His father always wore a dark grey tie. He would routinely watch him get dressed to go to work at his law firm at the breakfast table. Every day his father had black coffee and scrambled eggs with one shake of pepper and one shake of salt, his father was very meticulous. He apparently had no time to get properly dressed in his dressing room but wore his tie at the table. Mother placed it for him to the left of the daily paper. His long fingers would lift, wrap and tie then straighten. He would for some reason glide his hand over it to straighten any wrinkles even though they were always ironed and straight as the stripes on them. He disliked the stripes on the tie. They were a lighter shade of grey but straight. Most ties had patterns maybe lines which went diagonally but his father's tie was very, very straight. Alexis was a boy with many thoughts and few words and he always thought about how much his father's tie annoyed him at breakfast.
When he grew older he understood that his parent's fought. A young child can understand when there was tension between two people but he only comprehended that they were actually fighting when he was about seven. His father was a bit eccentric. Alexis thought much about his father because he was a mystery to him of sorts. He knew his Mother. You don't think about the sun much because you know it will rise every day. His mother waked him to school daily. She always put a little honey in his milk in the morning.
She was his sun.



His mother worried Alexis was slightly autistic when he was a child since he didn't socialize much. She always doted on him and even if he doesn't really show it with large smiles and loud hugs he loved her. No, Alexis didn't move around or react much; he was more like Mr. Andrew Slade. When his mother yelled at Mr. Slade about this or that which was really just a reason to convert daily things into:
"Why are you so heartless?!"
Well, when she yelled, Mr. Slade had cases to look over in his den. This was separated from the well furnished living room by a mahogany door. The door seemed so very large from the young boy’s perspective.




Mr. Slade was printed finely on the silver name plate. He had it positioned directly along the edge of the large mahogany desk. Before he owned this firm he was a bartender taking courses in law at university. Bartending was his night job. He has a picture of him wearing the black vest and with his hair gelled back. Mrs. Andrew Slade would usually have luncheons with the local neighborhood Mrs. X or Mrs. Y and she would tell them about the first time she met Mr. Slade. Oh, he had a suave smile and he had those grey piercing eyes.
They were eyes which would look right into your soul.
The grey of his eye was lighter than the suit he wore but darker than the grey of the stripes on his tie. You could sense a tinge of green around the edges. Mr. Slade didn't talk much or move around much, but as she came to the bar to order a light drink she was entranced.
His eyes were very active.
It seemed like his whole being was dull and grey except for those eyes. They would dart around the selection of drinks while she tried to name rare drinks which he would not spot directly. He has eyes which would spot a fine hair on the shoulder pad of a suit. She would jokingly, and drunkenly, flash him her fingers and ask "How many?" he would always reply correctly if she had four up or three or two. It turns out they went to the same university, the relationship evolved from there. Alexis has the same eyes.
Alexis loved to solve problems. He had one of those logic books printed in low quality paper. Every time his mother presented him the allowance his father set aside for him he would have to buy the latest edition of those logic books. He watched shows about mysteries on the old television. He always picked up his toys and put them in their boxes. He was a baby who didn't cry much. He wanted to have a reason for everything. When his mother complained about why it was so hot he researched about climate change.
His mother was dressing him to go attend one of his father's cases at court. He had been locked up in the den working on it for weeks. She brushed his blonde hair and straightened his miniature suit. She couldn't help but think how much he looked like his father.



