A couple of people sat in tainted silence on the bus. The seats and windows shook with any small bump in the gritty asphalt, wobbling back and forth between the passengers. The air conditioning pumped through only a few filter, smelling a little like a tank of petrol.
The faint beam of light inside the bus reflected half of Ash's face as he pressed his head to the window, gazing out at the moving world outside.
He gave a quick glimpsed at his watch and drifted back his attention outside. The bus stopped a moment later, and four new passengers boarded inside. One of them was an old lady who sat next to Ash since his place was much closer from the door, while the three other female students who were chattering with each other sat behind them.
"Was it a success?" One of them murmured.
"As might be expected." Another voice answered. "Orange Fox will definitely turn white."
Their murmurs spoiled the silence inside the bus. Ash absorbed himself to the music playing on his earphones and took his pen out from his chest pocket and played it with his fingers as he waited stoically for his stop. He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the sturdy movement of the wheels over the road.
A few minutes later, he opened his eyes when he recognized that it was almost to his stop. Shortly, the bus stopped in front of McAllister parking lot. Ash got off the bus and tossed his board on the ground. He then jerked it forward, the night breeze chilled his face and tousled his hair. He buried both of his hands on his pockets as he made his way along McAllister St. The soft lights of stores, restaurants, and a number of pubs shined neon into the street. Here and there, clattered noises, swished of bicycle wheels, and roar of traffic was breaking out.
Ash made a left turn at Gough St. as he reached the intersection. His shadow was moving swiftly on the ground until he stopped in front of a small, two-story establishment tucked away behind a discreet façade. It's a small tiki bar hidden away behind a commercial frontage, though, it doesn't looked like a bar on the outside. The windows are blacked out and the name is in tiny font—'The Smugglers cove.'
The bouncer beside the glass metal door spotted Ash. He saluted to him in a playful way while Ash returned it with a low punch on his shoulder as he walked passed him. He entered a darkened venue lit with nautical themed lights, pirate décor, and surrounded by rum aficionados. The interior wasn't huge but the spot was pretty cozy. It's Friday night, the place was packed with students and other people on their high-end suits. Conversations swirled in a colorful cloud of smokes, twisted in its artistic way, forming curls in the gloom which are accompanied by the sound of violins. The bar has a combination of Polynesian and Caribbean vibe that goes on with the décor. There were actually three floors since there was a basement. The main bar was on the first floor, the upstairs was simply a lounge area where you can take your drinks and relax with friends.
Ash headed down the stairway to the basement where there was The Smugglers Cove, an old-fashioned pirate like galley and bar. Everywhere, from ceiling down to every corners of the area were lanterns glowing in various chromas. Ash went straight to the far end corner of the bar which was one of the noisiest tables.
"Schiller!" A shaved-head guy yelled when he spotted Ash nearing their table. It's Jules Harper, curved on his lips was a mischievous smile. "I got something for you and you'll love me even more!" He remarked and tossed something to Ash who walked behind him.
Ash pulled out his hand from his pocket to catch it, a box of Treasurer Luxury Black cigarette ablaze on his palm. The distinct and classy packaging of velvet black and gold was unapologetically fierce, as if the inside were stunning jewelries.
Ash didn't say anything but the corner of his mouth slightly quirked up.
"Dad gave one as a gift from his trip in London to each member of our family." Jules said. "I asked granny her part, luckily, she gave it to me." He gave Ash a lopsided grin.
"She gave it to you?" Ash asked as he sat on one of the wooden chairs.
The other guys around their table were busy playing with cards; every now and then, their laughter and trash-talks echoed the place.
Jules twitched his mouth. "No," his shoulders slugged. "I paid her with something gross."
"Like a kiss on a cheek." Ash muttered.
"Precisely." Jules reached for a drink in his barrel mug of rum while Ash pulled one stick of cigarette out of the box Jules gave him. He studied it captivatingly for a second before he put it on his lips.
"Keep it like your life depends on it, Ash. Because you know, Calix over there, he's been drooling to it ever since he laid his eyes on that treasure earlier." Jules whispered goofily, his eyes darted at the guy sat opposite to him. He knew Calix was already looking at them, though he still acted surprised. "I think the jackass heard us." He whispered one more time to Ash, obviously letting Calix to hear.
Calix gave Ash an intimate look, then teasingly slid his tongue slowly and passionately around his lips. Jules twisted his face feverishly. "What a whore."
After a while, they all joined the game. Their table was a terrible mess. Barrels of rums and glasses of exotic cocktails scattered all over the table. There were only five of them, but it was as though their undisciplined loudness were coming from a group of twenty ignorant children.
