The streets of Crave City were dirty. There were old and new paper wraps from donut shops, hotdog stands and many other eating venues accumulating in the edges of the sidewalks. Cigarette buds, filthy and empty plastic bottles and plastic bags were the decor of the streets. People walked by all of these disgusting, horrible things, like if they didn't even exist. During the day, the skies weren't even blue anymore, they were filled with grey and could be confused with the rainy clouds above the sky. A smell of garbage and decay was the scent of the city. The people didn't even notice it anymore because their nostrils had gotten used to it, but the few tourists that did come by never returned. The place was a complete hell whole.
There was a lot of traffic in Crave City. Most of the cars were antiques. You could see the metal cars lined up. Some of them were blue, red and silver. Sometimes the traffic lights didn't work and there had to be police officers handling the traffic. The buildings were dirty, some were even rundown, although people were still living in them, most of them poor and unable to afford anything better than what their salaries offered. There weren't many places available to go to anyway unless you had a lot of money. Crave City wasn't a nice place. It wasn't good to anybody. It was a harsh place to live in. Most people hated their very existence, but they couldn't do anything else. All they could do was to continue to survive. They tried to ignore everything that was horrible about the place, but as crimes and corruption continued to grow more and more often, so did the indifference, the pain and the hopelessness of the residents.
In between several government buildings, stood tall and wide building with several white columns under a Dutch gable rooftop. Three dark glassed rectangular windows were lined vertically on the walls, with a one foot distance from each other and both above and beside the double doors of the building's entrance. The double doors suddenly opened outward. A few people were walking down the white stone steps while a group of reporters waited for the verdict of Nefri Mancinni, one of the most richest man of the City of Crave. The first group of people coming down were of no special interest, that is, until they saw both Mr. Mancinni and his lawyer Jimmy Nordak.
"You thought you had me, didn't you? You thought you had me? Well... go fuck yourselves CCPD. Ha, ha, ha. Go fuck yourselves," said Nefri Mancinni arrogantly. He walked with a fake elegance and looked at everyone else as if they were all inferior. He was rude, egotistical and indifferent to everyone around him. In other words, he was clearly an asshole. He was a big, bulky man with a beer belly that looked like he was almost pregnant and wore a huge, extra expensive suit to try to cover it, but it clearly failed. He barely had much hair over his head and his shiny Derby shoes reflected as he walked with them. They were actually cleaner than the windows from the courthouse.
"Well, it seems like there's been another failed attempt to arrest Mr. Nefri Mancinni. He is a business owner of several industries including burger joints, casinos and several pub clubs. Mr. Mancinni has just been released under the technicality of nonconsensual wiretapping and without the three witnesses that were going to testify against Mr. Mancinni, he was sent loose," said Emma Mia Ricci, an independent reporter that was following the case. Her cousin Emilio Ricci worked with her. He was the cameraman. He was slim and extremely tall, almost as tall as a scarecrow. He had a black, curtain shaped haircut. He was pale and had a set of dark circle shades under his beautiful dark, hooded eyes. He had long fingers which were wonderful for fiddling around with the camera.
He recorded the whole scene, from Mr. Mancinni's so called victorious speech of alleged human rights violations to his cousin's report. Emilia, who was wearing a short skirt that raised up her legs, pulled the edge of it down because it felt uncomfortable for her when it went up. It wasn't her intention to wear a skirt that went up like that, but by the time she had worn it and left her apartment building, it was too late. The skirt raised constantly as she walked and she had to fix it as much as possible. She hated it and swore to get rid of it as soon as she returned home. As the stairs filled with anxious reporters and cameramen to approach the infamous Mancinni, Emilia was still fiddling around with her microphone and testing it before approaching the set of stairs herself. By the time the Emilio gave her a thumb up, the stairs were already full and so she rushed her way through the stairs to try to interview Mr. Mancinni, while the other reporters were standing there, both fighting for his attention and blocking her way. She squeezed herself through to try to take a spot.
