Hell Bound

“You’re never going to get junior editor by sitting around on your ass,” Nikki sighed as she lounged in the chair in front of Lora. “Being afraid will get you nowhere!”

She was right. And Lora hated her for that. Not only has Lora been working as a beat journalist for the past five years but she’s been good and loyal to her job. Dedicating her time and the last of her social life to get where she is now but it wasn’t what she aimed for.

Getting thrown lousy neighborhood petty crime cases was way below her pay grade not to mention skill. This recent one that was tossed to her had been the last straw.

A rich kid teen, from the suburbs in Mesa, had been arrested for petty gta and from the looks of it he’ll only get community service due to his parents big pockets.

If there was any story worth publishing, it had been the one year case she had worked on endlessly. The Hell’s 8. The infamous biker gang in Scottsdale had lingered their dark cloud for over fifteen years and still were untouchable by both media and law enforcement. Either because they bought themselves into the good graces of the local police department or by something else, that was Lora’s missing piece.

If she could only get Thomas’s approval, she’ll make that promotion in no time.

“But what if he just shoots my idea straight to the dirt, I’ll never hear the end of it around here.” Lora said. Pubic humiliation wasn’t her kink.

“That’s your problem! You care way too much about what these losers think!” Nikki scoffed as she hiked up her legs onto Lora’s desk. “If you think half of these people are worth anything because they got where they are by being a kiss ass, you’re sadly mistaken.”

Lora didn’t say a word. Another truth blow to the gut.

“Fine! I’ll do it but only because you’re a bully.” Lora stood up as she gathered her files.

“I’m only a bully because I love you.” Nikki called out as Lora marched out of her cubicle.

This had to be it, no better time than now. She would make sure that Thomas would listen to her story.

A story that would put this mediocre news station on the high ranks, right up there with KPNX.

Through all her thoughts and frustration she didn’t see Thomas coming around the corner and knocking into him causing her to drop her files everywhere.

“Oh Jesus, Thomas, I’m so sorry!” All a flutter, Lora swiftly gathered her papers together.

“It’s okay, Lora. ‘Hell hath no fury than a woman on a mission.’ Where are you going in such a rush?” He asked handing her a missing slightly torn article.

“Actually, I wanted to speak with you.” She breathed. She looked over her shoulder back at Nikki who was giving her an enthusiastic thumbs up.

They both walked into a large corner office which layed high right over Adams Street. Lora loved the city, that’s why she moved here from Florence. Not that she didn’t have bigger dreams like LA or New York but if she wanted to make it big she had to start somewhere.

Thomas, much older now, still was in his publishing prime and everyone knew it. He was the main reason SunNews stayed up float for as long as it had.

“What’s the big news you wanted to talk to me about that nearly costed me my coffee?” He snickered as he slowly dipped on his black coffee.

“Oh... it’s this piece that I’ve been working on my down time-“ Lora muttered. She fumbled through her stack of files.

“Lora, not this Hell’s 8 thing again.” He interrupted. “I told you that-“

“Yes, I know what you told me but hear me out. Last time you said I didn’t have enough evidence to pull this through... well here’s what I got... evidence!” Lora layed out large photos of Hell’s 8 gang members, all doing what appeared to be drug dealing. Two of the photos had a tall aburn haired bearded man in the forefront making the exchanges.

“See, I even told you that Damon Kelly himself was apart of this.” Lora said proudly.

Damon Kelly was the Hell’s 8 President. He’d been dodging the spotlight whenever his club got bad press but was always on the frontlines when handling with law enforcement. Now Lora had proof that she not only could expose to the whole state of Arizona but right up to the feds.

Thomas, on the other hand, looks less enthusiastic than Lora did. He sighed, “Lora, this is dangerous waters to be trending in. And you know me, this could end badly for everyone.”

“C’mon Tom, you have been my mentor through my career here and you’ve always told me to take chances!” Lora said. She felt more confident now than she was twenty seconds ago.

“I know but this...” Thomas motioning to her photos. “This is a disaster waiting to happen. Like your career.”

Thomas did care for Lora, not in a inappropriate way but more so in a mentoring way, she knew that much. Yet, Lora knew the stakes and knew that if this went south her career would be down the drain. That was a risk she was willing to make.

“Just give me a chance, Tom. I know how much this might cost me but I bet my life on this is more than just a hunch. Just one chance.” Lora was nearly begging, hell any moment she’d be on her knees.

Thomas sat back in his chair, staring out the window hard. His brow creased and his lips narrowed. “Fine, but only if you keep me updated daily and if I sense that it’s going sour, I’ll pull the plug. Got it?”

Lora had to hold her composure to not leap with excitement. “Deal.”

“Good, now get to work.” Thomas grumbled.

Lora gathered her things and proudly walked back to her cubicle. She had done it. She’s finally get out of the crummy suburban columns and straight into headlines. No more petty crime new, she was going to make it big. She had her story, now she needed to catch her man