Jack quickly gets dressed, jumping on one leg as he pulls up his pants and socks. He decides to act on his impulse. That is to run after Nitte.
Before he rushes out the door, he thinks of checking himself in the mirror. He has not done so in a long, long while now. The last time he actually checked his image before getting out of the door was when he was still dating his ex-girlfriend. After the split, he doesn't give a shit if he looks shitty. He is doing it now because he is going after Nitte.
Technically, stalking. He is going to secretly follow her and stop her before she goes into the hotel to meet Andyo.
Jack is considered to be above-average looking, at least that's what his ex-girlfriend said. She said he was "cute" and "kind of attractive." He has brown hair and piercing blue eyes. His ex-girlfriend said, she mostly fell in love with his nonchalant, doesn't-give-a-damn attitude. She also really liked that he was quite fit and athletic. She always warned him that he must never become one of those fat detectives. Otherwise, she would break up with him. Funny, he has never gotten fat, she still broke up with him.
But who cares about the ex-girlfriend's opinion anymore. He wants to know what Nitte thinks of him now. The thought that she might be sleeping with Andyo is killing him.
Rushing out to the street, Jack looks around, trying to see if he can still catch her.
Fortunately, Nitte has been walking slowly tonight. She is a few blocks away, but not terribly far away.
Ah. If only he could shapeshift to a fast-running animal now. Nitte had helped him change into a spider. But a spider doesn't run fast. It just... kind of... swinging. It's probably not effective to swing to her right now. Also, he has kind of forgotten how to shapeshift. Nitte was right; she told him that he should keep practicing or he would forget.
F* it. He just has to run over to her. He starts to dash in her direction.
When he is almost catching up to her, he pants heavily like a dog. Nitte has not turned around to look, so he assumes she has not discovered him.
Out of breath, he thinks he really needs to transform himself into a spider now. He can jump into her bag.
He starts to think of things that will make him sad. Yeah, he doesn't care about his ex-girlfriend anymore. He thinks knowing that Nitte is possibly dating multiple men is a hurtful thought.
Think, think, think. Change into a spider. Think about what a spider would see.
It doesn't work. Jack is too preoccupied now and he can't concentrate. He just has to do the old-fashioned stalking.
As he treads lightly behind her, he realizes there is no way that Nitte is going to Andyo. There is no subway now. No bus now. Nitte doesn't appear to have a car or bike. How is she going to go to Manhattan. Jack assumes that's where Andyo stays. Unless Andyo is in a hotel in this old residential neighborhood, Nitte is not going to be able to walk to Mahattan.
Ha. So Nitte was just lying to him when she said she was going back to Andyo. She must have said it just to make him sad.
Assuming that Nitte is not going to be seeing Andyo tonight, Jack is much more relieved and thinks he should turn back around. Stalking is weird.
But then, Jack realizes that he is in the section of the area where Jie Ai lives. What the hell. Is Nitte going to see Jie Ai right now? What the F*!
Jack decides he has to keep following Nitte. He continues to walk. He sees that Nitte is indeed approaching the house where Jie Ai lives. Nitte tried to break into that house to steal the Fox Tail back from Jie Ai's family. Jack remembered it.
Nitte stops on the sidewalk and pulls out her cellphone. She appears to be texting. And Jack hears a chime from her phone. Whoever that is just sent a reply to her. Jack checks the time on his watch. It's a quarter past 2 in the morning right now. Who responds a text so quickly?
A metal garden gate in the back creaks. Sounds like a back gate is open. Nitte walks over there and a man also emerges.
I'll be damned. Of course it's Jie Ai. What the hell? Nitte has been secretly seeing him? Does he even know she stole from him? Well, this needs to be intervened.
After they head inside the house and closes the metal gate in the back, Jack approaches the gate, reaches his hand in there, and rattles the latch to open the gate.
He gets in and tries the back door to the house. To his pleasant surprise, the back door is not locked. He turns the door knob slowly and enters the house.
Once Jack gets in, he can hear that both Nitte and Jie Ai are walking towards the dining room from the kitchen. Jack crouches down by the kitchen counter, hoping to listen in what they are talking about.
"So, Andyp should be able to work with us soon. He says he is just going to finish taping a few more episodes of the new season, then he is free." Nitte speaks first.
"Great. And how long will that take him?"
"I think just under a month."
"Did you know him before he came here?"
"No. I knew him really through watching the TV show. I am a fan. But I can also see his eyes are different. And, he knows computer stuff." Nitte giggles like a school girl.
"That's good. So, does that put us ahead of Keith? I don't think his hacker guy Dominic is as good as our Andyo."
Nitte laughs, "Of course we have a better team right now. Andyo's left eye can see things. His left eye is so powerful that he has to wear a colored contact lens to shield it on normal days. Andyo says, he is excited that he doesn't have to wear the contact lens with us."
"That's good," Jie Ai yawns, "Sorry. I don't mean to yawn in front of you. Ha...."
"That is OK. I know it is late now."
"Um... I feel bad. I don't seem to have super cool powers to contribute."
"You do have a lot to contribute. You have the knowledge and the connection that I need. And you let me stay overnight these days."
"So.... Did you talk to Jack and ask him what Keith wants him to do yet?"
Jack looks up, hearing his name being mentioned.
"No. But I kind of know already." Nitte laughs.
Jack touches his forehead, heart is pounding. How...? How does she know?
Nitte continues to say: "I've got a good nose and super sense of hearing."
Shit. Holy shit. This means.... This means.... Nitte knows he is here right now?
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