On The Road
"I don't know how to take it." Gin wrapped his arm around Middie. She patted it affectionately. "Just, my bro, gone one day. Then they found him, One Song. Dead on some random colony. A colony, he was shoved up inside of a colony. Can you believe it?"
She shook her head showing as much sympathy as she could, but cautious as well. She noticed a long time ago they weren't going in the right direction. They were going a long ways away from his address. They were already in another city, but she couldn't complain.
"I always told him his side business would get him. There were better ways to make money." He smiled and touched her cheek. "Better ways to meet girls. I mean? They were rubbing up on him for better pay, you can't trust girls like that." Distant for a moment. "It's put a crack between the family though, everyone's blaming everyone." He sighed and started to drive faster. "Things just got worse when they found out who it had been. You can't keep my family out of the loop. You know who it had been?" She shook her head. "Some blonde. Some blonde with pretty hair and gorgeous looks and a kind smile. Played him for a fool."
Uh oh. She wasn't here for comfort in the way she thought. "I'm not her." She struggled to say it, but she'd left her phone behind.
"Of course you aren't her. I mean? So you like playing me like she did my twin brother. You've got real nice long hair, a face that screams innocent but eyes that wink back and say you aren't. No, you're nothing like her."
Middie watched him grab her hand. "Never. Played." She fully intended on paying him back. She would never play Gin.
"I know I'm jumping the gun, One Song. I don't mean to scare you," he promised. "I know you were good for it. It's just? Life's hard right now. With my brother, and my family, and this whole situation? I just need some comfort right now. You know?" He stole a kiss on the side of her head once they reached the lights. "Promise. A guy like me can take care of a girl like you for a real long time."
///Middie: I'm not a bad girl./// He could see her past hiding in her eyes, but she hadn't done anything wrong in many years. Yet, what she did. It would always linger in her eyes. He could see that, and he was casting punishment because of it. She had to get out. Find another way to pay him off, steal and sell something if she had to at this rate, but she didn't want to be a-
"You did intend on paying me back, right?" Gin asked as he finally turned into a drive. "You weren't trying to stab me in the back." He lightly choked. "Like that Catalonia woman did to my brother! Even that last name, you knew she was someone terrible. Related to Romefeller." He pulled her hair gently toward him. "He probably didn't even think of the name, just saw the pretty girl staring at him. No idea what lied beneath. Get out."
Middie got out of the car. Gin was seeing her as some substitute for this Catalonia woman that just killed his brother. ///Middie: How to get out?/// She didn't know if 'One Song' was enough to comfort him, or if he'd want to strike her dead in anger. He was close to his brother, very close. A little crush might not matter at all in the bonds of brotherhood. Using her as a substitute though, how cowardly.
"Middie!"
Ooh. He didn't call her 'One Song'. She had to get out.
"Middie!"
Damn. He was physically grabbing her now. She went into the house but tried to watch herself.
"He never did anything wrong. I mean? Not really. It was just business." Gin walked around the room lightly. "It was just business. You remember him, right?"
Not much. Her and Gin's brother met only briefly. She gestured toward her throat.
"Oh, don't. I paid for medication too. It's been a couple of days and you've said a few words." He grabbed her by the hair. "Talk. What did you think about my brother?"
His brother? She barely knew him. Uh? "Nice."
"Nice what? Nice jacket? Nice pants? Nice smile? Nice money?"
She was trying. "Nice. Smile."
"Yeah. He had a nice smile. He was a nice guy. He didn't deserve that."
Middie took a few steps back. She looked around herself for a possible weapon as he went over toward a little bar area, but he dragged her along.
"I don't know, One Song. I mean? On one hand, I've never seen you do a thing wrong." He let go of her as he reached the bar and started to pour himself some whiskey. "On the other? You can just tell. When you look at someone, when they are hiding something." He smelled his whiskey and handed it to her. Then he poured himself another one. "What are you hiding, hmm?"
Middie set the whiskey down. If she said nothing, he'd only get madder. If she told him the truth, he might get so mad that he killed her.
"Are you sure you're not. I don't know?" He took a drink of his whiskey. "A spy?"
Oh no. Revenge of the Lost gave him information about her past. He was going to assume she was the one who ratted out his brother! "I didn't know him." It came out echoey, but she tried.
"Oh no? Didn't you just say he had a nice smile?" He took his whiskey glass and tossed it to the floor, and then pulled a gun on her. "You expect me to believe a spy, a dirty girl like you, didn't give up my brother?"
"I wouldn't have!" Ah. "Asked for money!" She took a few steps back. "From you, if I had!" Looking for anything. "Him." Nothing but furniture. Not even a single thing to throw. Time to switch gears. This wasn't going to remain friendly for much longer, but Middie Une was a survivor.
"I think my One Song? Was one naughty bird, singing like a parakeet." He held his gun at her again. "Death is so easy though, isn't it? You still owe me, and like I said? I'll take care of you for a real long time." He took another step forward to her. "After ratting out my brother, you still had the gall to ask for my help afterwards. Just, laughing at it all, weren't you? Didn't get enough from him, did you?"
Middie shook a moment as she watched a bullet graze the couch. Involuntary. It wasn't going to be that fast. A doorway? Nothing near her. A way out? The furniture was laid out eclectically, she'd trip if she tried to run.
"Honestly? I was pretty jealous. He owned a lot. You know? Left me in that dead-end job while he had enough money to cruise the world." He held up a key to her. "His house was a mansion too. This is just his little second house. A little reserve, 'cause he didn't want to be too far from me. But you know what? He earned it. He earned every dime. Now, this is what you are going to do," he said to her. "I don't know what's what, and I don't want to really kill you if your innocent, One Song. So? You are going to prove to me that you are a good girl. That you didn't do any of this. You are going to beg for me to believe you, and you are going to make me believe that you are just a sweet girl. A sweet girl that had nothing to do with this. You've got a week." He came toward her more steadily. "A week to make me forget how much you look just like the one who took him down. A week to make me believe you are just a timid bird. You start tonight, and then tomorrow, we are going on a trip. To his mansion. I have his extra key. Even though I was jealous? He trusted his brother. He trusted me. Now, what are you going to do?"
Gin was going to make her do anything she could to desperately save her own life. Yeah, survivor mode. His eyes were vicious and he firmly believed she ratted out his brother to the woman who killed him. Middie would either give him everything he wanted for a week and then be killed, or be convincing enough to make him see it wasn't her.
She closed her eyes. "Of course, Gin," she agreed. "I hurt but. I. Would never. Hurt. Him."
"Great. Then, explain your spy time? Go ahead, sit down. Use your own voice and explain everything you can. In as much detail as you can. One Song."