The Succubus's Silver Ch. 04

Syracuse, New York

Early Afternoon

Chinnamani got a late start the following day, by the time she was downtown to set up her stand it was almost noon and her body kept insisting it was neither sober or stupid enough to get things going this damned early. Fortunately by the very nature of her business, prep and setup were fairly easy-- pull the dough balls from the fridge, stretch them out over the oven screens, slather the tomato sauce on them, add toppings and throw them in the oven. In fifteen minutes she had her first batch of product ready to go and half a bottle of water in her stomach.

She could almost convince herself she was human.

"Ngh. . ." Chi scrubbed her face and dug out her portable dvd player, yanking a totally not pirated disc from the binder she kept near the condiments. She just needed time to get started and moving around, then she'd be good. "No more late nights," she promised herself.

Total bullshit, of course, but it sounded good. She pounded the rest of her water and splashed her face a few times. Over the next hour she managed to sell a good portion of her stock during lunch rush as well as clearing her head enough to function normally. The more time she put between setting up and now the better she felt but the more her mind kept drifting to the situation with Mark, Janet and their children.

People who went through divorces had a statistically higher chance of committing suicide, more so if kids were involved and someone didn't get access to them-- but Chinnamani wasn't convinced either of them was in a hurry to take a long walk off a short pier. No, they were too selfish and Mark already had something else lined up so he was probably going to be fine. In cases like this, the mother usually got custody and from the looks of things, Mark was expecting the same thing. . .

So, it means making the best of a shitty situation all around. The kids weren't going to have it easy no matter what happened, but that didn't mean there wasn't a middle ground where they didn't get royally boned by their parents' avarice.

Chi's phone vibrated. The alarm and a pop up reading "Coursework, stupid!"

When she wasn't busting her ass trying to solve the world's problems, she was busy busting her ass trying to learn about them- correspondence courses helped pass the time when business was slow, too. They kept her from thinking too much about the bigger questions to boot- that was always nice. The current topic in her 'love me' binder was a philosophical course on the nature of sin and concepts of evil.

How wonderfully fitting.

It was these little moments of discipline that kept her sane and feeling like she was moving towards something instead of just an endless series of encounters with clients she had no control over. It was another tiny reclamation of her agency, a middle finger to the Cosmic Wheel.

Chi flipped through the paper bound book to her marked place on the ideas of how sins could be absolved or taken on through cultural variations of sin eaters and the like. Pretty rote stuff by this point, tragically unhelpful in modern parlance, but the idea of someone consuming or shouldering the sins of another did have a messed up kind of appeal. After all, it was what she was doing every time someone brought her damned coin to her. . .

A few minutes into her reading Sergeant Laidlaw tapped on the counter. Dashing as ever with her hair swept up in a bun, uniformed pressed to edges that could've cut glass. . . .and those skeptical eyes the color of a frigid glacier-- "Mph."

She arched a brow, glanced at the binder and for just a split second it looked as though she was going to lean against the cart- just one hair of a moment where she was going to be herself. Chi read her aura quickly to confirm her suspicion but what she found left her vaguely baffled; a harmonious mix of warm colors in deep, vibrant hues haloed with a soft but sharp red color that projected the strength and power of someone taking risks and either reveling in it or completely- deeply- aware of it. Out of fear, perhaps?

Chi grabbed the initiative: "Your eyes. You've very beautiful eyes."

Laidlaw eased her weight back to stand to her full height- to make sure Chi had to look up to her, no doubt. This girl was trying for a power play. Chi smiled inwardly. "Is it a fetish thing?"

"Hm? You? In some respects, yeah. I could spend months exploring every inch of you inside and out--"

She cleared her throat. "I meant the uniform. . ." Was that curiosity? From the proud and proper Sergeant Laidlaw? Oh, this was perfect.

Two could play this game. Chi went back to her book, downplaying her interest immediately. "Nah, I never see what people do. I see who they are first." After a brief pause, she added: "I spend most of my waking hours looking up to people, authority and uniform kind of lose their meaning when everyone has something over you. Y'know?" She glanced up through her bangs with a cheeky smile.

To her credit, Laidlaw deflated some and actually seemed vaguely apologetic when she glanced to the side. Her mask didn't slip, but she got the idea pretty quickly. Smart girl. Chi smiled up to her more genuinely.

