The Seventeen

Chapter 3

They filed out of the courtroom onto the imposing marble steps. Below them the New York traffic had ground to its rush-hour crawl, complete with blaring horns and a siren somewhere in the mid-distance.

“Goodbye, Price.”

“Goodbye, Isabella. Better luck next time.”

Isabella couldn’t bring herself to reply to that. Price was a cocky opponent at the best of times, and to have lost to him again was almost more than she could bear. One more month’s rent was all she had in her checking account. Her feet ached, her back was killing her, and all she could think about was a chilled bottle of Sauvignon and— Her cell phone vibrated.

Please let it be a client. Any paying client.

The phone was on its fifth ring when she finally picked up. The voice on the end was serious. “Is this Isabella Clements?”

“Yes, who am I speaking to?” she asked, praying that it wasn’t another pro bono case.

“New York Police Department. We need you to come down to headquarters. A suspect in our murder investigation has requested you and only you. As quick as possible please ma’am.”

“Murder?” she asked. But the line had already gone dead. She slowly took her phone away from her ear, trying to comprehend what had just happened. She was exhausted but she had to go, there was no two ways about it. Maybe one of her pro bono drunks had given her name to the potential murderer. Maybe he was some kind of insane, drunken killer who wanted her to work pro bono for him.

These were the thoughts that were filling her head as she made her way along the street looking for a cab. She grabbed the first one she saw and asked for 1 Police Plaza. The traffic was fierce but they managed the journey in a little over fifteen minutes. All the time she was wondering why she had worked her ass off in law school. For what? This? Living in an apartment which had a bathroom in the kitchen. Attempting to defend clients who claimed they were innocent in the face of CCTV footage of them urinating on a police car singing the national anthem. This is not what she had wanted for herself. She had thought by the time she was thirty she would be living in New York. Check. Have her own firm. Check. Have a luxurious apartment with a view of Central Park. Not even close. Have a loyal and elite clientele. Couldn’t be further from her current reality. Be married and wonderfully happy. She hadn’t been on a proper date in years and the happiest she got was sitting at home in her dingy apartment watching Netflix with her two favorite men, Ben and Jerry. A sad existence. Actually, that was the exact word for it. An existence.

She snapped out of her temporary self-loathing as they pulled up to the headquarters. It was an intimidating place. One which she frequented, due to her ‘not-so-elite’ clientele. She paid the driver and got out of the cab. Took a deep breath and headed for the doors.

The moment she stepped inside she was greeted by a fresh-faced young officer.

“Are you Miss Isabella Clements?” he asked politely.

“Yes,” she replied with a forced smile. She didn’t like how he emphasized the Miss, but she let it slide.

“OK ma’am, follow me please.” He turned and headed towards the interrogation rooms. He skipped the first six, but came to a stop at number seven. He kindly opened the door and let her step inside.

The room was poorly lit. The only furniture inside was two chairs with a table between them. A familiar scene. The man sitting in the seat closest to her got up the moment she entered, blocking any view of her insane, drunken client..He was so big his head nearly touched the ceiling. Around about 6’6, she guessed. With arms like tree trunks and a neck so thick she couldn’t distinguish between what was shoulder and what was neck. He had balding ginger hair which started in the middle of his head and thick, bushy ginger eyebrows. His eyes were beady, deep set and a bizarre gray color. He had a full beard which was a slightly darker shade of orange than his hair and eyebrows. He had a small but pronounced nose and under, pursed, thin lips. He was a strange looking man but unquestionably big. The kind of big that big people class as big.

He reached out a tennis racquet sized hand and said, “Detective Max Boyd. Nice to meet you.”

“Isabella Clements, but I guess you knew that. Why am I here, detective?” she asked, a little impatient to get this over with.

“This man has asked for you. You’re the only one he’ll speak to.”

“Aren’t I lucky. Where is he?” she asked.

