Caught

Chapter 3: Pretty Deadly

The sun was awfully bright this week. Only a string of clouds was visible in the sky above and the breeze was light. Arianna found it disgusting. With this assignment, this job, this lifestyle; such light-hearted weather isn't a good day to hide and smuggle illegal drugs.

But the fresh air was admittedly refreshing and much needed for Arianna and her fellow members. After a week spent sleeping at that old and smelly apartment, sleeping out in the middle of the road sounded like a night to die for.

The time for action had officially come. Miles' mother had left two days earlier to search out specific routes and scouted out the Nightleys all the way in Shanghai. Not to mention, she also had to reach the people who have the opium right now, and how they're going to get it from them. An order was sent to move from Tokyo to Busan to be a little closer to China.

The three of them; Miles, Zara, and Arianna, all huddled in a ramen shop hidden behind a casino. It was early afternoon and the streets were starting to fill up. Zara ordered three super sized ramen bowls for brunch, earning a protests from Miles and the same indifferent expression from Arianna.

"Three super sized bowls!? We have to be out of here by 3:30pm on the dot, leaving us only 25 minutes and you want to order the meal of a sumo wrestler?" Miles objected. Zara absently adjusted her midnight black cap and gestured a shooing movement. "For God's sake, shut your trap." She responded. The three young adults had hoods or dark baseball hats over their heads, trying to cover up their face as much as possible.

Sunlight filtered through the thin curtains of the small restaurant bar, indistinct Korean conversations began to multiply. Despite the nosy atmosphere with the little kid complaining about his shoes, the loud shouts of the lady asking for your order, and Zara's and Miles' argument, Arianna rested her forehead on fingertips. She closed her eyes and thought about the next steps. In the next 72 hours, they will have the most expensive product ever found by the Streaks, and more money to put towards-

"Here is your ramen,"

A short woman was handing out enormous clay bowls of steamy soup. Zara's face lightened up with delight and even excitement, while Miles; not so much. The small women set Arianna's bowl last. She nodded slightly and murmured a 'thank you', keeping her face hidden. To her surprise, the lady remained who she was with a warm grin on her face. Arianna wasn't sure if she should feel uneasy, but even Zara and Miles began to notice the women's strange stance.

"Oh sweetie, you have such a beautiful voice!" the lady said. Her voice sounded like she was around her mid 40's, laced with a Korean accent. Arianna remained staring down at her ramen. Arianna had hardly uttered out a word and this woman is complimenting her voice? How strange.

Zara chuckled and continued to slurp down noodles while Miles snorted in disgust. "Do you sing, perhaps? Are you one of those idols on TV?" the lady kept rambling on. Arianna stayed fixed in her soup, tangling her chopsticks in the noodles. "I bet your face is just as pretty as your voice, lift your hood for me, sweetie."

Arianna felt an uprising wave of discomfort. She didn't like the way this lady sounded. It was much too sudden and out of place. It was clearly the same for Arianna's companions as she has now gotten Zara's and Miles' attention. There was only silence for a moment.

The bar had cleared out and the birds seemed to have fled from the odd tension. Even Arianna's friends, didn't move an inch. The only audible noise was Arianna's glass chopsticks hitting the sides of the bowl as she continued to stir.

The lady waited for a response, that almost surreal smile still plastered on her face. "It's okay, thank you," Arianna calmly replied, while taking a small bite from her noodles. The women chuckled like a grandmother would when her grandson asks for a bite of her pancakes. "Oh why not? I'm sure there's no harm to just see your face, honey." She coaxed.