Argylle - The last chance

Chapter XVIII

"That is amazing, honey!" Rachel said, and Aidan continued:
"According to Mason there's a bar downtown, it's called something like... the miracle? No, it was something with rage..."
"You mean 'The Club Mirage'? It's one of the most popular clubs down here." Tam suggested.
"Mirage! That was it. But what do you know about the Chicago Club World?"
She grinned, "There's a lot you might not know."
"Uhm" he blinked, "I- I'll just don't comment on that," he shook his head and continued, "Nevertheless, 'The Club Mirage' is the place where 'the Division' gets all their people from. He told me that there's some kind of a VIP area at the back of the club. He told me you had to order a "Zombie" but with less pineapple. Then one would be brought in this area and there you would meet one of the higher ranked people."
"Great, so we have a Club date tomorrow?" Rachel smiled.
"We're going undercover?" Tam asked, excitedly.
Aidan sighed, "I suppose it's useless telling you that I don't think it's a good idea if you come with us?"
"No, it's absolutely useless. I'll come with you."
"But... you know, being undercover is an art. Acting like a person you're not and you'll never be. It can be quite hard."
She rolled her eyes, "Aidan, I've been acting like a person I am not for most of my life. It shouldn't be that difficult."
Rachel rose from her seat and walked to her boyfriend, before putting her arms around him and placing her head on his shoulder.
"Honey, she is here to help. So let her help us."
He sighed, "I feared you'd say something like that... Alright. But we have to change your appearance. And mine, too. Love, do you remember that wonderful wig I wore when I first met you as Elly?"
"How could I forget?" Rachel sighed.
But Tam wasn't fully catching on, "What?"
"Yes, of course," Aidan said with an almost devilish smile on his face.
Rachel let go of him and turned to Tam. "Well, he's right. They probably have a picture of you hanging around everywhere. Maybe they even put out money for whoever would bring you to them. If you want to come with us, you need to look different."
"What are you thinking of?" Tam swallowed hard. For the past nine years she had been really insecure about her appearance. She was not quite the thickest nor the thinnest woman to walk on planet earth, nor was she remarkably pretty. She had to admit that she and her brother did not look that similar. While he was blonde, she was not. Their face shape didn't really match nor did any other visible features. The only thing they shared was the color of their eyes. This had saved her a lot of pain in recent years, as she wasn't reminded of her brother every time, she looked in the mirror.
Nevertheless, she hadn't liked her looks, until some time ago when she accepted that this was how she looked, this was what she had to deal with for the rest of her life and she couldn't change a lot about it.
"Hair, of course. We must do something about your hair. Can't stay like that. And if you're lucky it'll do the trick and we don't have to do something else," Aidan explained.
"Hair? Like, dyeing it or what do you want to do about it?"
"Dyeing is step number two. But first, we gotta go shorter."

Tam sat in the bathroom of Rachel's house.
It was the middle of the night and Aidan was currently out, taking Mason to the hospital. But Rachel and her were in the bathroom, still deciding on what to do with the hair.
"We could go about Aidan's length," Rachel proposed.
"No."
"You won't look like him, calm down."
"I know that I won't look like him. But I'll look like a complete fool. Definitely not going to happen!"
"Alright, any better suggestions?"
Tam sighed, "You know what? Let's go all in. Buzzcut."
Rachel grasped, "For real? You'd do that?"
"Why not? It'll grow back. And I'll look badass. Isn't that what all these cool boxer-girls in the movies do?"
"No, actually, they braid their hair..."
"Well, since that's not really changing anything about my appearance... let's do it."
"Okay, I'll get the razor."
Five minutes later, Rachel had an electric razor and stood behind Tam, who was looking into the mirror, wondering whether this was the stupidest thing she had ever done, or if there was something even more stupid.
"Okay, you're ready?" Rachel asked, putting the razor at Tam's hairline.
"Go for it."
But instead of starting the razor, Rachel just looked at Tam through the mirror. Her eyes were filled with terror.
"Rachel? Will you start?"
"I can't!" she suddenly said and put away the razor. "Your beautiful hair!"
"Oh, come on, Rach!" Tam exclaimed, recognizing that she used the short form of Rachel's name now as well. "You've done worse things!"
"I know, but I can't! Hair and cats. That's where I draw the line. And children."
"What about children?" Aidan suddenly asked, stepping into the bathroom. "I delivered the man. Put him out, on the streets, called 911 and told them that I found an unconscious bleeding male on the sidewalk."
"What? I thought you'd take him to the hospital?!" Tam wanted to know.
"I did! Well, no, I didn't. But I waited for the paramedics and when they asked if I knew who he was I told them his name. You can't expect me to sit in the hospital with this man and hold his hands to comfort him!"
"No, people," Rachel interrupted, "We will not start fighting again, we're dealing with way more serious things, here."
"Yeah, right. Why is your hair still that long?" Aidan asked reproachfully.
"Because your girlfriend doesn't dare to shave my head."
"Hold on, you want to go bald? That's a bit radical, Tam, don't you think?"
She rolled her eyes, "No, I don't want to go bold. Buzzcut."
"Ohh, alright, I get it. Tough girl," he laughed, "Alright, give me that razor I'll do it."
Rachel handed him the razor and without even asking twice he started the little machine and shaved a strip right down the centre of her hair.