BOOK 3 of the ORPHIC Series
CHURLISH
/ˈCHərliSH/
marked by a lack of civility.
~~~~~
Lucille 'Lucy' Opal Baker finds herself in the 21 century sporting the title of Aunt while lugging along h...
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"It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them."
Ostrava, Czech Republic November, 2015
LUCY GRASPED A NEW TRAY of coffee from Agent Martinez, holding it easily as he pulled out a ring of keys, fiddling through the four he had before finding the right one. Lucy noticed a pepper spray and alarm system connected to it, as well as a thin metallic cylinder that would release a baton. At least he was smart enough to know that retiring from HYDRA didn't make you completely exempt from their radar. Unless you defected and erased every trace of your existence in their organization, HYDRA could easily retrack their agents.
Her eyes roamed over the four cups of coffee they'd grabbed. One of them was a vanilla cappuccino, the other a black coffee. The two closest to her side were the same flavor—mocha. There had been way too many flavors to choose from at the gas station Agent Martinez had steered her to. So she was rather glad when he recommended her the flavor he chose.
Who knew coffee could have so many flavors.
The apartment flat they were standing in wasn't anything really special. It was a nice place, she would admit, with rather spacious hallways, decorated with fresh plants and paintings. The interior felt homey, so she didn't feel very threatened by the enclosed environment.
Agent Martinez pushed his door open and Lucy followed behind him. She stepped inside, slipping off her shoes and placing the tray of coffee at the small table besides his living room couch.
"Noah and Andrew are going to be here in a few." Agent Martinez said as he locked the door, hooking his keys on the little holder glued to his wall.
He gave her a smile as he padded over towards the kitchen. She watched him curiously, before following behind him. Her footsteps were silent, but he seemed to know she was there. He opened a broad fridge and pulled out a container. He placed it on the kitchen island and Lucy observed it.
"The tostadas, as promised." He said proudly. "They're homemade."
Lucy cautiously pulled the container open and was greeted by corn tortillas with fish, cilantro, salsa and onions. She sniffed it, before looking back up at him. She inwardly grimaced at her own actions—Martinez usually gave permission if no one else was around.
Actually, the whole team usually gave her permission to do things if Volya wasn't there.
"It's not poisoned, Verfall." He assured, before wincing. "Or um, Lucy."
