Amelia, Amelia, Amelia. It was like magic as it rolled off my tongue. I had the key, not sure to what, but it was the key to something important. I felt like I had some important part of me back. The two large men in black dragging me upstairs may make it seem like I am in a bit of trouble, but I don’t feel that way at all. I feel like I am whole again. I look at them and I figure out the best way to take them out if I needed to. Though something tells me that they were taking me exactly where I need to go.
As I am being lead up the stairs, and down the hallway, I see Kate, and they begin to lead us side by side,
“How did you get caught?” she asks me.
“I could ask you the same question,” I retort.
“I actually was trying to save Maxwell’s ass when they locked down all the vents. I was screwed.”
“Maxwell is...?”
“Yeah, he wanted to be the one to go into Smoker’s office, granted he is the second best lockpicker that we got,”
Before I could ask who is the first, I see a pair of giant black doors in front of me. On the top of them in gold letters reads, “J. S. Smoker.” I found myself in front of the entrance to the beast.
“Could this be any gaudier?” Kate asks me rhetorically, as the guards press a solid gold intercom box button, and a voice says, “Let them in.”
We are ushered into a black and gold office room. It looks like a huge version of Maxwell’s office, though instead of looking like something a college professor would use, this looked more like a black and gold encrusted classroom. The walls were lined with books, and there was a wide open space between me and the huge black desk that sat a brown haired, well built man with a black shirt, black tie, black suit, and even black glove combo that made the impression of a demon. Though I admit, I may be a bit biased at this point.
“Well, well, well. Long time no see, Josh,” the man at the black desk says as I hear the doors behind us lock, and the guards let go of both Kate and I.
“Where the hell are the others?!” Kate yells immediately.
“Now, that’s not a great way to start a conversation. My name is J. S. Smoker, and I am the leader of the Smoker Assassin Guild. Pleased to meet your acquaintance, young lady,” the man says as he stands up and turns to me, “Please come closer, I haven’t seen your face in such a long time.”
Kate hesitates, and I charge forward. This is it. This is why I can’t remember anything. I just need to figure out what ‘this’ is, and I will be free.
I stop at the desk, and slam my hands on what seems like black wood, though upon hitting it, I feel that it is more of a plastic surface.
“I want answers!” I say genuinely.
The man laughs, “Josh, you must be kidding,” and he pauses while he sits down again and begins to say very slowly, “For someone who killed the previous leader of the Smokers, you seem to be a little more forward than I was expecting.”
I was taken aback.
“After we split our different ways, I thought it would prudent to respectfully agree to disagree with each other and leave each other alone, but when you murdered U. Smoker, I began to realize that perhaps you did not value prudence as much as I did,” the man says as he stares right in my face, “Do you not remember this?”
The Black Platform. That man. The fire. The gunman who couldn’t cry. Of course it was me. I didn’t remember it as me, but it must have been.
“You know Josh, after all the years I knew you, I trained you, cooked for you, I bled for you, it hurts to think that you don’t remember any of it.”
I remembered it. Bits and pieces. But I don’t remember being grateful. Not even once.
“Yo! Smoker! Where the hell is everybody else!?” Kate yells.
The man ignores her and stands up, “This mind compartmentalization you cling to, does it actually help you? Do you feel more in control? Do you feel good knowing that you can barely control yourself?”
“If you did anything to them, I swear I will,”
“And what will you do?” the man interrupts her, and breaks his attention off me.
She walks right up to the man, “I’ll kill you, you bastard!” she says.
“An anti-assassin killing? Do not worry, none of your crew are important enough to kill. Though I was disappointed to not see Dan. Is he still working with Maxwell?”
“F___ you!”
“If there was any justice in the world, he would be running your little band, but the world seems to be rather short on justice lately. Instead, the crook who stole my home is now leading some of the best people I ever had the pleasure to face.”I am confused, I need to say something, “Jordan, you’re Jordan, right?”
“Yes, Josh, I am Jordan Steinman, the poor schmuck who took you in and made into the man you are today.”
I looked at his lapel, there was a pin that read ‘J.S.,’ just like I remembered.
“Then, why, well,” I was trying to think it through, “Why did you bring us here in the first place? Only a fool would think that you hired a band directly connected with the UWG on accident.”
“That is funny, isn’t it Josh? I have been making some bad decisions lately. Recently, I sent an assassin to kill a rumored high ranking official, but I left him with no escape route! Now why would I do that?”
“You were setting up a trap. I knew it!”
“Of course you did, Josh. If you could only think clearly, you would have realised that this
was all a trap from the beginning. By the way, did you enjoy my music selection?”
Jordan had my number, that was for sure, but I just didn’t know how much he really knew. I knew I could beat him, I knew I had to.
“You keep the hell away from Amelia,” I say angrily.
“For someone who dumped you years ago, you have always been very protective of that girl. I think that she can very much defend herself. It was more than sheer coincidence that she is here, but really, the question you should be asking yourself is whether you can really defend yourself?”
At first I was getting angrier, but then that confidence began to flow over me again. If he wanted me dead, I would be dead already. He wants something, something that I have. He thinks that he has this all planned out, but all I need is to remember where I hid that trump card, and I’ll have the upper hand.
“Jordan, I may have forgotten many things, but I didn’t forget that I can take anything you dish out,” I say confidently.
Jordan leans his back towards the desk, “HA! I missed you Josh. I really did. You always were the feckless neophyte, but you had drive,”
“I want the rest to be released, it’s me that you want.”
“I already released the rest of your bandmates, the woman you had break into my ball, and your white suited ‘manager.’”
“What about Maxwell?” Kate interrupts.
“Alexander? I need some insurance that Josh here will come back after he goes back to base and cleans himself up so we can catch up on old times.”
“You don’t seriously think we are going to send him alone, do you?” Kate quips sarcastically.
“You don’t have a choice. He probably locked up everything back at the base so that only he could get back in. Unless you send back Josh to me, alone, you won’t get your boss back,” Jordan says as he gets behind his desk and sits down.
“Let’s go Kate, don’t worry, I can handle him,” I say as I pat Kate’s shoulder.
“Are you crazy? He is enemy number one! Nobody’s gonna save you if you go alone!” she says as she brushes off my hand off her shoulder.
“This might be the concussion talking but, I got this. Let’s go home, I need a shower.”
I need to get Kate out of here. I need to get Jordan alone so I can confront him and sort this out. I know this all leads to him, I got all the pieces, I just need to link them in the right order and everything will make sense.
It all has to make sense, right?
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