but she had no idea what she wanted to eat. Coraset huffed in aggravation, and decided to grab a pound bag of grapes, four apples, and four oranges. She knew the fruit alone wouldn’t hold her over. So, she went to the meat department. Coraset wasn’t much of a cook, considering everything else she was capable of, and it kind of bothered her that she couldn’t put together a simple meal for herself. She put the meat and fruit back. She exited out of the grocery store with an intention of going up to the penthouse restaurant to eat dinner.
She walked out of the store, hit the up button to the elevator and waited. Coraset noticed a brunette was sitting on a marble bench on the far end of the foyer. Coraset thought it was strange that someone would be just sitting outside of a grocery store in the basement level of the building. No one ever did that.
She took note of the woman. Her brunette hair was in a French roll. She wore black perfectly creased pants, a tight fitting double breasted jacket with an ivory blouse, and pointed toe high heel shoes. Coraset didn’t have a good feeling about her. She touched the elevator down button but moved on to the stairs to go up. She wasn’t about to climb 40 or more flight of steps, but Coraset didn’t want the woman to have advantage of her by using the elevator. She dashed up the steps.
Coraset stopped when she heard the door from the first level basement come open. She peered over the edge of the stairs to see if she could get a glimpse of who was coming. She heard murmuring, the door slammed shut, and then she heard the familiar sound of guns being cocked. Coraset started running up the steps, and the footsteps below her was quickening, as well. When she got to the 10th floor entry door, she listened and waited breathless. The pursuers were still coming up the steps, but they’d stop on every level opening doors, checking for Coraset. She continued going to the 15th floor and stepped into the hallway. She couldn’t hide nowhere on the floor. Every single door was locked, and there was no breaking in because all of the doors were steel. Coraset straightened and listened for the footsteps in the stairwell.
After she heard two sets of footsteps go pass, Coraset moved to the other side of the door so she wouldn’t be seen just in case someone peeped in. She peered up and down the hallway to see if anyone was coming out of an apartment. Slowly, the knob turned. Coraset held her breath.
The barrel of a gun began to appear. Coraset waited until she saw a hand. She positioned herself carefully, and she kicked the gun out of the assailant’s hand. He grunted and swung the door open meaning to hit Coraset with it. She jumped out of the way and with one swift motion, she kicked him square in the neck. He fell to the floor with a deep yell, and Coraset kicked him in the stomach and grabbed the gun. The man curled up in utter pain grabbing his sides and stomach, and she jumped passed him and started running down the steps. The other aggressors heard her, and they started running back down. Coraset got to the 11th floor landing and pulled out the magazine to make sure it was fully loaded and checked to see if there was one in the chamber. Seeing that the gun was set to be fired, Coraset knew they meant to kill her. Being taken as hostage was not a part of their plan. She took in a deep breath, and she continued down the stairs keeping close to the wall. She got to the lobby level, and a man busted through the door. She shot him in the chest. Coraset knew if she tried to make a break for the lobby entrance, she probably wouldn’t make it. She continued down two more flights to the first garage level.
Coraset entered cautiously, ducking as she walked behind Erato Federation vehicles. Every parking spot had a SUV, and she stealthily walked through them listening and watching. She heard the stairwell door slam open against the wall and orders being barked. Coraset made her way carefully to the exit and out onto the street.
She saw a man standing at her building entrance, but he didn’t see her. The trees and street decor blocked his view, and she managed to get across the street. She went three blocks and decided to hide in building three garage. Before she could get to the garage gates, someone pulled up right in front of her at the entryway. Coraset pointed the gun, and the window rolled down revealing a familiar but friendly face.
His name was Brochudo, a husky black man with dark eyes and a round bearded face. He was bald headed and smiling.
“Get in,” he stated as the glass slid back into place.
Coraset looked around one last time, and she opened the back door and got in. The man backed out onto the street, and he headed for the Barat Region outer exit. Their identification was scanned, and they were allowed to leave. Coraset looked out the back window at the closing gate.
“No one is crazy enough to follow this car,” Brochudo’s deep voice sounded from the front seat.
“Where is he?” Coraset asked as she slouched down in her seat.
“Bel Air,” Brochudo answered as he reached in the compartment next to his seat. He pulled out one CD, looked at the cover, and then put it back in. Then he pulled out another. He peered at the blonde posing beautifully on the cover, and he took the CD out of its cover. He pushed the disc into the player, and a song with an upbeat tune started playing. Brochudo started singing. His deep voice was a horrid contrast to the songbird singing from the speakers.
Coraset sat back and watched the scenery pass. She was glad to be in safety. She tried to find a reason why anyone would want her dead. She couldn’t picture the warden having enough power or reach to send someone after her, especially an entire team of killers. Maybe it could have been Lea Cassis who sent them in order to stay off revenge, but Coraset never thought about going after Lea, not even once.
Brochudo drove through hills filled with forests and empty mansions. Some gates were pried open, rusting off their hinges, or completely disconnected from the walls that surrounded once exclusive properties. Coraset kept her gun in hand, still unwilling to think the run for her life was over, but she saw no sign of the people that were chasing her. She wondered how many others were after her. Who did they work for? Why were they trying to kill her? She needed answers.
Finally, Brochudo turned into a driveway. It wound for half mile to a wrought iron gate. The car came to a screeching halt, and the gate remained closed. Coraset had that uneasy feeling again, but she hated to think that Brochudo was leading her into a trap. He’d always been a nice guy, never said a bad thing about anyone.
Coraset asked guardedly, “Brochudo, whose house is this?”
“Mr. Cassis,” he answered as he tapped on the steering wheel casually.
“What are we waiting for?” She gripped the gun tightly and started looking around.
The gate suddenly started opening slowly.
Brochudo stated, “For the gate to open. Jory isn’t paying attention or was in the toilet.”
Coraset sat back, still on edge. When the gate was fully open, Brochudo drove the broken brick driveway to the front door of a home completely covered with overgrown, untamed ivy. The house looked like it was built into the greenery itself.
Brochudo opened the car door for Coraset and remarked, “He’ll be in the first room to your right.”
She shifted the gun into her other hand and looked at Brochudo with doubt.
He understood her uncertainty and said, “It’ll be alright, Coraset. You can still trust Mr. Cassis.”
Without saying anything else, she went inside. She held the gun tight, aimed in the direction she was moving. The house was dark except for one room that was lit by a chandelier. Senator Xavier Cassis stood with his hands in his pants pockets, with a slight smile on his face. Coraset was glad to see him, but she was still tense. The room appeared empty, but there were dark corners and cascading shadows hiding the appearance of the walls. Coraset approached Xavier, and she stopped in front of him.
CHAPTER TEN
Senator Xavier Cassis was a middle aged man with brunette hair, brown eyes, and lightly tanned skin. He was clean shaven, young looking for his age, tall, and slender. Xavier was driven and very intelligent. He was appointed a Senator for the Barat Region by Chancellor Katherine Erato when the Federation was first formed. Deep down, he did not like nor approve of the new society, but Xavier worked diligently to ensure his front of supporting the totalitarian system was never in doubt. He wanted change. Xavier knew if he voiced what he really felt, he would be ousted from his high profile government position, imprisoned for treason.
“You and I need to talk, Xavier.” Coraset stated calmly.
“I will answer any and all question you may have, but first there are other matters we need to discuss.”
“There is nothing else to consider other than why your wife set me up.”
Xavier pointed out, “There is more important-”
“Why was I framed, Xavier?” Coraset cut him off angrily. She didn’t want to hear anything else but the
