Queen of Hearts

The red table introductions

the bar was fairly empty. the low lights making it difficult to recognize anyone. 

odysseuss sat at the bar, glancing around to see if the familiar form of that girl was here yet?

he hadnt known what to expect. Imani told him that he had a high chance of dying from just bumping into her. maybe thats why he sprinted as hard as possible away. it wasnt his favorite plan. 

but a pretty young women was nothing compared to the image in his head. 

she had elbow length dark brown hair, her skin was tan, she had a buttone nose and medium sized lips. her eyebrows were thick and a bit unruly, her face was round, and she was a bit chubby. her forearms were covered with a mix of scars and tattooes. she was very short, even shorter than Imani. Her eyes were incredibly striking aswell. she had one clear, neon blue eye, the other one was a burning orange, it looked like coals with heat moving through them, dimming in some places and glowing in others. she was incredibly pretty. 

there was another detail that was a little odd. normally odysseuss didnt question scarring on other people, but Mercy had three, deep, long knife marks on one side of her face. they werent slashed or random looking, but deliberate. they narrowly avoided her eye in a way that was near impossible without them being made on purpose. it made her look cold and terrifying. 

her expression remained cold and neutral, until the very end when he was certain he caught sight of her cheeks turning pink when she glanced at him. 

it made him smile to himself. 

his fingers brushed up against the old wood grain and he glanced around again. 

he knew as much about her as Imani would let on. which was a fairly thin yellow folders worth of papers. 

Mercy. 5'1, 178 pounds. part of the elite mercenary squads. assasination contracts are her specialty. she had the ability to control Lightning and Fire, she healed faster and was a bit stronger than someone her size should be. State record would show her not even existing up until 4 years ago. anything before that was a mystery. 

Odysseuss took a drink of the seltzer in his glass. 

she was such an odd engima. she was.. quiet. 

not quiet in the sense that she didnt talk. quiet in the sense that he couldnt hear her thoughts. he couldnt read her mind. typically he could hear small, meaningless thoughts from people. unless he tried, they were typically the basic animal thoughts. 'im hungry' 'im tired' and so on. but with her, he heard nothing. which never happened. even Imani, who tried hard to sheild her mind from Odysseuss, was unable to do so. 

how was she able to do it? did she realize she was doing it? did it have to do with her already strange powers?

he glanced around again, and found no new faces. the bag at his feet remained unbothered, and he glanced at the clock. she was twenty minutes late. 

he sighed and ordered another drink, placing his chin on his hand and continuing to muse to himself. 

Imani hired him two years ago. was this why? so he could be a part of this team? is that why she hired them all?

he didnt like being kept in the dark, but Imani never wanted to share the full plan with anyone. he was always being thrown for a loop whenever something involved her. 

the clock ticked by lazily, and when another thirty minutes had passed, the door opened. 

wind blew in, ruffling Odysseuss hair and he looked back. 

Mercy found him, and came to sit down at the bar. 

"where is she?" she asked before he could say anything.