"So no, not a fetish. But I'd dedicate entire evenings to learning about you- your power, your flaws, the things that make you smile and the things that make you want to punch me in the face."

Amy scoffed. Chi laughed and dug out a bottle of water, offering it.

But Laidlaw wasn't biting. She politely waved it off and the red halo in her aura began to fade some. "So you're a risk taker. . ."

"I've been known to throw loaded dice once in a while, yeah." Chi smiled slyly. "But that you're here right now says I'm maybe not the only one, hm?"

Laidlaw ignored it. "How about Vegas, ever wanted to go?"

The ham handed way she brought it up was the first red flag, the second was the fact that she did at all. Chi stiffened momentarily. What the hell was this woman driving at? "Sure, I've been a few times, not really my favorite place, though. Why, looking to sweep me off my feet for your vacation?" Chi swooned theatrically. "I do declare sergeant Laidlaw, had I known you were such an adventurous sort, I'd have packed my hiking boots-"

"Has anyone told you-" she dampened her lips and spoke carefully. "Tum ajeeb ho?"

So this was the risk she was taking. Not only was she trying to be more personal, she was afraid of embarrassing herself in the process. Chi couldn't very well let her do it and ruin that chance, could she? No way in hell. So she laughed at the mangled Hindi in good spirits and turned on the charm. "I suppose I am weird. I don't know if that's an astute observation or just my weird showing through the cracks of an idiot's veneer. Guess I'll let you decide."

"I don't get the feeling you're an idiot."

"Good." Chi smiled easily. "Then I'm doing my job right."

Amy touched the countertop and for a moment it looked like she might be considering her words more carefully- a notion dispelled when she opened her mouth. "So about Vegas- ever make it down to Arizona?"

"Ah. . . .that." Chi straightened up. "Yeah, once or twice."

"Ever run into any problems down there?" She was looking for Chi to lie to her. Well this was going to be easy. Nothing to fear from the whole and completely uncomplicated truth.

Chi popped an ice cube in her mouth. "A few, yeah. I do private investigations, usually small stuff like cheating spouses and missing cats, but Las Vegas. . ." She blew air through her lips to make a raspberry. "That was a fuster cluck."

"Yeah?"

"So, get this- not only was the spouse cheating, he was cheating with a drug cartel's underboss. Guy went from making minimum wage at Circuit City- remember those? - to slinging hash by the pallet for six figures and an enchilada to call his own. Though, I suppose in his case it'd be a churro-- that sweet, cinnamon coated treat that fits in your-"

"I can't tell if that's insensitive or outright racist."

Chi crunched her ice with a shrug. "Either way, I followed them up to Tonopah then back down to the border. Over the course of three months I figured out their operation and just. . . .well-" she motioned vaguely. "Cops happened across them making a big move at just the right time with a body of evidence to convict. Hurray for justice."

Laidlaw eyed her dubiously. "So you brought down a drug ring, try hard to keep your name off reports and out of the paper, and then you just vanish. Not to be seen for another three years."

"I go where I'm needed?"

"Uh huh. . ."

Chi wasn't about to tell her that she'd stolen a hefty chunk of that six figures to live off of before the cops raided. "Hey, if you wanna know more, you're going to have to buy me dinner first- or let me buy you dinner." Chi put on her best puppy dog eyes. "Promise it won't be pizza."

Amy's aura flared red again as she rocked back subtly on her heels. They eyed one another for a moment, but the officer didn't seem too keen on the idea. She was either too afraid or didn't know how to transition smoothly. "How about instead you tell me about Manlius."

"Manlius. . . .Manlius, like-"

"Like last night, Manlius."

"Oh, sure. I was investigating another cheating spouse."

Amy actually seemed a little surprised at that. She crossed her arms over her armored chest. "Go on. . ."

Chi flipped through her binder of certificates and diplomas to her New York State investigatory license and turned the binder around. "Licensed, because I know you're gonna ask." As Amy read through it- and started to check through the binder's other contents, Chi noticed- the half-succubus continued:

"So I was hired recently by someone I do business with to find out if their spouse is cheating. I was following a lead to Manlius, but the lead was bad and some good citizen was trying to stop me from breaking in. For the record, I wasn't, but I can see how it'd appear that way.

"I get back to my car and he comes at me with a rock, I pull my pistol out and put it in my lap. Politely tell him to fly a kite and then left. No harm, no foul."