They were in the middle of fighting over the game when Jules' thunderous voice overpowered again. "LORENZ!" he shouted as he stood straight, his neck craned stiffly over a guy who just arrived. Everybody gazed at their direction.
Over a distant, the one whom he called Lorenz laughed as he shook his head. Walking beside him was a woman with jet black hair and an olive tanned skin. They're talking quietly to each other as they made their way to Jules' table.
"Whatever that is you wanna spill out your tongue, Jules, please don't." Lorenz said warningly as he reached their table. "Btw, this is Aina," The girl beside him nodded and gave a little pleasant smile to everyone in the table. They all nodded back to her except for Ash who was paying attention to the smoke coming out from his cigarette.
Jules who was standing in front of Lorenz scratched his eyebrow innocently; "Didn't you say you'll bring someone named Jasmine? Did I mishear it? Was it actually Aina?" he said playfully, acting as if he was trying to remember it.
Lorenz rolled his eyes,
Riley, who was sitting beside Jules, pulled him to sit as he grinned while slightly shaking his head. Lorenz and Aina settled on the chairs with them. Beside Lorenz, Calix stretched out his hand to Aina. "I'm Calix, anyway. First time here?"
Aina accepted his hand with a smile. "Yeah, I didn't know a gem like this is hiding somewhere in San Francisco." She commented as she scanned the place.
"You should try their mai tai or one of their original, center of the galaxy." Calix recommended.
"Perhaps, I should." Aina replied with a friendly smile.
"Where do you live, Aina?" Jules interrupted in a demanding voice as he greased his eyebrows.
"That's Jules. Don't really mind him. He's just our evil step mother." Lorenz whispered to Aina. Aina didn't really look that bothered but she smiled instead and held out her hand to Jules for a shake.
Jules took it, anyway, with a smug face.
"Over there is Riley," Lorenz continued, he pointed the guy with slightly thick eyebrows, reddish hair and hazel-brown eyes. "He's usually gentle but he's not really fond with girls." He said with a shrugged. "Beside him is Levi," this one has long black hair that reaches his chin, gentle-looking eyes, with outstandingly long lashes, and a tiny diamond earring twinkled from his right ear. "He doesn't talk much unless you're talking about video games." Lorenz then turned his head to Ash. Jules was whispering something to him as they eyed some of the ladies passing their table. "That's Ash. He's—" Lorenz paused, thinking how he could actually summarize everything about Ash. "He's the clever one. His cleverness is mind-boggling I don't wanna talk about it." He said, chuckling to himself.
"Well, he does seem to look like one." Aina replied.
There were already drunk college students waddling around the place and playing with their rums and cocktails. Someone accidentally pushed one of them, his mug spilled right into Aina—thankfully she was able to quickly dodge it.
Lorenz then quickly stood up. "Hey, dude, watch it." He held the guy's shoulder but the guy shoved his hand away and left them without a word. "Are you alright?" Lorenz turned to Aina who didn't appear bothered again and gave him an assuring nod.
When they settled back, Jules started to ask questions again. "How did you two meet, by the way?"
"We met at my school just last Wednesday. He happened to know one of my friends there and I unceremoniously asked for his phone number." Aina replied straightaway with a shy smile.
"School?" Suddenly came the cold, flat voice from Ash.
Aina instantly shifted her eyes to Ash. "Yeah, I study law at UC- Berkeley." Aina smiled smoothly.
"You're married early, I perceived." Ash said unexpectedly.
Everyone turned silent while Aina blinked in bewilderment.
"What? You didn't know she's married?" Ash threw Lorenz a stare who looked more puzzled than the rest for the moment.
"Have we met before? You might be mistaken." Aina gave Ash a confused smile.
Ash became quiet.
Jules slightly nudged his shoulder. "Not a good joke buddy, though, you never really joke." He forced a laugh.
"Your ring finger," Ash said to Aina. His usual dark, blank gaze seemed penetrating to hers. "There's a fresh, faint mark from what it seemed to be a ring that was just been removed after ages."
Aina stiffened. Her uneasiness about Ash's remarked didn't escape everyone's sight. One moment, the air around their table intensified. But shortly, Aina let out a soft laugh that made everyone stared questionably at her. "How brilliant, I'm very much surprised." She commented, looking impressed and intrigued. "You even noticed this little mark despite this gloomy room? But, sorry to tell you it is not as what you think it is." Aina's voice sounded nice and polite. The uneasy feeling that quickly loomed around her earlier already muffled. "I advice you don't conclude things like that without being conscious of the truth. You might really offend others, if I must say."
Ash leaned over his chair. "I don't think we're thinking differently. I remarked that you're married and you were flustered. A mouth can always lie, but a heartbet cannot." He spoke slowly, looking much casual as he could've ever been. "You know, when someone tries to lie in front of me it makes me want to spill more."
