The Fire In My Eyes (29 page)

Drew chuckled and sunk down into a chair. “Seems silly that I'm so afraid of getting beaten up by a tiny little chick like her. But she knows where to aim. I guess she'll get over it too, but man, what a price I'm going to pay.”

“You and me both.”

“You never know,” Andreas said. I heard the hard drive in his tabletop computer falling silent behind me. “Perhaps you will meet someone in Florida. Perhaps this experience will change you. Perhaps they will follow you down there. Anything could happen.”

“Find someone down there?” Drew laughed. “Man, I can just see it. I get back up here and tell Lisa that I'm sorry, I found some awesome new girl a couple thousand miles away. You know what she'd do to me? She'd carve me like a roast, dude. I'm sure Nikki wouldn't take it easy on you either, right Kev?”

I laughed with him. The idea was ridiculous. “I can't see her taking it too well,” I said.

We left the next morning. Everything that could go wrong, did. We overslept and hit the road two hours later than we had planned. No one came to see us off, not even Andreas. I wanted to apologize to Nikki, but that would have to wait until I got back.

Traffic on the way out of New York was terrible. Accidents, roadwork, and geriatric drivers conspired against us. By the time of our first rest stop, it was mid-afternoon and Max was grumbling about the schedule being completely off. I took the next turn at his insistence. Conditions were unpleasant as we made progress through Pennsylvania and we took a longer break at the next rest stop to have an early dinner.

Drew took the last shift, aiming to get us to a hotel in Virginia before it was too late to check in. We were hours behind schedule and getting progressively more irritated with each other. None of us had prepared for long delays. I tried to read, but couldn't concentrate. It wasn't that I didn't like spending time with my roommates, but I hadn't spent much time with them lately. Most of my spare time this trimester had been with Nikki, or in practice sessions with Shade.

By the time we reached the Maryland-Virginia border, traffic was better than it had been, which slowed the rate of annoyance and increased the rate of travel. Drew insisted that cops didn’t pull people over for less than ten over the limit. Max argued we should keep it slower around Washington, just in case. I closed my eyes and listened to them bicker. I didn't care about speed limits, I just wanted to get out of the car and lie down.

“The hell?” Drew said. I opened my eyes. “Ah, shit, I'm totally not going that fast! I'm only doing seventy!”

“What?” Max turned to look out the back window. I followed suit. There was an unmarked car following close behind us with a small rotating light placed just over the driver's side door. Even as we looked, the light flicked to life and the car flashed headlights at us. “Drew, you asshole! I told you not to go that fast!”

“I wasn't! I swear I wasn't doing more than ten over!” Drew thumped the steering wheel. “It's because you've got an ugly car!”

“Just pull over, dumbass. I'll talk to him,” Max said. “You and your lead foot just shut up and pay the ticket if I can't talk him out of it.”

“I told you, jackass, I wasn't speeding!” The emergency lights clicked on and Drew pulled over. We waited in silence. Instead of coming to the driver’s side, someone approached the passenger side window and knocked. Max flinched and rolled the window down. A bright light shone in and I covered my eyes.

A firm and polite male voice spoke. “Good evening. I'll have to ask you all step out of the vehicle.”

“Sure, officer.” The man stepped away from Max's car and lowered the light. We piled out of the car, Drew walking around the hood, keeping his hands in plain sight. The man who had pulled us over wasn't a uniformed police officer. Instead, he was wearing a suit, dark glasses, and an earpiece. He reminded me of Shade. Wearing sunglasses when the sun had already set was exactly the sort of thing he would do. “Can we help you?” Max asked.

“Mr. Parker,” he said. I frowned. “You and your friends will be assisting me this evening. Consider this the price for crossing our territory.”

“What’s he talking about, Kev?” Drew asked.

Before I could tell them that I had no idea, he turned to face me and tipped his sunglasses. His eyes shone a deep, scarlet red. I took a deep breath. “We should probably just do what he wants,” I said.

“Are you serious?” Max crossed his arms and shook his head. “If he’s not a cop, we might as well just drive away. But what the hell, what is it you want us to do?”

“There’s going to be a meeting at a local bar where information vital to national security is going to be provided to a hostile organization,” the man said. “I want you to flush them out so we can apprehend them.”