At the age of ten the details about the case mattered little to Alexis. All he could think about was the way his father was speaking. His father didn't speak much. However, here his voice was an outpour of finesse. He persuaded and defended with zeal. He wasn't speaking in a very loud voice or a very emotional one either. It was ordered but powerful and the words were pronounced properly. His father was defending a man who was an alleged murderer. His father won the case.
The boy became a young man. He joined the debate club at school. Sometimes they make you take a position which you are not expected to agree with. Such as defending issues like theft and murder. Alexis found the challenge exciting. With little backing on such issues he almost convinced people that theft and murder are justifiable. People had strong emotions. Alexis wasn't heartless but he had a clear mind. He had a mind which was capable of changing arguments to his liking. He could make people believe he was right. He could “lie”.
Alexis at age seventeen knocked on the mahogany door. He was granted access by his father. The roots of his father's hair were graying. Most of the well to do men like his father dyed their hair but things like hair didn't matter to Mr. Slade. Alexis placed his father's coffee on the large table. He noticed the square plate the coffee was on was slightly askew so he straightened it. His father was busy so he didn't want to disturb him.
"Son, sit down."
That was a first. He sat on the maroon leather chair and his eyes darted over the stitching on the chair's arm. There was a slight pause as his father was writing something down.
"I heard your doing quite well in school. You're in year twelve now, correct?"  
"Yes father."
"Going into university soon then?"
"Yes father."
"You should help out at the firm in the spring break, an apprentice or something along those lines. Universities recently seem to demand experience in the work place."
"Certainly father."
Maybe now he could learn more about his father.
The other workers in the firm knew Mr. Slade was not to be disturbed. It was eerily strange how his office was much like his den at home. Alexis wondered how his father didn't get bored out of his mind. He wasn't sure how this was working; all he did was sit in his father's office while his father continued doing what he did at home.
"Are you bored?"
"No father."
"You're lying."
He continued writing notes about the case he was studying. Next came the longest duration of time his father spoke to him.
"You remind me of myself. No one is competent enough to carry on this firm so I am going to teach you how to become a good lawyer. A lawyer has to know how to do two things: Firstly you must know when a person is lying. A lawyer is similar to the detective who seeks inconsistencies and things which are not logical. You must have a firm knowledge about facts and about motives and about what people do. You must know the person you are persecuting or defending well. Secondly you must know how to lie."
His father didn't look up as he said this, his pen scribbling on a leather bound notepad.
"You must be calm. Usually people are given away by their, how do I put this, biological weakness. Look me in the eye."
He was surprised by this order. He did though. Their grey eyes locked but his father made him nervous. It was like he was looking into his soul.
"Don't do that again."
He went back to writing. Alexis was confused.
"Do what…"
"Don't be nervous" His father cut in "Emotions like that help no one. They expose you. Don't talk fast either and don't do repetitive hand motions. You must convince yourself what you are saying is true before you convince others. You must know and control yourself. Go home now, it's getting late."
He was slightly dazed, Alexis was about to shut the door when his father said while his face was still looking at what he was writing: "…And don't forget to research"
His father trained him. He would give him example of cases and recordings of cases. He would make him listen to a woman giving an explanation as to where she was the night of her husband's murder. He could spot her lies. His father was impressed. Alexis had a natural affinity for not only spotting inconsistencies in arguments but in detecting lies just by the way people told them.
His father lied his way to the well furnished house they lived in. You could say he lied to his mother about his suave charm, which was more of an act. Alexis remembered how he lied about how the cat died when he was young. Alexis didn't want to kill the cat but he wanted to know if cats really could survive a long fall, or if it was a lie. Like Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny. He told his mother that the cat was on the window sill and spotted a bird… and fell, he was convincing. His father looked at him and said nothing. He felt ashamed then. His father defended guilty men and swore they were innocent. His father persecuted innocent men and swore they were guilty. He would convince people that the truth was a lie.
Years passed, Alexis had a sort of reverence for his father. To him they were masters of a delicate art and his father was the prime example to live up to. He got his first case at twenty one. He passed with flying colors. His father smiled at him and told him
"Good work."
They shared a sly smirk, as if they had a secret only they knew. His father was even on the television on nationwide cases which were all over the news. He was famous for his sharpness of wit and finesse of tongue. The Slade Law Firm grew rich. Alexis now had his own apartment but he would have dinner with his family frequently. Father would often leave early.
"I don't see you much anymore Ally."
His mother broke the silence as he was drinking coffee at another uneventful dinner.
"I'm very busy now mother."
She left the table with a muffled "Excuse me."… Was she crying?
He noticed that by the edge of the table was a glass of milk with honey at the bottom.
He cleaned the dishes.

