Deny Everything

Chapter . . . - -

        Nick laughed at my distaste and tried to calm my nerves. “It’s a local place, been here forever. If the contact is from around like he says, he’d been less likely to cause problems someplace he’s known.”

        I nodded in agreement, and stuck my twitching hands into my pockets. I had a rubber band to play with in one and a penny in the other. I hadn’t always been an anxious person, and was never jumpy until the accident. Since then, I’ve had to train myself to be contained again. Jumping at any sudden movement or noise was more inconvenient than one would guess, and didn’t go over well when stress testing.

        Nick was waiting for me to find our contact while I drifted off, and tapped my shoulder to bring me back into focus. I did jump slightly, but at the sight of his face nodded and went into a different mindset. I began scanning the cafe for any “tells.” Everyone has one; it’s that nervous, scared, lying tick. As I paced and Nick pretended to scan the menu, I found three people fitting our profile. That was not a good thing.

        “Nick,” I said, to get his attention.

        He turned around. “Know what you want to order?”

        I ran my hand through my hair, a nervous habit that we had developed into a signal. “Uh, yeah, just get me a number three.”

        I saw Nick’s eyes widen a bit and he challenged, “That’s a bit expensive. Think you can bring it down a bit?”

        I narrowed my eyes at him and sighed, but nodded and re-scanned the patrons. Out of my three, only two were young enough. We were told our contact was teenager young, and one person who looked nervous had to be in his thirties.

        Out of the two remaining, one sat tapping his left foot and checking his beaten up watch every five seconds. The other sat with in front of a laptop, clicking away and typing furiously. Occasionally he would put his head down on the table and make discontented noises while cracking his knuckles. I walked by for a closer look and saw he was looking at colleges. I felt bad for the poor guy, and figured he was safe.

        I walked up behind Nick, and told him I’d just get a number one if he insisted. He smiled at me, but instead of ordering anything, just told me to lead the way. I started walking towards the table with the foot-tapper, and told Nick, “Either he’s being stood up by someone, or he’s waiting for us.”

        Nick chuckled and commented, “Either way, probably not a good day. Go easy on this guy.”

        I smiled both at his comment and at the boy as we approached. I was always taught that first impressions were important, but this guy didn’t seem to care. He had his black sunglasses sitting on the table, unfolded, next to a coffee mug that I assumed was now cold. His sweatshirt sleeves were pushed up to his elbows sloppily, implying he was warm, but he still had his hood covering his face. I tripped on purpose to get a look under the table, where I saw he was wearing sneakers and khaki shorts.

        As I got back up Nick was giving me a sideways look wondering if I saw anything to be worried about. This was common procedure between the two of us. I shook my head, but then added, “He has no fashion sense, if that’s what you’re wondering.” My handler lightly punched my shoulder and grabbed my hand, dragging me the rest of the way there.  

        I slid into the seat across from the boy and extended my hand over the table.

        “Hey, you can call me Elle, and this is Warner. I think you may have been expecting us.” The boy looked up a bit at my greeting, stared at my hand before shaking it, and cleared his throat.

        “I’m, uh, I’m Josh.”

        I smiled sweetly, and pulled my hand back. Josh was a common name, so maybe he was playing the same game as me, or maybe he was just stupid. Due to his hood the top half of his face was shadowed and I couldn’t see his eyes clearly. I gritted my teeth and tapped Nick’s knee three times under the table. This let him know I wasn’t happy with the current situation. He tensed slightly, and took a deep breath. Josh looked between Nick and me before settling his eyes on Nick.

        “So, Josh, was it?” I needed to pull his attention back to me.

        “Uh, yeah.”

    “Silly question, but, aren’t you a little warm? I mean, it’s not exactly sweater weather,” I commented, giving him a little laugh for security.

        Josh clenched his fist that I could see over the table, and no doubt the other one too. I heard his teeth start grinding and one hand went up through his short hair. He put his sunglasses back on, with tinted lenses so I still couldn’t see his eyes, and lowered his hood. Josh cocked his head to the side, as if to ask, better?

        I tried to look at him intimidatingly, but then remembered I was five feet tall and had no body mass. I smiled again instead, and tried to see what I could without seeing him. His hair was dyed blonde, and recently judging by its quality and roots. From how much had been missed, I assumed he haphazardly dyed it himself, and in a rush. Something was bothering him besides our presence, and I got the feeling he was running.

        “What’s life without a few risks?” I asked him, and before he could give me a confused response, I continued, “So, why don’t you tell me about the bomb.”

        Josh stood up in what I assumed was shock, at the time. He then did one thing that I had come to hate with a passion. My contact turned, and ran.

        I dropped my head onto the table for a second then popped up and ran after him alongside Nick.

        “So, I guess that means he’s guilty!” Nick yelled at me while attempting to follow Josh, who was weaving in and out of crowds.

        “Why do you say that?”

        “The innocent ones don’t run, Dri.”

        “The scared ones do.”

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Hey everyone! 

I apologize for not updating for so long. Things got crazy, and my priorities changed. However, I am trying to get back into writing regularly, so if I ever don't update for a while, shoot me a message, kay? 

And for anyone who already read the beginning and is coming back now, I had to change Dri's age for story purposes. She's 16 now. 

Vote and comment, you know the routine ;)