Face Value

2

Saturday Morning. Camden, London

"SO, how'd it go?" Tien asked as she swivelled her chair away from the banks of computer screens and hard drive racks that was her workspace.

"Yep, all good. Easy in fact," Kara said as she offered Tien one of the two coffees from the cardboard takeaway tray she had brought with her.

"Oh thanks, is it the good stuff or...," Tien hesitated.

"Nah, it was the short Italian guy. I tried to wait for Ravi but there was a queue. Sorry." Kara flopped down in the spare chair.

"Ah don't worry. I still don't get how the Italian dude can barely make a drinkable coffee and the Sri Lankan is a master. Doesn't seem right." Despite her forebodings Tien took a long sip from the plastic capped cup.

"Yeah, but be fair," Kara said, "Ravi's as much Sri Lankan as you are Vietnamese."

Tien giggled, "I know and look how far we've come. Both born in Hackney and both living the dream in Camden," she paused and Kara noticed the slight frown on her friend's brow. She knew Tien was going to switch back to business.

"So, last night, no problems?"

Kara answered smoothly and without hesitation, "No, in fact it's so much simpler than it used to be." She fished the smartphone from her pocket and handed it over. The younger woman took it and looked quizzical.

"Simpler?"

Kara nodded, "Yeah simpler. Much simpler. Imagine trying to follow someone into a nightclub armed with a clunky old camera. Wouldn't be exactly subtle. You'd have to get as close to them as possible without being seen and try to take shots without them noticing you pointing a ruddy great lens at them. Or the great big flash going off. Even if you managed it, you'd have to wait until the pictures were developed to discover if you had anything useable. It wouldn't even have been worth trying. All of that replaced by taking a false selfie."

"A what?" Tien asked.

"A pretend selfie. You just strike a bit of a pose so that it looks like you're taking your own photo, but you make sure the back camera of the phone is on and not the front. Looks completely normal nowadays and no one even gives you a second glance. It's easy and you can instantly check the result. How'd you think I did it?"

"I'm not sure I really thought about it. You know me, I just do what I do and let you do all the glamour stuff," Tien smirked.

"Yep, glamourous, that's what it is. I'm like a paparazzi ninja. Anyway, there's about ten shots on there, all in focus, well lit and quite artistic if I say so myself," Kara smiled and poked her tongue out at her friend.

Tien laughed but looked back at the phone and sighed, "So it's true then? The client was right?"

"Afraid so."

"No doubt?"

"Nope. Not unless she was giving him mouth to mouth and I just misinterpreted. Anyway, she'd gone to a pub on her own. Picked this guy up, went clubbing and eventually left with him and didn't go back to her hotel. They just went straight to what I presume was his house. I've copied the location onto the map." Kara nodded toward the phone, "You can get an identity for me?"

"Yeah, easy. Did you get more footage there?"

"Nah, not a thing. Mind you, I couldn't have picked a better spot. Could've stopped there all night. The house backed on to a cemetery but there wasn't much point. Upstairs light went on, blinds came down, curtains drawn across and that was that." Kara tried to give her best 'we all know what happened next' expression but Tien didn't laugh. Instead she just set the phone down and stared at it.