"You think I'm lying?" Aina snapped.
Ash didn't respond. Afterwards he fixed his eyes to Aina. "You're also an assassin, aren't you?"
Everyone gasped at Ash's bluntness.
A shudder went through Aina, yet she sat still, staring intently at Ash. She couldn't name what he was thinking. His face' a deadpun and his eyes were full of nothing but emptiness. It was as if she was staring at a book, written in the most deepened, over complex language of all.
"You have a physically fit body. You could be a gym instructor, I presumed, when I first saw you. But I noticed the bulging scar—more probably a burned mark—hidden under your dress when you surprisingly managed to evade the rum that nearly bathed you. That reflex is no average, I must say. That scar on your left thigh looks like it was purposely burned by a flaming metal or object, seems like a symbol from a fearsome organization. You're even wearing that tiny necklace with the same symbol as that burned mark of yours. And from time to time, you mindlessly rest your hand on your waist and drums rhythmically on it, like itching for a blade or a gun handle. You simply look around, but your eyes shout attentiveness and excessive focus, as if you're observing and studying something."
The clattered noises and laughter all over the place seemed nothing compared to the deafening silenced in their table, as if it was the only sound resonating in this wilderness.
Ash talked in the most apathetic manner that Aina couldn't exactly tell if he's even interested of what were coming out from his mouth. He sounded like an innocent kid who just doesn't know how to lie or to even just sugarcoat his words.
"Ehem." It was Jules who broke the silence. "That's—"
Aina disrupted Jules. "You conclude things as immediate as your eyes can see. If you really think I'm an assassin, aren't you frightened of me?" she taunted, looking straight at Ash.
"You don't look that frightful to me." Ash replied in an impassive voice.
Aina smiled, looking ridiculed. Moments later her phone rang. She hesitated for a moment before she fetched her phone out of her bag. She stared at the screen for a little while.
"A Palm Treo 755p, a 2007 model smartphone." Ash suddenly announced, staring at Aina's phone. "You're still using that kind of phone. Others won't really mind if someone still uses that kind of smarphones, but, is that still useful?" The ringing sound at Aina's phone continued as her attention drifted back to Ash again. "Maybe for an assassin who is careful not to be tracked or traced, clearly the answer is yes."
Aina couldn't will her lips to move. Words left her. She fell silenced as she searched her mind for something reasonable to say. She was too stunned and astounded her mind won't even badge. She was just taken aback when she realized that her phone was still ringing. She still didn't answer it, instead she gazed at Ash whose eyes were already shut, his head leaning at the back of his chair while one of his hands rested at his forehead.
"How can you say all of that?" Aina asked stiffly to Ash. Her eyes and voice were flushing curiousness simultaneously. But she didn't get a response from him. As she creased her forehead, Lorenz called her attention.
"Ahm—he fell asleep." Lorenz said, scratching apologetically the back of his head, getting embarrassed for his friend.
Aina flashed him an 'are-you-kidding-me?' look.
But Lorenz just barely shook his head. "I think you should answer that." Lorenz pointed her phone.
Aina let out a sigh before she excused herself to answer her phone. When the call ended, she apologized to everyone since she needed to head home first. Lorenz insisted to accompany her.
When they reached outside smugglers cove, Lorenz noticed that Aina seemed deep in thoughts, looking bothered.
"Look—Ahm—I apologize for Ash. You see—he's a little off the thread sometimes. He just speaks whatever's running through his mind." Lorenz voice was a little awkward as he buried his hand at his back pocket. "It's okay if you're upset with him, we've been there, you know." He strained a chuckle. "Well, he doesn't always do those things, but I don't really know his basis for or when will he gonna, you know, push some of his buttons."
"You told me his clever, but, it seems that you forgot to elaborate the word 'clever' to me. God, it was an understatement." Aina looked really disturbed but astonished at the same time.
"It's just—complicated to even try to explain the unexplainable, you know, I've known Ash, I'm always with Ash, I play with Ash, I talk with Ash, but, Ash always does things beyond my comprehension.—And he never explained anything about that. He never simplified things for us."
"Could he be some kind of a psychic?" Aina teasingly asked.
Lorenz shrugged, "He just has this uncanny way of seeing through people, as to what I've observed. He may appear impassive and sluggish but he observes everything like there's an invisible high caliber magnifying glass floating in front of his eyes.—what I'm trying to say is that, if I was him and we're talking like this right now, I can actually tell you there are exactly ten ants walking behind your feet." Aina was quiet. "He's odd, I know. But Ash is a good person." He let out a low laugh. "Though, we couldn't help to wonder sometimes if he might be an alien who had lost his way to earth." He jokingly added, trying to lighten the air between them.