"Get out of here," one of the camera men from another channel said. He was black and wore his hair with dreadlocks. He wore a black shirt and jeans. Emma tilted towards her cousin who was also a cameraman and raised one of her eyebrows.
"Are you recording all of this?" Emma asked her cousin Emilio. He nodded and kept filming quietly. Emma gave him a slight nod. Later on, she was going to use this as a part of her independent report.
"I have a job to do," Emma said.
"Fuck off, let the real reporters are already doing they're job," the same camera guy said.
"Did you get that? He insulted, me. Please tell me that you filmed that," Emma Mia asked. Her cousin gave a brief nod.
"I am a real reporter," Emma Mia said.
"Are you filming me? You're not supposed to be filming me without permission," the camera man scoffed.
"I'm a camera man. If there's an incident and you just happen to be here and you just happen to be rude, then that's on you. I'm just doing my job. By the way, thanks for paying my rent," Emilio commented.
"Nobody watches your show. Who cares," the cameraman said and Emilio smirked. Then, a reporter from channel 2 tilted his head. He had, straight, hot blonde hair and clear blue eyes. He shushed them. Emma glanced at Emilio and gave him another nod. Emilio understood. It was showtime.
Jimmy Nordak, Mancinni's lawyer was young and arrogant. He wore a grey suit and dark, black denims. He was tall and slim with a black scalping hair. His blue eyes were focused on the cameras in front of him. The most annoying thing about him though was that he bent his neck sideways as if to try to imitate some sort of T.V. macho cowboy or something. Emma didn't like him one bit. He reeked of corruption.
"It is outrageous that the Crave City Police Department continues to harass my client in such a manner that they are willing to violate his private rights as a citizen. Wiretapping him without cause and on top executing a phony search warrant is insane. The truth about this case is quite simple. It's been nothing but a circus. Nefri Mancinni is a business man and this department is simply against wealth. My client is considering to take legal action against this department. This is unprecedented and as private citizens we cannot allow government agencies to trample all over our rights or our privacy. First they came for him and then they'll be coming for you. It's important to understand that abuse of government power is unacceptable, " his lawyer Jimmy Nordak said. Emma almost bursted out laughing. She had to give him credit though, he was great at pretending to be offended by justice. He could have had a successful carreer as an actor. Just like his client, he too was a fraud, she thought.
"You son of a bitch!" said Alexander Hardy. Alexander Hardy was the police detective who had filed for Mr. Mancinni's arrest. He had short black hair and incredibly beautiful blue eyes. He was muscular, handsome and tall, but not so tall that you couldn't reach up to him. He was understanbly furious and you could tell by the way his nostrils flared and he was kind of squinting his eyes. Alexander walked right at him to punch him in the face, but his two detective partners ran behind and caught him before he could hurt him. They were holding him back and telling him to please shut up. Nefri Mancinni smirked and he seemed to be amused by Alexander's fury.
"You see? You see that? This man is a danger," the lawyer said as Alexander was pulled back by his two partners, Ashley Boore and James Houlder. They used force because Alexander was a strong guy, but they were able to get him inside the courthouse.
"You're the danger. The tapes prove it. You son of a bitch! You got released by a technicality. Only by a technicality, not because you didn't do it. The tapes prove you're in deep shit," Alexander said. Jimmy Nordak pointed at him and shielding his comments with arrogance.
"Look at this guy. Sir, he was released," Jimmy Nordak said pretending that he was innocent.
"Fuck you! You're wrong and you're a corrupt son of a bitch," Alexander shouted.
"There's your police department for you. Corrupt, piece of shit department," said Mr. Mancinni appeasing to the public and reporters that were on the stairs watching the whole thing. The cameras were rolling and everyone was seeing what seemed like an unhinged detective.
