a few cosmetic procedures, but what else will be asked of me?
Once parked, Aiden opened the door, walking Primrose up to her apartment. “If you need anything…”
Primrose: “I'm fine.”
Primrose snapped back into reality when she heard the knock.
“Ms Harper the car will be here in 5 minutes.”
Prim: Thank you, James!”
She took a final glance into the mirror. “I’m in there...” she whispered, yet with a short smile, appreciating her new look.
Aiden called the restaurant twice. He always had to make sure they got his instructions right. He didn’t have to. They never quite messed up, but it was in his nature. Check. And then double check. Sitting back in his room after having dropped Prim off from the hospital, he took a slow long drag of his cigarette, and checked his watch. Twice And then he read Bella’s text. Again. “They know” - that’s all it said. So did Aiden. He was just hoping to not have to deal with Bella’s situation so soon. But what had to be done, had to be done.
20 minutes before 7pm, he changed out of his clothes. 10 minutes before 7pm, he was at Sajen. The steakhouse was booked out for this meeting. No one was to be allowed in except for him and Damon. And he was already there.
Damon sat up as Aiden walked into the steakhouse. “Looks like someone needs a favour.”
Aiden: Wasted no time getting a plate?
Damon: When in Rome, my brother. I brought the files you requested.
Aiden: Perfect. Let’s have a look, Bella seems to be in quite the hole.
Damon: Man, it looks like this group you got is quite intense! In all sorts of ways. Will I be working overtime this quarter?
He laughed as he dug into his gourmet burger.
“Possibly,” said Aiden, waving the waiter over, ordering some sushi and a stiff drink. "You know despite the level of trouble these women have gotten themselves in, I cannot help but feel sad and a little responsible for them now."
Damon: Is that actual compassion I hear? Careful or I may have to assume you are an imposter.
Aiden scoffed as he reviewed Bella’s case files. The government had quite a bit on her, some of it seemed rather exaggerated, embellished even. Aiden knew that there was something wrong with the whole story. He took another sip, “You’ve read these. What’s your opinion?”
Damon: She is in a pickle, that’s for sure. Some of it, I get. A woman trying to get it right in a mad world. She probably fell into the wrong company. But you’re right, something does not quite feel right.
Aiden nodded, underlining a few of the sentences with his finger as he twirled his whisky in the other hand, muttering, “Murder would have been easier to fix. But evasion and embezzlement of this level? Someone without any strings to pull would have been in jail months ago. Looks like we got to pull ours.”
