The Bar

“I hate hoity-toity places like this,” Sylk groaned.

“When you said that I could start going out, I didn’t think a place like this was what you meant,” Amir looked around nervously at all of the fancy rich people milling about around them.

“Mina found out more about the Medriagos. Her old classmate’s dad likes to come here a lot, so we have to do some reconnaissance.” 

Cass felt like a spy doing an espionage mission, so she was dressed Cassandra. She was like a femme fatale, and she wore a red top with a deep cleavage paired with black pants and high heels, all topped with a black fur coat. Her iconic red lipstick stained the glass of the wine she was holding. The three of them were sitting at a bar that probably cost more than a year’s rent on their apartment.

Sylk was wearing the lacey corset that was technically owned by Cassandra. They had a habit of sharing clothes sometimes. Underneath it was an indigo silk gown with translucent puffy sleeves. Her hair was pitch black to match the seriousness of this mission, and it framed her body like the backdrop of a Van Gogh painting.

Amir had on a simple button up shirt and a dark purple blazer that Sylk had lined with gold accoutrement. Cassandra had drawn a fake beard on him to cover up most of his face and his scar, and she did his makeup in a way that changed the perceived face shape. She was unsure about what to do about his hair since dreadlocks couldn’t be hidden in a wig, but then Amir happily detached his hair, much to Cassandra and Sylk’s shock. She gave him a short and curly wig, then topped him off with sunglasses in an attempt to cover even more of his face and not have to worry about his eyes.

“We’ve been here for a while and I don’t see him anywhere,” Sylk sighed.

Cassandra put clasped her hands together and leaned towards her roommates. “How about we split up and use our skill sets? Sylk, you go to bar goers and chat them up. Get them drunk and in a gossiping mood. Ask about any controversies within the Medriago family. Amir, try and see if you can connect to the security cameras around here. I’m going to talk to the bartender and wait to see if Mr. Medriago shows up.” Amir and Sylk exchanged a nod before going to do their tasks.

Before she left Sylk said, “Okay Miss Cassandra, femme fatale slay with the oceans 18 type beat,” with a grin.

Cassandra rolled her eyes, but she found herself smiling back at her. She checked her phone again to look at the picture Mina had sent. It was a business family photo of Lorraine, Salazar, and Zola. Lorraine and Salazar were the patriarch and matriarch of the Medriago family. Lorraine’s family was in the energy business. Nuclear, solar, and the like. Salazar came from a long line of robotics business owners. They had their hands in the android industry ever since the first models were created in 2109. Their marriage was somewhat arranged, but together they owned many of the electronic companies. Their daughter, Zola, was in her mid twenties.

Cassandra turned off her phone and loitered around the bar patiently. Some men tried to approach her every now and then, but since they weren’t Salazar Medriago, she smiled coyly and turned them down.

She saw Sylk within her line of sight, sitting at a table full of middle-aged rich women. Amir was nowhere to be seen, but that might be for the better. They tried their best with disguising him, but if Salazar recognized him it’d only spell trouble.

“Another drink, miss?” The bartender asked. Cassandra smiled up at him, “Just more wine please.” She was trying to play it cool, but this place really was ridiculously expensive. As a person who’d worked behind the counter of a bar before, Cassandra knew the inner workings of places like this. The wine was overcharged, probably costing more than the bottle itself just for a single cup. Still, she needed to play up the role of a fancy young woman.

As the bartender was refilling her cup, the front door swung open, and Cassandra finally spotted him.

Salazar Medriago stood at the doorway for a moment, looked around, then began walking towards the bar. Towards Cassandra. He was tall, dark, and handsome enough considering his age. Salazar had salt and pepper hair and he was wearing a turtleneck and a simple gold chain. On his wrist was one of the most ridiculously expensive-looking watches she’d ever seen. It was encrusted with a bunch of jewels (probably diamond), and looked like the latest model of a Tamashi watch that could do everything a phone could do and more. It could also attune to the wearer’s soul and read their mood or needs. For obvious reasons, Cassandra had never really gotten into the Tamashi brand.

Sylk locked eyes with her, and Cassandra simply nodded at her knowingly before taking a sip of her drink. Salazar sat a few stools down from Cassandra, but luckily nobody was in between them. She waited a moment before saying anything.

“Come to drink your sorrows away?” Cassandra asked the man.

The old man cracked a bitter smile. “More like my frustrations.”

“What’s got you down, old-timer?”

“Nothing you need to concern yourself with, miss. Just business.”

The bartender handed Salazar a drink. He didn't even need to ask for an order. The old man must’ve came in here so often that his regular order was memorized by the staff.

“What kind of business? I’m a fast learner,” Cassandra took a sip of her red wine. Salazar glanced at her. He really looked at her this time, acknowledging her presence.

“I’m sorry, do I know you from somewhere?” Salazar asked.

“Doubt it,” Cassandra said smoothly. “Though I’m curious about the great Salazar Medriago.”

“Ah, I see my reputation precedes me. You know my work?”

“I’m a huge fan. Your current line of androids are spectacular. The synthetic skin your company developed has completely changed the humanistic robots industry,” Cassandra made sure to do some research before this meeting.

“Oh, of course. We only have our best scientists on breakthroughs like that. Top of their class, cream of the crop.”

