Nate drove us across town to The New York Palace. We rode in a surprisingly comfortable silence, even though I caught him watching me almost as much as he watched the road. After just taking a bath, I doubted I had food plastered on the side of my face, but I didn't feel like asking what his problem was to verify.
"Wow. This guy definitely has some cash to spend," I said mostly to myself as I looked up at the building.
"Yeah. This is where the charity ball is going to be held. A little more glitz than I'm use to, but since I'm not paying for the event I'm bound and determined to enjoy it, even if I am working during it," Nate replied as he found a parking place.
"'A little more glitz?' This is Queen of England level of proportions more glitz than I'm used to on a daily basis. There is no way I'd be comfortable in there."
As soon as Nate shifted into park, he was on his way out of the car. I followed suit, not sure what exactly his plan was. I'd never been on a stakeout, but I'd always thought you were supposed to stay in the car.
"Fine. We won't go in for a little while. How about we head down the street to Liberty Deli and grab some food? Then we'll come up with a game plan for tonight and worry about the ball another day."
"Or not at all," I mumbled very quietly under my breath as we traveled down the street.
As was usual when I walked amongst people, my head was down and I tried to move us along as fast as I could. Making eye contact was to be avoided at all costs. I'd spent my whole life refining the art of never meeting a stranger's gaze as I made my way down the street.
When we got to the deli, Nate ordered a Philly cheese steak and a bag of chips. I decided on the smoked turkey classic with a side of split pea soup. We were sitting down eating, not really worrying about keeping a conversation going, when I glanced up at the door to see the newest customer walking in. Shocked was a little mild a word to describe what I felt upon seeing the person.
"Psst. Hey Nate, the eagle has landed," I hissed in my covert ops voice. Since I'd never been a part of a covert ops mission I wasn't really sure if I hit my mark.
"What are you talking about, Avery, and why are you talking like that?" Nate gave me a look that clearly indicated he thought I'd gone over the deep end. I definitely didn't hit the mark.
"Ubazay ashay enteredway ethay uldingbay." Zuba has entered the building, I explained in Pig Latin. I hoped he understood, because it was the only non-English language I spoke.
Shaking his head and laughing to himself he said, "I still don't understand you."
"Seriously? Zuba just walked in. Sheesh, what kind of undercover super spy are you anyway?"
Zuba was making his way towards where we were sitting and Nate finally turned to see him standing there. I'd only seen the quick picture of Zuba on Nate's phone, but it didn't take a genius to figure out the image I'd seen was of the man standing not ten feet away from me.
"I'm a very good one, when my partner isn't speaking in tongues," he replied as he took out his phone to snap a few pictures.
Zuba strutted over to a table where a man sat alone. The man appeared to be in his mid-forties, but could've been only thirty. I stunk at figuring out a person's age by looks alone. The two men quickly started up a conversation while Nate continued to snap photos.
I took in a few more characterizations of the new man as I waited for Nate to make whatever move he planned. He had an average build with short dark brown hair and a very good tan. He clearly didn't spend all day working in a basement like I did.
"Tonight's mission seems to be going well. I'd really like to hear what they're talking about," Nate said as he dug through his pockets. "Here, go over there and say something to him while you plant this listening device under the table."
It was my turn for the "you've gone over the deep end" look. There were times in the few conversations that Nate and I had shared where I truly believed he thought he was talking to someone else. At no time had I indicated that planting a bug was something I was capable of.
"How many times have you been punched in the head? I'm starting to worry that it's either been a lot, or someone just took a two-by-four and smashed your skull a few times. You expect me to just waltz on over and plant that device?" I asked, and if my words weren't enough to dissuade him, I hoped the look of plain refusal would help.
"Yes, now hurry up," he replied, completely ignoring me and placing a tiny metal piece in my hand with an adhesive on the top portion of it. "It will send the signal to my phone where I can listen to what they're saying and record it to hand over to my boss."
I stared at him for a few moments, waiting for him to come up with a better idea. There had to be a better one, like him going over himself, but he made no indication his mind would change. I was going to kill him for the look in his eyes that dared me do it. I hated dares.
Not wanting to make a scene, I slowly sashayed my way over to the table. Throwing a fit would've been more embarrassing than the short trip across the room. Neither man paid me any attention, as they were busy with whatever they were discussing.
When I got to the table, I quietly cleared my throat. It had to be the most nerve-racking thing I'd ever done. My hands were covered with sweat and my throat felt like it narrowed to the point air barely made it down into my lungs.
Neither of the men made the connection that I was trying to get their attention. Nate should've asked Frannie to come along for the kind of work he was requiring of me. The guys wouldn't have had any problem keeping their eyes off her.
"Hey, you look kind of familiar. Have we met before?" I directed my question towards Zuba, as I leaned in and placed my hand under their table, securing the device.
I was grateful my fingers didn't run into any wads of gum, which I was sure the table had plenty of lurking just to the left or right of my fingertips. Once I made sure the device was in place, I got my fingers to the safety of the edge of the table.
"No, I don't believe we have. I would've surely remembered meeting a girl like you. Are you from around here?" Zuba replied.
