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Description

The old gods are dead, and their children walk the Earth in their place.
Adrestia glared at the cat-caller as she walked down the trash-riddled street. Seeing the fire in her eyes, the man shrunk back into the doorway and watched as her boots clicked down the sidewalk. She took a left, slamming into an already over-packed bar full of patrons.
The bartender had her drink made by the time she fought her way there.
“What brings you in today? Business?” He asks sliding the glass of vodka her way.
“I have a client coming to meet me to finalize a contract.” Adrestia leaned back against the bar and stalked the crowd, the drink loosely held by the tips of her fingers. The bartender rested on his elbows as he continued the conversation.
“So...why do all your shady clients insist on meeting at my bar?”
“I don’t know, Carlton.” She pointed to a pair of brawling body-builders, “Maybe they enjoy the lovely atmosphere you have here.”
Carlton shrugged, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth as he walked over to defuse the situation. Adrestia watched him until a trio of men in high-class suits walk in. She met them halfway then the quartet settled in a nearby booth.
“It’s nice for you to join us, Adrestia.” Robert Richmond's thick mustache quivered as he spoke.
The low hanging lamp in the booth cast harsh shadows across his face, and from her position across from him, Adrestia could make out bags under his eyes. The goddess gestured the two bodyguards to either side of her.
“You’ve brought company.”
Richmond shrugged, “A man like me needs some level of protection. I’m sure you understand.”
He signaled to the man sitting to her left, and the bodyguard reached over his semi-automatic pistol to produce a plain manilla folder.
“I understand you’re strictly a woman of business, so I’ll make this simple. I am in search of a man.”
He opened the folder and tapped the photo of a smiling, gap-toothed man with his family. The man held a small child on his shoulders and looked up at her as if about to answer a question.
“This is Emanuel Lorenzo-Neruda. He used to be an accountant for one of my daughter companies in Europe.”
“Used to be?” Adrestia asked as she studied the man in the photo.
“He disappeared a year ago. Six months later, we discovered he was skimming profits and cooking the books to cover his tracks.”
“And you want me to find him.” She crossed her arms.
“Yes, if you think you can.”
Adrestia locked eyes with Richmond and leaned in as she replied, “No one can escape me.”
His bodyguards, feeling the edge in her voice, shifted in their seats. Unperturbed, Richmond leaned back and laughed.
“Excellent.” He said, “Excellent. I want my money back, every single penny.” The businessman stuck out his hand, and the guard sitting on Adrestia’s right supplied him with a cigar. Richmond lit it and exhaled a thick wall of smoke.
“Now, I understand that in the past, others have balked at your fees and terms.” He continued, ”I can assure you that it will not be the case with me. As you will see, I’m quite capable of making an offer you can’t refuse.”
He threw down a few straps of hundred-dollar bills. Adrestia counted them in one glance before glaring at the businessman.
“This is barely five percent of my standard fee.”
“I’m aware.” He took another drag from the cigar before crossing his hands over his gut, grinning.”My offer doesn’t stop there.”
Pistols clicked on either side of her.
“So, you’re going to threaten me?”
Richmond shrugged, “Nahhh, no. I never threaten my business partners. I simply give them strong reasons to see my point of view.”
“You mean to see your greed,” Adrestia growled. “Because I did some digging. This man didn’t steal from you; he stole what you stole from everyone else.”
The businessman clicked his tongue.
“I would watch your tone, sweetheart, It’d be a bit difficult for you to go delivering justice when you’re hurt.” He took another drag from the cigar, this time leaving it between his teeth.
“That’d be unfortunate for a pig like you, huh?” She spat back.
Unphased, Richmond chuckled and glanced to his bodyguards. They pulled the triggers but Adrestia moved faster. Before everyone could register what happened, the goddess ripped the bolted table from the ground and flipped it. Bolts flew everywhere, and Richmond roared as the alcohol-stained oak slammed into his face, resulting in a satisfying crunch. She elbowed the guard to her right, then punched the guard on her left as she jumped out of the booth into the panicked crowd. Behind her, Richmond coughed out muffled orders to his guards as they struggled to lift the table.
Carlton sighed as Adrestia walked up.
“I’m guessing things didn’t go well with the deal?” He slid a shot of whiskey her way, and she downed it in one swig.
“You could say something like that.”
Carlton bent over and picked up the lead pipe he kept behind the counter.
”Duck.” He swung the pipe. It collided with one of the bodyguards midswing. The guard rocked back and forth before crumpling to the ground. Adrestia nodded in approval.
“Not bad for a human.”
Carlton bowed in response.
“Happy to be of service.”
Adrestia turned around, ready to fight the remaining suits but instead saw them hobbing out of the door. Richmond clutched a bleeding nose as he yelled back at her.
“This isn’t over, girl!”
With the bar now completely empty, Adrestia placed her hands on her hips and sighed.
“Humans never learn, do they?”
Carlton gave a noncommittal shrug as he started dragging the forgotten guard out of the bar.
“No, not really.”

