Chapter 8

Stephaine has a less formal chat with her boss about her new job.

Chapter 8

That was weird, thought Stephanie, but not unappreciated. Sometimes it’s good to know that there are other people out there suffering as much as you.

Although it’s hard to imagine that there is anyone out there in the same predicament. It’s not often that your crazy boss reveals himself to be a crazy zealot. Then have him tell you to be an assassin. Granted, Archie never told her that she’d be the one to kill this person. But she’s seen The Godfather, she can read between the lines. Even if she wouldn’t have to do the deed herself being the middleman is just as bad as doing it, right?

Thankfully, she hadn’t made any progress. Unfortunately, Archie wouldn’t accept that for long. Archie wasn’t kidding when he said all of Howell was at her disposal, either. Surveillance cars, teams of private investigators, access to the Howell Net servers--the program that governs the entire park--freaking satellites! Those were definitely illegal and she had no idea Howell even owned them. When she asked why the company had satellites everyone said it was for a defunct Howell TV channel. The idea was scrapped years ago and replaced with the streaming service Howell GO. Given the new information, she had received Stephanie thought it was best not to point out the legality of the satellites.

She needed a break, she was fried and whenever that happened Stephanie would always go to a classic comfort, food. Specifically, White Tiger, a Chinese restaurant near her old place. Before she got promoted to the Howell board she lived around this part of town. White Tiger was a staple of her diet for almost six years. It wasn’t exactly the best food in the world, but it was comforting. White Tiger was like most Chinese places in America, that unique mix of low-quality product, brown sauce and a total misunderstanding of what people actually eat in China; but it was cheap, edible, and…well, that was it. It was the perfect food for a young person on a budget. Perhaps perfect was the wrong word, quintessential would probably be more apt.

“Stepanee!” shouted Mrs. Chao, “Come get yo food!”

Mrs. Chao had worked at the place for years, ever since Stephanie started going there, at least. She wasn’t sure if Mrs. Chao owned the store or not or if it was appropriate to ask.

“Thanks, Mrs. Chao.” said Stephanie, "How's Jenny? Still at Whitmore?"

"Yes," beamed Mrs.Chao, "straight A's too!"

"Man, she'll have her pick of colleges."

"She better."

"Tell her I said to keep it up," said Stephanie, then she turned and left.

Stephanie tightened up her jacket, it was one of those few nights when the temp dropped below the low seventies and Stephanie hated it. What was the point of living somewhere without seasons if you still got the echoes of the cold ones? She hurried up to her car, it was a Porsche, jet black, polished to a mirror shine. A brand-new XLS something or other, it was a Howell car. Stephanie wasn’t one for cars, but she could tell this was a very nice one. It was given to her as a signing bonus when she was promoted, or rather last year’s model was, she got a new one every year. Stephanie didn’t really care what car she was driving, once you got into the six-figure range with cars it started to not matter. Not that Stephanie was going to turn it down, it was nice to get things like a car that probably cost more than Mrs. Chao’s White Tiger, just for showing up.

Stephanie was looking forward to a quiet evening of avoiding responsibilities. Her chicken Chow Mein was currently steaming the imported leather of her passenger seat and filling her car with the smell of sesame, ginger, and chicken. Just one night, she thought as she turned onto the freeway entrance ramp, just give me one night away from all this. Maybe she would be able to catch up on one of those trashy reality TV shows, it didn’t matter which one, seen one bitchy, rich, middle-aged woman from the suburbs of wherever county complain about her privilege, seen them all. It was mindless and that was exactly what she wanted.

She thought of Archie and his smiling face as he told her that she failed him and that someone would be along shortly to help her clean out her office. But she would never make it to her office and would become just another person that never existed. Someone people whispered about only after they looked over their shoulder. It made her shudder, or was it the weather? She cranked up the heat just to make sure.

Like most of the Executives at Howell, Stephanie lived in the heart of downtown within convenient driving distance from the park, much like the car, her loft was a signing bonus. Archie appreciated punctuality.

Archie himself, however, chose to live on a massive, for lack of a better term, compound just outside the city. Stephanie would never say it out loud but it was one of the kind of places the mega-rich bought to feel powerful. It was very much the equivalent of a medieval lord and his castle.  Stephanie had been there a few times for parties, it was a beautiful campus. A massive plot of land filled with palm trees and other plant life in front and an outlook on the ocean on the other. The home itself was a sprawling masterpiece of modern architecture. Perfect cuboid sections clipped together like gigantic Legos, many of which were made entirely of glass to let in as much natural light as possible. It screamed “I’m rich! Please look at me.” While at the same time be so far out of reach of the normal person that they wouldn’t even know it existed.