“Right here.” He moved his giant frame to the left and pointed at a guy on the far side of the table. The guy was smiling the kind of smile she had only seen once before, years ago at college, in England. He stood up and said, “Hey Belle. I’ve got a little problem here.”

Chapter 4

He hadn’t aged a day since college. His style had changed somewhat though. He now had flowing brown hair, parted just off-centre, which fell nearly to his shoulders. He had kept that playful glint in his light blue eyes. He had lost the five-o’clock shadow look in favor of a more clean-cut image. Bella remembered that he had played rugby at college, but you wouldn’t know it to look at his face. He was tall, lean and elegant in a masculine way. He had always had class, but the suit he was wearing brought it out in him.

He was a fine specimen, to say the least. They had been together for two years in college. Two of the best years of her life. For the entirety of the first year she had no idea who he really was: a young billionaire who stood to inherit an empire. She just knew him as Lex Archer. Kind, supportive and wildly entertaining. They’d had a fiercely passionate relationship but it had an expiration date. Knowing that made their time together even more special. The relationship had never truly ended. One day they were in love, the next, they were apart. She was going home to Columbia Law School for the final part of her degree and he was staying in London to take over the London branch of his father’s empire. But here he was in New York. In a police station, for murder. The detective left the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.

“Le...Lex,” she stuttered. “Wow. It’s been seven years. Since college, right?”

“It’s university, Belle. Not college, you know I used to hate when you said that. But yeah something like that.”

He still called her Belle. A nickname that a few of her friends called her. It had always sounded best coming from his lips. Maybe it was his English accent or maybe it was the intensity he had always said it with. Either way, it still sounded good.

“When did you get back to New York?”

“I stayed in London for four years. But the New York branch was struggling so Dad called me back so I could take over operations here. He travels a lot so he needs someone full time here. I was the least nauseating choice for him.” He smiled.

She didn’t ask the question that was on her mind. Instead she asked, “What kind of trouble are you in, Lex?”

He ignored the question. “You started your own firm, right? Tell me about it,” he said, as he leant forward and rested his chin on his clasped hands.

“Yes, but so far I’ve had nothing but drunks who want me to work for free.”

“Too bad. But on the up side, now you’ve got me!” he said as if being summoned to the NYPD Headquarters to meet with a suspected murderer was an attractive prospect. Even if it was him.

“Yeah, so about that. What have you gotten yourself into?”

“Will you relax, I’ll get to that. Let’s catch up first. Where are you living?”

“A small place in Brooklyn. It’s got a kitchthroom, Lex.”

His face contorted in disgust. “What the hell is that?”

“Bathroom in the kitchen. But on the upside, the view is phenomenal.” Lex chuckled politely. Bella carried on. “But it’s not that bad. I have some money saved up, I’ll be OK.”

Lex shook his head, “Not having that Belle. I’m gonna get you one of the suites in my dad’s building. He’ll be happy to help. I’ll pay for it myself.”

“Woah, I didn’t mean—”

“I know you didn’t, but we have history and what kind of a friend would I be if I heard a story with the word kitchthroom in and didn’t do anything about it?” He chortled.

“No, thank you Lex. There’s no way...”

He leant in a little closer, “Look, let’s skip this whole thing. You need a nicer place to stay, I have one. It’s really that simple.” He beamed at her, his light blue eyes glistening.

“We haven’t seen each other in seven years. How can you just offer me a place to live? You don’t know me like that anymore. I might’ve changed. I could be a killer now.”

Lex cleared his throat. “Apparently that’s me. And to answer your question. People don’t really change. They just adapt to their current situation and become a more refined version of the person they always were. Which means, I still know you.”

“People do change. I’ve changed.”

“Oh really. How? Because all I see is the same work-orientated girl with the same dreams of changing the world one case at a time. But your hair is different. I like it. Makes you look... studious.” He grinned.

“I have responsibilities now. Bills to pay. A firm to keep afloat.”

“Look, it’s very simple Belle. I have a place to stay that has a separate kitchen and bathroom. Do you want it?”

