The Dark Side of Chocolate

Who owed him favors?

A plan struck him, and he dialed.

"Hello! Thank you for calling Chingu. My name is Ashley, how may I help you?"

"Tell Chun Hei that he has roses," he said in Korean.

The girl agreed, putting him on hold. A second later a gruff, nervous voice answered.

"What do you want?"

"Is this line secure?"

He heard shuffling before the man replied,

"Yes."

"Good. I'm calling it Chun Hei."

"Please, I'm just..."

"It's not a big," he interrupted. He hated whining. "I want you to leak that your bar has a secret menu. Make it confrontational like you only offer it to Asians or something."

"Why would I do that?" the man asked frantically. "Business is finally great! You want me to make a menu that..."

"I said leak. Pretend there is a menu."

"But—!"

"You're making me mad."

Chun Hei went silent. He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Are you making me bait?" Chun Hei finally asked.

"I'll call you in 17 hours. I want it done. By tomorrow."

He hung up. Sighing, he rolled his shoulders. He pulled his shirt over his head and yawned. Actually that could be said with men as well. The thought of her roaming around set him on edge. She could be passing right by him, mocking him in plain sight.

Turning on the shower to a decent heat he stepped in, leaning his head into the shower's beating. It soothed his ever growing headache. When he closed his eyes he could feel her, her warmth, her softness, her wetness, when he had tested her with his fingers.

She could run all she wanted, but he would fine her.

He would find her.

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Chapter Four: Cherry Cordials

"Audrey come in right now! We have a major scoop!"

Audrey groaned. She looked at the clock. 6:31 am.

She had just spent last night working on her three club article until 3:00 am.

"Ms. Ranger please..." she begged. "Today is my day off. I desperately need to..."

"Audrey baby, sleep in the subway, but get your efficient little tail to my office right now! Something big has happened. Big!"

Rolling over she cursed her fate. What had she done to deserve this?

Crawling on her hands and knees to the shower, she accidentally set it to cold. The first jolts of spray hit her and she panicked, turning it to hot right away.

Somewhat coherent, she dressed and maneuvered to her kitchen, gulping down some juice, and grabbing a muffin from the top of her fridge.

She wished she could have a strong cup of coffee, but since going clean off it, she found her body couldn't stand it anymore. Drowsily, she nearly did fall asleep in the subway and was grateful when Lala appeared out of thin air, rushing in to pull her out before she missed her stop.

"LaCienega?" she asked opening her heavy eyes. "Did I summon you?"

"Sí. ESP chica."

"And?"

"And Marco told me to get you."

"Bless you both."

"You hold on to that blessing chica, you need it right now."

Audrey laughed as Lala helped her up the stairs like a drunken person.

Were the stairs always like this?

When she arrived, the whole office was in a panic.

"Audrey! Good, there you are." Ms. Ranger had her hands full with papers.

"Here, look at this." Audrey slowly took the paper and saw that it had many words.

"It's got words on it."

Looking up, she saw what she imagined was pity on the face of Ms. Ranger, and Ranger snatched the paper back.

"Well Audrey in a nutshell, WYS, including 19 other journalism establishments have received an anonymous tip this morning that this club...bar...restaurant. Whatever. Has this secret menu."

"Yeah?" Audrey was annoyed by the triviality of the matter. "So does McDonalds. No one goes cuckoo for the dollar menu."

Ms. Ranger coughed. "I'll excuse your attitude only because you look like you've been dragged off a sunken ship."

"Why, thank you."

"The "big deal" is that the menu is only offered to attractive females, and only during the second week of the month. Guess what week this is?"

"The second?"

"Exactly. And the day falls on the 13th, right before Valentine's Day. So we need to prep you to get that scoop. Fast."

"Isn't this bigger than a clubbing article?"

Audrey asked frowning.

"You're right," Ranger said with a grin. "This is about sexism, violations of the equal rights act, exclusivist mentality, the whole lot of it. You can bet those small time fries on the list will expose the story right off, but we're going to uncover not only the truth, but the contents of that secret menu! What items are deemed exclusive? Are they taboo? Expensive? Who chooses..."

Audrey saw her boss had gone off into a world that had nothing to do with her...still.

"So why am I involved?"

