Silence and Stilettoes, Pt. 1 (Decided)

“I throw myself into my office chair with a creaking lurch, as I do to start all my days. With one hand I bring my bitter roasted coffee to my lips… it burns something fierce but that’s all part of what wakes me up a last. Money might always be tight, but I never skimp on the good stuff, not when the dark blend is at stake, and today of all days I need the eye opener.

By now the news had reached the whole town. It was in all the papers, front page news they all ran with. Mark was dead. Not just dead… Murdered and left where all could see him. I’ll never walk through Memorial Park again and not think of him. Did I know him? You could say that… But it would be better to say I knew of him. Everyone in this two-bit town did. Mark was a busy man, he had his fingers in a lot of pies, and not all of them were on the up-and-up.

I perused the articles one by one as I let my hot drink spread a warmth through my core. Who needs light or heat, anyways? As of yet, the cause of death is unknown. Of course Mark would make even his own murder difficult… I admit if I knew how my day would end up going, I’d have paid more attention to details. I may have a reputation as a grizzled gumshoe, rightly so, but even I don’t enjoy hearing the ins-and-outs of a friend’s death, distant though they may be.

Fed up with what the paper has to tell me, I toss it on the desk with a soft thwack as I lean back in the creaky chair. I barely close my eyelids when a knock at my door has me sitting up once more. It’s far too early to be bothering me… and weeks since a client came a calling either. Sitting in silence I wait, until it happens again. Damn, it wasn’t my imagination after all. At last, I call to them to enter… the biggest decision of my life made without a second thought, I would soon learn. Just like that I was pulled directly into Mark’s murder, as she came stepping through my door and into my life.

Her name was Asana, a beauty from a faraway land… and she was lost in a web of lies. I truly was her only lifeline in this squalid city.”

(That's our first toe in the waters of our special noir story, Asana was the top choice of our fans. Tune in later this month for the next installment, and if you're a Daring+ fan be sure to grab the accompanying wallpapers too! Now then, where will all the Brave+ backers take us next? Be sure to check out the full story so far here at the Master Post! )

Be hard boiled and beWilder!