Amy glanced up from her perusing. "Why do you have your gun in your car, isn't it supposed to be from work to home and back?"

"Yeah, but I'm technically working when I'm doing the PI gig, so. . ." she stuck her tongue out. "Nyaa."

"Real mature. What is all this stuff, anyway? You just, what, collect degrees in your off hours?"

"Funny story- I didn't graduate high school. For uh, various reasons, I couldn't. But through the course of my being a little shit I wound up in a community college and spent an evening sitting in on a class about knitting." Chi ignored the look she got. She wasn't about to tell Amy that she was 'servicing' a client. "The woman who was teaching it just had so much passion I couldn't help but fall in love with the idea of learning how to knit-- yeah, it's hokey as shit, I don't care. She got me into the idea of self improvement."

Amy went back to the work book Chi had been using and- to Chi's surprise- opened it to the exact page she'd been working on before passing the binder back. "So you go from knitting to private investigation to pizza to philosophy. . ."

Chi smiled vaguely. "Gotta love it, huh?"

"Mmm. . . .just so you know, last night the Manlius police got a call about you. When the plates came up with your name, you uh- let's say you pinged our system." Her lips pouted some. "I suppose it's not as big a deal as I thought, but just try to keep out of trouble in the future, huh?"

"Scout's honor," Chi held up her first two fingers and her pinkie extended in the classic 'Shocker' pose. It sailed right over Amy's head.

Mostly. "It wouldn't surprise me you were a scout, but I don't think that's how that works."

"Nah, probably not-- but whatever." It clicked, then. Laidlaw had been investigating her. Not just looking into her history but actually investigating what Chi was about-- her name didn't show up as a guiding factor because she'd paid good money to get it out of the evidence chain before it made it onto any reports, but naturally that was a pipe dream. Which mean Amy had put two and two together and figured out her involvement. . . .was this woman curious about her in the same way she was about Amy?

There was only one way to find out. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"You just di--"

Chi groaned. "Boooo, dad jokes."

Amy blushed the tiniest bit but motioned her to go on.

"How'd you know what page I was on?" Chi lifted her book some.

"Oh- I have a partially eidetic memory; I'm good with details."

Sensing an opportunity, Chi pounced. "Neat, so if I was to do. . ." She scribbled: "You can never replace anyone because everyone is made up of such beautiful specific details." then turned it over for a second to show Amy.

The officer leaned back, frowning in thought- her knuckles flexed and released before she said: "So what specific details are you made up of?"

Chinnamani arched her brows in surprise. "How about we find out? Over dinner?"

Amy blinked. "You're serious. . ."

"And you're curious. Let's help each other out and see where things fall."

Amy sucked air through her teeth and let it out slowly, considering Chi with that kind of guarded uncertainty that always followed people around in New York. Eventually, quietly, she asked "where would we go?"

Chi felt her heart skip a beat. "You to your favorite chair and me to my knees. Or, y'know, we could start with. . . .I dunno, Trivia? Bowling? I hear there's a neat barcade in Eastwood we could raid."

Amy swallowed. Her hesitation spoke volumes. "So I have options."

"I'm partial to the first, but I've been accused of being shallow." Chi flashed a smile she couldn't contain.

Amy's blush deepened and for the first time since meeting her, she began to look genuinely uncomfortable. She cleared her throat and shook her head. "Maybe-"

"It was a joke, I promise I'm not too much of a weirdo. I might a succubus- without the soul stealing- but I think I'm crazy enough to--"

"Trivia and bowling, then." Amy decided. She said it firmly. Powerfully. With finality-- before she could think better of it.

Chi melted. "Eastwood lanes? Say. . . .like nine?"

"Y- sure."

Amy turned to leave and Chi sloughed her hair back, her hyper awareness and elation turning into dread as she eyed the bags of clothes in the back of the station wagon. Only then did it occur to her that she didn't know where the hell she'd packed her nicer stuff.

Then it occurred to her that her impulsiveness had just set her up for shit knew how many more hours of the coin's song and dance. Chi slumped forward taking her head in her hands. "Guhhh, you stupid shit." It was her only shot at a date with an attractive cop, only chance at a shred of normalcy but damned if it wasn't also how she'd set herself up for more time with the coin's curse.

