Flash Fiction: Noir Story

Chapter 25

Horner had spilled his guts, telling me almost everything I needed to know, even if it did take a little more "coaxing" on my part. Roger Horner had one been a part of an elite crowd, the debutantes and heirs, one of those people who get famous for being famous. Except he never got his break. He started heading into the Barrows to play at being "street." Seems though that he became a victim of his own fame. In that ind of world, having money can buy you a lot of friends, but once that money dries up it can buy you a lot of enemies. Horner spiraled deeper and deeper into the mess, dragging poor Elsa with him. She was in love, and the two of them fell farther out of control. It got so bad that Horner's parents cut him off, coincidentally I'm sure, around the same time Elsa'a father was marrying Alison.

The two took their weekend squatting and made it a full time thing and you can guess what happened from there. Horner starting doing whatever he could for another fix, and Elsa turned to the one thing she still had, her looks. Eventually Horner caught the eye of Johnny Sixx, who gave him a place in his organization, providing Elsa go with him. By this point Elsa was pretty much a bombed out shell. High and addicted, she still had her looks and that's why Horner thought Sixx wanted her. I wasn't so sure. Something still stunk, and it wasn't Horner's fucking cologne. Sixx knew something, the last piece of a puzzle that was really starting to piss me off.

I had Annie phone in a tip to my old pal Mike from Horner's apartment and told the girl in red to beat it the fuck out of here. I left Horner tied up in his room and Annie and I split. We took the stairs down and I peeked out in the lobby to make sure it was all clear. I had already made a big enough mess of things upstairs, I couldn't afford to get busted now. We hopped in the car, Annie pushing me out of the way to drive.

I looked at Annie as she hit the accelerator and rocketed towards home. She was practically glowing, a fierce light in her eyes. This kind of shit really got her off, the adrenalin, the rush, the danger. Some people get scared and shut down, Annie, the fear makes her feel more alive. Fuck, all I felt was the need for a drink after this kind of stuff. Annie, hell, she was ready to fuck your brains out. Somehow, I think the most dangerous part of my night was still ahead.