Post by Lissie Hope on Jul 13, 2019 23:41:27 GMT -5
Lissie Hope sat at the corner of the bar watching videos of some of the different promos that had been filmed over the last few days. She sipped slowly on her Bulleit on the rocks, feeling the burn on the back of her throat. It didn't take long for the man she had been expecting to slide into the seat next to her, and she discretely handed over a napkin folded over. Inside were a few hundred dollar bills. She never removed the pods from her ear; simply hit silent on her bluetooth.
"What did you find out?" Lissie asked.
"I've got everything," he replied, rather secretive but still unassuming. He waved order the bartender and ordered a vodka and soda.
"You know, I'm putting a lot of faith in you," Lissie replied, side-eying him and in her mind, making a bigger scene than she even expected. When she realized that she was gaining some views from other patrons in the bar, she scooted away from the man seated next to her. 'This isn't a fucking drug deal,' she said to herself, shaking off the paranoia that she was feeling from all of the invisible eyes looking at her. "Is there anything I can use?" she asked, removing the air pods from her ears.
"There's other girls," the man said, turning in his seat towards her. She turned in his direction as well, scooting in close, making it seem like it was purely two people who were getting to know each other in the bar. "He's going home every night with someone who looks like you, and I heard him talking to that assistant... Tomai?" he asked.
"Tommy?" she asked, unsure of how he pronounced his name. She was vaguely familiar with Tomai, knowing that he was the one that Ryan Elias would always come to with anything that he couldn't tell anyone else. "Well, good," she finally said, looking over the file of documents he had handed over. "I'm paying you enough for this shit," she said condescendingly.
"You hired me for a job," he said, without concern for her attitude. "I'm doing what you're paying me to do."
"No, no," she said, finally correcting herself. "I couldn't have asked for more," she admitted. "Except..." The pause caused Lissie to down the rest of her bourbon. "Is there anything he wouldn't want released to the media?" Lissie asked.
The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a USB drive.
"You've got no idea," he told her, and quickly downed the rest of his drink before escaping out the side entrance. Lissie was apprehensive about plugging the drive into her computer. She wanted everything she could get on Ryan Elias, but at the same time, in the back of her mind, there was a line that she didn't want to cross. She didn't want to embarrass him. She didn't want to emasculate him. She didn't want to make Ryan Elias look like he was infatuated with her. But on the other hand, was he? It was a question she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer to. She took a deep breath and apprehensively plugged the USB into her computer.
She didn't have a chance to find out.
"Hey sis, long time, no see!"
It was Robbie Hope. The timing couldn't have been better. or worse, as she had told her bother and the private investigator she had hired to meet her at the same bar. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but in hindsight, Lissie had realized that she might have cut it too close.
"What's up, brother?" she asked, palming the USB drive in her grip. She quickly shoved it into the side of her purse, unwilling to bring her brother into the underworld. He had no idea of the what she had been planning; of the secrets she was beginning to unearth, and how she imagined she would unveil them.
"How's everything?" he asked. "How's Sage?"
"She's good, dude," Lissie answered, grateful the conversation was gearing towards her girlfriend. "She couldn't make it out for this one but she's with me anyway, you know," Lissie said, patting her heart. Robbie felt she was more more sincere than he could ever remember. This was the way she would talk about Izzy Slade.
"Sounds pretty gay," he teased.
"Well, yeah," she responded with a smirk.
"Is this the end game for you?" Robbie asked. "Is Sage the one?"
"Man, I don't fucking know," Lissie replied, getting more and more irritated with the line of questioning. "Sage is so great to me. She's everything I thought I ever wanted..." she said, with a pause.
"Thought?" Robbie replied, completely perceptive of his baby sister's hesitation.
"Have you ever thought you found the one..." she began with apprehension. "...knowing deep in your heart that there might be someone else who owns your soul?"
Robbie sighed, heavily. Lissie had heard that sigh before. It was full of wisdom, but also full of judgement.
"Nevermind," she said, beginning to pack up her computer.
"Sis, wait," he told her. "If you think there's a chance with her, you've gotta see it through," he told her. "But the moment you notice that you're veering the wrong way, the moment you feel you're going to hurt her," he warned. "You've gotta let her go before you do."
Lissie pondered his advice. Little did he know, she wasn't talking about her at all.
"You remember what he did to me?" Lissie asked, placing down her bag. She called over the bartender to ask for another.