Stephanie got onto the elevator and absentmindedly mashed the button. She lived on the twenty-seventh floor of Shinning Tower. Howell spared no expense when it came to their executives’ living arrangements. Stephanie wasn’t sure how much it cost to rent each month but she knew it was probably astronomical. Her loft lived up to the opulence that you would expect from a place called Shinning Tower. She loved living there; nights were her favorite. There were some nights when she would just sit out on her balcony and stare at the bustling city below, maybe take a dip in her pool. It was solitary, while at the same time made her feel like she was in the middle of everything, which she was, technically.

Her options were running through her mind as she unlocked her door. The lights were on, that was weird, she thought. She had all the lights along with most of the electronics linked up to her phone and smartwatch. Normally, the lights and everything else would switch off when she left the loft. She checked the app on her phone. It kept a log of who activated it and the most recent timestamp was twenty minutes before she made it to Shinning Tower.

She took cautious, deliberate steps, careful not to alert whoever was in her home to her presence. Stephanie made her way to the living room, it was empty. Her thumb was hovering over the “Call” button with 911 at the ready. Downtown wasn’t the safest place, but once you reach a certain income bracket, you don’t really have to worry about break-ins. You literally above it. She checked her bathroom and bedroom and saw no sign of the intruder. Stephanie made it into the kitchen and was greeted by a pair of size forty cargo shorts and the bottom half of a teal and pink Hawaiian shirt sticking out of her refrigerator.

Archie calmly got up and turned around a Fresca in one hand and a take-out container in the other. Stephanie recognized it as the leftovers from a Steakhouse she went to a few days ago.

“Hey Steph,” he said cheerily, “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” He held up the take-out and gave it a light shake, “Cool if I eat this, hopefully, Kevin doesn’t mind that I finish it.”

The shock of finding Archie standing in her home was one thing, but how did he know about her date, she never told him about it, or any of her coworkers for that matter. There wasn’t anything between them, just one of the many Tinder dates Stephanie found herself on. “Uh…”

Archie looked down at her bag and pointed at it with his Fresca hand, “You were about to eat too, nice. White Tiger, right?” He sniffed the air, “Chicken Chow Mein, your favorite. Smells good.”

“Uh…yeah, how�"“Archie didn’t wait for her to finish. “C’mon,” he said as he walked into her living room. “Let’s eat.”  Stephanie followed the sound of slapping flip-flops wordlessly into the living room. Archie had already made himself comfortable on her couch and gestured for her to sit down in the chair opposite him.

Stephanie sat and let her food fall to the ground beside her. Archie dug into her leftover porterhouse almost immediately. She just sat and watched. Archie noticed this. “Go on,” he said like a well-meaning parent “eat. You must be starving after today.” He took another bite.

“Why are you here?” blurted Stephanie. She paused then added, “Sir. I mean, Archie.”

“Because,” he started through a mouthful of food, stretching out the word into a cheery melody. “I wanted to see how my favorite Super Sleuth was doing.” Archie brushed off his hands. “So,” he sung, and scooted to the edge of the couch, “how goes it?”

“Well�"“ stuttered Stephanie.

“That’s excellent,” exclaimed Archie with a clap. “So tell me, who are they?”

“Er-not well, I�"still don’t know.” Stephanie corrected. This was the worst possible way her night could have gone and she wasn’t sure how it was going to end.

Archie's face twitched, almost imperceptibly. “Well…that’s a big ol’bummeroonie,” he said with a particularly toothy smile.

“S-sorry, Archie. I’ll keep�"“

“I’ve given you a lot of time Steph,” he chastised “I expected great things from you and I thought you could deliver.”

“I can just give me�"“Archie held a hand.

“I know you can,” he said with a soft smile, “I just want to know what the problem is.”

“It’s just…” she said as Archie rested his forearms on his knees and leaned forward, “this really isn’t my level of expertise. If you need help with the Anniversary Press Conference, then I have you covered, but this…this is out of my realm. Frankly, I’m lost.”

Archie spread out on her couch and made himself comfortable, letting out a light chuckle as he did so. “Job’s a little tougher than you expected, eh? That’s what happens when people hold you in high regard. It’s up to you to adapt and grow. Prove to those people that you are worth it. That you deserve the praise they give you. If not, well then, you're no better than the riff-raff we hire to fill the suits. ”

“I am, and I will.” pleaded Stephanie. This was it she thought, this was how she was going to die.