Alexis was gaining reputation as a fledgling lawyer. He was the protégée of the great Mr. Slade. He had his own smaller miniature office. He bought a leather bound notebook. He scribbled and worked with zeal. He was thrilled by being able to fool people so easily. He was thrilled by knowing the truth when all were fooled.
He was thrilled by lying.
Time passed and Alexis was trying to become better at his "job". He finally understood why his father was so pre-occupied. Their line of work required much delicacy. It was more of an art. If they caught you lying your integrity as a lawyer would be forfeit, you were under oath. It was like dancing a dangerous line. They were thrill seekers who did not show their pure joy on their face or in their actions. Their adrenaline rush came when they successfully lied; with perfect faces.
They both weren't very social but sometimes they would play chess. They both found comfort that at least one other person knew the other was really lying.
"You knew I lied about what happened to the cat right?"
He said once as they were playing
"Of course, you were nervous and your eyes darted around. Only your mother would be fooled by that."
Mother was a touchy topic.
There was a pause.
"How is she?"
"She's good"
"You're lying"
"No one has ever caught me lying"
"Checkmate"
"What?"
"Checkmate."
"Oh… Anyways son I have to go. I have a case to work on."
Things continued as they were and Alexis grew in prestige. He was well on the way to becoming one of the most respected lawyers in Germany right up there with Mr. Slade. Mr. Slade and Mr. Slade will become the two most respected lawyers in Germany, the two best liars in the world.
Alexis remembers the first day he ever cried.
He received a phone call right after he left the court house. He was walking quickly to his black Mercedes straightening his dark grey tie when he was informed that his mother fell over the railings which looked over the living room from the second floor.
He never cried before.
He just realized that as he went back to his new large well furnished home and collapsed on his leather sofa. He hasn't spoken to Mother in such a long time.
He spent some days off work but his father kept going. After about a week he went to his father's home as usual to have dinner. They were mostly silent and Alexis made the meal. They both had coffee. The cutting of knives into meat ringed in their ears. Alexis wasn't a very good cook. Neither was Mr. Slade.
"How did it happen, exactly?"
Alexis was still distraught about losing his sun.
"She was leaning over the railings and fell over trying to reach the chandelier over the living room. It had a faulty bulb."
Alexis excused himself and acted like he had a call to make.
Father was lying.
Why would he lie? Why would he lie? He remembered his parents endless bickering, he remembered how solemn she looked the day she told him she doesn't see him anymore. Oh mother… Oh mother… Did father…
Father stayed at the office since the house was under investigation. He had to testify about what happened. He explained in detail and with emotion. Liar… Liar… Liar was all Alexis could think as he observed his father in the court house. He was going to get away with it. He must have done it. He must have killed mother.
Alexis didn't do his research. All he had repeating in his head was "Liar". He wore latex gloves and went to the office late at night as father was locked up working. He made sure no one saw him come in, all the workers were at home anyways since it was so late. He might have made a few miscalculations about what he was going to do but he didn't care. For the first time he was not so logical, not so suave, not so much like Mr. Slade. Tonight he was remembering the mother which loved him. And he had a gun in the pocket of his suit:
"You lied."
He said as he opened the door of the office and took out the revolver.
"Don't we all… Put that gun down Alexis Slade."
He said this while writing on that dark leather bound notebook. He was wearing the same tie with the straight lines. The same fucking tie except now it wasn't ironed because mother was killed.
"You look at me when I'm talking to you." Alexis ordered.
He looked up at his angry son. Their eyes locked.
"You killed mother. You were lying she didn't slip! You know very well I can tell when you are lying! You can't talk your way out of this! I want the truth! Tell me the truth!"
"She fell."
"Stop lying!"
"I told you…"
"Why!? I told you DON'T I'm sick of all this lying. I'm sick of all this leather and I'm sick of that stupid dark grey tie with those straight stripes! Tell. Me. The. Truth!"
"You've never been this emotional Alexis."
He sat down. The gun still pointed at his father's head which was fully covered with grey hair now. How can he be so calm? They sat there for a while, lost in their large grey suits. Their ties like nooses around their necks.
"I've been so caught up in these lies we both spin that I forgot about…"
"She killed herself" father interrupted.
There was a pause.
"All the time I didn't pay any attention to her. I've just been living the thrill of fooling the world. But I guess I can't lie to you."
Father picked up his pen and began to scribble on his notepad, faster and faster still. He has never seen his father cry before.
"She said I was heartless and a monster. She said she married a stone. I just kept on… kept on…"
Alexis put down the gun.
"I wanted to talk to her but whenever I tried to speak all I could do is lie… we didn't speak much… I noticed she was getting depressed. She was so innocent so gullible. But you saw through my lies what now Alexis? Now what, What!?"
"Just promise you won't lie, at the very least to me. Father."
"Well… it won't make much sense since you'll know when I am anyways…"
They were both sitting silently, shocked that Mr. Slade actually cried.
"I was going to pull the trigger…"
They both knew Alexis was telling the truth.

So The Slade Law Firm grew. They had branches all over the world and Alexis overlooked some while Mr. Slade looked over some as well. In 2007 decades after they had won countless cases and lied so many lies a case was brought up concerning certain details about a case Mr. Slade made. This investigation delved deeper into their cases. The detective behind this case was persistent and eventually enough evidence was built to convict the Slades of lying under oath in several occasions.
"I'm telling you the evidence poin…"
Alexis tried to defend himself
"Don't lie to me. I know liars inside and out. Now, excuse me your trial is tomorrow and we both know you have no hope in winning. I have to go to visit my mother."
The detective was lying.
"You're not going to visit your mother." Alexis said with a smirk.
The detective stared at him and left the interrogation room.
Amongst the other in-mates Mr. Slade and Mr. Slade junior looked quite peculiar. They both wore dark grey ties. They had the same routine of playing chess and talking about how to negotiate and lie their way out of prison. They managed to settle for a light sentence in a pretty good prison with good living conditions. They couldn't possibly go into law again. Mr. Slade suggested possibly going into car sales. Mr. Slade junior agreed. Alexis stopped drinking coffee.
He drank milk with honey in it every morning.

Explanation: I wanted to write a short story with a strange protagonist. The Slades externally seem evil, but they have a strange sort of humanity in them. Their moral scale is not white or black, but grey. In all forms of media we always clamor for the good guy versus the bad guy. However, life is not like that. No one is truly evil or good. I had fun playing with ways of explaining detail. I tried focusing on simple things like the way Mr. Slade straightened his tie and spent a lot of time describing things which were important. Like Mr. Slade’s eyes. There is plenty of symbolism in this piece as well. With the colour grey of course, being the most dominant symbol. The milk with honey would be the opposite of the “grayness”. I also toyed with dialogue, word allows you to change the font to show emotion and this helps. If you noticed, when he was young Alexis had small text while talking to his father in bold text. I feel like the part where Alexis truly grows up is when he says “Checkmate” to his father in bold letters.
To build the character of the expert liar I looked up the profile of pathological liars and did exactly the opposite. People who are known to lie move around a lot, are nervous, and fidgety. So I assumed the perfect liar would be calm, articulate, intelligent. I built a strange form of respect for the Slade mannerism as I wrote this.
Oh and I decided the Slades are German. Don’t ask why.