"Of course I remember," Robbie told her. "And everyday, when you look in the mirror, I hope you remember it, too. Don't do what he did. Don't let it be your self-fulfilling prophecy," he warned. "Be better this time. Better than he ever was."
"I can," she said, with a tear in her eye.
"You will."
"Coffee?" Lissie had typed, before sending it over to her best friend Estrella Luiz. The entire Royal Family had made it to Kansas days before, but Lissie couldn't remember the last time she had spent some alone time with Estrella. She was certainly looking forward to it, no matter how sensitive and jealous Sage Cervenka would be if she found out. Despite all else, Estrella was still one of her very best friends.
Lissie was sitting on the deck of a Starbucks in the state of Kansas, knowing in the back of her head that there wasn't a single person in this state who would ever draw her attention. It was a state full of the most basic, the most generic of people, and Lissie knew she could open up her computer and get some work done as she awaited the arrival of Estrella Luiz.
She remembered back to the USB drive that the man she hired had provided her, and the one she was extremely hesitant to watch. "I should fuck with him," she thought to herself, looking at the thick sharpies in the side pocket of her purse.
"Bestie!" she heard, a voice that was unmistakeable, one that she could pick out of any crowd. Lissie smiled as she palmed a venti vanilla latte, shaking it in the air as Estrella Luiz joined her at the table. "Agh, you know me too well!" Estrella said, excitedly.
"I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!" Lissie said, emerging from her seat. She embraced Estrella with a side-hug and Estrella greeted her with a kiss on the cheek, hovering down towards her neck. Lissie closed her eyes and imagined Estrella's lips had left a smear of lipstick near her jawbone, She took a seat back down and crossed her legs. her right leg brushing on Estrella's. Of course, it sent a shockwave through Lissie, but Estrella thought nothing of it.
"It's been awhile, babe," Estrella said with a smile, pulling her cup up to her lips and blowing it gently before taking a pensive sip. "I watched what you recorded for Casey, and I think you'll get in her head, for real!" she said excitedly. Estrella thought back to the time she faced Casey Holliday, and how she had come up short.
But that was before the Swerve.
"I've got so much confidence in you!" Estrella said, brushing her leg again against Lissie's. Lissie readjusted in her seat, the skin-to-skin contact being more than she could manage at that point.
"This is the biggest match of my career," Lissie said, her eyes darting to the ground. Despite all of the courage she knew was buried deep beneath the sea of self-doubt and uncertainty, she knew that she was approaching this match the best way she knew how. With an aura of confidence, in a position of strength, in a way that would protect her even if she fell short. But falling short was not an outcome she could accept.
Not now.
"If I can pull this off," Lissie began, knowing deep in the recesses of her mind that the confidence she exhuded would backfire if she couldn't pull through. "It'll shock the world."
"It'll scorch the earth," Estrella replied, a smile forming on the corners of her mouth. She raised her cup of coffee up to Lissie Hope and she tapped it with her own.
Lissie smiled at Estrella and took a huge sip of her coffee. But at the far end of the patio, she noticed the distinctive red hair. It was a mane of hair that was oddly familiar to one she had seen before. It took her a brief second, but it finally came to her. This was the same woman Lissie had seen on that USB drive.
Lissie walked up to her without any hesitation in her step. The woman looked up and smirked as Lissie took a seat in front of her.
"Do I know you?" Lissie asked.
"No," she replied. "But I think you know Ryan. I'm Eliza," she said. "Eliza Casteridge."
"What did you find out?" Lissie asked.
"I've got everything," he replied, rather secretive but still unassuming. He waved order the bartender and ordered a vodka and soda.
"You know, I'm putting a lot of faith in you," Lissie replied, side-eying him and in her mind, making a bigger scene than she even expected. When she realized that she was gaining some views from other patrons in the bar, she scooted away from the man seated next to her. 'This isn't a fucking drug deal,' she said to herself, shaking off the paranoia that she was feeling from all of the invisible eyes looking at her. "Is there anything I can use?" she asked, removing the air pods from her ears.
"There's other girls," the man said, turning in his seat towards her. She turned in his direction as well, scooting in close, making it seem like it was purely two people who were getting to know each other in the bar. "He's going home every night with someone who looks like you, and I heard him talking to that assistant... Tomai?" he asked.
