The air stewardess fell backwards as she screamed, loud and shrill. From where he was seated on the toilet seat, the gorgeous man looked as though he was asleep.
Except for the purplish marks around his neck and the discarded belt on the floor, that is.
Vari strode off towards immigration as she watched her stats level up. Tightening her grip on her bagpack, she joined the line for customs praying that she would get out in time.
Oh god, oh god, she thought, I'm not cut out for this, I can't be a Black Widow, I'm just a regular person who can't even hold a plank for one minute, I'm so dead, I'm so dead.
As she silently freaked out, the line moved slowly, as though the universe was taunting her, mocking her anxiety. Her thoughts spiraled into a reflection of her last couple of days. Her entire life had crumbled to dust, her marriage was in shambles, all the people in her life thought she was dead, probably, and here she was masquerading as a killer under instruction by a tiny spider.
"Calm down," Arlet commanded, swinging down onto Vari's shoulder. Huh, speak of the devil.
"I'm going to get arrested and then sent to jail for life," Vari hissed, "I don't know why you thought I had potential but I definitely can't do this."
Several members of security had jogged over and began to draw several people in the queue aside for questioning. Closing her eyes, Vari considered making a dash for the exit, but realised that they would probably catch her before she made it out.
"Ahem," Arlet waved one fuzzy leg, "You do know that you've acquired new skills, right?"
Vari's eyes popped open and then narrowed as she scanned her skills. There! Now, how was she supposed to do this again? She focused hard.
"Stealth mode activated."
Vari wasn't sure how effective this would be, especially because she hadn't actually leveled up yet, but it was the best she had at the moment.
"Excuse me, ma'am," Vari spun around to see a security officer looking straight at her. Just as she opened her mouth to stutter out a reply, his gaze seemed to slide over her and onto the lady just in front of her in line.
Shaking her dark head, the lady began protesting her innocence as the officer gently guided her away for questioning. Wow. Vari blinked down at herself. She looked exactly the same as she had before but...
Looking around, she realised that no one seemed to look directly at her. They looked past her, beside her, but even when she tried to make direct eye contact with someone, she failed.
Wanting to test the limits of this skill, she kept it on even as she approached the customs officer. He scanned the documents with a bland expression and never spoke. What surprised Vari the most was that he never motioned for her to scan her fingerprints and in less than a minute, she was waved off.
Stepping out into fresh air, Vari got onto a bus that would take her into the city and surrounded by a sea of faces, she dropped her Stealth mode. It was a big city with a notorious, thriving underworld which was perfect for Vari to lie low and train her skills.
The old Vari would have hated this, she noted, walking past crumbling apartments and tiny alleys that promised trouble. But I'm not her anymore, the smile was small but it grew as she let herself into the tiny room that she had rented for herself.
I'm not her anymore, and I'm just getting started.