Two Sides to Every Coin

He nodded, taking another sip of his water and letting the clear sparkling liquid refresh the back of his throat. “I’m afraid receptionist work can be quite tedious.” Felix took the opportunity to pace around the place and capture every little detail that he could into his memory. This was were a man like Heroin lived and breathed, so it as on his best interest to know the area like the back of his hand. Of course, there was more to learn below ground level. He wondered how much Ambien knew about it, if she knew at all. For a while he didn’t speak, he just stared at her, eyes silently working over the contours of her face. He tried to read the expression on her eyes, decipher every detail from the way her lips quirked to the way she made herself more comfortable in his presence. She wouldn’t have done so if she still sensed danger. Felix had learned to pay close attention to people’s eyes when they addressed him. It sounded romantic to say that eyes were the window’s to someone’s soul but it had some merit to it. Eyes were always deceiving if you knew how to look at them. The docility in which she presented herself, the adorable dimples, nothing but an elaborate facade. “Nibble?” He found himself chuckling at her choice of words and even more at the treats she was offering. “No thank you, sweetheart. I had a big breakfast.” Another drink, he walked towards a calendar that was hanging on a wall with a few marked dates circled in red of client appointments. “At least business appears to be booming.”

She smiled a bit as she watched him walk towards the calendar on the wall. That wasn’t as elaborate as the business truely was, leaving only the tattoo appointments out for view. Her personal claendar was much more hectic containing three layers of appointments reaching past the simplicity of organising one business. “it really is! We’ve got appointments booked for the next three months, and theres always a few walk ins daily.” She smiled turning her attention to her book to see how many appointments they had today. “Looks like today isn’t as busy as usual, but i’m sure a few extra people will stop in as the day goes on.” 

“Oh no, whatever will I do? H will probably fire me.” Angel rolled her eyes with a smirk, leaning onto the desk as Ambien walked over to the prospective customer. Watching their interaction, the blonde had an overwhelming feeling the girl was about to book an appointment for a ‘Live.Laugh.Love’ tattoo or a feather breaking apart into dandelion fuzz or some shit. She looked like the type. That type of  girl that Kat had been, not the girl that Angel was now. 

Inquisitive green eyes watched as Ambien returned, putting the appointment book back in it’s designated place. She had to wonder if The Lab knew how lucky they were to have someone like Ambien working for them. If they had hired anyone Angel knew growing up, they would have been fucked. Including her. At her question, Angel smiled mischievously, scanning the room again, eyes finding many potential victims outside the window. “Not yet, but it’s still early.”

Ambien watched her as the smile on Angels face shifted from something happy to one that was full of mischief. She never quite knew exactly what the blonde was thinking, but there were times she wished she did. “Very true, you’ve got a full day ahead of you.” Following her gaze out the window, Ambien shook her head. 

“Hands of the ones that come in here though, those ones belong to me.” They might not be her victims, but once they enter those doors its her job to give them the best experience she could. She couldn’t always get them to stay but people usually never left because of a bad experience. They usually left from fear of the permanence of what they were about to do. 

Thinking about it Ambien wasn’t sure if Angel had ever been in as a customer. she was here so often one would assume so, but Ambien can’t remember if she had ever booked an appointment for her. “I’m surprised in all your time of being here you don’t have more tattoos.” 

‘ curiosity is a lame excuse for looking at files you have no buisness in. ’ he isn’t mad, he merely brings across a point. he had noticed her interest, knew of her history and potential, believed she hoped to gain better footing in the illegal business he ran under the pretence of a legit pharma-company. she’d need to prove her worth first before he considered looking into that.

he get’s up too, shuffles the papers into a folder he intends to take with him, should his night be sleepless, he’d at least have something to busy himself. ‘ Inviting me for dinner? ’an arched eyebrow, a tilt of his head ‘ are you really that keen on spending more time with your boss? ’ the folder tugged under his arm, he motions towards the door ‘ thank you for the invitation.’ he offers her smile, leading her out of the lap. pasta sounds good, ’ he leads her out of the lab, closes up behind them. being invited like that for dinner wasn’t exactly something he was accustomed to. 

“Don’t tell him, but my boss really isn’t that bad.” The brunette smiled and laughed a bit and he lead her out of the lab. At the mention of paste being good, Ambien smiled. “Pasta it is then.” As he locked up she put her own keys in her bag and waited for him to finish. 

She didn’t live too far from the lab. maybe a block of two down the street. But she knew it definately wouldn’t be the type of place he was used to. “I don’t live very far from here, so I usually just walk home. but we could probably catch a cab there if you’d prefer?”  She looked down the street and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I honestly don’t mind.”

