I slid my hands into the pockets of my denim jacket, rubbing the smooth leather of my wallet between my fingers. I've been Crystal for 6 months now, but her clothes still felt like a costume and her life still felt like a sham. That was a good thing, I guess. I've heard stories about cops who lost themselves undercover, and longed for the life of a criminal long after the assignment was over.
I admit, parts of the life were fun. There's money that you can spend however you want, adrenaline, freedom. As long as you sold the shit you needed to sell and stayed loyal, you could do whatever the fuck you wanted. But living on the edge came with a cost, and that cost was too high for me.
I leaned back into the diner booth, letting out an exasperated sigh. I've been waiting for 20 minutes now. Duke was late, and he was never late. My legs were getting cold, so I pulled down my skirt to try and cover more, to no avail. The dress I was wearing was short, a little bit skanky; it was part of my character.
I pulled out my phone to check the time; 8:24. I was starting to get a bit worried. Duke was the closest thing to a friend that I had in this life. He was funny, a bit goofy sometimes, and I think he genuinely cared about me. He stood up for me when he didn't have to, lent me some of his earnings when I was short.
I looked up at the bell of the diner door as a tall man in a hoodie and ripped jeans walked in: Duke. I leaned forward in my seat and started rapidly typing on my phone, to make it look like I was texting. Bored and unbothered by his tardiness. He scanned the diner, finally making his way over to me and sliding into the booth. I looked up lazily, "You're late."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Trust, me Crystal, you won't care when you hear why."
I set my phone down and cocked my head, "yeah? Spill."
He grinned, his blue eyes twinkling. "Teddy wants to meet you."
My eyes widened. Teddy Bear. The man I've been working to meet all these months. My heart was jumping inside my chest. I finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel. If I played my cards right, I could be home by Christmas, see my husband again.
His name was ironic, obviously. The man was anything but cute or cuddly, and responsible for most of the drug activity on the eastern seaboard. There's no telling how many people have died because of him.
"Teddy? Are you for real?"
"Yeah, baby! Apparently, you did more these past 6 months than most do in 2 years."
I grinned. "When?"
Duke stood back up, "Right now, so let's go"
I could barely contain my excitement as I followed.
~~~~~~~~~
Our cab pulled up behind a nightclub, and Duke and I got out. He pulled open a rusty door in an alley, "He wants to see you alone. Just go down the stairs, open the door, and wait there."
I nod, "Thank you so much Duke."
He smiled at me, "Good luck".
The door shut behind me and I began to descend down the stairs. Half of me was terrified, the other excited. I was glad I dressed up today, I knew I needed to make a good impression. My breasts were on prominent display in my tight dress, and I found them to be a very good asset whenever dealing with any man in this business. My long black hair was curled, and framed my face, which looked somewhat innocent no matter how hard I tried to look otherwise. My legs, already long, seemed even longer today due to the length of my dress and my heels.
Finally, I got to the bottom. My heart pounding, I rested my hand on the knob. I didn't move for a couple seconds, taking in the gravitas of the situation. I bit my lip and pushed it open.
I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. The room looked like a lavish office, something you'd see in some fancy highrise law firm or on wall street. A large mahogany desk sat on the other end of the room, a large leather chair and imposing bookcase behind it. There was a door on that wall as well, almost as colossal as the desk.
There was nobody else in the room, so I sat in one of the two chairs facing the desk. I crossed my legs and began to wait. God damn I was doing a lot of waiting today.
10 minutes later, the door behind the desk creaked open. I immediately sat up straight and brushed my hair out of my face. I was kind of scared to look, scared to see what Teddy looked like. He's been some mythological creature in my mind for so long, I wasn't sure that I was ready to meet him in person.
But when I looked up I didn't see Teddy, I saw a face I knew all too well. "Duke? What are you doing here? I thought you said Teddy wanted to see me alone?"
Duke didn't reply. He just laughed and sat in the big chair across from me. He was dressed differently now, in a suit. I had to say, it suited him. 2 men emerged from the door as well, and made their way around the table behind me.
I swiveled my head, confused and a little scared. Turning back to Duke, I asked "What the hell is going on? Where is Teddy?"
Duke laughed again. " I am Teddy, Crystal" he smiled, straightening his tie, "Or should I say Danielle? Or Officer Moore? I'm not sure what you go by"
My heart sank into my chest. How could I be so stupid? How did I mess up this bad?
"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about" My voice was shakier than I wanted it to be, but I needed to stall, I needed to make an escape plan. I slid my hand back into my pocket, opening the wallet with my fingers. I had a button, for emergencies only, if I needed extraction. And I really fucking needed extraction.