The TALONS Files: the chronicles of telepathic agent Ryan Dart

A Spy House?

The flight was very brief.  Ryan had to dip the nose of the glider, ensuring they hit the banks of the river and not the water.  When they  landed, meeting the ground was easier than their fiasco on the ferry.  They both ran in unison and caught themselves.

When they came to a stop, they surveyed the alley.  Mai asked,  "How far is it?"

Ryan squeezed the hoodie's waist, pulling the band from them.  "I don't know, let me check my phone."

He surveyed the screen, and then questioningly appraised the very clean but empty alley.  "It says we go down this alley a few hundred feet."

Mai looked despairingly at the ordinary strip of blacktop, which was set along the backs of buildings.  "There's nothing down here,"  She sighed, a frustrated heave of the chest and head.  "We now have ten minutes, and your GPS is glitching."

"Let's just follow it and see what happens,"  Ryan pleaded.

"It's not here, Ryan,"  Mai accented every word.

"What's that sign on the ground for?" As they walked, Ryan pointed at a small sandwich board propped near a building.

Mai's expression changed slightly.  "I'm not sure."

They continued to walk with brisk movements, knowing every step  could be one more wasted moment.

In less than two minutes, the GPS indicated they had arrived. Only an ordinary red door, like one behind a business, resembled an entrance.  There was no writing on it, or anywhere around it.  However, the small chalkboard sign, propped in the alley, advertised specials.  "This is it?"  Mai asked with confusion.

Ryan marched towards the red door.  "Only one way to find out."  He yanked the heavy chunk of metal, discovering a small, rudimentary room. 

    As they stepped inside, a pretty woman greeted them, "Welcome spies!"  Her eyes were bright and cheerful, but her words were cause for alarm- especially considering that Scam Likely was probably hunting Ryan.

And Ryan was stunned.  This woman used the words spies.  Had Logan told her who the arriving teenagers were? "Wait...How did you know..."

Mai interrupted, giving her partner a sharp elbow.  "Hi, you have to excuse my smart-alec boy friend."

The woman giggled, flashing a healthy set of white teeth encased in a vibrant shade of red lipstick.  "Do you know the password?  If you do, whisper it in my ear."

Ryan sounded angry.  Leave it to Esmeralda to pull a prank on him. "Wait, there's a password?  She didn't tell me that.  That would have been helpful.  Now we're going to miss the meeting."

The lady, in a voice purposely sounding of mystery and allure, informed them.  "Since you don't know the password, I'm going to have to test you- to see if you're a spy.  If you stand over there,"  She pointed towards her right.  "The examination will begin."

"So like, you're going to ask me to read your mind, right?"  Ryan asked, moving per the woman's request.

Mai shot Ryan a frustrated look.  'This is a themed bar.'

The girl, in a risque costume, looked horrified.  "What?  No." Can people actually do that?  She then assumed her character again.  These two actually make a cute couple, "I'm going to ask the gentleman to take the right hand of the young lady with his."  Ryan did as instructed, all the time he wore an expression that screamed, 'Are you serious'.

The lady continued, "Now put your other hand around her waist."      After Ryan followed the woman's second instruction, she basically made Mai and Ryan dance around the room, as if they were ballroom dancing.  The thirty second promenade ended with Ryan receiving a required peck on the cheek from his partner.  Chloe's kiss flashed through his mind.  They were equally meaningless.