Love Dies

Chapter 14

                 Adrien returned back to his partner at their booth carrying two mugs of coffee. Marinette sat there quietly clearly lost in distant thought as she stared out the window. Her face and hair highlighted by the sun's rays magnificently, while her elbow provided her with support. It would have been a beautiful snapshot to use as a screensaver, but alas, he couldn't do that with pictures of her anymore. So, instead he'd have to keep the image as a memory. Even if she wasn't wanting to, Adrien was determined to end their relationship once and for all on a decent note. An memories weren't something she could tarnish if she didn't know about it. Well, for the most part she couldn't. Placing their hot drinks on the table, the man took a seat across from his partner. Typically, Adrien wasn't much of a coffee guy, but some mornings it was just required. Contrary to belief, Adrien hardly slept a wink last night, and if he was going to remain awake at all throughout the day, he was gonna need something to kick-start his system. The steam rose from the brew and warmed his chin, while the heat radiated through the cream colored ceramic onto his cold hands.The world outside began to awaken, and the cafe was beginning to stir with hustle and bustle as the minutes ticked away. Marinette and Adrien never said a word to each other in that time frame, both staring out the glass screen they sat beside. Though the food, much like the entirety of his last week, hadn't been what the blonde had anticipated, there wasn't too much for him to complain about. After what seemed to be about another hour or so, Adrien once again stirred up conversation.

"So what's the plan here?"

"Hm?" Marinette asked jumping into attention.

"For today? I know the museum is at five tonight, but the rest of the day....what are we gonna do with it? We don't have any other leads to follow at the moment."

"Then let's go find some." She replied dropping her arm to the table and turning to face him. Adrien tilted his head to the side and gave her a confused expression.

"Where do we go from here?"

"Well, let's start with what we have so far. Monica is here in Southampton,we know that, but we don't know why." She began, her hands moving along the table as she spoke. "We also know that there's an exhibit opening tonight with expensive jewelry on display here. Hawkmoth is an international jewel thief mastermind, and this exhibit is a classic example of a prime target. If Monica and Hawkmoth had any agreement of some sort, there is a high potential that the heist is the exhibit."

"Right. That being said, our best bet is to get into the museum and stake out the security to prep for the evening."

"Yes and no. If the staff catches us snooping around, they're going to be suspicious. That in turn throws off the plan and makes things more difficult for us tonight."

"There is a simple solution to that."

"What are you suggesting?"

"Plausible doubt."

"Huh?"

"Mari, I highly doubt any one is gonna pay attention to a couple of obvious tourists walking around a museum."

"That's what they want you to think. We'd still be too obvious. Besides that idea is cliché."

"Exactly why that works. Trust me I know." Adrien added as his partner slid out of the booth and stood up. Why, he didn't have clue.

"No.....there has to be another way." His partner began to contemplate, her index finger tapping her upper lip vigorously. "We could...." Adrien stopped listening as she continued to ramble on. Whatever she just thought of was convoluted and relied on strategic timing. Honestly, her plans often worked, but in this scenario he was positive that the simple way would go a lot smoother than whatever plan she managed to concoct in that brain of hers.