"We need you to go undercover," she answered plainly.

"You have the most experience in exploring a club/bar atmosphere. You also have a way with words. Usually. I know we can't just go in and ask what's on the secret menu. We have to ask without asking."

"Okay," Audrey said stifling another yawn. An intern rushed past her, jamming her with his knobby elbows. She stuck out her foot to trip him.

Lala gasped. "Audrey!"

"So why do I need to here now?"

"You're going to collaborate with a few other employees to prepare you for Friday. They'll plant a live wire on you so we can webcast the whole thing. This is big for us. The tipper put us all in competition. You need to crack this kid. Get to it!"

With a firm handshake, Ranger walked off.

Audrey stood there, imagining her fingers around Ms. Ranger's her neck.

"I can't do this right now," she moaned exhausted.

"We know."

Marco had finally showed up. He put a hand on her head and grinned.

"Aww...you look so pathetic. Like a muddy kitten."

"Shut. Up."

He laughed before leading her by her head into his cubicle where he threw his huge blue jacket over her head. "You have an hour and a ½. Try not to snore."

Audrey could have cried in gratitude, but instead she slept, falling asleep almost instantaneously under the jacket that smelt like mint leaves.

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"You had to put a spin on it, didn't you?"

"Hey, I can't lose business," Chun Hei cackled.

Chances were, he'd gain business now. With a string of females spilling in to see if they were hot enough to deserve receiving some special menu, the men would follow knowing they'd be there. Why not line up for a chance to finally settle that age old best friend rivalry over who's really hotter? Why not buy a few drinks to see that?

"Just play it close," he said, kind of amused at Chun Hei's ability for self-preservation. "Make sure to keep your surveillance on. Alert me if any girls in my description ask about the menu. I'll be there on Friday, but if you get a match before then I want a picture."

"You've got it boss." The man actually sounded happy.

He frowned, wondering if he had accidentally done him a favor. Cities always thrived on conflict. Chun Hei was probably getting press he couldn't have ever paid for. While he openly denied the existence of any such menu, the masses were not hearing it.

Sighing he thought about the easiest and calmest way to end all of this. By now he was almost certain she knew. She had taken steps to conceal herself from him, something an unaware person wouldn't do. So, he had to plan.

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The time went by too quick for her. Audrey felt like her eyes had just shut before Marco made her open them up again.

"Rise and shine Ms. Panda face! Get into the bathroom to get some of that dark circle out. We can't have Ranger looking abusive, or she'll get real abusive."

Audrey went off obediently, knowing they had done her a favor. Looking in the mirror she cringed. Damn, she really did look awful. After countless minutes of dabbing ice cold water on her eyes, she emerged imperfect, but at least human looking. Stifling yet another yawn she rounded the corner to the group huddled together that had to be her group. Some of the Tech people waved at her smiling, while a few others looked at her like she'd strike at them.

One guy was clearly imagining her naked.

Ugh,I'll call you Creepy Dennis.

She snapped he fingers in front of his face and he acted like he had been shot.

"So one thing before I start," she said, sitting down in the circle.

Of course they had to make a circle.

"What's the name of this place?"

A woman raised her hand like she was in class before catching herself.

"Chingu, it's a fusion bar turned club on the weekends."

"I see."

For some reason the word sounded familiar to her. Did she know someone named Chingu?

"Is it a woman that owns it?" she asked hoping to clarify the name.

"No, an old man," Daniel, the head of the tech team answered. She knew this because he was wearing a name tag that said "Daniel, head of the tech team."

And he was the only one.

"Okay well, continue."

They spun around and began talking to each while she sat and watched.

When lunch came they decided to work through it and order in.

"What do you want Audrey?"

I want to go home.

"What's the food?"

"Chinese."

No...I want pizza!

"Beef and Broccoli."

Later, they asked her one more question she didn't like.

"What will you wear?"

"What do you mean?" Why did everyone felt like she couldn't dress herself? She could..couldn't she?

I mean, Danny boy was actually wearing shorts and suspenders. In a non-ironic way.

"Well," Daniel started, in his better-

than-youhigh IQ voice.

"Since we do know he's targeting attractive women, you should probably wear something that accents your physical attributes."