“How do you feel about the whole android rights thing? Those laws being passed?”

“I don’t mind them. Whatever our consumers want to do with their androids is their business. I actually gifted my daughter an android last year as a Christmas present.”

Cassandra took another sip of her wine. She had an in. “Strange choice of gift for a little girl.”

“Oh, my daughter’s all grown up. This old fool is an empty nester. She’d probably be about your age, actually.”

“That’s lovely. Perhaps we could become friends. I don’t really know anyone at my college because I’m too busy studying. I’m top of my class and I’ve got to keep my spot secure, you know?”

“I think you two would get along,” Salazar took a sip of his own cup, then he noticed the table that Sylk was sitting at that was full of middle-aged women. He stared for a few seconds more than normal, and Cassandra couldn’t read his expression since he was turned away from her.

“What would the misses say if she caught you staring like that?” Cassandra asked with a sly smile. Salazar turned back around and shook his head.

“It’s nothing like that, I just think I know one of those women from the country club. I might go and greet her later, ask her how her business is doing.”

Cassandra didn’t know how to work with that and twist it back into him talking about his own family.

Salazar got a call at that moment, his watch beeping slightly. He turned to her apologetically. “I’ve got to take this, you understand.”

Cassandra nodded and stood up to leave, but he put a hand up to stop her.

“What do you study at that college of yours?”

“Robotics and engineering,” Cassandra lied easily.

“Here, take my card. Could use a bright mind like yours after you graduate,” Salazar handed Cassandra a card that she pocketed into her fur coat, “What’d you say your name was again, miss?”

“I didn’t,” Cassandra turned away and strolled to the front door, her heels clacking across the marbled floor and her fur coat trailing behind her.

𓆩♡𓆪

“I felt like a spy. I mean, I got chills. Feel my arm right now, I think I still have goosebumps,” Sylk was droning on and on about the mission the whole way home. Amir had been waiting for them outside of the bar. Apparently he finished up his part pretty quickly, but he saw Salazar heading in and decided to stay outside so that they didn't run into each other.

Cassandra was also pretty excited. They were finally being proactive towards figuring out Amir’s past. He could only remember snippets, and every time he tried to talk about it his eyes flashed purple.

Once the supway stopped and they walked the bridges and ladders to their apartment, they all sat down in a circle to exchange stories. Sylk grabbed some snacks and placed them in the center.

“Who first?” Cassandra asked with a smile.

Amir raised his hand. He really didn’t have to do that, but it was a cute habit. She pointed at him like a teacher choosing which student could answer the question on the board.

“I connected to all of the security cameras on the block,” He started, but both Sylk and Cassandra looked at him with their mouths agape.

“Amir, I meant just the bar’s security,” Cassandra said.

“I know, but the security grid could connect to the entire block, so I figured that I should get as much information as possible. It took me 3 minutes to scan about 3,000 hours of footage-”

“Three thousand hours?!” Cassandra and Sylk both said at the same time.

Amir nodded and continued. “He doesn’t just go to the bar for drinks. He frequents this area every Sunday and he meets with some shady-looking fellows in the alleyway behind the building. They always exchange small bags of something, but I’m not sure what’s in them.”

Cassandra and Sylk cheered once he was finished, and pat him on the back for his roaring success.

“What could this man possibly be hiding?” Cassandra wondered out loud. She turned to Sylk. “You next, and let us know if you found out anything from his soul.”

Sylk shook her head. “His soul was really clean. Not the type of man that would do shady stuff, just someone who loves his family and takes pride in his business. The only thing out of the ordinary is that his soul was bigger than normal.”

“Bigger?” Asked Amir.

“Yeah, like… souls obviously vary a lot. There's not two alike. They vary in color, in the speed at which it moves around a person’s physical body, and even in size. I don’t think he’s the biggest soul I’ve ever seen, but he was certainly up there. Just comparatively bigger than the rest of the souls at the bar.”

“What did the girls at the table say?” Cassandra asked as she picked up some chips and began to bite into them like it was popcorn.

“I took the opportunity to ask what they thought of the Medriagos when he walked in. One woman said that there were rumors about his daughter.”

“Zola,” Amir said, his eyes flashing purple again.

“Yeah. They say she’s been a hermit for a couple of years now. She’s rarely seen at social events, she just stays at their estate. A couple of years ago there was also some talk of her getting married, but the wedding got canceled. They said her and her fiancé might’ve had wedding jitters and had a major falling out, but my running theory is that Amir was built to be some kind of husband-bot.”

Cassandra shook her head. “That doesn’t line up with the timeline. Mr. Medriago said he gifted his daughter an android just last year, which I’m assuming is Amir.”

“Maybe she missed her old flame and asked daddy dearest for a new lookalike boyfriend,” Sylk said, rubbing her chin.

“Does that line up with what you remember, Amir?” Cassandra asked.

Amir fiddled with his hands nervously, bringing them in and out of a prayer-like interlocked position. “I’m not sure. It’s definitely a possibility.”

Sylk yawned.

“Okay we can talk about this later. It’s getting really late, and we have another big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

Amir perked up. “More espionage work?”

“Nope,” Cassandra grinned. “Your first day back at school.”