N.Y.C, A Little Help Please!

I groaned loudly for the fifth time, watching the driver to see his acknowledgement of me. 

At this rate, I was going to be late. 

And knowing Ray, it wouldn’t be taken lightly. 

“Look buddy, obviously you ain’t nevah been to New Yawk but if I hear ya whine one mowr time, you can wahlk to yowr little date got it?” The driver glared at me in the rearview mirror, his lollipop stick gripped firmly by his clenched jaw. 

“Traffic ain’t light heeyah pretty boy, ” He grumbled with a thick accent while I apologized and slipped another 10 dollar bill into the passenger seat.  He mumbled something about tourists, complete with inappropriate language and returned his focus to the road, pleased with the extra money. 

I rolled my eyes and gazed out the window, resting a hand protectively over the briefcase beside me. 

The city shone in the evening, and at the prime time of 6 pm;

I lost my breath to its splendor.

The tall buildings reaching for the setting sun, the billboards intimidating a million stars, and the thousands upon thousands of people and cars rushing like a thousand comets and asteroids.

I was in New York. The big apple. The capital of the world. The city of dreams. 

Oh who am I kidding; This was the city that would crush me underfoot, right along with the chewed gum and paper from yesterday. 

That or the pigeons would get to me first. 

I looked down at my watch and silently grimaced. Definitely going to be late. 

I had only met Ray once, but that one introduction and his emails summed the guy up clearly. 

Raymond Charvac was a powerful man who waited for no one, answered to no one, and cared about, well, no one. 

At least no one except his dog or something. 

Anyways, he was a huge name in my industry, and Kayla said that he’d be a great help. 

Why she sent the 5'4", scruffy-yet-handsome playboy to deliver the case and get him on our side was beyond me. 

Looking back into the rearview mirror, I rearranged my hair and adjusted my tie. 

I grinned at my appearance. Oh yeah, I still had it. 

The cab screeched on the brakes and I slammed into the driver’s seat in front of me. 

“Watch it bub!” The driver screamed out of his window, shaking a fist at the car in front of him. A cacophony of car honks filled the streets and I felt my eye twitch. 

At this rate I was going to be really late. 

I remembered Kayla's orders to remain in the vehicle the entire time, but considered losing our shot at gaining a powerful ally.

I'll take the lecture on the vehicle instead please.

“Thank you sir, but I think I can get there on my own from here!” I tossed another bill into the passenger seat and grabbed my coat and the briefcase. 

I opened the door and quickly weaved my way honking cars to the bustling sidewalk. I pulled on my coat and flipped open my phone, dialing Kayla. 

“Hello?” Thank goodness she picked up. 

“Kayla we have a situation,” I mumbled as New Yorkers filed past me on their to their own destinations. 

“Did you make it to Ray yet?” 

“No, New York traffic. I’m going by foot,” 

“Theo no, get back in the car-” Her voice raised in a panicked tone and I interjected, annoyed. 

“Ohhh worried about me NOW huh?? What about when I was SHOT AT, at the AIRPORT??!”

“Don’t raise your tone, you were fine and we had everything under control. You had cover there didn’t you? Well there’s none in the streets so you get your backside back in the cab,”

“Just tell me where to go, I’ll be fine,” 

“Theodore. This is an order from your commissioner. Get in the car now.” 

I hung up the phone and grunted angrily. I wouldn’t let our mob down and I was going to get the case to Ray.

Whether it cost me my life or not. 

I began to run through the crowds, shoving past pedestrians and apologizing as I rushed by. Time was ticking and so was my patience.

New York sure had a way of making one anxious.

Suddenly a scream pierced in the air as the sound of a gun fired through the streets. 

I swore under my breath; the devils had found me quicker than I anticipated. 

Our rivals obviously had intentions of stopping us from gaining an ally, so I had expected assassins to come after me. Just like they had at the airport when I had first arrived.

If only my charm hadn’t given me away so quickly in the street. 

“STOP THAT MAN!!” A voice screamed out as a bullet whizzed past my head. My phone began to buzz. Kayla was calling again. 

“Kayla this is kinda a bad time right now, what’s up?”

“THEO WHAT DID YOU DO??!!! WHY DIDN’T YOU LISTEN TO ME??!! GET OUT OF THERE NOW!!!” 

“Now is not the time boss,” I muttered under my breath as I ducked under a man’s lunge to grab me. 

“DON’T YOU DARE HANG UP AGAIN-” I quickly hit the hang up button as I slid underneath a pair of legs and continued to run and dodge. 

The phone rang again, this time it wasn’t Kayla. 

“Hello Mr. Charvac sir, apologies for my absence. I’ve had a little bit of trouble getting to you,” 

“You’re late,” 

“I know I know,” I held my breath as I jumped over another fired shot. The streets had erupted into chaos now as I ran from my pursuers. 

“I’ve kept you waiting and I sincerely apologize for it sir, but uh-” A loud scream from beside me reverberated as a woman was shot in the shoulder. I needed to get out of the crowd or people were going to get seriously hurt.

“Just get over here,” He sighed over the phone before hanging up. 

I exclaimed in pain as a bullet struck my hand holding the case, making me drop the luggage. 

Quickly I grabbed the case again, wincing as blood dripped down my hand. I continued to run furiously, brushing my long brown hair out of my eyes. 

Screams continued to cry after me, both shouts to stop and yells of fear and confusion. 

I felt my phone buzz again but ignored the ringing. I turned down an alleyway to escape the rushing crowds and bullets. As I made it to shelter I paused to catch my breath along with figuring out how far I had to go now until I found Raymond. I inspected my hand still dripping with blood and carefully dislodged the bullet in my flesh. I opened the case to be sure the contents were fine as the sound of a car screeching echoed into the alley. I slammed the case shut and bolted down the alley, turning at a garbage can and sliding into another alley. I saw a new street just 20 feet from where I stood and I grinned. 

Too easy. 

“Finally,” A female voice chuckled. 

I spun around before getting kicked in the chest, knocked to the ground and dropping the briefcase. My gosh, high heels hurt. 

“I had been waiting for you,” She spoke cooly with a smile. Her white blonde hair blew airly in the breeze, capturing her beauty. She was stunning. And she had the briefcase. 

I jumped to my feet and punched towards her, gasping as she caught my fist. She smirked as I gaped for a split second before we both began fighting one another.

One blow after the other, I was blocked and stopped by her strong build. Of course she had to be taller than me.

I told myself it was only because of the heels. I was bewildered at her speed and agility. She was definitely from the White Vipers.

I couldn’t land a single punch on her! Granted she couldn’t touch me, not while she was blocking my moves. 

However, her anticipation of my hits was breathtaking, all while her ice blue eyes rested a cold gaze on me. 

Suddenly, she whirled around and put me into a choke hold. I struggled to fight against her firm grasp. She giggled lightly in my ear and I felt my face redden as I began to struggle even more. 

“You know, you’re kinda cute,” She blew a kiss into my ear before stabbing me with a syringe. I yelped and broke free from her grasp only to hit the ground. I pulled the syringe out of my neck and grasped around for the briefcase and my phone. Things slowly began to grow fuzzy as I found the phone and quickly bashed it into the ground, I couldn’t let her get any info from me.  How I would tell Kayla I had been compromised would be fun. 

The world grew blurry while I watched the tall slender legs stalk towards me. 

“You’ll be coming with me now. You should know better than to keep a lady waiting,” She knelt down to look into my eyes with a smile just as I blacked out. 

Definitely going to be late for Ray.