“I know.” He said calmly, “and I’m willing to give you another chance to prove it to me.” Archie snapped his fingers. “and I’m even going to give you some help.”

On cue, Stephanie’s door opened and in walked a man in an orange polo and khakis and close-cropped black hair. He shut the door behind him and folded his hands in front of him. Stephanie noticed his silver watch as it caught the light in the room.

“Is he a…bodyguard?” Stephanie hoped.

“Of sorts.” Archie said, “Why don’t I introduce you. C’mon over her m’boy!”

Dutifully, the man walked over. He looked stoic like he was chiseled from stone, but at the same time, he looked like an everyman, the perfect example of Middle America. He was the kind of guy you wouldn’t look twice at. Stephanie thought he might be one of the security guards that roamed the park, they were called Sheep internally. He walked to Archie’s side and froze in place.

“Townie,” he said with a bit of a bounce “Meet Steph. Steph, meet your bodyguard, your assistant, your best friend, your new ball and chain, Townsend.” He capped off the introduction with a “ta-da” gesture.

As soon as the last syllable left Archie’s lips Townsend snapped to life into a dorky dad persona, “Gosh, it’s so great to meet you Steph,” he chirped, “Archie has told me so much about you. I know we’ll get along great!” Townsend extended a friendly hand.

Archie crossed his legs, “Am I a matchmaker or what?”

Stephanie looked at Townsend, then his hand, then Archie and back around again. What was Archie doing? Was this some sort of test? Did he actually mean to send this Townsend guy to help her or was he there purely as her own personal Sword of Damocles. The Sheep were employed as security guards but Stephanie had heard rumors of them being used for more than just policing the park. After the last few weeks, Stephanie was inclined to believe that they were all true.

“It’s real rude not to shake someone’s hand Steph,” said Archie with a cartoonish look of faux-disapproval, “It’s only polite.”

“Right, sorry,” said Stephanie shaking her head, “my bad, nice to meet you Mister Townsend.” They shook and Townsend snapped back into what Stephanie could only call his “stand-by” mode.

“Not that I’m not grateful Archie,” Stephanie said, turning back at Archie, “but why do I need him?”

Archie gave Stephanie a reassuring look, “I just want to make sure everything stays on track Steph. I want this distasteful matter concluded before the Anniversary Celebration.” Archie got up with a hop. “This is going to be big for Howell, for everyone, and I don’t want to have to deal with this mess,” he said and he got ready to go, leaving the remnants of her steak on her coffee table. Townsend stood in place, Stephanie wasn't sure anything that could move him.

“I know how you like your privacy Steph, so I went ahead and bought out the condo next door for Townie. For the foreseeable future he will be your shadow; use him. He’s an asset. I’ve already filled him in on all the details of the assignment. Remember the press conference is this weekend. I’ll see you then, ciao.”

Stephanie sat in her chair, she couldn’t move. It would have been better if Archie ended her right then and there. Now all she can do is think about it and what’s worse is that he left Townsend here as a threat. It’s like he just left her with her personal murder weapon and said: “be back later to kill you.”

Townsend walked over to her soundlessly, arms bolted to his side, and knelt down to look her in the eye. “Boy Steph,” he started in his goofy dad voice, “Archie sure sounded serious; we better get working. He seems like a swell guy, I’d hate to disappoint him.”

“Is this a threat?” Stephanie said.

Townsend cocked his head back confused, “Threat?” he said, genuinely concerned.

“Are�"are you a threat, from Archie? Did he send you to threaten me?”

“Me? Threat? C’mon Steph it’s me!” His face did little to convey the cheer in his voice.

“I just met you.” Stephanie pointed out.

Townsend doubled down, “Archie sent me to help you. This issue is very important to him and I’m here to help you help him. I’m an asset Steph, honestly.”

“So, I’m your boss?” asked Stephanie.

“Yup!” he replied expressionlessly.

“Then leave.” She said with as much conviction and authority he could muster.

“Right-o!” answered Townsend, “See you tomorrow, buddy!” Then he marched out of Stephanie’s eye sight. She heard the sound of the door shut in her periphery and sat in silence staring at the mess Archie had left.

She weighed her options.

Making a run for it was immediately ruled out, not with those satellites in orbit and resigning probably wasn’t an option anymore. Stephanie assumed it was like joining a gang, not that she had but the TV had filled her in on the details. She decided, it didn’t matter how she felt on the ethics of the matter, it was between her and the life of some unknown criminal and as it stands Stephanie was far more invested in her own wellbeing. 

Stephanie curled up in her chair and let the ramifications of her decision sink in.