"The only one who's corrupt here is you, Mancinni. You and your group. The tapes prove it and your all over the place. His case was dismissed over a technicality, the search warrant only specified his house and incriminating shit was found in his garage, it's a technicality. This guy is a piece of shit," Alexander said as his partners pulled him away and begged him to shut up. Mr. Mancinni almost laughed, but then he saw his lawyer's glare and decided not to. Nefri Mancinni didn't care, he knew he was guilty, but he had to pretend outrage.
Out in the corner of the parking area there was a tall, black man, dressed in white. He was recording the event with his cell phone and he had a keychain with a black skull. He wore dark glasses and dreadlocks. He found the whole thing interesting and he wasn't a reporter or anyone particulary linked to the case. He was just curious. He did know who Mancinni was, but he wasn't impressed by him. His particular interest had to do with Alexander.
Emma Mia Ricci decided to interfere because she didn't like what Jimmy Nordak and Mancinni were doing to Alexander. They were making him look bad on purpose. She placed the microphone near the lawyer's mouth. Jimmy Norkdak stared at the microphone as if it was some sort of disgusting bug to squash. She knew Alexander, so she thought that she owed him a favor, besides, she did know that Mancinni was in fact an evil man. Mr. Alexander Hardy was being pulled back into the courthouse.
"But Mr. Nordak, what do you have to say about Mr. Mancinni's charges being dropped only by technicalities? If this is the case, then your client is in fact involved in petty crimes and the only reason he's out is because of errors that had been made by the police. Didn't you say, I'm taking this fucking city?" Emma said. Everyone was shocked.
"That language," the star reporter Tracy Raynolds said. Really? She's offended by cursing, but not about the corruption, Emma thought, shook her head and ignored her.
"Do you believe in having privacy Miss-" Mr. Nordak said.
"Miss Ricci," she told him.
"Right, Miss Ricci, do you believe in privacy? If somebody wiretapped your house you'd probably be saying some pretty awful things too wouldn't you? How do you even know if this is true? There is no evidence to sustain that allegation. For all we know Mr. Mancinni was making a joke, making up a story or just trolling," Mr. Nordak asked.
"That's a lie. He didn't seem to be joking around. The tapes prove it," Emma replied. Alexander looked at her in shock, but also with approval. She was brave to confront Mancinni like that, but it was her job to ask tough questions, not to laugh at this guy's expense. Mr. Nordak shook his head.
"The tapes don't prove anything except an intentional breach of my clients'privacy. You Miss Ricci are, I'm sorry to say, not very well informed," Mr. Nordak said and the rest of the reporters laughed at her. Emma's nostrils flared in anger.
"Okay, but then what happened to all of the witnesses? Two died and one disappeared all of a sudden?" She asked him.
"Are you implying that my client had anything to do with those deaths and if so, where's the proof for what you're saying? Those are very strong accusations," The lawyer asked her. She frowned. He was just doing that on purpose.
"No, I'm saying that the witnesses conveniently disappeared when Mr. Mancinni's case here was going to trail. When did I say Mr. Mancinni did anything? I didn't say that. You're putting words in my mouth," she said.
"Miss Ricci what communications school did you go to? Are you hearing what you're saying?" the lawyer said and everybody laughed.
"Look Miss Ricci, you're a beautiful young lady, but this shit isn't for you. Why don't you go find yourself another job like being a hairstylist or a model or something? You certainly don't know what the fuck you're doing," said Mr. Mancinni and everyone laughed again.
"Here's my card," Mr. Mancini said with an air of I don't give a fuck and superiority in hisi voice as he handed her the card. Emma grabbed it and looked at it.
"Wow, would you look at that? She comes in here to insult Mr. Mancinni and in return he offers her a job. Is that the behavior of a criminal? I don't think so," The lawyer Mr. Jeremy Nordak said. Emma grabbed the card and placed it in her purse. Everyone looked at her. Some smirked, some chuckled and some were covering their mouths trying not to laugh.
