Frazil

[Deleted]

The bloodied split along her lower lip throbbed; every swipe of the tongue further acerbated it. The ferrous tang teased her tastebuds, and was a welcome change to the otherwise stale taste that’d settled overnight. Without access to a toothbrush or water, the sour smack of vomit and sweat had sealed itself throughout her mouth. It wasn’t pleasant, but she’d had worse.

Leaning back into the uncomfortable chair, Echo tentatively yanked on the handcuffs. She knew it wouldn’t work, but there was little harm in trying. The metal was unyielding and bit into her tender wrists. Her expression remained impassive. Even if she did manage to break the chains, the interview room was located at the centre of the station, which was no doubt swarming with cops at this time of day.

Her best course of action was to suffer the wait.

Echo was nothing more than a victim of circumstance — wrong place, wrong time. Whatever they thought they had on her was circumstantial at best. Her life was spent as a ghost; there were never any tracks to cover.

Yeah, she’d been at the Ice Cave last night. Yeah, she was aware of the rumours concerning its ties the Ice Nation gang. Who wasn’t? Most clubs in the city were rumoured to be connected to some gang or another. Every business in the neighbourhoods spanning from Northern Hill to Alpine Ridge could be connected back to Ice Nation if one grasped at enough straws. Just because of the area’s presumed ties to the gang, it didn’t render the vast number people residing, working, or frequenting the area, Ice Nation.

Being Ice Nation was so much more than a postal code or personal connections. It was a dream of imperial proportions pioneered by the late Theo Azgeda, and shared by hundreds. Aside from the few who renounced their anonymity and scarred their faces in deference, it thrived in the shadows. Following her husband’s death, Nia Azgeda had turned Ice Nation on its head, severing any and all ties between it and the sprawling multinational entity that was known as Azgeda Inc. 

There was nothing about Echo that connected her to Nia Azgeda, or to the gang activity. She knew that, and more importantly, Ontari knew that. It was why there'd been no phone call last night, and no lawyers would be requested if it came down to it.

Echo doubted she would need a lawyer. Security cameras would confirm what she already knew: that the cop had thrown the gauntlet. Unbeknownst to her however, the exculpatory footage had been ‘lost’, and the officer she'd defended herself against was on life support.

Unable to tuck her wild hair away from her face, Echo leaned her head back and shook out her mane. A few shards of a glass bottle dusted the ground behind her chair; one of the many reminders of just how ugly last night’s crackdown had gotten.

Bellamy Blake