She realized then that there were only three women including herself.

"Maybe we should all together come up with some outfit choices that would really..."

"Wet T-Shirt," Creepy Dennis rasped. "A white wet T-shirt."

"No!"

"Well maybe we can take the "concept" of the white wet T-shirt, and apply it to a—"

"No," she interrupted. "I'm a big girl. I can dress myself."

Daniel looked a bit taken back by her tone and adjusted his glassed. "Audrey, it's not that we don't think you're capable, it's just that we are all trying to do this together. Since you're going in..."

"Yes. I am going in," she agreed giving him a tight grin. "And since I'm going in, I'm going to wear what I feel like going in with. If I don't get access to the secret menu because I'm not shoving my breasts in his face, we don't need it. This is a bar report people. Not mission freaking impossible."

There was an awkward silence, but Audrey didn't care. She was not ending up in a sequined thong, nip tassels, and go- go boots.

Not on her day off.

They disbanded the meeting shortly after, saying they could finish the rest tomorrow. She wanted to point out that they could finish it the day after that too, since it was Tuesday ,but kept it zipped.

Feeling the last bit of energy seep out of her she dragged herself to her boss's office.

"Come in."

"Ms. Ranger?"

"Yes?"

"I'm not coming into work tomorrow. I just can't. I know I'll be useless to you. I need tomorrow. "

Ms Ranger gave her a measured look before nodding. "Fine, but only because I love your exposé."

"Thank you."

"But I'm changing the name."

"Why change the name?"

"Audrey."

"Alright! Fine...change the name."

No one truly appreciated her comedic genius.

After arriving at her place Audrey collapsed in bed. The next day, she emerged around 12:00pm. She took a hot bath, sorted out her hair and then made herself some eggs for breakfast. Happy, she ate her brunch while watching a Spanish novella. She didn't know what they were saying, but everyone was so expressive.

"Obviously these two are together...but she was cheating on him with his evil twin brother, who had seduced her on the night of her wedding rehearsal. That's some brill writing."

Speaking of writing, what was with her article on Chingu? That name kept popping up in her mind. Frowning she went to her laptop and typed it in the search engine.

"Ch...in...gu."

Okay, so far she had found a girl named Lai Lan Chingu, a recipe for chicken, and one dirty website.

Frowning, she thought about looking up a dictionary translation. It came back negative asking her, "do you mean the word Chinese?"

"No Google, I don't...but good idea."

She got a Chinese language translator.

Nope, the word was not Chinese. Frowning she changed it to Japanese. Also a no. A chill went down her spine. She changed the setting to

Korean.

Friend.

The word meant "friend" in Korean. It was informal, but it was very much a Korean word, one she had long ago forgotten.

How convenient was it that her company, out of 20 companies, had been one of the few tipped about a Korean bar's secret menu?

She wasn't crazy. It wasn't all in her head.

This guy was actually looking for her. Maybe he had already found her.

Maybe he was narrowing his search. Either way, she knew a set up when she saw one. What she didn't know was how she was going to avoid it without losing her job.

Or more importantly her life.

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Chapter Five: Caramel Truffles

"Please! I'm serious I really can't do this!"

"It's just nerves kid I can't have you cracking on me now. I just can't."

"Ms. Ranger—"

"You'll have to grow some lady balls, and make it happen."

Audrey was screwed. No amount of pleading, begging, threatening, or hysteria had changed Ms. Ranger's mind. Ranger didn't listen.

Why would she, when Audrey had no actual proof of her "actual" danger? She hadn't explained anything in detail.

She had only explained that she could not go into the club, at all.

With the slightest inkling that she was being stalked, Ranger would have her filling a police report. A paper trail was just what a murderer would need to find her.

She had hoped that after three years of capable work, Ranger would trust her. Ranger did, she trusted her to deliver a good article, no matter the conditions.

Audrey was never so pissed to be reliable in her life.

She had even gone as far as telling her that she wasn't ready to go to a really congested club scene again. That she was having nightmares about the Black Blade.

The cruel bitch had put Sleepytime Tea and a Therapist's business card on her desk.

Before Audrey she could blink, it was Thursday night. By then she knew she could do nothing but prepare. Everything was going so fast. She decided how to do this. She would show up at Chingu 9:00pm, and wouldn't be there a minute after 10:30.

