AN UNDERCOVER AFFAIRS, spencer reid

chapter one

Chapter one.

Saturday night. Every street bar was packed with guests who spent hundreds of dollars each weekend, especially at this place, where it was simply impossible to leave with full pockets. Whether it was owing to the increased number of robberies in recent months or simply the personnel trying to impress their guests, no one will know the truth.

Everyday guests realized that they were missing one waitress, who was so charming that she earned hundreds of dollars in tips in a single evening. Three males in their late forties started shouting her name, expecting she would emerge after that.

"Nika!"
"Nika!"
"Nika!"

Soon, the rest of the audience joined them, causing chaos in which Nika was nowhere to be found. The boss at the register tonight dialed her number and pressed the green receiver, but she did not answer. She was completely turned off.

The bar door opened, more people entered, and a brunette named Nika Chavez slid in among them.

"Chavez!" he said from the door, giving her a reproachful look. "I had to do something for my mother," she tells him, leaving her luggage under the counter and wearing her work apron over her yellow dress.

"Let this be the final time. He accuses her, "You didn't even answer the phone!" while she is already talking to the men across the room.

Nika was doing business that evening, but not for her mother, who must be rolling over in her grave given how many times she used her as an excuse.

Even so, she managed to make the evening unforgettable. Aside from being overly clever, she was well-versed in the tricks of the human psyche and what people preferred at the time. For the drunks, more drink and a song that will cause them to break glasses in front of others.

"Three shots of tequila for you," she screamed setting glass shots in front of three male students. "Enjoy!" she grinned at them before bringing another round of drinks for another table.

The evening appeared lively, the music was popular, and many appeared to be reluctant to go. Valerio, Nika's best buddy, sat with his crew in the booth, waiting for the appropriate moment to approach her.

He always thought she was the proper person for him. He recently committed the most serious infraction of the friendship code: 'falling in love with your friend'.

Nika saw him as another older brother, and it meant a lot to her to have male support in her life, especially because she grew independent so young.

"Hey babygirl," Valerio called in her direction, whistling until she noticed who was calling. She smiled and took a brief step away from the bar to greet her friend.

"You're wanted by a lot of men here," he joked, and she smacked him in the shoulder. "At least they tip that much," she muttered, annoyed. "They are hardworking," she added.

"It's hard being a woman," Valerio admitted. Nika refrains from returning behind the bar when she recognized the silhouettes approaching her as Valerio's buddies, among whom were very busy and boring guys with whom she would never converse, let alone anything else.

"I'll just go back to my work," she says, running away before the rest of the squad approaches.

He yelled "Freak!" and hurled one at her. "Dude, chill," Valerio insisted.

Nika was only a few meters from the bar, where a large throng had gathered, and her colleague was barely covering everyone's orders while he searched for her.

She accelerated her pace, hoping no one would stop her, but a blond boy blocked her path. An uneasy smile appeared on her face at the same time. "I have to go through," she said, but the music was too loud for him to hear.

She leaned closer to him, almost too near to his ear. "I have to pass.You're at the door to my bar," she said, pointing her fingers at him while trying to retain a polite demeanor.

"Do you want to go to the bar?!" he asked. Nika simply shook her head. "I'm a bartender," she explained, showing him her name card.The guy stepped aside to allow her pass, but soon rejoined the team, who were already sitting on bar stools.

Her colleague asked him, "Here, what can I get for you?"

"Your colleague," he responds, Nika was amused by his joke. Daniel (her colleague) stared at her from the corner of his eye, waiting for a reaction.

"It's busy, we're really busy; try another day," she said with a little smile. "What do you want to drink?" she asked again.

"Beer"

The bar finally began to clear at half past three, but there were still too many people inside. Daniel and the rest of the team announced the closing gently but steadily, while Nika was in charge of cleaning up the tables.

A young man sat at the end of the bar, appearing exhausted but not thinking of leaving. Nika stretched out to take the full ashtrays and empty bottles, but she did not spend too much time around him. She could only see that he wasn't a local and that it was her first time seeing him here.

Even though hundreds of people had gone through this pub, she could swear she hadn't seen him yet. Due of her numerous commitments, she quickly rejected her thoughts about that enigmatic man and continued with the close, so that she could return home and sleep as soon as possible.

Night shifts were the toughest. Too many people, too many drunks, are opposed to returning home, the majority of whom have had a quarrel with their spouses or family members and consider drink as a form of salvation.

Of course, there were always young people who came to socialize and play games like blackjack and darts. There were, although in somewhat fewer quantities.

Nika checked her watch before addressing the other people inside the pub. "Guys, it's time to go!!" she exclaimed, somewhat excitedly.

"Let's hang out tomorrow at the same time," she said, once she noticed a few individuals getting up from their chairs and approaching to get cards. The same man she was trying to forget approached her in the hope that she could assist him.

"Is there any chance you have a cup of coffee?" he wondered, smiling slightly. In a normal environment, Nika would reject such people and insist that everything is closed and it's time to leave the bar. However, this man, with curly hair and big brown eyes, was an anomaly.

"I closed all of the tabs; it's on me. "Just a second," she says, before putting on the coffee maker and brewing it.

"Without sugar?" she said, and he agreed. "And you don't seem like the type to put sugar in your coffee," she said, handing him a paper cup to go.

"Enjoy," she waved at him.

"I'll come back and thank you," he says, before opening the white front door and leaving into the darkness.