"Tommy?" she asked, unsure of how he pronounced his name. She was vaguely familiar with Tomai, knowing that he was the one that Ryan Elias would always come to with anything that he couldn't tell anyone else. "Well, good," she finally said, looking over the file of documents he had handed over. "I'm paying you enough for this shit," she said condescendingly.
"You hired me for a job," he said, without concern for her attitude. "I'm doing what you're paying me to do."
"No, no," she said, finally correcting herself. "I couldn't have asked for more," she admitted. "Except..." The pause caused Lissie to down the rest of her bourbon. "Is there anything he wouldn't want released to the media?" Lissie asked.
The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a USB drive.
"You've got no idea," he told her, and quickly downed the rest of his drink before escaping out the side entrance. Lissie was apprehensive about plugging the drive into her computer. She wanted everything she could get on Ryan Elias, but at the same time, in the back of her mind, there was a line that she didn't want to cross. She didn't want to embarrass him. She didn't want to emasculate him. She didn't want to make Ryan Elias look like he was infatuated with her. But on the other hand, was he? It was a question she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer to. She took a deep breath and apprehensively plugged the USB into her computer.
She didn't have a chance to find out.
"Hey sis, long time, no see!"
It was Robbie Hope. The timing couldn't have been better. or worse, as she had told her bother and the private investigator she had hired to meet her at the same bar. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but in hindsight, Lissie had realized that she might have cut it too close.
"What's up, brother?" she asked, palming the USB drive in her grip. She quickly shoved it into the side of her purse, unwilling to bring her brother into the underworld. He had no idea of the what she had been planning; of the secrets she was beginning to unearth, and how she imagined she would unveil them.
"How's everything?" he asked. "How's Sage?"
"She's good, dude," Lissie answered, grateful the conversation was gearing towards her girlfriend. "She couldn't make it out for this one but she's with me anyway, you know," Lissie said, patting her heart. Robbie felt she was more more sincere than he could ever remember. This was the way she would talk about Izzy Slade.
"Sounds pretty gay," he teased.
"Well, yeah," she responded with a smirk.
"Is this the end game for you?" Robbie asked. "Is Sage the one?"
"Man, I don't fucking know," Lissie replied, getting more and more irritated with the line of questioning. "Sage is so great to me. She's everything I thought I ever wanted..." she said, with a pause.
"Thought?" Robbie replied, completely perceptive of his baby sister's hesitation.
"Have you ever thought you found the one..." she began with apprehension. "...knowing deep in your heart that there might be someone else who owns your soul?"
Robbie sighed, heavily. Lissie had heard that sigh before. It was full of wisdom, but also full of judgement.
"Nevermind," she said, beginning to pack up her computer.
"Sis, wait," he told her. "If you think there's a chance with her, you've gotta see it through," he told her. "But the moment you notice that you're veering the wrong way, the moment you feel you're going to hurt her," he warned. "You've gotta let her go before you do."
Lissie pondered his advice. Little did he know, she wasn't talking about her at all.
"You remember what he did to me?" Lissie asked, placing down her bag. She called over the bartender to ask for another.
"Of course I remember," Robbie told her. "And everyday, when you look in the mirror, I hope you remember it, too. Don't do what he did. Don't let it be your self-fulfilling prophecy," he warned. "Be better this time. Better than he ever was."
"I can," she said, with a tear in her eye.
"You will."
July fifteenth will mark the official debut of Cecilia Loyola.
She's the bottom-heavy Pride-of-Pahokee; the so-called "bad-bitch" hailing all the way from America's-dick. A Killa-Queen, so she says, sneaking in the backdoor with this sudden influx of new hard-ass tricks trying to make waves. Is this the next generation? Are we in the midst of a Pussy Planet takeover? This bitch came at the wrong time, because not only has she been overshadowed by the likes of Anika Swan and Sahara and Allison Riggs-Preston and that Piper chick with the furry shit coming out of her ass, but now she's beginning her career with an automatic loss against a champion who paved the way and the challenger who's walking in her footsteps.
The past meets the present meets the future -- but the future sure does fuckin' bleak for you, don't it?
C.C. Loyal.
You lookin' thicc, girl. I know I'm not alone in this but really, I like what I see-see. You might be nice to look at, mami, but let's be real: that's all you're good for. But what confuses me the most about you is the fact that I don't know who the fuck you are. And honestly? It's becoming more and more clear that neither do you. You've got that smooth, caramel skin and that sexy ass accent and yet -- why you gonna go and white-wash yourself like that? You butcher your name, you take a steamin' pile of shit on your identity...
