Underground

Chapter 1; Notorious

The night seemed to drag on endlessly for Cynthia Aldridge, whom had once again found herself stuck on the night shift. This made the third time in a row, something which she planned to have a talk with her boss about- whenever he got back from vacation, the lazy jerk.

She wouldn't have minded, or at least not as much, if it wasn't for the fact the place was packed to the brim with the sort of men a young, attractive woman shouldn't be around. At least not if she was proper, and her widowed mother had done her best to ensure that Cynthia was indeed that!

Yet, there she was being ogled, and swatting away the lecherous hands of the tavern's drunken patrons who couldn't seem to understand that she didn't want them to make it so that she wouldn't 'walk right' tomorrow. Pigs, it was times like this that she wished she had a boyfriend, a protective one.

But she didn't, and the whole reason she had to deal with this was because of him.

She crinkled her nose at the very thought of Dionysus; the notorious criminal wanted for several counts of murder, attempted murder, robbery, and who knows what else! The man was known as evil incarnate, and wherever he went scum was sure to follow.

Of course this particular scum was supposed to be acting for the 'greater good', as if that fooled anyone, all they cared about was the fortune being offered for the man's capture.

In fact, Cynthia wouldn't have been surprised to learn that most, if not all, of them had committed a few of the same crimes themselves.

If only the government hadn't requested them all here to cooperate in Dionysus' capture, she wouldn't have to deal with all this, though she felt a bit foolish for weighing the safety of who knows how many people against her skin crawling.

But still, couldn't they have brought in some more civilized people?

She heaved a sigh, as she sat a plate of food and pitcher of beer before one of the patrons, then moved to turn the channel upon the 'request' of another. The screen blinked on to the fuzzy image of a local reporter, who's red lipstick made a striking contrast to the 'snow' distorting the image.

" We've yet to receive any reports thus far regarding the whereabouts of the dangerous criminal; Dionysus, whom officials claim will be in our small town by tomorrow for reasons which have not been disclosed to us at this time." The camera zoomed in on the picture in the woman's hand, causing Cynthia to snort, how did they expect anyone to get a clear look with the messed up reception that plagued the town? Or did they forget that Syon was on the edges of a 'dead zone'?

" If you see this man, we urge you to contact authorities, or inform the nearest bounty hunters among the many whom have swarmed here to help ensure our safety." She couldn't help but snort again, and ignored the nasty looks from a few in ear shot. The glass shattering on the floor however, was a different matter entirely.

" Shouldn't you act a little more grateful, bitch?" One of the drunker patrons, a man in his late thirties with a face just as pretty as his words, growled at her amazingly clearly. She was tempted to ask him how many times he'd repeated it to keep his drunken ass from slurring, but that would just be bad business.