Impasse

7. Review

"So." Talay puts several plates of food on the table and sits opposite Kit. "This time, there's a folder and KitKats."

Kit's own plate is empty. Talay can never decide what to eat, even given a long list of food choices, including a buffet. Kit can't respond because his mouth is full of KitKat, but knows what Talay is not saying. He pulls another mini KitKat from his sports jacket pocket and tosses it at his friend, half-hoping that the candy will bounce off of Talay's head.

Talay catches the mini candy bar in mid-air, then stares once he unwraps it. "These are pink."

"Yeah," Kit has swallowed the last bite, so he's able to speak. "Strawberry."

"Oh?" This time Talay's eyebrows go up. "I remember someone else who likes strawberry flavor."

"There weren't any matcha ones." Kit's words are casual, but his face is a warning, which Talay ignores. "And that someone is currently out of the country."

"I could call him for you. Maybe he'll answer if his assistant calls." Talay waits for Kit to respond, then asks another question. "How many voicemails have you left him now?"

"Seven more than the last time you asked me," Kit looks a little annoyed. "I don't need the help of his assistant or his ex-boyfriend, thank you very much."

"So Jet offered to call him too?" Talay looks a little surprised. "But I thought--"

"We're not talking about me or your boss." Kit taps the folder in front of him with a little too much emphasis, putting an end to that topic of conversation before Talay can do any more digging. "You're going to tell me what you know about this."

The two friends met in the mall, which surprised Talay until he figured out what Kit was up to—at least a little bit. Kit doesn't usually like crowds, but crowds meant noise and noise meant little chance of eavesdroppers. That was the hope anyway.

Kit's instincts were never wrong, though. Talay had learned that when they were in the same faculty at uni. It was those instincts that made Kit so good at his job, both with Interpol and as CEO of his car customization company. Last time Kit had reached out, he had been in Italy, so Talay could only reach him by phone at the start of the investigation. Meeting in person from the beginning made everything so much easier. Plus, Kit had offered to buy whatever food Talay wanted, so of course Talay took him up on it. Free food is always a welcome bonus.

"So is this part of an official investigation this time?" Talay asks, crumpling the KitKat wrapper on the table and sliding Kit's wallet across to him. Since Talay had taken too long to decide, Kit had just shoved his wallet into his friend's hand and told him to return it when he made up his mind. It was easier than standing in the middle of the food court watching Talay talk himself in and out of all the choices.

"The last one was also official," If Kit notices how much lighter his wallet is when he slides it into his pocket, he doesn't say anything. "Only this time we have a little more information."

"And your brothers aren't involved this time, either." Talay makes it a statement, rather than a question.

"'Brother', singular." Kit corrects him. "Zone didn't know anything about the last time until it was all over."

Never mind that "last time" had involved the death of Kit's father, and Zone had been in Italy with Kit from the beginning. But, given the way that particular investigation played out, Talay doesn't think it's a good idea to bring that up.

"What about this time?" He asks instead.

Kit sighs. "Since one of the people involved is Zone's roommate, he will probably get involved eventually."