Belly Literary Universe (part 2)

Cozca's Devils part 14: Contact

Valerie sipped at a fancy coffee, though nothing actually crossed her lips. Though she maintained her demure exterior, internally she was panicking.

Hugo made eye contact. As he wove through the crowd, he looked around with a predatory instinct in his eyes. Turning his attention back to Valerie, he walked straight toward her. With a distinguished tug to fix his jacket, he put on a smile, and stopped right at her table. "Afternoon, miss Russell. It's nice to see you. Are you uhhh, just here on lunch? Or are you here to see my niece perform."

Valerie put down her coffee, and crossed her hands politely on the cafe's table. "I'm taking a late lunch. The music was a nice surprise, I admit. Why didn't you talk about your niece being a superstar?" Valerie deflected, hoping her former boss wouldn't pay any mind to her presence.

"She's more like a daughter actually. When my sister and her husband tragically passed, I was lucky to become her guardian. It seemed rude to brag about her accomplishments at work. But I have to say, her parents did most of the hard work raising her. I just made sure she had what she needed to succeed. Speaking of work, don't you normally just eat your lunch at your desk?"

"Usually," Valerie said, looking at the gathering crowd to avoid the possibility of awkward eye contact. She saw Jackie. Then through the security gate she saw Kelri, Myre, and Maia.

Hugo unfortunately followed her glance and stood silently observing the object of her gaze. His posture changed. Straighter. More rigid. When he looked back, it was clear he noticed the subtle grimace on Valerie's face. "It's been nice to catch up, miss Russell," He said before walking off without further comment.

Valerie immediately took out her phone and sent a warning message. "Hugo has seen all of you. He's suspicious of something."

***

Meanwhile, a few moments earlier, the security guard gestured to the metallic arch. "Please step into the X-Ray booth Ms.Rivera."

Kelri gulped, and stepped in. She squeezed through the narrow entryway, bumping her belly against the wall as she did. Standing straight ahead worked fine, but then they asked her to turn ninety degrees to the side. She had to grab her belly and squish it to wedge herself between the scanning walls. It wasn't particularly small, but she was just exceptionally big bellied. Finally they cleared and after an awkward glance she was free to pass. Adjusting her shit around her gut, she quickly waddled to somewhere a bit more private.

She frantically texted the group. "Fuck! They have X-Rays not metal detectors! Jackie what the hell! They're going to spot the USB drive immediately! This is completely fucked!"

And then Valerie's message about Hugo came through.

***