Fuck the other members of her team. Her hands shaking she called Marco.

"Hey Audrey what's up?"

"Marco I need to ask you a favor."

"Shoot baby."

"I need to borrow your taser."

She could sense him shift to seriousness.

"Audrey, is someone threatening you?"

Not in a way I can prove.

"No Marco it's just...after the Black Blade business, I don't feel all that safe. Plus I'm going by myself and I just want some security."

"I'll go with..."

"No!...no, I need to get back in the swing of handling things myself. But, I need a crutch. Can I borrow yours?"

Wait, that didn't come out right.

He was silent for a moment longer, but finally said, "Okay Audrey fine. But if someone's bothering you, you better tell me okay?"

"You'll be the first to know." She smiled, her heart warming. "You know I really love you."

"You better bitch." She gave him an audible kiss and hung up.

Okay, she had a taser. Now her look. She would need a wig, something unlike her. She needed to be beyond recognition. She'd wear color, maybe purple no, yellow. And she'd have that wire on anyways. They would hear and see everything. Thinking about that she had she felt a ton better. Maybe with a good enough shot, she could get him on attempted manslaughter charges. She'd put him away long enough for her to finish out her small career in NY. Then she'd move to LA, get rich, and then back to NY again to retire in her success.

After that, she still couldn't shake that stupid feeling. So, she called her family. She really did need to talk to them.

"Hi Mom? It's Audrey...love you too. Haha...no, I'm not dating...Mom!"

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So far he had five misses. Some girls had full out asked about the secret menu, and had worn nothing special to get it. One had gone on a full out tirade against female oppression before storming off.

Chun Hei was really enjoying himself.

He, was not.

He was getting angsty every time he thought he had found her. It made him angry that his mind and emotions had no reconciled her being a mark. He still had a good feeling about her, despite the fact he would be her murderer. It was making him very angry.

And he was such a sunflower, naturally.

He just wanted to find her, and finish this. For some reason he kept thinking about her eyes, how they sparked innocently with life, always searching for something that never seemed in the room. She had looked, pierced right through him. She probably knew all about him the moment she had looked into his eyes.

The thought of making those eyes close forever made him feel sick and nauseous, feelings he hadn't felt in years. Years that replayed as nightmares when he dreamed, and left him unsettled days after.

He never liked killing women, even if they were assassins. This one was a civilian.

But, she was a problem, a liability. So far Kai hadn't sent him anything about police reports matching the Black Blade night or any local authorities filing supposedly anonymous complaints. He almost wished she had talked. It would have made his job easier. It would have solidified in his mind that she needed to be silenced. Wherever she was she was keeping it zipped tight. Could he count on her silence? No, professionals didn't take chances.

Tomorrow was Friday.

He had a feeling he would see her. It filled him with metallic tasting dread.

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Chapter Six: Raspberry Fudge

Audrey had long, flame-red hair, a tight purple shirt, tighter blue skinny jeans, and black boots.

Creepy Dennis said it was understated, but somehow no one else supported him on that.

Daniel loved the wig idea. He asked if she would call him "Q" and act like she was 007. Daniel was only half-kidding. After that he kept calling her role the "mission."

It was Friday. She was at the office, letting them mike her up and do test runs. The camera came in the form of nonprescription glasses, while her mike was tucked behind her ear. Audrey definitely didn't look like herself. She looked approachable, cute. She figured it could be a good way to lower an old man's guard.

"Are you ready?" Daniel asked as the team finished setting up.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Good. Amber, drive her to the bar."

She followed Amber, a chorus of good lucks echoing behind her. Amber gave her a bright smile, ushering her into a beat up Sedan. She turned the radio to an indie station and they drove.

The city at night was always gorgeous. Daylight exposed what neon lights hid. New York was a dirty city, a beautiful city, where buildings were really tall mirrors, streets were magic carpets, and subways were always amusement parks.

Why did she feel like she was seeing it for the last time?

Audrey fingered the taser that lay tucked in the back of her jeans. Her shirt hid it well. After an intense hour of instruction from Marco, she knew she could use it. She felt better touching it. It made her feel in control, reassured.