Veronica's Fallacy

3.

-HER-

The chilly night air ruffled my hair as a car drove by, making me shiver. In the distance, thunder cracked, and the rain got heavier.

I waited at the empty, broken-down bus stop in an unfamiliar and turbulent neighbourhood. My senses were on alert, and my anxiety was at its peak as I tried to act calm, waiting.

A couple of days after I had asked Matt for help, he had somehow arranged a meeting for me with a middleman. I was surprised because I hadn't expected such a quick response, which made things tense.

I glanced at the corner where Matt was waiting in his car, watching me for safety. That helped a bit, but not much. Matt had said that the middleman hadn't told his price yet, which added more to my concern, but I pushed it out of my head at that moment and focused on the present.

I needed to get this job done at any cost, or Fiona would strip me of my ranks and make me one of them. She was serious about it. Goddamn serious.

I watched a couple more cars pass by as the rain started to get heavier. Suddenly, one of the cars stopped in front of the bus stop, and the front passenger door opened before I could say anything.

"Get in," a deep voice said. The middle man was here. I glanced once in Matt's direction before rising for my seat. I stepped in the rain for a second under one of the flickering lights of the bus stop before getting in the car.

As soon as I sat inside, the door closed and locked.

"Tell him to go away," the man in the driver's seat ordered. I glanced at him. He was old and wrinkly, but he had a savageness in his eyes that couldn't be missed even in the semi-darkness of the car.

I heard a click somewhere before feeling something poking my stomach. He had his gun out.

"I'll do it," I told him, taking out my phone and shooting a quick text to Matt. This might as well end up being my last text to anyone. The realization dawned upon me abruptly, and every muscle in my body suddenly tensed.

The driver waited, watching in the rearview mirror with his gun still poking my stomach. After a couple of seconds, he started driving. I waited for him to talk, but he didn't.

"Where are we going?" I asked, unable to bear the dense silence in his car. Just to be sure, I glanced at the rearview mirror again to see if Matt was following us. My stomach twisted when I didn't find him there. He was indeed gone.

"Nowhere," He answered, speeding up, driving towards one of the highways, and exiting the town. I clenched my jaw.

"I'm here for a deal," I told him, trying to keep my voice firm, but I was already dead deep down. In response, he chuckled darkly, which rattled my soul. Finally, he stopped at the side of a road threading through the dark woods, turning off the lights inside the car until everything around us was drenched with darkness.

Outside, the rain got heavier. I fiddled with my finger.

"Who do you seek?" He asked.

"A missing person," I told him. "His name is Victor Stein. He's been missing for six months,"

"I bet you can find him there," he nodded at the other side of the road. Just in time, thunder cracked the sky in half, illuminating everything briefly. I noticed a cemetery there. My heart stuttered in my chest. If Stein was already dead, I took such a risk for nothing.

"He can't be dead," I whispered, making him laugh at me.

"You hope?"

"I believe he isn't dead," I affirmed, turning to him. "I've searched for him everywhere but cannot find him. The Underlords are my last resort," I told him honestly. "I'm willing to pay the price to find Victor Stein alive,"

My words injected more tension into the air, and the deathly silence that drenched us made me regret saying that.

"Anything?" he asked, his voice taking on a dark tone. A shiver ran down my spine.

"Anything," I said firmly. His glowing eyes looked at me darkly, and I could imagine all kinds of things going through his head.

"Anything," He laughed, but it was deep and profound this time, almost making the car shake. My breaths shallowed as I wondered if I had made the right decision by doing this.

I gasped and almost threw myself out of the car when he closed the distance between us abruptly. My hand instantly went to my gun, ready to defend myself if he took another wrong step.

He stooped just a few inches away from my hair and sniffed. I wanted to cringe away from him but couldn't move anymore. My back was already pressed against the car door he had locked.

"Your meat would be more expensive," He remarked, settling back in his seat. I wanted to relax after he pulled back, but his words made me tense, anxious, more... scared. I was uncertain of the promise I had made to him. But most importantly, what the fvck did he mean by my meat? Was that a literal or figurative statement? I decided not to ask for clarification. The response would terrify me more either way.

"How old are you?" He asked.

"Twenty-seven," I answered after a pause. I didn't like where it was headed. I could feel his eyes on me, looking through my clothes. My hold on the gun tightened.

"Are you a virgin?" He asked.

"What does that have to with anything—"

"You said anything," He snapped. My breaths spiked.

"No," I gritted.

"That's a shame. You could've been worth more, but I'll see what my Lord thinks," He spoke.

"What does that mean?" I asked, shaking. "And who is this Lord of yours?"

"You'll get to know him when you meet him," he dismissed, turning the engine on and starting to drive again.

"When am I supposed to meet your Lord?" I asked.

"I'll let you know after the clearance," he answered. I wanted to ask him more, but he abruptly stopped the car at an empty intersection and unlocked the door. I knew it was time to leave, so I did it silently.

I felt my whole body trembling as I watched him drive away. For a moment, I stood there, watching the empty roads, unable to believe I was alive.

Well, I was alive technically, but deep down, I was already dead. It was a matter of time before I'd truly end up in a grave. Maybe a shallow, unmarked one.

~

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