“If you’re sure Lex,” she said, blushing slightly. She hated taking handouts but this was the lifeline she had been looking for.

He leant back and waved away the question. “Of course. It’s done.”

There was silence for a few seconds, then Bella remembered why she was there.

“Why did you ask for me anyway?”

“The truth is, offering you this place is a little selfish on my part. You being close by will make things a lot easier. I need your help Belle. No other lawyer will believe me. I got myself into a little something you see.”

“Not just something. Murder, Lex,” she pointed out.

“Oh, they told you that, did they?” he asked, scratching the back of his neck with his left arm nervously.

“Yeah, of course they did. What’s going on?”

“It’s all a mix up, that’s all. I fired an employee because she was stealing company files and handing them over to our biggest rivals NanoCorp. Things got quite heated. I was furious that she would betray the company like that and she showed no remorse which made me even angrier. I may have said something along the lines of, ‘if this information gets out, you’re dead’. I’m not proud of it, but it happened.”

“They can’t arrest you for that!” she protested.

“Wait. It gets worse,” he said solemnly.

“Oh God...”

“One day later we find that she stole information on another six projects that are in the pipeline. Two days after my rather embarrassing outburst, the girl is found dead at her house. The information she stole is gone and my DNA is somehow everywhere. That brings us to today.” He smiled nervously.

“Let me get this straight. Your employee steals information on seven company projects. You find out. You fire her, then threaten to kill her. Two days later she’s found dead with your DNA all over her. Did I get it about right?”

“Yeah, that’s about the size of it,” he said simply.

“So I know they tell us at law school to never ask this, but did you kill her?” she asked, trying not to stare him in the eyes.

“No, I didn’t kill her. How could you ask me that?” He looked genuinely shocked that she had asked.

“I’m sorry. Just wanted to make sure.”

“OK, you made sure, now help me out of this mess!” he pleaded.

She paused for a second. “So the girl was found today?”

“As far as I know,” he replied.

“But was she killed today?”

“All I know is what I overheard the ginger apeman say to another cop. Something about TOD, whatever that means, then a time. Seven o’clock two days ago. Then he said that I didn’t have an alibi for the murder. Does that help?”

“TOD means time of death. She was killed at seven two days ago. Do you have an alibi?”

“Officially, no. They must have somehow got access to all my official appointments for the day to figure that out though. God knows how they did it,” he said, looking bemused.

“It’s called a warrant. Your DNA was all over the crime scene. That’s probable cause. You’re telling me you’ve never watched any cop shows?”

He just stared at her with a blank expression on his face.

She flapped a hand at him. “Never mind. So you don’t have an alibi then?”

“I never said that. What I said was I don’t have an official alibi.”

“Well, what the hell does that mean?”

A broad grin broke out across his face. “It means I’ve got an alibi.”

She let out sigh. That would make things much easier. She whipped out her notepad and asked, “Who and where?”

“That’s the thing. I’d rather not give you that information,” he said, scratching his neck again.

She just stared at him for a while. Then raised her voice a little. “You asked for my help. If I’m going to be your lawyer you’ve got to be honest with me Lex. If this person can get you off this, you have to tell me who they are. No judgement.”

He looked to be weighing up his options in his head. Don’t tell and go to prison or tell and go home. The obvious won out. “OK. My guy Sammie was taking care of me. It had been a while and it had been a stressful week. It was exactly what I needed as well. Afterwards I felt great.”

Bella’s face contorted for a moment before she controlled herself. “What is the name of your...male escort?”

“My what?” Then the realization of what he had said dawned on him. “No, no Sammie is my manicurist! I was getting a manicure! God, how could you even think...?”

Bella could tell she was going red. Her cheeks were filling with blood fast. How embarrassing. But what happened next was out of her control. She began to giggle. Quietly at first, then louder. Not finding time between bouts of laughter for taking in air was always a problem for her. The whole time Lex was saying, “You promised me there was no judgement.” By the end she was gasping for air. Her eyes watering and her cheeks hurting from smiling.

