Sonic Series Fan Fiction ❯ Black and Blues ❯ All Eyes On You ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1: All eyes on you

 

Phones rang off the hook as people of all species and sex wearing black suits rushed through the brightly lit area chattering away each one talking about the latest case randomly slipping in their own interest and what not. As the double doors to an elevator opened, all eyes turned to watch a white bat dressed in white make its way down the rows of desk.

 

"Hello Charlie," a female wolf said typing away behind her desk. Charlie just nodded and kept walking.

 

"Hey Charlie," a group of men standing around a desk called. Charlie waved and pushed into the glassed-off section that separated the soundproof office from the hustle and bustle.

 

"Feet off now," Charlie's all too feminine voice ordered to the black hedgehog who has his feet propped up on the glass desk before him.

 

He just tilted his head and said, "You should really consider changing your name to something girlie. You know like Anna or Casey. Casey Rouge sounds nice."

 

The bat with her hair pulled back in a bun stared down at him. "For you information," she stated coldly, "I happen to like my name and, Shadow Harley McCoy, and if I have to tell you one more time..."

 

"I know, I know," he mumbled cutting her off as he removed his feet from the desk. "You'll have me arrested. Oh yeah, I can see the headlines now. Agent court marshaled for bad manners." He grinned devilishly as she sat down giving him a stern look.

 

"Now is not a time for jokes Shadow, "she said searching through various files on her PC and pulling up his on to the plasma screen behind her. "I've taken a look at the job you did last night. A regular man slaughter."

 

"What can I say?" he said cockily, "I do good work."

 

"Not good enough!" she yelled slamming her fist on the desk. "You left another witness."

 

"She was just a girl," he said looking off, "probably no older than sixteen, I was doing her a favor."

 

"And what if she was there by choice? What then? Would you still have left her alive?"

 

"What difference could one girl make?" he questioned getting to his feet to look out into the busy department.

 

"All the difference, Shadow, she could have enough knowledge to keep the syndicate running on her own."

 

"Whatever," he groaned shoving his gloved hands into the pockets of his leather trench coat.

 

"Don't give me that attitude! I'm telling you this for your own safety."

 

"My own safety?" he laughed. "There isn't a man alive who can catch me let alone kill me."

 

"Damn it!" she exclaimed jumping out of her seat. "When will you get this through your thick head? Over the past few years that you've been working for us, you have crossed half as many people as you've killed. That's a lot of dirt bags that would love to bust a cap in your ass any given day. Either lay low or start watchin' your back kid."

 

"It's nice to know you care," he said hotly, "but I don't need a lecture from a crabby bitch like you!" He snatched up the bag he brought with him and left slamming the office door behind him. Charlie growled furiously and hurled the huge diamond paperweight on her desk at the door shattering it completely. The entire department stopped everything they were doing and looked from Shadow, the broken glass door, to their boss' red face.

 

"What the hell are you looking at?" she snarled at them. "Get back to work." She sat back down and looked up at the plasma screen with Shadow's face still on it. "And get somebody to fix my damn door!"

 

"That boy is going to be the death of me one of theses days," she thought aloud to herself.

 

"Don't be mad at him mommy," said a small girl bat resembling Charlie. She wore a white dress and a cheerful smile as she stepped over the glass to place the paperweight back on her mother's desk.

 

"I know Emily," she said walking over to lift her in the air and set her on her hip. "It's just that sometimes your brother can be… difficult." The five year-old just looked at her confused.

 

"Don't worry you'll understand when you're older."

 

"But I wanna know now," she whined hugging her mother.

Ami looked up from her book in the dark corner as the glass door opened to reveal a silhouette against the lightning. The black hedgehog stepped inside out of the storm and shook the rainwater off of his quills.

 

"Ah! Shadow!" she greeted him, standing to take his soaked coat. "Can I get you the usual?"

 

"Sure," he replied, taking up his designated seat just to the left of the tiny performance stage. It was blurred by the smoke and dim light, but he could see a small drum set and a piano beside a barely illuminated microphone stand. He had always considered the stage a sacred place for creativity, though he'd never been upon it himself. Not much with the imagination towards music and poetry that is.

 

"Here you are," Ami said sweetly, breaking his train of thought. He smiled in thanks as she set a mug of dark coffee and a plain muffin before him. She stood there for a moment and watched him peel at its wrapper absently. "I probably don't have to ask, but do you wanna tell me about it?"

