\u201cAll right,\u201d Sable said. \u201cMoment of truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cairo picked up the hotel phone, flipped the yellowed calling card over, and dialed the number she\u2019d jotted down ten years ago. Sable leaned in close to hear since they weren\u2019t going to risk putting the call on speaker and being overheard.<\/p>\n
The phone rang once. Then again. Then the click of connection.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood morning, Miss Laurendeau\u2019s residence,\u201d a woman\u2019s voice answered. Cairo knew this woman was definitely not Bijou. Bijou had a comically affected transatlantic accent. There was still a remote possibility that Bijou still lived there, if this woman was just answering her phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello. May I speak to Bijou please?\u201d Cairo chanced.<\/p>\n
The woman on the other end was silent for a moment, then said, \u201cMay I ask who\u2019s calling?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, my apologies,\u201d Cairo said, having forgotten to introduce herself before . \u201cThis is Cleo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCleo\u2026?\u201d the woman trailed, prompting for a last name.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust Cleo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI see. May I put you on hold?\u201d the woman asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n
They waited. A moment later, an older woman\u2019s voice asked, \u201cHello? Bijou speaking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sable nearly choked in surprise at how this woman just answered so readily to her codename, not knowing who was on the other end of the line.
\n
\n\u201cUh, hello,\u201d Cairo said, a bit startled herself. But this was Bijou. One did not forget a fake accent like that. \u201cYou may not remember me, but we met several years ago on a job. You gave me your calling card-\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I never forget a face, darling,\u201d Bijou said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was pretty dark at the time,\u201d Cairo said, positive that Bijou couldn\u2019t possibly remember her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe met at Mimi Vanderhausen\u2019s, correct? In 2009? We were\u2026 admiring her collection of Faberg\u00e9?\u201d<\/p>\n
Cairo leaned back and stared at the phone for a second. \u201cYou remember that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDarling, you scared the hell out of me!\u201d Bijou explained. \u201cIt\u2019s not often I meet colleagues while I\u2019m working. Let alone someone quite so imposing. I thought you were on Mimi\u2019s security team until I saw you had a mask on too. So how have you been, dear? Are you still working with the Syndicate?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cActually, that\u2019s why I called,\u201d Cairo said. \u201cMy partner and I were thinking about leaving, striking out on our own. But we don\u2019t really know anyone outside of the Syndicate. We were hoping you might be able to help us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh dear,\u201d Bijou sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh dear?\u201d Cairo asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll help as much as I can, of course, but I definitely think you\u2019re in for an uphill battle. There\u2019s not a lot of unsigned talent left anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSurely we can scare up two crewmates,\u201d Cairo said. \u201cWe\u2019re really more worried about finding a launderer for now. We\u2019re sitting on a pretty big pile of dirty clothes and we don\u2019t have anything to wear, if you understand me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHmmm. I don\u2019t know any launderers personally, but perhaps my fence does- Actually, a marvelous thought has just occurred to me,\u201d Bijou cooed. \u201cYesterday, he told me about this friend of his who\u2019s just come off a long-term engagement too and is looking for work. You should see about meeting him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, uh, we\u2019re really doing more of a feasibility study at this point, not conducting interviews,\u201d Cairo tried to defer.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh darling, you really must,\u201d Bijou said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to find that the world outside the Syndicate is very small. You\u2019ll want to have as many options as possible if you want to have any hope of making this work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know. I really would rather discuss the logistics before we get anyone else involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrust me, you\u2019ll want to meet him. He\u2019s in Las Vegas right now for a car show. Go! You\u2019ll have fun, take a nice little vacation before you start this new crew.\u201d Sable perked up at the idea of going to Las Vegas. \u201cIn the meantime, I\u2019ll speak with my fence and we\u2019ll see who we can find with availability. After you speak with his friend, come up to New York and we\u2019ll figure the rest out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cairo didn\u2019t think now was a good time for a vacation and she didn\u2019t want to involve any more people in this conspiracy than was necessary. Sable watched Cairo\u2019s face to see what she was thinking and didn\u2019t like the conclusions she seemed to be reaching. Sable grabbed the notepad and the pen off the nightstand and scribbled out a note.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s my birthday next week.<\/em><\/p>\n She held the note up and did a seated we\u2019re-going-to-Vegas shimmy because how could one argue with that?<\/p>\n One couldn\u2019t and so Cairo relented, giving an annoyed nod, but she smirked when Sable hopped up from the bed and did a silent celebratory happy dance. At the very least, they\u2019d be able to launder a little of the cash themselves through the casinos to fund a decent time.<\/p>\n \u201cAll right, we\u2019ll go to meet this guy,\u201d Cairo said into the phone.<\/p>\n \u201cFabulous!\u201d Bijou said. \u201cI\u2019ll get the details and call you back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you so much for all your help, Bijou,\u201d Cairo said.<\/p>\n \u201cThink nothing of it, darling. I\u2019m always happy to help someone get out of a bad contract.\u201d<\/p>\n Cairo hung up the phone.<\/p>\n \u201cVegas, vegas, veeegas!\u201d Sable sang as she did her Vegas dance.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, yeah, yeah,\u201d Cairo said in mock-annoyance. It was convenient though. She hadn\u2019t actually known it was Sable\u2019s birthday. They\u2019d never exchanged gifts or acknowledged birthdays the whole time they\u2019d been working together. Now that Cairo thought about it, it was sort of strange.<\/p>\n \u201cHow come you\u2019ve never mentioned your birthday before?\u201d Cairo asked.<\/p>\n Sable stopped dancing and stared at Cairo for a second before letting out a dismissive \u201cpfft\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t that big a deal in my family, that\u2019s all,\u201d Sable said. \u201cGrew up poor, you know? We\u2019d have cake and all, but it just wasn\u2019t that different from any other day so I don\u2019t think about it, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, what do you wanna do on your Las Vegas birthday vacation then?\u201d Cairo said, getting out her cellphone. She ran a search for Las Vegas attractions. \u201cLook, we could see some sort of male revue called Thunder Down Under. Oooh! Or \u2013 well, I know it\u2019s your birthday, but maybe we could see The Titanic Exhibit too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHey, it\u2019s a vacation for both<\/em> of us,\u201d Sable said. \u201cIf you wanna see something boring, we can see something boring.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was part of my 2019 TRL event.<\/p>\n Either Cleo or Dixie suddenly discover that it is the other’s birthday. Maybe they make a ahem subtle mention of it because they’re expecting a gift, or maybe the info is gleaned accidentally. Regardless, a scramble ensues to throw something suitable together.<\/p>\n -Kit-Cat Clock<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cAll right,\u201d Sable said. \u201cMoment of truth.\u201d Cairo picked up the hotel phone, flipped the yellowed calling card over, and dialed the number she\u2019d jotted down ten years ago. Sable leaned in close to hear since they weren\u2019t going to risk putting the call on speaker and being overheard. The phone rang once. Then again. Then the click of connection. \u201cGood morning, Miss Laurendeau\u2019s residence,\u201d a woman\u2019s voice answered. Cairo knew this woman was definitely not Bijou. Bijou had a comically affected transatlantic accent. There was still a remote possibility that Bijou still lived there, if this woman was just answering her phone. \u201cHello. May I speak to Bijou please?\u201d Cairo chanced. The woman on the other end was silent for a moment, then said, \u201cMay I ask who\u2019s calling?\u201d \u201cOh, my apologies,\u201d Cairo said, having forgotten to introduce herself before . \u201cThis is Cleo.\u201d \u201cCleo\u2026?\u201d the woman trailed, prompting […]<\/p>\n