The Alliance
They imitated the haze clouding my own head, blurring the edges of the crystal chandeliers and the painted Mona Lisas staring down from the ceiling.
I held the picture between my thumb and index finger, Mia Armando smiling up at me from the tabloid with eyes the color of a forgotten summer sky. Weird-looking bird, Junior called her, blonde hair streaked with electric blue, like someone dipped a paintbrush in a neon puddle. Art student, he said, barely twenty years old.
"You find her interesting, boss?" Junior, my shadow in a pinstripe suit, leaned against the bar, sipping his usual black coffee.
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