Part I

She asked me to write her something, so she gets chapter II. 

I have no idea why people live here. I don't understand all the noise, and the friction! It's like this place sucks out peoples souls, all the perfectly dignified people, and vomits back this distasteful shade of scum-of-the-earth. I understand the attraction, the big city, the flow of free-thinking, and the pro-democracy liberals, and it's a nice thought. These people believe in things like change and Porsche, and they think that if they acquire both then some divine or cosmic force has intervened, blessing them with guidance and perseverance. They act like they are the fruit of the earth; St. Patrick's reason for having a cathedral, and that anything shy of weekly homage will result in the heavens raining down fury over every truth they hold to be self evident. Democracy runs deep in the rivers of this city, and the God-fearing liberals run deep in the pockets of the church. What a fucked up system. And the girl I'm supposed to find, Elizabeth...she's just a product of this system, and I could care less for her. 

At some point it was Sunday. I take that back. Forget that. I mentioned a girl a while back; said I didn't want to get into it right then. Well her name is Lilly, and she's the reason the light on my answering machine flashes. Start over:

At some point it was a Sunday. The sun was already up and the light on my answering machine was flashing. I made my way over to it, stumbling over various crap sitting around in my apartment. I reached for the play button and stopped. I wasn't sure if I was ready to hear that silence-ruining beep, let alone the fact that I would have to deal with someone yelling at me immediately after it. I pressed the button anyway.

"Hey! it's me! I just wanted to let you know I'm back in town and that I miss you and that I think we should get together soon! You know, catch up, shoot the spit..." she giggled after she said that "...do whatever. Anyway I have to get going, I have a lot of food shopping to do. My 'fridge is so naked it's crazy! So yea give me a call back. I miss you Jason. Bye!" 

This is the kind of person I'm dealing with. She's a wonderful girl, and the fact that she's so much to deal with makes for a nice distraction from the world. The problem is distractions are what got me this far.I figured I'd call her back later in the day, but she beat me to it.

"Hello?"

"Jason?"

"Lilly, hey I was going to call you back lat...Lilly? Hello?" The line went dead. Or the phone company cut my service off. I don't have very good credit. The phone rang again.

"Mr. Hunter."

"Uh, Hi? Who is this?"

"You know you have quite a reputation." 

"Right, who is this again?" He wheezed out this phlegmy laugh. A smoker. I've been smoking long enough to pick one out of a crowd. 

"Hm, I think we should meet, say around..." I laughed to myself. I put together where this conversation was going. Someone wanted something from me, which is no surprise. I'm a pretty easy target, after all. First off, the city does not have me covered and would overlook the fact that my profession might be giving them a hand and a month to month basis. Second, I hardly have any money to my name, but I do have money. I'm what some would call a degenerate; a real protector of all things unholy. Most of the people in power, in this city, hate me. They blame me when things go south, and pin missing bits of important information on me. The irony is I never have a hand in anything. I'm too fucking poor to be that important. But I'm good. I'm damn fucking good at what I do, and Sergeant Asshole and Lieutenant Fuck-face know that. So I've been promoted to New York City's number one oh-we-fucked-up-so-blame-him guy. And people know this, so no one worries about gunning for me and getting caught doing it. In either case I didn't care enough to worry about it.

"Whoa, meet? How 'bout I hang up, go shower, and you try someone else" I hung the phone up and walked about two feet before it rang again.

"What!"

"Jason!"

"Hey! Lilly! Sorry about that, the line went dead. So I've got a story for you..."

"Jason! Jason, listen to me!" She sounded flustered. I started putting it all together. "Mr Hunter, would you care to meet now?"

"Fuck! Time and a place. I'll come alone, unarmed. Just tell me when and where."

"Slow down, Mr. Hunter. Now you understand the situation. We will be in touch." And he hung up. The Seleck Family was going to pay me far more than it would cost for me to find their "little angel," and I needed cash, fast, if I was going to find Lilly. And I still hadn't had my coffee.