What will that prove?
Do you think you're actually gonna leave a dent in the lexicon of Action Wrestling?
You won't.
You've been around for a couple of weeks now and though I'm sure you've been eager to show the world what you've been working on, what kind of damage you can do -- nobody else has given you a second look. Nobody cares, Cecilia. Nobody gives a damn what you've done in the past, or what you think you can do in the future. You are the definition of a non-entity, another burnout who will leave just as fast as she arrived. With no fanfare, with no hype, disappearing in a cloud of dust. I would even wager a bet that you may not even make it out to the ring on Monday night, much less out of it.
You've been waiting for that call, your agent and your entourage and your fuckin' momma have been waiting for that call -- and it finally came. After weeks of being forgotten, you finally felt your phone vibrating and you looked at the screen, you said to yourself that you were finally goin' to make it, and then the news of who you were facing dropped you off that emotional high, didn't it? When they told you you'd be in a triple threat match with a damn-near undefeated champion, and the woman many are saying is being groomed to succeed her -- that rollercoaster you jumped in, front-row seat with your hands high up in the air -- you realized that rollercoaster was doomed to derail.
You aren't making a splash, Cecilia.
Not on my watch.
I'm not a mean person, C.C., I just tell it like it is. You might hope to look in the mirror and see me looking back at you, thinking you have everything it takes to achieve the level of success I have in just three short months...
The name on the marquees.
The covers of the magazines.
The headlines of the editorials.
The safe money on all the books.
A luminary in a groundbreaking, game-changing stable.
The name that rings true when people talk about future World Champions.
But it won't happen for you, Cecilia. I'm sorry to give you the cold, hard truth before you even step into a ring, but the fact remains. They didn't call you back to showcase your promise; no, they only called you back until you would finally serve a purpose. They're serving you up on a silver platter for me for one reason, and for one reason only...
...they needed someone to cushion her fall.
Lissie Hope grabs a black sharpie and begins drawing lines on a huge mirror hanging on a wall. Four in a row and then one diagonally across, as if she was scoring points in a game of dominoes. She draws each one carefully before finally stopping.
Twenty-seven wins.
It's a mark of legends. A pinnacle of achievement, a stunning record from a brilliant competitor that will go down in the history books as one of the greatest to ever step foot in Action Wrestling. As a woman, it's a high bar to hurdle, the tallest mountain to climb, a road paved for only the most capable and the most fearless to follow. At the end of my journey, will I prove all the betting men right when they say that they're watching the splitting image of Casey Holliday? I want to prove to myself that when I look in the mirror, I will see a career just as notable, a legacy just as attainable, a footprint just as pioneering, an identity just as trailblazing...
...but I'm going to do it better, Casey.
July fifteenth is a significant date in Action Wrestling lore, isn't it?
Rewind to this date, exactly one year ago. Weeks of cryptic messages puffing up your arrival. Of course, all of the hype you tried to generate for yourself was met with skepticism and mockery, but that's beside the point -- your time was coming, Casey. You were promoting yourself as a revolutionary, as a visionary, as someone who would bring chaos and transformation in Action Wrestling.
You wanted to SCORCH THE EARTH!
And you ended up at Pandemic, on July 15, 2018, making your presence felt in the UCI Championship division with the Golden Ticket in hand, your eyes red for Bonnie Blue. It was going to be that pivotal match that was going to revitalize your floundering career, and you were going to be ushered in with the most esteemed that AW had to offer. The Roy Speede's, the Ryan Lockhart's, the Wade Moor's. The winner of Bonnie Blue and Casey Holliday was surely going to skyrocket into that prestigious company, isn't that right?
Wrong.
That didn't happen for you, did it? Instead, Bonnie Blue jumped ship, taking all the wind out of your sails, and you were stuck padding your record with inconsequential, irrelevant, and neverending feuds with the likes of Anton Chase and Kevin Bishop. You battled week after week, putting that UCI Championship on the line against rejects like Mike Massaro and wasting time across the ring with nobodies like Dark Tiger and Lisa Foster, trying desperately to get yourself noticed by the big guns.
It's such a sad story of expectations not meeting reality, isn't it?
