Rei never thought she would see the guy named Judd for a second time at that bar. Their third encounter at the park was arranged, so she couldn't say anything. A fourth time, though, was very ridiculous even to her. Is it possible to find the same person this often in such a big city?
What was she doing?
At that moment, she was walking next to him down the path that led them to the St. James stadium terraces. Then, they looked for seats. It was not a date. It wasn't just the two of them, not that she cared if it had been only them, but she was adept in reading people's expressions.
She was aware that Judd tended to get nervous and quite flustered around her. She hasn't been in the outside world in vain to realize he might be attracted to her. After that agent she killed, some other guys had approached her with romantic intentions. She had rejected them all.
She didn't doubt their feelings, but she was always put off by their eyes. Their supposed love was always overshadowed by their lust. Judd had not been like that so far. So, she was only waiting for that to happen and reject him as well.
Judd's usual nervousness was hidden by his interactions with his friends who were also accompanying them, and who would glance at her more often than she'd like.
They couldn't be blamed, though. Rei Lee, who was a prodigy in the cello 10 years ago and whose disappearance remained a mystery to the whole music world, was about to watch a soccer game with them.
Sincerely, she had all the intentions of rejecting Judd's offer. However, she remembered that her recent job included meeting an informant who liked soccer, and had arranged for their meeting to be in that exact game. She had accepted the offer for the informant, and to have an alibi. Alibis were a must in her job.
Eddie had given her a cellphone in which she would receive a call from the informant, stating the exact place for their meeting.
Her hand remained in the pocket of her coat holding the gadget, waiting for the call while she let the guys choose their seats. At the end, it was decided she would seat to Judd's left while Jaden, Andrea, Wetzel and Mitchell sat in front of them. She wanted to laugh at Judd's exasperated expression after seeing what his friends did.
He was so obvious. Of course his friends would give him chances to interact with her alone.
With the players warming-up in the field, the four in front engaged in a cheerful conversation while the two of them remained silent. Her whole focus was on the cellphone in her pocket, so she couldn't care less about it. When she felt a hand on her forearm, her first reaction was to counter whatever attack was coming.
She stopped on time when she saw Judd looking at her. He felt her tense up and immediately let her go. His apologetic eyes unconsciously made her relax. He would never attack her.
"Sorry." He said. She let out the breath she was holding and looked around her, all the guys were looking at her. She put on a puzzled expression and with it, she looked back at Judd, silently asking him to repeat what he had said. "We were talking about buying beers, so-"
"I don't drink." She interrupted him, knowing where it was all headed. Her harsh reply gained the stares of the five, and she felt stress building up. "I am not allowed to drink." She tried explaining. She was not used to give excuses for herself.
"How are you not allowed to drink? Aren't you around our age?" Andrea's outgoing and straightforward personality jumped out and asked. She turned to look at him and with just a glance, she had already guessed all she had to know about him.
His looks were enough to make him smug about them, and consequently 'giving him the right' to be a flirt. His expensive clothes meant his family was wealthy and didn't spare any thought in buying whatever he wanted. His eyes reflected confidence, but deep down, he was full of insecurities he tried to hide with his personality.
Just the usual pretty guy hiding his complexes, so she paid no attention to him.
"Alcohol interferes with the brain's communication pathways, and can affect the way the brain looks and works. These disruptions can change mood and behavior, and make it harder to think clearly or move with coordination. Plus, prolonged ingestion of it damages your heart, liver, pancreas and your immune system." She said with a matter-of-fact tone, leaving the others speechless.
"Are you studying medicine?" Wetzel ventured to ask. Rei cataloged him as the smartie of the group as he constantly showed a know-it-all expression on his face that most likely his friends ignored or were not aware of.
"No, it's common sense." She succinctly stated.
She was aware that she was messing up their outing, yet she couldn't help being sarcastic and cold as it was her way of living. She never left a bad impression in people, though, as she always thought that if she ever needed to use them in any way, then it was better to get along with others.
Beaming, she added. "But don't mind me. If you want to drink, then go ahead. I just don't like to drink." She even 'unintentionally' got closer to Judd to distract them. It worked as the four meaningfully smiled at the flushed Judd.
In the end, they still bought their drinks, but lowered the doses for the first time.
Moments later, the game began and everybody focused on it. She pretended to be watching it, though her mind was focused on the cellphone. Luckily for her, the guys didn't pay attention to her anymore when the game began, therefore, she was not asked any more questions.
They sometimes talked about trifling stuff, and often made remarks about their private life, voluntarily including her in the conversation. That made her get to know more about them, her mind instantly plotting all the ways she could manipulate them. It was a habit of hers.
The first half of the game ended with the local team losing by one goal. In a matter of seconds, she felt the cellphone buzzing. She took it out rapidly and noticed the informant had sent a message. She eyed the guys around him, mumbled an 'I'll be right back' to Judd and stood.
She walked away from the terraces and back into the path where she came, reading the message which detailed the informant's position. Coincidentally, he asked to meet by the bathrooms near the area where she was sitting at. That made her think that maybe she was being watched by him this whole time.
She narrowed her eyes, yet let it go. These were Shadow informants after all.
"The match is quite interesting." She said out loud when she reached the meeting point, gaining some looks from the people around her.
"It really is," replied a tall man to her right.
He was wearing painting on his face, looking like any other fan. It made her barely make out his features, but she didn't try too much as it was obvious he didn't want to be recognized. Indeed, that man was the informant. In the message he sent, he asked her to say that comment to recognize her.
Eyeing her from head to toe a few times, he made a gesture to follow him. No one paid attention to their actions. "So who's the missy I'm having this delightful conversation with?" He asked when they reached a quiet and private spot.
"Cut the chatter and get to the point." She gave him one of her most serious and sharp gazes that made him get uneasy.
He immediately knew he was not facing another informant, as he was used to, but an actual agent who had loads of blood on her hands. He could easily perish in the blink of an eye. He inwardly cursed his superiors for allowing such a thing even when he recognized the information had to be handed as fast as possible.
"We don't know much. This contains all the information gathered from the last three months. You know it has to be done quickly. The clock is running, missy." He smiled at her, and without a spare second, he fled.
She looked at the USB driver he handed her. He notified Eddie through a message that the deal was done and headed to the exits. Her job was her priority. She couldn't care less about the group of five who had been with her, and what they would think about her disappearance.
She didn't expected to cross with one of them on her way out: Jaden.