Lex continued. “Let me get this straight. Me going to a male prostitute is less funny than me getting a manicure?”

That nearly set her off again but she controlled it. “I’m sorry about that. No judgement at all. Can I have his details please?”

“A manicure isn’t just for females you know. Males do it too. I mean for God’s sake it’s got the word MAN in!” he protested.

“Yeah. No judgement. Things have obviously changed since we were together,” she joked. “The name, Lex?” she said, making a kind of whirlwind action with her hand in an attempt to hurry him up.

He gave her the name. She wrote it down and got up to leave. Then a question came to her which she felt she had to ask before she did anything else.

“If you didn’t go see her that night, how is you DNA all over the crime scene?”

He looked up at her, genuine pain in his eyes. “Someone’s setting me up, Belle.”

Chapter 5

Someone was setting him up. Someone that had seen the geared up cops come in and drag him out. Someone that hadn’t pointed and whispered, but instead had smiled. That someone didn’t like to think of themselves as someone at all. No. They were known as THE One. More specifically the number, One. The One behind the master plan. The One who had set everything in motion.

Had it really been that easy to take down a member of the most powerful family in New York? All it had taken was slitting the throat of some busy-body corporate nobody to do it. It had felt like One was right there doing the cutting again. Feeling her fear. The quickening of her pulse. The warmth of her fresh blood covering One’s hands. One had killed her.

One wasn’t anywhere near Tech Tower anymore. One was far away now. Walking the streets of New York, looking for a Cafe to enjoy an afternoon coffee. A good mood was something that the One cherished. It was always swift. Always fleeting. A drive-by of good energy. Then on to the next job. This was slightly different though. It was a huge deal. Taking down one third of America’s perfect family. The son. He seemed a smart kid, but naive. One had met him several times. He was impressive looking, but incredibly vain. The kind of guy that would check his reflection in his cell phone. His English accent had always gotten on One’s nerves. It grated, like nails on a chalkboard. God knows how his employees could put up with it. Ten minutes of that incessant noise was all One could take. Now that the incessant noise was locked up, One could sit in the glorious afternoon sun and bask in the plan’s success. At times like this life felt so simple. So easy. Time really did fly when everything was going right for you.

But One knew better. One had seen it all before. The slow rise to the top and the inevitable crash back to earth. The group One led had no official name. It was not a gang because it operated under the radar. It was a collection of seventeen of the most powerful people in New York City. Their aim was to keep the rich richer and let the poor fend for themselves. They did this by identifying individuals or corporations that were a potential danger to them, find their weak spot and strike fast. A cheating partner, unpaid taxes or a hidden secret. It didn’t really matter. They found it.

No major deals happened without them knowing about it. The group had been founded three years previously by an anonymous benefactor they called Zero. Zero was their voice and One was their face. No-one had ever seen Zero’s face. All they had ever heard was Zero’s electronically altered voice giving them instructions. Many had questioned why they should be led by an anonymous coward. Those that had questioned were found days later face down in the Hudson River. But Zero had conceded that a leader with a face was necessary. The position of One was born. The Seventeen elected their leader. Even after being elected by their peers, their position was not guaranteed. Zero would then test them to judge their suitability for the job. If they passed the test, they were One. The first One had lasted an impressive three years. The position had been vacated as One had left overseas on a mission for Zero and had not returned. That is when the present One had been appointed.

A worthy successor. A fearless leader. Greatly respected by the Seventeen. Zero had sent four tests One’s way and One had obliterated the first three with ease. This was the fourth and last. The toughest, true, but child’s play for a mind like One’s. The request was simple. “Get the kid, Lex Archer, sent to jail in any way possible”. Zero had told the Seventeen that he believed the Archer family to be becoming too powerful. They needed bringing down. Their son being imprisoned would be the start.

Zero’s instructions were clear. Fail to have him sent away and he was not worthy to be One. But there was no way One would fail One would bring down the entire Archer family. Lex would be just the first.

