Trapezoid (The Base)

Chapter 22

Weaving his way through the cluster of people dancing to the loud, head-banging techno song in the low-lit pub, Thomas was doing his best not to be distracted from his main reason for being here. But how he missed being here! Ever since Aunt Martha had given him a job as her driver, he felt a bit—a lot lower than usual. Not a single bottle of wine in that house was not accounted for. So if he so happened to take one, Aunt Martha's mole, Louis, would peep on and she'd go to the extreme punishment of emptying his bank account. He rubbed the back of his neck in frustration, trying to rip his eyes away from the bottle in one of the patron's hands.

He made his way to the secluded corner of the pub and slid into a booth. He tried acting usual and not darting his eyes to catch sight of the man he was here for. He raked his hands through his dreadlocks and groaned as the smell of alcohol filled his nostrils, begging him to take just one shot. He folded his arms on the black polished table and dropped his head into them, ready to whimper.

"Need something to lift your mood, sir?"

He raised his head at the feminine voice. Her provocative attire made him forget to respond. Her smile wasn't on for politeness to customers or kindness or sympathy. All it was on for was to draw people like him into whatever he was most susceptible to falling for.

Someone cleared their throat.

Thomas' eyes slowly moved to the figure of a man a head taller than the woman, muscular arms folding across his chest. Thomas felt dead knowing that if this guy was this girl's man he was no match, until he realized it was the man he was waiting for. The man slid into the booth and gave Thomas a dark glare that would kill before he turned to the girl with a suggestive smile. "Give us a few minutes."

"I'll be counting!" she said with a wink and left.

There were no names between them. All Thomas knew was the guy's face and it was the same the other way around. Just in case anyone panicked and decided to squeak, there would be no name to give. But so far everything was airtight.

"So when is he coming?"

He knew he was talking about his brother, Richard. "He'll be back in a day or two."

"And is everything going as planned? No leaks or suspicion?"

"Yeah," he replied—even though he wasn't so sure. No leaks, of course—but no suspicion? Ever since Pauline, neither he nor his elder brother could be so sure. Richard had even gone to the extent of falling for the chic! Nothing was suspected of the female MI5 agent until she made one slip up. Richard took care of that—the hard way. A disappearing agent raised plenty of suspicion. And now Kristal Thompson was on the scene. He wasn't sure what he thought of her. She wasn't like Pauline at all. She seemed to lack some characteristics of adulthood to some extent. But he liked her for some reason for the few days she'd been around. It wasn't just because she was pretty. She was beautiful—but in a different way than Pauline. It wasn't just from her features but from somewhere deeper. She even seemed oblivious to the fact. Besides, her presence kept Aunt Martha off his back eighty percent of the time. No. He couldn't see her as a suspect.

But it was stupid thinking that way. He knew it.

...............................................................

Levi cursed under his breath as he eyed the "Shadow" sitting at a table by the windows looking out at the street. Why did she have to show up while he was on shift? Despite himself he went over to take her order. "Good day, little lady."

Her eyes rose to his and she smiled, hers looking so real and Levi's looking plastic by the minute. "Good day, mister!"

"What're you ordering?" he asked before a beat even passed.