E-VOLV

Part 2-I See You

Chapter 2

I See You

As I stepped outside of the coffee shop the last of the rain had tapered off and moved on. With a few deep breaths and a moment to get some distance from Noel, I could barely hear his pulse any longer. The intense nausea that seemed to come from the pounding of his pulse and heart beating, decreased significantly.

The fresh, rain slicked street, reflected the busy cars and pedestrians with HD quality. My reflection seemed a bit dim. I know that sounds stupid, and I know it sounds dramatic, but it does seem to be a little dimmer. It's like some light within me is flickering out or possibly missing.

Does each death, each life I take, take a piece of me with it? 

With this in the back of my mind I headed uptown to my apartment. After some clear trial and error and some determined thought, I managed to figure out how to turn down the noise of all the jumbled thoughts in my head along with the ones from the passersby. I'm still trying to figure out how to do some things. I wish I would have been able to do that in the coffee shop. Some of these people are really messed up.

Tomorrow. I must make it through tomorrow, and I can leave this place. I am so relieved I found him so quickly. To be honest, I don't hate it here, it's just been weird being out in the world for so long. The changes I am experiencing are just odd. Maybe this happens to people slowly over time and because I am only out in the world for short spells maybe everything is trying to get caught up? I could not even convince myself of that crazy theory.

Tomorrow. I have to make it through tomorrow, and I can leave this place. Well, I technically have three days to do whatever it is the agency wants. I really hope it is just information retrieval. Not sure why they are being so sketchy so close to the deadline. 

Make no mistake, I will kill him if that's the job, but maybe I can enjoy some adult activities with him first.

Just a few more days. Just a few more days. Just a few more days.

I just kept saying it like a mantra in my head as I made my way home.

Cole

Cole exited the shop a few moments after Kelissa left and watched her walk down the street until she was lost in the Saturday morning crowd of shoppers. He pulled the car around for Mr. Peterson, but his mind was on the young woman who had captured his boss' attention. They had both witnessed her quick reaction to the guy trying to scam her info. Noel was immediately impressed. Cole was weary until she explained the self-defense course. He was surprised that his boss approached her first. Something Noel never does. If anything, he is constantly fending off women's advances. She must be something special or maybe it has just been so long that his guard is slipping. He had never seen Noel laugh so genuinely in the past two years since he lost his wife and child. Then he hugged her. It was all I could do not to rush over and snatch him away from her, but he initiated every move, so I stayed planted on the stool I was sitting on and gave him his space. She did not seem desperate or needy, nor did she seem starstruck. She seemed cautious. She actually broke off the embrace right after he smelled her hair. Totally rookie move boss! He really has been out of the game too long.

Cole hoped for both their sakes it was the former. He would hate to put a bullet in the back of her head. He had looked her up as soon as her name was called and when she revealed that she was a temp with Evolv he knew she would be chipped and easy to track. Her chip registered her at a local gym a few blocks away 1-4 times a week. True to her word, they offered self-defense classes. There was nothing out of the ordinary, not even a parking citation, but now he understood why, when he saw her walking. His nephew Lance worked there. Lance was his favorite nephew. He would ask him if he knew her the next time he came into town. Lance basically lived at the agency. He probably had a crush on some girl up there.