In a world with room for demons and curses that kept them from enjoying their own lives, wasn't she obligated to try to find her own slice of peace?

That sounded like a good way to justify impulsiveness.

There was a way to outsmart her coin's curse, Chi had done it before- Simple in concept and humans did it all the time, all she had to do was lie to herself enough to change her perception; convince the coin that all her options were closed off and she'd need to come up with something else.

She was a succubus for shit's sake, this should've been second nature.

Instead Chi found herself uneasily pacing behind her cart for ten minutes re-enforcing the notion that she had plenty of ideas to get to Mark's car. This'd only make things worse, but she wasn't about to not try. Not when she had a chance with Amy. Not when she stood an actual shot at finding some normalcy in her life.

The coin could fuck miles of off with that notion. Chi looked skyward for a moment, grazing her fingers across her throat. "Car wasn't at the house so it's probably hidden. . . .parking garage would be the best place."

The garage that nobody would let her into.

Perfect!

Sure, she'd gone there once already, but that didn't mean she couldn't try again with a different attendant. Just repeat yesterday and she'd be good- yeah. That sounded plausible. Easy to do, to boot.

Score.

The moment Chi sold her last piece of pizza she was on to breaking down her cart and packing up for the day, then a quick stint outside Mark's just to be sure. The entire time she was there she kept re-enforcing the idea that she needed to check the garage-- she repeated it like a mantra while emptying out her mind of other considerations and ideas. Tamping them down like a drowned fire until the garage felt like the only viable option.

When she felt suitably primed she wandered back to the parking lot and strolled right up to the booth where an older little person in a security guard uniform stopped her politely. "Lot number?" He was a bit gruff but in the right light, he would've been handsome.

"Uh-" despite herself Chi stalled momentarily. She could probably outrun this guy and get to the car and-- no. No, she couldn't let herself think of that kind of thing. "No, dammit!" It was time to put on the succubus charm and totally succeed! "Hi. Sorry, uh, I was actually looking to see if Mark Gonzalez's vehicle was parked here- a sixty eight Mercedes?"

He considered her for a moment, giving her a once over with rightly due skepticism. She was being too specific, too forward. He itched at the edge of his salt and pepper mustache and shook his head. "I doubt you're a cop, so I'm going to have to say no."

Chi made a show of opening her coat one way and the other, then swelling her chest out enough to accent her generous bust. "It's the tits, right? Nobody takes me seriously with these things."

He snorted, though his gaze roamed- fell to her pistol. He sat back with some concern. "Are you a cop?"

"Nah, sadly not. Just a small girl with a big sense of drama-- so look, I just got off work and I was hoping my buddy might've been too. I wanted to wait for him--"

"Uh, no can do."

"Come on, I can hook you up with a 12 inch pizza and a 2 liter of coke and you forget you saw me." Chi crossed her arms, staring at the security guard. She'd never had a problem with little people before- shit knew she practically was one, but she knew this guy wouldn't budge and she needed to keep up appearances for her coin. "Just five minutes? I'll let you hold my ID and car keys so I don't do anything stupid; I'm not out to hurt anyone or destroy anything."

"No can do," he repeated gruffly. "Look, I'm not trying to get canned for a pretty face."

"Come onnnn, give the pizza to your girlfriend or something. It'll be be the first time she's held twelve inches of white bread and low quality meat, it'll be the first time she swallows it, though."

He snorted, barely contained a laugh. "No. I like having a job. Besides, she swallows ten inches of good quality meat whenever she wants."

"All right, Kickstand, how about I throw in a second pie-"

"No. Seriously, I'm not interested." He glanced where Chi's pistol was, a touch of uncertainty in his expression. "We have cameras here, too, so don't get crazy huh?"

The half-succubus sighed. "Figures I'd run into the 8^th dwarf, Horny." He opened his mouth, she kept going. "How's that lawsuit with Sleepy working out for you?"

He gave her a flat look. "Get the fuck out of here."

So Chi did, content that all was right with the world and her night off was secure.

#

There was a certain way to fake being normal such that not only could people not see through the mask, but if they caught glimpses of the cracks, they'd only perceive a gradual transition into the natural tones of what was underneath it. Most wouldn't go looking, fewer still would actually see and blue was under the moon which would someone want to see more. It was the kind of disguise that Chi had perfected in order to fit in with the mundane world- to feel normal.