The 511

They were two ladies- about the same age with the same  hair style and both had the same type of phone and both were riding the bus to work on what would turn out to be a very hot summer day.

The woman who sat close to the window looked over to her seatmate and smiled and said:

” I really like this phone, don’t you?”

Her seatmate looked up from her phone ( they had the same models ) and down into the hands of the woman who sat close to the window and she saw ” Proverbs” and lots of writing under Proverbs in bloody red bold print. The woman smiled. Her eyes were dark, her smile was darker and her voice was as cool and refreshing as first breath of Spring.

” I love it. You can find anything you need to know on this, can’t you? “

The woman near the window looked down and saw that the screen on her seatmate’s phone was black.

Her Dark Eyed Companion said,  ” You wouldn’t believe what I have on this thing. Notes. Pictures. More notes. It’s just chock full of what I need to make it through my work day.

They rode in a comfortable silence and then  the woman next to the window said, ” My name is Lia Anne. “

Her seatmate smiled. ” Embers. Embers Eastman.”

” You have a very interesting name.”

Embers shrugged. ” My Father has a very unusual sense of humor. For example, I wanted to travel. I ran away a few times. I was quite the upstart. He said if I liked traveling so much I could hit the road for the family business and do all the traveling my heart could stand. So here I am. Working the family trade. “

” Well you know what they say, Spare the Rod and spoil the child.”

Embers rolled her eyes up and shook her head.

” What sort of business are you in?”

” Import/Export. Do you know the Sardo Building on 6th and Main? That’s where my office is.”

Ember’s phone pinged and she honestly looked surprised. She turned and looked around and she even stood up and looked at the people seated in front of her. She shook her head and sat back down and then  she held her phone up and squinted at it with annoyance running rampant all over her face.

She made a clicking sound with her teeth  and then she pushed the little silver bar on the side and the screen popped up. When it flashed on she squinted at the sudden burst of light and read what was there.

” Oh hey. This is was an easy one and look here’s our stop.”

” Mine is the next stop.:”

Embers Eastman was  her father’s  protégé and his favorite child- which was hard for the people who knew them to believe. On her good days, it was said,  she even had his charm.

This was not one of those days.

She held her phone up and showed it to Lia Anne, ” Murdering your lover’s wife and killing her dog…her DOG Lia Anne is a sin. Now get up. Follow me. “

” No. I’m not going anywhere with you. You’re insane. “

 ” Very much so.” Embers assured her seatmate ” And if you want to see how bad I can really get, I can crawl into your skin like a maggot going to town on road kill and you can see for yourself exactly why Father chose me to go from one end of the Universe to the other to pick up the trash.”

” He keeps me as far away from pleasant company as he can.”

Embers put her face so close to Lia Anne’s it looked like they were going to kiss.

” You are not pleasant and you are coming with me.”

Embers pushed her palm against Lia Anne’s chest, just over her heart and they were gone- just like that.

Embers- as her Father would say-  was a handful but she was an efficient Little Devil when it came to doing her job.