“What are you going to do with them?” Drew asked. “Send them to Guantanamo?”

“The details are classified.”

“You’re full of bullshit,” Max said. I cracked a grin, but the man didn’t seem to react at all. “If you already know about this, you’d just go there yourself and grab them. What’s the real story?”

Instead of responding to them, red light flickered behind his sunglasses. My roommates’ expressions went slack. “Mr. Parker,” the man said, “your friends are stubborn.”

“Your story is pretty flimsy,” I said. Cold sweat rolled down my side. He could take me away, and they probably wouldn’t even remember I was there. “What’s the real story?”

“It’s actually true,” he said. “A rogue group has information they shouldn’t, and they’re providing it to enemies of the government. They’re familiar with our agents and methods. You, on the other hand, are someone that won’t scare them off. All I want is for you to keep their guard down.”

I shrugged. It sounded like some terrorist plot. “Fine. How will I recognize them?”

“They’re distinctive,” he said. “You’ll know them. Now, I’m going to direct your friends to drive to a certain place and head to the bar. They will come back to their senses when you’ve arrived. Take this and divide it amongst yourselves.” He handed me an envelope. I looked inside to find it full of cash in various denominations.

“Wait, that’s it?”

“No time to waste,” he said, and turned back to his car. “I suggest you get in, or they’ll leave without you.” Max and Drew were already climbing back in the car. All I could do was follow and wonder what we were getting roped into.

We drove into the outskirts of the city. It wasn't a very pleasant part of town. The buildings were rundown, and there were a lot of people sitting on curbs and doorsteps. None of them looked terribly clean or friendly. Cops probably only came here in pairs. However, when we got to the bar in question, the neighborhood was noticeably cleaner around it. There was a bouncer standing at the door, arms crossed over the barrel of his chest, frowning at everyone who passed by. All of the street thugs seemed to be sticking to the opposite side of the street.

We pulled into a parking spot in the lot. As we got out, I stuffed a bunch of bills into Max’s pocket, then Drew’s. Both of them stretched and seemed to come back to themselves. “Yeah, this was a good idea, Kev,” Drew said. “We aren’t going to get any further today, so we might as well relax.”

I nodded. “That’s right.” Apparently they had even been given a cover story. Whoever that agent was, they were at least as good as Shade or Absynthe.

We headed for the door. Max walked right up to the bouncer. “Hey, gorilla.”

The bouncer's chest puffed up. “You talking to me?”

“Yeah. Cover charge to get in?” Max pulled out a cigarette and lit it. The bouncer plucked the cigarette from his lips and stamped it out with a thump that echoed up and down the street. Max blinked. “No smoking?”

“No smoking,” the bouncer rumbled. “Twenty each.”

Max handed him a bill. “Keep the change.”

The bouncer took a look at the bill and raised an eyebrow. “Generous, ain't you. Get in there before I remember to check your ID.”

Inside, the place was dark and sparsely populated. At the bar, there were two bartenders on duty, but neither seemed very busy. The place reeked of cheap alcohol and I sneezed. Eyes snapped to us and I fought the urge to step behind Drew.

Toward the back, there were booths that gave a little privacy, while still giving us a good view of the front door. “What did you do?” Drew asked as we sat down. “Give him a hundred?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“A hundred bucks?” Drew sounded horrified. “What the hell, dude? That's hours of drinking! And he'll remember us!”

“We want to be noticed, don't we? Get these people to know that we're here so we can chat with them. We're just some high rollers from out of town. Rich kid syndrome, right?” Max stood up and looked toward the bar. “Going to drop some more. I’ll be back.”

Drew and I looked at each other across the booth table. Max was probably going to spend the entire wad of cash I had slipped him. It wasn't as if he'd miss it. “I don't know if that's such a good idea in this part of town,” I said.

“Max likes to push the limit,” Drew said. He craned his head and looked around the bar. I looked around as well. The place wasn't quite a dive, but we were definitely out of place. None of the other patrons looked especially dangerous, but there were a few who were glancing in our direction.

A few minutes later, Max returned with a pitcher of beer in one hand, a trio of glasses in the other, and a grin. “Bartender was pretty quiet, but I asked him when this place picks up. He said it usually picks up soon, the college age crowd starts coming in. I bought this pitcher, tipped generously, asked if there'd be any pretty girls here. Absolutely, he said. Bunch of regulars.”