"Okay, I think we've had enough questions for today," Mr. Jeremy Nordak said. He glared at Emma Mia Ricci and then walked down the stairs with his client Nefri Mancinni who also looked at her with disdain. The reporters swarmed them, trying to get anything they could out of them, but the two individuals walked on, ignoring the shouts of the press and getting into a luxurious silver colored limousine.
"Asshole and fuck you all too," Emma mumbled as she fixed her blond wig. She never revealed her hair because she was very self conscious and insecure about it, so she wore a long blond wig instead. She thought it was more acceptable for the media business. The silver colored limousine took off and she also noticed another car leaving, a black Sedan. She couldn't see much of the man except that his skin was black and he was wearing a white suit. She caught a glimpse of a ring with a skull, but she didn't give it too much importance because the guy could be anyone, but it was weird that he left right after the incident.
It was over and the reporters were talking into their cameras pretending that she had caused a situation when in fact she was just doing what they should have done, which was her job. She concluded that these asshole reporters were nothing, but scared of Mancinni and instead of doing their jobs, they mingled with the creep. With reporters like that, nothing was ever going to change in this city, she thought to herself. She despised most of them because they were filled with pride. They thought and believed that they were better than her. It made her furious. The cameraman from channel 2 looked up over at her cousin Emilio and showed him the middle finger. Emilio responded by pointing at his camera. The cameraman immediately tilted back to the channel 2 reporter Tracy Reynolds who had hair of gold.
"Screw him. We got him on tape," Emilio said, but Emma wasn't very interested about that. Instead, she looked up at the courthouse to see an Alexander Hardy that seemed frustrated and defeated. He white buttoned shirt was a little wrinkled now because his partners had pulled him back. He was removing his tie and walking down the stairs. Emma gave the microphone to her cousin Emilio and raced towards Alexander.
Alexander saw her and sped up the pace. He really didn't want to talk to her or to any other reporter in the area. He had his hands inside the pockets of his jeans as he tried to speed up the pace even more. He was doing what he could to avoid her or anybody else. He was too frustrated to talk about the incident. Frustrated and embarrased. Emma had to run to him if she wanted to reach him.
"Mr. Hardy! Detective Hardy, wait!" She said. It was too late, so Alexander made a quick stop. He decided that maybe it was just better to confront her and get on with his probable suspension.
"What is it Miss Ricci?"
"I thought you had everything covered? I thought you were going to nail him," Emma said. He walked on annoyed.
"So did I," he said. He was really in a bad moon and she was just making it worse. Emma noticed that the detective was smoking hot when he was angry. It wasn't her intention to notice that, but she did, he was a handsome man. His short black hair ruffled a little in the wind and his back looked big and strong. She had to forget that and focus on the job, so she went back to her original questioning. He had to forget about the whole incident and return to the police station where he was going to get a suspension.
"Detective, what happened? I thought you were authorized with a search warrant," she said. He turned around and stopped again. This was beginning to annoy him, but he tried to be as calm and as cool as possible. Emma bumped into him accidentally, though.
"Sorry," she said.
"You're forgiven," he replied.
"Apology accepted," she replied.
"Listen… I did everything I could. You heard the tapes yourself, you know what he said and you know the shit he's involved in," Alexander told her. He fiercely held on to his black tie. His tie was channeling his rage.
"I understand and that's why I agree with you that he's a scumbag, but what went wrong? I thought you had everything covered?" Emma asked him. He couldn't take this anymore.
"Miss Ricci, it's obvious that I didn't. Is there anything else you'd like to know besides my fucking failure today?" He asked her with an attitude. She couldn't blame him. He had been mistreated as a clown. It was the same frustration she felt when reporters were dismissive with her as well. On the other hand she wanted to know if he had a girlfriend, but she didn't ask that. Instead she shook her head and he left silently.
"Thank you…" she said. Detective Alexander Hardy didn't respond. He was tired of answering questions. He was going to probably be in a shit load of trouble once he arrived at the Crave CDP.