He moved around the area as if he owned the place. Owned everything in it, including her. The corners of his lips curled into a smile as he watched her disappear into the break room and back. He waited for her to give him an answer and when she did he gave her a smile. “Interesting choice.” Ambien came across as someone who, on the surface, seemed to be incorruptible. But there was no such thing as a unblemished soul and he was going to discover the darkness inside of his new “friend”. He didn’t think that it was going to be simple, for naivety didn’t exactly mean stupidity. The way she conducted herself was a perfect example that the girl didn’t have a head full of smoke. He explored her reaction. But even if he wanted to toy with her he knew the fun of it would eventually burn out. Like a movie that got boring after the fortieth time you watched it. “I’d rather stand.”  He smiled again, drinking his water and licking his lips as he spoke. She continued to move around the lab to water plants and organize magazines. “And how long have you been working here?”

“Suit yourself, though it might be a bit of a wait.” Smiling she walked past him over too her desk. Placing the mug down and out of her way. “Roughly 6 months, It’s not the most exciting job, but it pays the bills.” Ambien looked up and smiled, noticing his original unpleasant demeanor had shifted to something more friendly. Though she doubted it was truly friendly. She thought it was rather more likely he was planning something. Instead of showing her thoughts she let her mind wander back to her job. “Oh! I forgot to ask if you would like anything to nibble on while you wait? I saw a few types of cookies and some grocery store scones in the break room if you would like some.” 

He wanted to release a heavy sigh that advertized his frustration. Felix had very little tolerance for waiting even when there was no other option. He was a man used to having everything at the snap of a finger so when he was forced to exercise some patience it left him in a foul mood. Blue eyes followed her moved as she went about her morning. Even when the lights turned on this place still looked rather bleak. At least this girl, whatever her name was, had the etiquette to offer him something to drink. “Sparkling water would be fine.” He added and waited for her to fetch one for him. She returned moments later with a cold plastic bottle of Perrier which he reached for and popped open. He took a moment to look at her. Really look at her. Petite. Sweet.  He wondered what a girl like her was doing involved in such a nasty business. “Who are you again?”

Flipping on the light switch in the break room, she grabbed a bottle of sparking water out of the fridge and filled a clean class with water for herself. The brunette made her way back out to the main room shutting the break room door with her foot. After handing him is drink for choice she took a sip of her water. “I go by Ambien around here.” 

Realizing he was still standing she gestured to the seating area. “You’re welcome to sit while you wait, I promise I clean it every night before I close up shop.” Walking over she rearranged the portfolios and the magazines into their respective separate piles on the coffee table. Using the rest of the water in her mug to water a the small plant she had brought in from home to help liven the room a bit. 

fingers flex, itch to tug his notes away from her view but instead, they curl around the edge of the desk. it’s just a fracture of the whole he intends to design and it is false anyways, nothing she could do with it should she chose to meddle with any of it, to betray him however was something he wouldn’t recommend. he reaches out after all, fingers curling around a loose lock, t u g g i ng lightly, ‘ not all files are for you to read darling. ’ carefully worded warning laced into his words. he watches her straighten, looks up at her ‘ but you’re not wrong, I should call it a night. ’

The warning in his voice and the light tug on her hair did not go unnoticed. However, in Ambien’s mind, it just proved to her there was still trust she had to earn and work she had to do to prove she could be trusted. For now, she gave a small apologetic smile. “Sorry, H, was just curious is all. You’ve seen my resume. all I have is my GED and that chemistry doesn’t put me anywhere near your level of genius.” She looked down at her shoes before quickly adding, “But I am always willing to learn.” 

“I was going to head home and make some food, I haven’t had anything since breakfast.” As if on cue, her stomach growled. Dani laughed, “See. Evidence enough there.” Moving her hand from the back of his chair she pulled the keys to the shop out of her back pocket. “You’re welcome to come join me, I usually make too much anyways. Though, I can’t promise it’ll be much more than spaghetti.”

He rarely showed his face around the lab. Mainly because he didn’t want it to be known that he was associated with Heroin’s business or the drug business in general. Unfortunately sometimes it was necessary, specially when he could not count on incompetent people to deliver a message. So he had Percival drive him there on their way to the hotel. The front door was closed when he arrived but he only had to wait a few minutes before the girl arrived. She smiled at him as if she had recognized a long lost friend but Felix did not return the favor.  If anything he found her sunny disposition insufferable. “Why else would I be here?” He then turned to look at his watch for a moment and then followed her inside. As soon as he walked in he could smell it. The distant stench of chemicals. “When can I expect him?”

Letting the door close behind him, she put the keys and her bag in a locked door under her desk. “He usually shows up about half an hour of me getting here,” she said, rising from her crouched position, “Sometimes a bit sooner than that.” 

Regardless of the company Ambien still had to open up shop, and that just what she did. Starting by turning on some lights. “Is there anything I can get you while you wait? Some water? or Tea? or maybe some coffee?” She walked backwards towards the break room waiting for a response. “We might have some sparking water in the fridge if you would prefer that?”