During those first few months of your highly! anticipated! arrival, Action Wrestling held several mixed-gender and multi-person tag matches and tournaments to determine who was worthy of fighting for championships far more esteemed than your UCI crown. And there was one person who was never given that opportunity; not once. There was one middling mid-carder who was stacking up wins but that management felt was undeserving of actually fighting for just the fucking opportunity to even challenge for the World Championship.
That was you, Casey.
For fuck's sake, at the same time you were being served up scrubs on a tee, fucking losers like Rose and L Verez --fighters that eventually proved they were not good enough for Action Wrestling-- they were getting World Championship opportunities instead of you. Even the most basic bitch of 'em all, Karlie 'fuckin Nash, someone who you beat time and time again -- she was headlining shows and challenging SJW for the most glorious reward in Action Wrestling, the one we all strive towards.
But not you, Casey.
For almost an entire year, you were forgotten. You had to prove to the powers that be, to the mighty few that ever reached the zenith of Action Wrestling, that you were even deserving of being in that conversation. That you were even capable of it. You had such a thrilling run, sending every opponent packing...
...but then, it finally happened.
Lissie Hope pulls out a red marker and draws a line, denoting her first loss in Action Wrestling. The contrast of the two colors is glaring, and Lissie stares at the reflection in the mirror, a smirk forming on her face.
Battlebowl.
The night your biggest achievement went up in smoke... at the hands of Claire Hawkins and Kyle fuckin' Kemp, of all people. Two names who have done the least with the amount of praise they receive. It was as if everything you had worked towards, the only thing you could claim over anybody in Action Wrestling -- that vaunted undefeated record -- it was all for naught. You weren't unbeatable anymore, Casey. There was nothing left to fear. Nothing left that you could use to separate yourself from everybody else.
But still -- you were given the benefit of the doubt. That loss didn't send you tumbling down from the pinnacle of the mountain without a harness, but that's because you were never there to begin with.
Battlebowl was the turning point for you. You had made a career being on the cusp of greatness but never ascending to the role of main attraction, and it took a loss for you to finally do something you hadn't done since you decided to SCORCH THE EARTH. You finally started headlining shows, successfully defending your title against my friend Estrella Luiz, against Lincoln Cuckly, against Alex Richards himself -- so what that shows me is that it took you losing to finally, albeit briefly, become the face of Action Wrestling.
...congratulations, I guess?
So you traded in your UCI Championship for another Golden Ticket --err, the All-In Briefcase-- because somehow you think the outcome is going to be different for you. That this time, being rewarded with a championship opportunity isn't going to doom you to a year of forgotten mid-carder. But when you look in the mirror, Casey, the reflection remains the same. You aren't doing this any differently. There is no other destiny for you than being a cautionary tale of how one can completely sabotage their own chances of being the World Champion.
What are you scared of? What's taking you so long to cash in, Casey? Are you afraid to admit that you were so comfortable in the middle of the pack, defending a belt you had to beg people to care about? Nothing but scrubs and deadbeats and losers, but finally -- when the lights are shining the brightest -- you're hesitating? That's not the hallmark of a champion, Casey.
That makes you a coward.
Despite all of this, I like you, Casey. Everything I'm saying today? Facts. I'm just telling it like it is. I'm being real with you. People might think I'm taking it easy on you because I'm not throwing around fuck-bombs and roasting you like others have tried in the past, but that's because I know it won't work against you. You've proved that it takes complete focus and the absolute best to take you out, and that's why I respect you.
And that's why I'm going to do you a favor.
Lissie Hope grins and pulls out the red marker again, drawing one final line on the mirror.
You've proven that you need a harsh dose of reality, a loss that humbles you but not enough to cripple you, in order to truly become the face of this franchise. So just for you, I'll play the part. Cecilia Loyola will play hers, too. I'll give you that crushing defeat that will propel you forward, and C.C. Loyal will cushion your fall so your entire reign isn't looked back at as the sham some criticize you for.
We both have something to gain here, Casey. When I beat you, I will find myself in elite company -- a select few of those that defeated one of the greatest, Casey Holliday. Unlike the two before me, though, I'll actually fucking do something with it. And a loss at my hands will not be something to be ashamed of, Casey -- instead, it will energize you in ways you've never seen as you take that momentum into Uprising and finally cash-in. To finally become the champion we all know you can be, Casey.
You're welcome.
