Cat and Mouse game

Chapter Sixteen

It had been a few days since the "incident" that night.

The agents stayed in the apartment all day long, as it was Saturday - the official day off for Grant Pharma and most other companies. And it was also the day of the week when Rhino was likely to visit the gallery, as he usually did.

For the first half of the day, Elias and Eriс both were busy with work, going through the case files and thinking about the plan of action. However, they were each working on their own, as they still weren't getting along well enough to have a lengthy conversation, even about work.

After that night, Elias felt rather uncomfortable being alone with Eric. He hated the thought that Raven now knew his weakness. Agent Raven, who seemed to have no flaws other than an overly sharp tongue, now knew. And Elias was afraid that his partner might bring it up. It really was the last thing he wanted to discuss.

But fortunately for Elias, Eric seemed to understand that and acted as if he didn't know anything about it. At least for now.

Closing the laptop, Elias stretched and got up from his chair. He had already worked for a decent number of hours in a row and felt he needed a break. Which meant it was time for coffee. Since he wasn't much of a coffee maker, he just put the capsule into the coffee machine and let it do all the work for him. 

The sounds of the coffee maker filled the room; Elias leaned against the countertop, waiting for his drink to be ready. He took a deep breath, inhaling the sharp aroma of coffee, and looked at his partner on the other side of the room.

Elias noticed that the blond had a habit of working on the bed. He was sitting on it now as well, studying something on his tablet. Whether because Eric felt the gaze on him, or because of a sudden thought that came to his mind, he looked back at Elias. For a second, the blond returned his attention to the tablet screen, and then, rubbing his neck, looked at Elias again.

"It's almost 6 pm," he said.

Elias raised an eyebrow in question, wondering why Raven had mentioned it.

"It's time for us to start watching the gallery. Rhino usually gets there around this time," Eric explained.

"Oh, right! Do you think we might see anything useful today?"

"Maybe. Who knows?" the agent shrugged and put his tablet aside. "But we should definitely keep an eye on it."

"Okay, then I need to get my camera set up so we can take some pictures. You can take the binoculars and..."

"Before that, make me some coffee too," getting out of bed, Raven interrupted him.

"Um, can't you do it yourself?"

"You're already standing there. Is it really that difficult?" the blond asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Well," Elias crossed his arms over his chest and gave his partner an annoyed look, "it would be easier if you asked me nicely."

"Oh, please, Elli, could you make me some coffee?" Eric said with a faint smile.

"See, now we're talking," Elias nodded his head in approval.

Elias took his mug of coffee out of the coffee maker and put Eric's in it. He then slid another capsule in there. The bright aroma of the freshly brewed coffee tickled his nostrils as he brought the mug to his lips. After taking a sip of a tart, slightly bitter drink, he felt a pleasant warmth flow down his throat, bringing an ephemeral burst of energy.

When the coffee maker went silent, indicating that the second portion of coffee was ready, Eric walked over and contentedly picked up his mug.

"Let's not waste time and just have our coffee on the balcony," Eric suggested.