Description

The old gods are dead, and their children walk the Earth in their place.
Adrestia glared at the cat-caller as she walked down the trash-riddled street. Seeing the fire in her eyes, the man shrunk back into the doorway and watched as her boots clicked down the sidewalk. She took a left, slamming into an already over-packed bar full of patrons.
The bartender had her drink made by the time she fought her way there.
“What brings you in today? Business?” He asks sliding the glass of vodka her way.
“I have a client coming to meet me to finalize a contract.” Adrestia leaned back against the bar and stalked the crowd, the drink loosely held by the tips of her fingers. The bartender rested on his elbows as he continued the conversation.
“So...why do all your shady clients insist on meeting at my bar?”
“I don’t know, Carlton.” She pointed to a pair of brawling body-builders, “Maybe they enjoy the lovely atmosphere you have here.”
Carlton shrugged, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth as he walked over to defuse the situation. Adrestia watched him until a trio of men in high-class suits walk in. She met them halfway then the quartet settled in a nearby booth.
“It’s nice for you to join us, Adrestia.” Robert Richmond's thick mustache quivered as he spoke.
The low hanging lamp in the booth cast harsh shadows across his face, and from her position across from him, Adrestia could make out bags under his eyes. The goddess gestured the two bodyguards to either side of her.
“You’ve brought company.”
Richmond shrugged, “A man like me needs some level of protection. I’m sure you understand.”
He signaled to the man sitting to her left, and the bodyguard reached over his semi-automatic pistol to produce a plain manilla folder.
“I understand you’re strictly a woman of business, so I’ll make this simple. I am in search of a man.”
He opened the folder and tapped the photo of a smiling, gap-toothed man with his family. The man held a small child on his shoulders and looked up at her as if about to answer a question.
“This is Emanuel Lorenzo-Neruda. He used to be an accountant for one of my daughter companies in Europe.”
“Used to be?” Adrestia asked as she studied the man in the photo.
“He disappeared a year ago. Six months later, we discovered he was skimming profits and cooking the books to cover his tracks.”
“And you want me to find him.” She crossed her arms.
“Yes, if you think you can.”
Adrestia locked eyes with Richmond and leaned in as she replied, “No one can escape me.”
His bodyguards, feeling the edge in her voice, shifted in their seats. Unperturbed, Richmond leaned back and laughed.
“Excellent.” He said, “Excellent. I want my money back, every single penny.” The businessman stuck out his hand, and the guard sitting on Adrestia’s right supplied him with a cigar. Richmond lit it and exhaled a thick wall of smoke.
“Now, I understand that in the past, others have balked at your fees and terms.” He continued, ”I can assure you that it will not be the case with me. As you will see, I’m quite capable of making an offer you can’t refuse.”
He threw down a few straps of hundred-dollar bills. Adrestia counted them in one glance before glaring at the businessman.
“This is barely five percent of my standard fee.”
“I’m aware.” He took another drag from the cigar before crossing his hands over his gut, grinning.”My offer doesn’t stop there.”
Pistols clicked on either side of her.
“So, you’re going to threaten me?”
Richmond shrugged, “Nahhh, no. I never threaten my business partners. I simply give them strong reasons to see my point of view.”
“You mean to see your greed,” Adrestia growled. “Because I did some digging. This man didn’t steal from you; he stole what you stole from everyone else.”
The businessman clicked his tongue.
“I would watch your tone, sweetheart, It’d be a bit difficult for you to go delivering justice when you’re hurt.” He took another drag from the cigar, this time leaving it between his teeth.
“That’d be unfortunate for a pig like you, huh?” She spat back.
Unphased, Richmond chuckled and glanced to his bodyguards. They pulled the triggers but Adrestia moved faster. Before everyone could register what happened, the goddess ripped the bolted table from the ground and flipped it. Bolts flew everywhere, and Richmond roared as the alcohol-stained oak slammed into his face, resulting in a satisfying crunch. She elbowed the guard to her right, then punched the guard on her left as she jumped out of the booth into the panicked crowd. Behind her, Richmond coughed out muffled orders to his guards as they struggled to lift the table.
Carlton sighed as Adrestia walked up.
“I’m guessing things didn’t go well with the deal?” He slid a shot of whiskey her way, and she downed it in one swig.
“You could say something like that.”
Carlton bent over and picked up the lead pipe he kept behind the counter.
”Duck.” He swung the pipe. It collided with one of the bodyguards midswing. The guard rocked back and forth before crumpling to the ground. Adrestia nodded in approval.
“Not bad for a human.”
Carlton bowed in response.
“Happy to be of service.”
Adrestia turned around, ready to fight the remaining suits but instead saw them hobbing out of the door. Richmond clutched a bleeding nose as he yelled back at her.
“This isn’t over, girl!”
With the bar now completely empty, Adrestia placed her hands on her hips and sighed.
“Humans never learn, do they?”
Carlton gave a noncommittal shrug as he started dragging the forgotten guard out of the bar.
“No, not really.”