 

In the light of the table lamp, he could see her rabbit qualities: Dark brown ears pulled back into a ponytail, fluffy tail protruding from her long black skirt. Deep blue eyes gazed sincerely through her eye length brown bangs.

 

"No, but thanks," he muttered, now shredding the wrapper into little pieces.

 

"Nothing on your mind?" she pressed.

 

"NO!"

 

"Ok, ok. Whatever you say..." with a sad shake of her head, she disappeared into the sea of tables. Various people sat at scattered places, some with newspapers, others with laptops, others looking expectantly towards the stage. Curiously, he averted his eyes that way.

 

He was surprised but happy also. Lately he'd been coming to this place for a reason beyond the enticingly exciting muffin and coffee. Over the past month he noticed a new waitress, a midnight blue hedgehog named Isis. She was fascinating in an unusual way that he couldn't quite place. She wasn't extraordinarily looking like an angel of some sort if you took away the electric blue strands that cut across her soulful gray eyes. She was an enigma, yet he knew everything about her. He got the impression of a lost soul hungry for more than what she had been handed. She expressed it well. Upon her stage, for indeed it had been taken over by her presence there, she searched the tables as if looking for someone. Shadow sank further back into the dark. Finally, she removed a silver harmonica from the pocket of her apron and set it to her lips. Like a Fate, Isis pulled a haunted tune from the smoke filled air and weaved her way into his heart. He watched silently, amazed, barely flinching when the song ended. The audience applauded with a standing ovation. Isis bowed with a faltering smile.

 

Ami looked towards Shadow's table as she made her rounds with the washrag. He was gone. Observing further, she discovered that his muffin was untouched and his coffee was cold. There was a two-dollar tip. She looked up at Isis and shrugged taking Shadow's place in the chair.

 

The young hedgehog walked over and said with a sigh, “Scared him away again, didn't I.” She slumped into a chair across from Ami's making circles on the table with her finger.

 

“You didn't scare him away,” she said reassuringly as she picked at the muffin. “You just really, really…”

 

“Moved him,” she finished rolling her eyes and she sat back and looked at the coffee cup. “Yeah, you told me that before and he still leaves. All I want to do is talk to him.”

 

“Uh huh, sure you do.” Ami flicked a piece of muffin into the coffee cup. “I can understand that you want more than just a causal conversation with this guy but that's probably all you're going to get. He's been coming here for a long ass time and I still don't know the first thing about him.”

 

“Then what do you know about him Ami?” she asked hoping for an answer to the man that she found to be a riddle. She came to the city of Olivia for a chance to make her mark in the blues world but now she's side tracked by something more tempting.

 

Ami smiled at the eager face her young friend wore and leaned forward on her elbows and said very clearly, “I can only tell ya what I know and what I think.” Seeing that Isis understood she continued. “He's been coming here for about four years now first as a delivery boy for some big company or whatever then just to sit around and read drinking and eating the same thing day in and day out. I've watched him grow, you know, seen his attitude change. I talked to him a few times and he says he can't tell me much about himself only that he loves the Blues and likes to read. He has a little sister too, said he'd like to bring her here someday to listen to the musicians.”

 

Isis smiled at the thought of having a younger sibling to look after. “Does he have a job?” she asked taking her mind off the thought.

 

Ami laughed and said, “He claims he's a cop. I seriously doubted it. No cop looks, acts, walks, and talks like him.”

 

“I agree,” Isis said dreamily gazing off into the light smoke in the room. “He's too cool to be a cop.” Ami laughed at the daze she was in and got to her feet taking the cold coffee and muffin in her hands.

 

“You should go home,” she suggested waking her from her trance. “Get some rest. I'll close up in a bit.”

 

Isis gazed up at her and smiled still very much in her trance as she went to put away her apron and grab her robe like coat. She waved to Ami and made her way out into the rainy alley that served as the entrance to the quaint café. She glanced at the busy street and up to the dark bluish gray sky filled with rain clouds. She turned to look down the alleyway to a single lamp that hung off the brick wall. She gasped at the dark figure standing under the pale light. She blinked and the figure was gone. Sighing, Isis lifted her hood over her head and stepped out from the protection of the canopy and into the rain. She started to leave but turned to look down the alley again. Nothing. She turned back to the busy street and walked to her apartment wondering who that was in the alley. Was it him or was she only dreaming that it was? So many questions and no one to answer them.