On July fifteenth, at Pandemic, you started blazing the trail, leaving the fire and smoke in your wake as you scorched the earth.
And on July fifteenth, this upcoming Clash, I'm extinguishing that inferno you started for good.
You will be sent on a new journey, Casey. You won't be handicapped by the UCI Championship reign anymore, and you will be able to forge a new path, and you will take all of the energies and all of the anger of this loss with you as you ascend to the greatest heights. Heights you could never achieve... without me. You'll have me to thank, not for thrusting you into the upper echelon of Action Wrestling, but for being the impetus of your success when you finally arrive there.
People say that when I look in the mirror, I want to see her in the reflection. But that's the furthest from the truth. Casey Holliday will merely be a point of reference in my resume, the place people will look when they chronicle my odyssey, after I become Champion in a fraction of the time it took her. I'm establishing my own name here. I will be the architect and the creator of my own legend.
I will never accept being the next anyone.
Casey may find comfort and safety in needing stepping stones for achievement.
But my career will never be defined by the success of others.
My triumphs will never be dependent on the paths laid forth by somebody else.
Because I'm not Casey Holliday.
I'm Lissie... motherfuckin'... Hope.
"Coffee?" Lissie had typed, before sending it over to her best friend Estrella Luiz. The entire Royal Family had made it to Kansas days before, but Lissie couldn't remember the last time she had spent some alone time with Estrella. She was certainly looking forward to it, no matter how sensitive and jealous Sage Cervenka would be if she found out. Despite all else, Estrella was still one of her very best friends.
Lissie was sitting on the deck of a Starbucks in the state of Kansas, knowing in the back of her head that there wasn't a single person in this state who would ever draw her attention. It was a state full of the most basic, the most generic of people, and Lissie knew she could open up her computer and get some work done as she awaited the arrival of Estrella Luiz.
She remembered back to the USB drive that the man she hired had provided her, and the one she was extremely hesitant to watch. "I should fuck with him," she thought to herself, looking at the thick sharpies in the side pocket of her purse.
"Bestie!" she heard, a voice that was unmistakeable, one that she could pick out of any crowd. Lissie smiled as she palmed a venti vanilla latte, shaking it in the air as Estrella Luiz joined her at the table. "Agh, you know me too well!" Estrella said, excitedly.
"I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!" Lissie said, emerging from her seat. She embraced Estrella with a side-hug and Estrella greeted her with a kiss on the cheek, hovering down towards her neck. Lissie closed her eyes and imagined Estrella's lips had left a smear of lipstick near her jawbone, She took a seat back down and crossed her legs. her right leg brushing on Estrella's. Of course, it sent a shockwave through Lissie, but Estrella thought nothing of it.
"It's been awhile, babe," Estrella said with a smile, pulling her cup up to her lips and blowing it gently before taking a pensive sip. "I watched what you recorded for Casey, and I think you'll get in her head, for real!" she said excitedly. Estrella thought back to the time she faced Casey Holliday, and how she had come up short.
But that was before the Swerve.
"I've got so much confidence in you!" Estrella said, brushing her leg again against Lissie's. Lissie readjusted in her seat, the skin-to-skin contact being more than she could manage at that point.
"This is the biggest match of my career," Lissie said, her eyes darting to the ground. Despite all of the courage she knew was buried deep beneath the sea of self-doubt and uncertainty, she knew that she was approaching this match the best way she knew how. With an aura of confidence, in a position of strength, in a way that would protect her even if she fell short. But falling short was not an outcome she could accept.
Not now.
"If I can pull this off," Lissie began, knowing deep in the recesses of her mind that the confidence she exhuded would backfire if she couldn't pull through. "It'll shock the world."
"It'll scorch the earth," Estrella replied, a smile forming on the corners of her mouth. She raised her cup of coffee up to Lissie Hope and she tapped it with her own.
Lissie smiled at Estrella and took a huge sip of her coffee. But at the far end of the patio, she noticed the distinctive red hair. It was a mane of hair that was oddly familiar to one she had seen before. It took her a brief second, but it finally came to her. This was the same woman Lissie had seen on that USB drive.
Lissie walked up to her without any hesitation in her step. The woman looked up and smirked as Lissie took a seat in front of her.
"Do I know you?" Lissie asked.
"No," she replied. "But I think you know Ryan. I'm Eliza," she said. "Eliza Casteridge."