Assassination 101

Lesson 8: Blending In

Lesson 8: Blending In

Luckily, Robert liked to plan for every possible scenario. There was a change of clothes in my backpack. Nothing fancy and definitely still a practical outfit. A pair of stretchy denim jeans, a lilac knitted jumper and some black trainers. At least now I wouldn't look like I was about to rob a bank.

I stuffed my 'robber' outfit into my backpack, re-emerging from the tree a good distance from the cafe I'd hidden behind to get changed.

The bell on the door chimed as I walked in but no one paid me any attention. Perfect. I ordered a black coffee and the guy behind the counter had a cute smile on his face as he made it. He was tall, perhaps six two or three but his apron was definitely too small for him as if he'd had to borrow it from a friend because he'd forgotten his at home. He was probably about my age and seeing as there was a university not far from here I guessed he was a student. In fact, there were quite a few students here, headphones in and laptops open, all with hot drinks by their sides. This was almost me three years ago.

I took a moment to wonder what my life would've been like if I'd never met Luca or perhaps if I'd never joined MI5 but the idea of a normal life was so foreign to me that I could barely even imagine it.

I was snapped out of my daydream by the barista handing me my coffee, still with that cute smile on his face. I told him to keep the change as I went to sit down because I knew most students could really do with the extra cash and besides his grin was infectious. Gross, I sounded like a wet wipe. Had it really been that long since I'd been around a guy my age who wasn't the retarded snail that was Kole Smith?

Shaking off my thoughts, I sat down at the two-seater table in the corner of the cafe and opened up the laptop in my bag to better blend in with the students here. I was actually thankful that Robert had made me carry that heavy chunk of metal on this mission despite my protests this afternoon. 'I have a feeling you might need it', he'd said. Maybe I didn't give the guy enough credit.

Thirty minutes later I was ready to die from boredom. No one here seemed suspicious and with every minute that ticked by it was more and more apparent that Kole had sent me here to keep me out of the way. Bastard. I was going to destroy him in training tomorrow, bad leg or not.

However, I was starting to worry about how long it had been. Even if I didn't care if Kole died, I didn't want poor Henry getting caught in the crossfire because he was covering for me after all.

If I didn't hear word in the next twenty minutes I was going in after them.

I blindly tapped on the table, staring at the time on my computer screen. I swore to God that if Kole didn't message me in the next ten minutes, I was going to bring his sorry ass back from the grave so I could kill him myself.

"Didn't you like the coffee?" A voice said from somewhere near me.

"Huh?"

"Your coffee, you've barely had half. It's gone cold," the same guy said again.

I finally bothered to look up from my screen. Low and behold, it was the barista boy, watching me with an amused expression on his face. "I got distracted," I shrugged.

"University deadlines?"

"Something like that."

"I know stress when I see it. Want me to make you a new coffee? On the house."

I shook my head but smiled at him all the same. "It's alright, don't worry about it. Anyways, I better get going. The coffee was great," I said, packing my stuff up, ready to go save Kole's ass.