Chapter 6

Lex was waiting for Belle to confirm his alibi with the police. Sweat dripped down his brow. The cool, calm and collected vibe he was going for was all just an act. Inside he was freaking out. What happened if Sammie had no record of him? Or worse yet, what if something had happened to him? Lex knew he had powerful enemies. What if they had gone after Sammie? All the guy had done was fix his man claws and now he might have a target on his back. Lex wouldn’t let that happen. They could come after him but dragging innocent bystanders in was unacceptable.

He heard a click and looked up to see Belle enter the room, head down, looking somber.

“Did he confirm it?” he asked.

“Erm...” she mumbled.

“Wait, what is it?”

She gave him a look which virtually answered his question.

“Ah, God dammit!” he shouted. Angry with himself for getting Sammie into this situation.

“Just hold up. I never said something had happened to him. It’s just that we can’t contact him. His cell is off and so is his work phone.”

“Then we need to go there now,” he insisted, standing bolt upright and marching towards the door.

“You can’t leave here Lex. You’re under arrest. You leave this room and five officers will be on you in a second. You know that’s true.”

He did know that. But he had to do something. Then he got an idea. He couldn’t leave. But Belle could.

“Belle, hear me out for a second...”

She already knew what he was going to say. “No, no no no no NO! I am not going to put myself in danger to save some shady manicurist.”

Lex just grinned at that sentence.

“This isn’t funny Lex. I am not going to put myself in danger for you. I agreed to get you out of danger, not land myself in it.”

“A man’s life is at stake here Belle. Just because of me. Do you know how that makes me feel? And what’s worse is I can’t do anything about it. I’m stuck here because of some false allegation and the only way to prove my innocence is to get a statement from him. Please Belle,” he said, willing to drop to his knees if necessary.

She considered it for what seemed like a full minute. But like any sane person, she declined. Unwilling to risk her life for someone she did not know. Lex did not blame her. I mean what did she gain from this? People always seemed to ask that question. True altruism was hard to find. Some even believed that it did not exist. Not him. Altruistic acts happened every day, you just had to know where to look. But clearly Belle wasn’t in an altruistic mood. Which was fine. It just meant that he needed to give her an incentive to help him out.

“I really didn’t want to have to do this, but I can tell I’m going to have to. If you do this for me, ArchiTech will invest in your firm. Up to five hundred thousand dollars.”

She collapsed into the chair. Her eyes flashed left to right. Probably thinking about what she could do with it.

“Lex, are you trying to bribe me?”

“No, I am bribing you. You’ve already made up your mind. I saw it in your eyes. You don’t want to do something for nothing. I respect that. So I’m giving you something. It’s what you wanted, I can tell. Let’s skip the games. I am a business man after all. I know the games.”

“I feel bad. You’re letting me stay in your building and now investing in my firm. I bet you must think I’m being ungrateful by not helping you out without something in return?”

“On the contrary. I think you are smart business women. The right type of people for ArchiTech to put their money behind,” he said, beaming at her.

She smiled back. They had an agreement. Even at university in Exeter she had been one tough girl. Like a girl from the bronx with all the looks and class of a girl from the upper east side. She had wavy brown hair shorter now than it had been at uni, but still down to her shoulders. Stunning deep green eyes that always shone with confidence. She’d always had a flawless complexion. She tanned in the sun but had a naturally pale skin tone, which made the contrast of her lips even more astounding. Her lips were bright crimson. Not too big, not too small. The perfect size. She still had an exceptionally elegant physique. She had been an accomplished tennis player and had obviously kept her fitness up. She was a vision. A vision that he would like to keep around for a while. As he gazed at her he mentally slapped himself on the wrists for not contacting her sooner. She had been in the city all these years and he’d known that but failed to follow up on it. Their complicated past had stopped him. He was glad that fate had brought them together. Even under these circumstances.

She stood up abruptly. “I’m going to need that address, Lex.”