“Sounds good, man. Was getting a little worried with all the career drinkers here.” Drew poured himself a glass of beer. “Ugh. What the hell sort of cat piss did you get for us?”

“Nothing too strong. We can't get too drunk, right?” Max laughed and sat back down. His face twisted as he tried the beer. “Maybe I should have gotten something else.”

“So what are we going to do?” I asked. They both stared at me. It wasn’t as if they had any idea what we were here for. “I mean, are we going to just have a few and then look for a motel or something?”

“That would be too easy,” Max said.

“Dude, we're at a bar,” Drew said. “It’s a time-honored tradition to try and pick girls up here.”

“Seriously?” I asked.

“It’s true,” Max said. I wondered if the agent had stuck this in their head too. “Let’s see, Drew. Fifty says I can get numbers.”

“Done. What about you, Kev?” Drew asked. “I know you and Nikki are dating, so don’t worry about this shit. But I have to say, man, you could pick up chicks. You've got the look, hell, Lisa talks about you sometimes. I don't know what you're doing, but you should keep it up.”

“I don't do anything,” I said. “And what would Lisa do to you if she found out?”

“Shit, she's already going to have my head on a stick for a totem. Probably plant it in the middle of her room and dance around it. I don't have anything to lose. Kev, you keep not doing anything the same way you always do, I'll keep trying to do something the way I always do, and Max, well, good luck.” Drew grinned.

Max rolled his eyes. “I'll just drop money and buy a lot of drinks.”

The conversation turned to lighter topics. Max and Drew finished their glasses, filled them, drained them, and filled them again. Their conversation started to get louder and I wished I hadn't gone along with this idea. It wasn't as if I had a choice. I raised my glass to drown my laugh. No one gave me a choice for anything these days.

People had been filtering in and out of the bar all night, and there had been a few small groups with some pretty girls, but no one who stood out. When the next group walked in, I only glanced over, not expecting much. It looked like there were three girls in their party. Two of them were in front, a tall blonde and a skinny brunette, while the third was still in the doorway, chatting with the bouncer. I tapped the table and nodded toward the door, then looked back just as the last girl walked in and strode to the bar.

My jaw dropped. She wore a sleeveless dark top, maybe black, maybe blue, but it was impossible to tell in the dim light. An equally dark skirt fell to mid-thigh and she wore boots that climbed all the way up, exposing just a finger's breadth of ivory skin between boot and skirt. Her hair was a brilliant fiery red, sparkling when she walked beneath a light. A simple hair band restrained the flames, letting the loose curls drift down below her shoulders. She was slender and moved with alacrity and grace, her fingers dancing over the top of the bar as she exchanged words with the bartender. He bent forward to say something and she turned her head to look in our direction. I felt a sudden jolt as her gaze drifted over me. Was this the girl in question?

“Damn. Damn!” Drew whispered. “That's no ordinary girl, that's a work of art. Look at that rack. Look at those legs. Look at that face!”

“The redhead?” I asked.

“No, the blond! The redhead's cute, but that blonde, damn! She's showing it all off! Man, she's got to be it!” Drew sounded excited, but his libido was running on alcohol. The blonde girl was cute, that was for sure, but the redhead was breathtaking.

Max grunted. “Well, you go for her, then. The brunette's cute, maybe not noticeable, but still. Got to divide and conquer, right, Kev?”

“Huh?” I couldn't take my eyes off the redhead. She was talking to the bartender while he mixed a drink for her. I wondered what she was having. “Divide and conquer?”

“Those three girls. All noticeable. I guess you're going to go for the redhead, right?” Max stomped on my foot under the table. I flinched and glared at him. “Right?”

“She's way out of my league, man,” I said. “Way out. And Nikki-”

“Nikki's not here,” Max said. “And you're not going to bring this girl back to a hotel, are you? Shit, you know how I feel about Jess, but I'm not going to pass up having some fun.”

“But I don't feel-”

“Stop being a pussy, Kev. I'm going to ask that blonde if I can buy her a drink,” Drew declared. He stood up, a little unsteady, but grinning like a fool. “You're coming with me, Max,” he added.