“As well you should” she let her smile morph into a small smirk, “and no, no problems.” Hand on the back of his chair she leaned over to get a better look at the formula. She studied it, attempting to get a better understanding of it just by looking at it. Her brunette hair obscuring her view of his face she made a mental note to do some heavy research on chemistry, her self taught high school chemistry only revealing so much about the formula staring up at her. “Looks a bit complicated for so late at night.” leaning back on her heels she pushed her hair out of her face and behind her ear. 

Where: The Lab

When: Morning

On a usual morning Ambien is up an hour before she has to be at work to open up shop, this morning was no different. She got up, got ready for work, ate a light breakfast and headed to work. Usually, as the first one there, she has roughly 15 minutes to a half hour before anyone else shows up. This morning though she walked up to the front doors to find Morphine standing outside the door. With an inquisitive smile she walked up keys to the shop in hand. “Morning Mr. Duval. What brings you here so early? Business with H?” Unlocking the door she walked in holding it open for her fellow drug to follow suit.

The amount of times Angel had heard ‘your artist will be right with you’ from the afternoons and nights she’d spent holed up in The Lab…well, let’s just say it was well over a couple hundred. What was notable to her though, was how the tone never changed, how very robotic it was, some might even say fake. She smirked at the idea, watching Ambien. Pushing herself away from the window, Angel leaned on the secretaries desk, “I don’t like to limit myself. It’s a little more of a challenge to scare someone away when they’ve already made up their minds.” A bell chimed, signaling the arrival of another customer ready to make, what was probably, a large mistake they could never get rid of. Before Ambien could say a word, Angel moved towards them, an almost sickly sweet grin on her face. “Hi, welcome. Please take a seat, your artist will be right with you.”  They looked at her a moment, nodding and taking a seat. What an idiot…how could they get there artist if they didn’t know the person’s name. Spinning on her heel, Kat gave Ambien a look. “That one’s a genius over there. How’d I do?”

Ambien chuckled as she looked through the appointments for the day. “Not bad, not bad.” The brunette looked up with a smirk. “You might just run me out of a job one of these days.” Walking around her desk, appointment book in hand, and tilted her book for the Blonde to see. “Theres only one small issue, you didn’t check to see if they had an appointment or not.” Placing the book down on her desk she walked over to the customer and sat down next to them. 

“Sorry about that, We only have one artist in today and he’s currently in a three hour session. What I can do for you now is let you take a look at our portfolios and you can make an appointment to come meet with the one that has a style you like?” With a thank you from the customer she stood and walked over to the book of portfolio’s placing them on the coffee table in front of them. “Let me know if theres anything else I can do for you.”

Walking back over to Angel she slid the appointment book back into its proper place. “What brings you here today anyways, don’t have anyone you can swindle today?” 

“It’s being at one with the Earth, keeps you young” she half joked, her expression unchanging and yet her eyes almost showed an amusement which too showed in a slight twitch of her fingers “Well, I could be seen as a Xiaolin Monk, deadly but altogether wise. I envy what they have, all that breathing space and yet…I doubt I would trade this lifestyle” she pointed out. “If my right hook lands just right, it can break jaws- I’ve kept a mental tally of the jaws I’ve broken over the years. It’s why most know not to upset me by now, I don’t play nice when upset” she mused, swilling the amber liquid in her glass when it was handed to her by the barman. “I doubt you would be so foolish?”

Ambien couldn’t help but laugh, Throughly enjoying the company of her fellow, much wiser drug. Nodding her thanks to the barman she rose her amber glass. “Cheers to you, for being the wise and deadly Xiaolin monk of Dertosa. Keeping the wisdom and yet not sacrificing the lifestyle.” 

Taking a sip of her glass she smirked “If I am ever that foolish I trust you’ll put me in my place.” the brunette looked past the woman next to her and out around the room, taking a mental note of how dangerous many of the patrons seemed. “You’ll have to teach me your ways wise one. Breaking a jaw or two sounds like it might come in handy one of these days.” 

            The brunette had thought she would return peacefully to her book and drink, anticipating the next scene to enter her imagination. However, at the other’s words, the Alchemist lifts her brow, pondering for a moment as she judges whether or not she needed to return the introduction. Evidently, it’d be rude not to, but Nightshade wasn’t entirely known for being pleasant company— at least to the masses. However, she sighs, giving in any way. “Night,” she returns, book still in view, made as some sort of makeshift wall between them.

Plastering a smile on her face she let her mind run wild with the new piece of information. When she had sat down she had never expected to have chosen a table with a fellow toxin on it. In her six months of being apart of that world the fellow brunettes reputation had preceded her. As far as Dani knew, the other knew nothing of her own involvement. “Night, huh, what an interesting name.” For all she knew it could be a different Night in the city. However unlikely that may be, she pushed preconceived notions to the back of her head. “It’s nice to meet you, Night.  

TASK.001 – STATISTICS

                      “Time doesn't erase the demons you don't see. They still dance in your dreams”