Ch. V: The Plot Thickens
"Ah, I see our visitor has awakened." Hugo heard a husky voice chime in from somewhere near by. The world seemed a swirling misty haze. Hugo shook his head to relieve some of the cobwebs he felt to be laying on his brain.
"Let me introduce myself and my colleagues to you Mr. Kirby. I am Ms. Amelia Smarts. The two gentlemen to your left are Joel Markanetti," said tilting her head in a gesture to a taller thin gentleman, 'And this is Charlie "The Tuna" Harper,' She continued once again tilting her head towards a shorter more, well shall we say heavier version, of the first gentleman.
Hugo weighed his options. The world seemed to be slowing its' heavy spin. And the cobwebs were fading rapidly. He decided that given the right opportunity that he could take them out. They didn't appear to be the brightest or the strongest adversaries Hugo had ever faced. And he had to find Maddy. He was extremely worried for her. He had that gut instinct that he has only when there is a major wrong going on.
Reading Hugo like a book; Charlie placed his hand inside his jacket, resting it on his piece. Hugo was a man who would defiantly understand this gesture. "Easy there Kirby. Let's keep this as friendly as possible, huh?"
"Where are my manors? To your right there, Mr. Kirby, is Morris Logan," Amelia stated, as she drew a long cigarette from her delicate golden case. Morris immediately drew out a lighter and fired it for her.
Hugo did a quick mental assessment of this new character brought to his attention. He was at least six foot six inches. Probably weighed about 265, all of which seemed to be muscle, from where Hugo was sitting. Hugo looked in his eyes and saw a sharpness that might be missed by the untrained eye. Yes, this one would defiantly be a problem to tangle with.
"Morris is here to do two things Mr. Kirby. Hugo, May I call you that?" she went on without waiting for his reply. "One is to assure all of our safety, and the second is to keep this meeting as peaceful as possible."
"What in the hell do you want from me?" Hugo growled. He couldn't decide if this dame was just bitchy by nature or if she had been through some major shit in her life. Either way he was growing a quick dislike for her.
"It's simple we must know what Kim might have told you before her death."
"I don't know any damn Kim." Hugo's' mind replayed the last couple of days. Kim? Nothing was coming to mind.
Hugo watched as the dame broke into a cruel ear shattering laughter. She seemed both amused and pained at the same time.
"You care to share the joke with me?"
"My dear Hugo. It seems our little Kimmy had added you to her list of wrapped men before her death." She chuckled again. "Whipped men do so annoy me."
Amelia impatiently tossed her cigarette on the floor standing and crushing it out.
"Ok, I do suppose Madeline would be a little more familiar to you."
"You bitch; what have you done with Maddy!" Hugo tried to lung for her. He would wring the truth from her pretty little neck. Before he could get two inches off the bed, the 6'6 he-man had quickly put him in check.
No need to get hostile Hugo. I wouldn't waste my time to touch her." She spit out. "Kim was my sister Hugo. And while there was no love loss, I really never wanted any harm to come her way. She and I, along with these goons," she nodded at Joel and Charlie, "were trying to recover some important items from a rival family. Kim and Joel were getting to close. The bullet her little porter friend took was meant for her."
Hugo couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had known Maddy since childhood almost. Hell, they were high school sweethearts. How could she have had this whole other life he had never known about. He felt betrayed.
Amelia sat on the edge of the bed and placed her small slender hand on Hugo's' shoulder. She gave him a light squeeze. And he thought he heard her say sorry. "I know this is a lot for you Hugo. But we must press on. Are you ready?"
"Go on. I'm listening." Hugo stated. He was re-evaluating his assumptions of her. He suspected that she had been a victim of Maddy herself.
"Ok then." Amelia almost felt sorry for him. He was just another of Kim's' victims. Kim always carried an air of sweetness and light about her. But all she ever left behind was pain and heartache. Even her own sister couldn't be spared her cruelty. She had seen how happy I was with Joel. So she pressed her way into his life and crushed me out in the process. No, Joel wasn't faultless in that endeavor. But I will deal with him in my own time.
"Ahem, Amelia?" Joel prodded as he placed a hand on her back.
Snapped from her memories of pain Amelia realized that, he the man who had played a major part in crushing her spirit, was touching her. She gave him a complete look of disgust and snatched her shoulder away. "Where were we?"
"Kim and the porter Ammy." Morris answered her handing her a lighted cigarette. There was a softness that spoke both love and lust in his eyes.
Hugo caught this softness and was instantly curious about the relationship between the two. Could they be lovers? This big huge ball of muscle and the small delicate little lily. The matching was so odd, that it fit so well just the same.
Hugo was brought back to reality as Amelia continued.
"Oh yes, thank you love. I'll make this short and sweet. So let's save the Q&A for after class ok?" Amelia sat on the edge of the chair across form Hugo. Hugo couldn't help but notice as she crossed her long shapely legs. Amelia caught this gesture, took a deep breath and continued.
"As you know the bullet missed. And blind luck threw you in. Kim used you to keep her safe until she could reach Joel. She left with him after your lengthy love making session that night. They were set to rendezvous with an insider from the rival family. He had information that was to help us reach our goal. Well they walked straight into a trap and Kim was killed. Joel was to suffer the same fate, but luckily for him Charlie arrived just in time to save the day."
Hugo could tell by the tone of her voice and the look on her pretty little face that she wasn't so happy about that fact either.
"Now our dilemma since the stakes have been raised is to find out how much you know Hugo." She stared at him harshly. "You understand we can let nothing compromise this mission further?"
"To a point you have my understanding Miss Smarts."
"Hugo, please call me Amelia."
