The Black Cat - Chapter four

The list of all the chapters is here.

There is something about the gym, maybe the ambient noise. People gathering together to work out and then relax in the pool or the sauna, I don't know, it's good for the stress. We go regularly, moving anonymously in the crowd, making sure not to come at the same times. Call me paranoid if you wish, I would say it comes with the job. Take it or leave it, but I rather avoid getting noticed.

"So what are the plans for the day?"
Litia and I are stretching in a corner of the room, our lesson is over but other have replaced us. The loud music and the teacher voices are covering our conversation. I stare at the women for a moment, thinking about the phone calls I received in the morning.

I try to focus on the position, it's not the time to harm my back.
"I am going to have a chat with Miss Saeba, it seems she has some information we need..." I took a deep breath "... and then we have to wait for someone to get us to this mysterious man who keeps showing up." It got me frustrated, I have not knowing who I am dealing with, especially when they seem to know so much about my activities.

She was silent next to me, but I knew she was worrying about it too. I hadn't been able to find any clue on his identity on my own, and I was counting on the Asian community. They owned half of the town, not always legally but I have never heard anyone complaining about the fact. It might not be a wise thing to do. I had been working for Chieko Saeba a few times now, and in exchange for my services I was getting some favors from time to time.

"She is the one who called this meeting, so hopefully she found more than I did."
I could feel her eyes on me and glanced at her. She slowly smiled and nodded. "I doubt she would make you drive all the way across the valley if she didn't. Unless she has a job for you."
I sat next to her, wishing I had time to go swim before I had to go, but I was going to be short on time. "Maybe."

We carefully got to our feet and stretched.
Litia seemed amused "Well I am going to be free for a few hours, so I will stick around for a bit. Maybe spend some time in the spa."
"Don't stay too long in there, you will be all wrinkled~" I teased her.

"I have some errands to do after the meeting, do you want me to come pick you up after?"
We heard the faint noise of someone tripping behind us, this one was certainly going back home with some bruises. We kept going, heading to the lockers.
"I can get there by myself, there is a golf course close by. Or I could just lay down and get a tan."
Probably more relaxing than my own afternoon was promising to be.
Some things you just have to deal with as they come.

We had taken a shower before heading to the female locker room which was empty, as far as I could tell. Litia sat on the bench, lost in her thought. She was heading to the spa so she didn't need to change and was just waiting for me.
"How do you feel about vacations once all of this mess is sorted out?"
I had other projects, like investing, but this could wait. Still, I had seen a bar on sale

"Maybe we could rent a bungalow on a deserted beach and go diving in the ocean?"
It seemed as if I had her attention again. Our eyes met in the reflection of the mirror.
"That sounds great actually, being out of town for a while. I know a place where we can get the equipment we need."
I grinned, finishing to get dressed.

She walked at my side out of the locker room.
"I will call you after the meeting is done to let you know what I find out."
She smiled and waved me off.

I dislike driving when it's so hot outside... at least at that time of the day most people are at work, so the streets are mostly empty. Still, it's not much of a consolation. I would rather go home and fall onto the couch. Lately I have rarely been able to do something I wanted to. I needed to change that. Somehow.

I had to drive almost an hour across town to reach the other side of the valley where the Asian community settled. It was actually less 'desert like' there, crazy how some miles further and the weather wasn't the same. I guess they get more rain, or something like that. Moving there was tempting, but I didn't want to have to owe them too much. Never a good idea in this kind of business.

It looked like I would be on time for the appointment. Now that was a good thing!

I came to a stop in front of the restaurant miss Saeba was running. The sky was turning grey, maybe there would be rain? Probably just on this side of town, but still it felt good, not as heavy as what I was used to.

I walked in and respectfully bowed to the woman who was waiting for me.
"Welcome miss Reid, you are right on time."
"It's a pleasure to see you again miss Saeba."

I scanned the room, not as much as a precaution than out of habit, I was trusting them. Two cooks behind the counters were preparing meals and it filled the room with a scent of fish. A few customers sitting on stools were watching them, it was quite an art.

On my left there was several customers sitting. I glanced at a young couple and a family, the chattering covered by the sound of music coming from hidden wall speakers. Asian music of course.

"If you would follow me this way please, the meal is ready."
I was starting to feel seriously hungry, between the gym and the smell of the food.

I followed her across the room and she pulled a sliding door open, letting me through a smaller room. It had been decorated differently than the main one and there was no one sitting here, I suspected it was used only for private conversations.

We sat down at the table, and if the taste was as good as the smell, this would be delicious.
"Enjoy your meal" she said in her quiet voice. I think I never heard her being upset in the past, no matter the situation.
I grabbed the pair of chopsticks next to my dish.

I picked some sushi from the side of my plate "How long as it been since we last met?"
There was no point in rushing her, whatever she had to tell me she would say when she thought the time was right. I knew her enough to know that much at least.