His voice was very deep, not at all matching his youthful looks. The other man seemed content to let us talk and didn't try to work himself into the conversation.
"Hehe," I giggled. "Yes, I live in the city. I really thought you looked familiar. Too bad. I'll let you gentlemen get on with your evening." I tried to turn and walk away, but Zuba reached out his hand to keep me from leaving.
"What's your name?" Zuba asked, looking me in the eyes.
His eyes were definitely green, olive green to be exact. They had a few flecks of gold, but for the most part they were a solid color. The solid shade made me wonder if they were contacts.
I didn't know exactly what Zuba was into, but I didn't doubt disguises would come in useful. The fact that I had to spend five seconds talking to him made me wish I had a disguise.
"Avery." I wasn't smart enough to come up with a fake name on the spot. So, not only did he know what I looked like, but he also had my real name.
"Avery, hmm, I really expected it to be Angel, because that's what you remind me of."
I threw up a little in my mouth at the amount of cheese oozing from Zuba's pores. I really wanted to get out of the building and back to my apartment. I felt the need to take another bath, and if that took too long, I was at least going to disinfect my arm where he touched it.
I didn't have a response, which seemed to be okay with him because he only paused a second before he continued on with what turned out to be evil thoughts.
"So listen, Avery," he said my name like a caress, which only added a little more vomit in my mouth. "I'm from out-of-town, just visiting for the week, and have this charity ball I'm planning to attend on Wednesday. I seem to find myself without a date, which I'm sure you'll find shocking. You wouldn't happen to be available would you?"
He smiled at me with what could only be described as a Cheshire Cat smile. I was afraid his shiny white teeth were going to cause me permanent blindness.
I seemed to
be racking up invitations for a ball I had no desire to attend. I giggled again and made a show of glancing around the room quickly. I didn't want to appear too eager to answer. Making eye contact with Nate, I found him nodding his head.
Dang him. It really wasn't a good idea, but at that point anything to get me away from the deli was going to be considered. If I had to fake giggle one more time, I was going to punch something, and I wasn't sure which man got to be the lucky recipient. There were so many to choose from.
In my best come hither voice I said, "I'm pretty sure my evening is free, but I really should check my schedule first. How about you give me your number and I'll call or text you later when I know for sure."
He grabbed a napkin and jotted down a number and his name. As he gave it to me, I looked down to pretend I needed to read his name. I hoped the half-hearted acting I was doing was evident to Nate. I didn't want him thinking I was any good at it.
"Well, Jimmy, you'll be hearing from me later tonight or sometime tomorrow. You two have a wonderful evening."
I didn't care that I'd never heard the other man's name, or what they were talking about. I wanted to run as fast as I could anywhere other than there. The power to just disappear would've been fantastic in that moment.
I turned and made my way out of the deli and went straight towards the car. I kind of wished the deli would magically explode in my wake. I hadn't studied the other occupants, but if Nate and Zuba both managed to disappear in one big explosion, I probably would've jumped for joy.
Within moments, Nate was there beside me with an wicked grin on his face. "Not so bad for your first undercover mission, my little butterfly."
"Just goes to prove I couldn't make a living doing it," I replied, trying to stop my hands from shaking.
"What do you mean? That worked out perfectly. You can be his date and get close to him all night. You'll know who he talks to and what's said. We couldn't have planned this better if we tried. Not only that, the device you planted is still recording what they're talking about and I can find out who that guy in there is and see if he has any ties to the case."
Nate was way too happy, and it surprised me that he wasn't rubbing his hands together to portray how his glorious plan was coming together. It was pretty clear he didn't give a rat's tushie what I thought about things.
When we reached the car, he was nice enough to open the door for me. I slid in and immediately closed my eyes. After I heard his door close and the key enter the ignition I said, "Can you please just take me home? Here's his cell phone number. Have Liz work her magic and you can find out who he makes calls to and maybe even what's being said. I just want to go home and sleep for the next year while pretending today didn't happen."
I didn't open my eyes, so I didn't know what his reaction was to my words. I didn't think he'd be thrilled about it, but since he didn't seem to think my opinion mattered much, I couldn't care less what he thought.
"Fine. I'll drop you off, but you have to remember to call him back and let him know you're free. This really is our best opportunity, and just think, you don't have to go to the ball with me."
I wasn't sure if Nate had realized my most recent words to him were me telling him he could tap the guy's phone instead of forcing me to go to the ball. I had the feeling he still thought there was a ball in my future. I was too exhausted to argue with him, so I let it slide until it threatened to become an immediate reality.
"And just think, you can go with Liz." I didn't like the idea of the two of them going together, but if it meant I didn't have to go, I'd live with it.
Nate groaned at the thought, and I found joy in that little groan. The more time we spent together, the more I felt territorial about Nate. It was strange, since I kept telling myself I wanted nothing to do with him.
I was quickly dropped off and received a small peck on the cheek before I crawled out of the car. No words, just a kiss. I was confused, but rather than try to make sense of the things going on in my life, I curled up in my bed and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
CHAPTER 9
Wow a real life crime scene. Can I bring popcorn?