Dangerous Games VI

“If you aren’t interested then I will take my offer to Ben or Dan,” Alice said, standing from where she sat down on my bed.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t interested,” I said quickly. “You have a deal, but first I have to know who you were working under before?”

“No one, I am independent, usually, unfortunately I have found some things out that make me targeted by Isabelle. That means it’s in my interest to team up with someone who also wants to get rid of Isabelle. This is only a temporary alliance, please keep that in mind.” Alice really was like no one I have ever met before. She isn’t Ben’s sister, Ben is the son of my Aunt’s son, and Alice is the daughter of my Uncle. Usually I just group my cousin’s by these two parents, but Alice was clearly in a class of her own.

“So now that I have agreed to work with you will you tell me what good it’s going to do me?” I asked. Now that I thought about it she had done a lot better then I had in the bargaining part of our conversation.

“I have cameras and microphones hidden everywhere in all of these houses, and I do mean everywhere. Some of the movies I have I could probably sell for a lot of money on the internet, but I don’t, you don’t have to worry.” She smirked knowingly at me and I shuddered. In my mental list of family politics Alice was upgraded from low pawn to slightly above Dan. She was dangerous and even more dangerous because no one realized she was one of the important people.

“In that case I would like to add to our deal that every tape you have of me is destroyed,” I said.

“That won’t happen just for a temporary alliance, maybe if I was working with you forever I might agree but as it is I am afraid that is not an option. I will not be losing all leverage over you just for a little of your help. However I will take out the cameras and microphones from your room for the time that I am working with you. How is that?”

“I suppose I don’t have a choice,” I said.

“Then I will write up the contract and have it here for you to sign tomorrow. My husband will witness the signing, just in case you feel like you can deny it later.” Never in my family has anything been done so businesslike then the deal that I made the next day with Alice. Her husband even signed as a witness, amazing.

With Alice and Luke, and Alice’s husband as well on my side, I was finally ready to do something about Isabelle. I was used to the stupid Luke; it took me at little while to learn to make plans that included the other two. Alice really did know everything about everyone and her husband was the sneaky one who had planted all of the cameras and microphones without anyone knowing it. It was a scary combo when I knew that they would not always be on my side.

Alice’s husband, his name was Harry; brought me my relative’s documents just like his wife brought me their movements and conversations. I began to piece things together like I hadn’t been able to before. For one thing, by reading photocopies of Ben’s journal, I was able to find out that he meant me to fight against Isabelle for his purposes and that made me mad. I couldn’t not go through with it though, even though he had manipulated me, because the only reason Alice and Harry were on my side was to get at Isabelle.

Dan was targeting me as a steppingstone just like I was targeting Isabelle, and because of the same person. Ben had gotten to him, I decided I didn’t like Ben much, but I never had. Dan had been dropped in the lists because he no longer had any followers, he was important, but only barely, so I didn’t pay him a lot of attention.