I had no idea what I was eating exactly, but it would have been an insult to my host not to eat it. Plus it was actually quite good, and I was way too hungry to be picky. This room had no music playing, but I suspected it wasn't letting much sound go through anyway.

She had some food herself before replying "A few months if I recall correctly. You had some... matter to deal with us."
"Right." I had to retrieve an item for them, something that belonged to them a long time ago.

"It's always a pleasure to work with professionals like you" she added. "But let's enjoy this meal before we get onto other matters."
We took our time, and the most sensitive subject we talked about was probably the weather. The dishes were taken away and a waitress brought in a tea pot and two cups.

Without a word the waitress left and my hostess grabbed the tea pot, taking her time to fill the cups.

She finally spoke again, still holding the pot "We have the information you have been asking for." She carefully put the tea pot down before placing a cup in front of me, and pulled a file from beneath the table. She placed it between us "We have known of them for some time now, but we do not conduct the same... kind of 'business', so we never really crossed paths with them."

I reached for the files, shuffling through the notes and pictures while listening to the explanations.
"They are called the HK Corp, they have a building downtown but it has heavy security." She paused and pointed at the male picture I was looking at, the male I had seen that Halloween night in the graveyard. "This man is head of a special section. Their agents real names are kept secret, even to their employees, but he is known as Dracklore."

"You will find all of the information we gathered on his team and organization in the file. It's not much I am afraid, they are really secretive."
I slowly drank my tea before bowing "Thank you for your trouble. I will owe you"
She smiled, almost a grin. I might have gotten myself into more trouble, but it was worth it.

I had left the restaurant with the files and went back to 'my' side of the town. By the time I was done with my errands the afternoon was getting darker and it was time to meet with Litia. I had called her and she was waiting for me.

We were supposed for someone to come find us in a cafe, or at least those were the instructions the man known as Dracklore had given. I had found Litia there and we had studied the files together and now we were waiting for our 'guide', the files safely back in my purse.

The day was starting to weight on me, but I was carefully avoiding to show it. The sun was slowly going down and we were sipping wine at the terrace. Vacations... the word really sounded almost magical right now.

"He is here." I had recognized the man who was waiting for the delivery of the box. His file had told us his code name was Edward. I stopped playing with my glass and stood up, walking up to the man. I wondered for a second what it was with them and the black uniforms.

"You were supposed to come alone" His voice seemed uncertain, he clearly knew who Litia was.
"Listen, she is my partner. So either she comes with us, or you go on your own."
He stepped away to call his boss on the phone before making a sign to follow him.

We finished our glass and walked out behind him. Litia knew how to take care of herself in a fight if needed, but I certainly hoped I didn't put her in danger. She knew the risks, she asked to come herself, told me she was concerned too after all. And if you can't trust your partner, who will you trust?

We walked for maybe 10 minutes through empty streets, this part of town wasn't really the 'active' one at night and bars were a bit further.
He stopped in front of an old building to call again "We're coming in"
Through the stain glass I could see some guards. They had been spot on for the address.

After going through security checks we took the elevators and walked along a corridor. They should seriously think about decorating the place, but maybe it was so they would focus on whatever job they were doing? The man finally pushed a door opened and we followed him in.

The rest of the team was here; the file had said there was five people: Dracklore and his partner, with three agents working for them. One f the agents was on the computer but he turned the screen off when he heard the door opening, they had been warned we were on our way after all.

I smiled, knowing Litia was staring at the computers. I turned my attention to the archived files along the wall, probably a lot of stuff they didn't want anyone to find about. I'm a thief, it's the kind of things I want to know about.

Dracklore and his partner made us all walk into the next room, their own office it seemed. Her name was Ravness if I remembered correctly, but there was no way I was going to let them know I had this kind of information. And a bit more actually, miss Saeba had done a pretty good job.

"Sit down please."
I couldn't say her voice was very friendly, more... professional actually. We sat down on the couch as they were moving around the room, finding a place to stand as there wasn't enough seats for everyone.

There was a brief moment of silence before the man spoke, as if he was making up his mind. "We are supposed to work together, so you might as well know our 'names' ".
Funny the way he had said that, but I wasn't going to contradict him.
"I am Dracklore, and this is my partner Ravness" he pointed to the woman sitting next to him, I had been right.

He pointed across the room "and those are Eliane, Edward and Ryan."
From the notes I had gathered Ryan was the youngest and newest agent of the team, still in training. Eliane smiled at me, even though she didn't seem completely at ease. None of them were actually.

I could hear Dracklore pacing behind us. "It is time you know more about the mess you contributed to make, and take a part in resolving the situation."
Somehow I didn't like the sound of that. But I had wanted to know the truth, and I was going to get an explanation. Truth or not, you cannot completely trust this kind of people, but at least it was going to help me understand.

Somehow the look on Ravness face was telling me I might not want to know...