Spy School Reunion

Chapter 5

Eww I hate finals so much. I'm posting this now because I'm stressed af about these 2 finals weeks. (This and next week). So I probably won't have time to post on the normal day. Please enjoy. And good luck to anyone who has finals

Aunty Sandy's French Café and Bakery
Washington DC
1304 hours
January 10

Audrey finally arrived at the bakery. It was her favorite meeting place. The ladies in there were super nice, the food was good and it was relatively quiet.

She really hoped Ben had arrived. Audrey hadn't had seen him in ten years and she was looking forward to seeing him and catching up with him. But mostly, she was intrigued to see what information he had. The CIA was investigating this new case and she wondered if it had anything to do with what Ben had found out. Or maybe this whole thing was a ruse to get her to meet him. She had no idea, but she also had nothing better to do this afternoon, other than sleep. Audrey was super jetlagged from being in Syria on an intel-gathering mission on a recent terrorist group.

Audrey also felt super bad because she was half an hour late to meet Ben. Her flight had taken longer than it was supposed too and the traffic in Washington DC is horrid.

She walked in and the familiar ding went off. Audrey quickly scanned the area, an old habit, and her wandering eyes found Ben Ripley.

The first thought in her mind was he looks crappy. Not that he wasn't good looking (he had the potential to look handsome with his chiseled jawline and sandy brown hair) but he overall looked bad. He had dark circles under his eyes, his hair was all messy and his shirt was wrinkly. He was also way skinnier than she remembered and was super pale as if he was sick. Audrey found herself being concerned for his health. It wasn't looking like he was taking care of himself.

But Audrey took all this in in a split second. When he noticed her, his face instantly brightened (probably in relief that she didn't stand him up) and he gave her a big smile. Audrey gave him an apologetic smile and gestured that she was going to get a coffee (seeing he already had one) and made her way over to the counter.

The old lady, Aunty Sandy, stood at the counter smiling at Audrey like she always did. Audrey went to this café once a week if she wasn't on a mission, so she knew all of the workers well. Aunty Sandy was an old, sweet woman who worked the counter every time she came in. She also knew Audrey's order by heart.

"The usual, I'm guessing, Audrey?" The older women smiled kindly at her.

Audrey gave an exhausted smile, "You know it."

"You look tired, my dear! Are you getting enough sleep?" Aunty Sandy reminded Audrey of a sweet grandma and she was always concerned with Audrey's health. The time she had come in with bruises from a mission, Aunty Sandy almost had a heart attack.

Audrey chuckled, "I am, I just came back from a trip and am super jetlagged."

"You overwork yourself! You come in a five in the morning for a coffee some days or at six in the evening for one. And you have impromptu business trips! Your schedule is always crazy! What do you do?"

She gave a knowing smile, "Too much work, that's for sure."

"Bah, that's true! Take a break! You're a young, pretty girl! Don't work so much! Live your life! Or you're going to regret it later!"

"Okay, Aunty Sandy," Audrey gave the women a kind smile, "Gosh, I feel so bad. I am over half an hour to meet someone."

The older women raised an eyebrow, "That young fellow sitting in the corner?"

Audrey didn't need to turn around to know she was talking about Ben, "Yeah, that's him."

"Oh good! It least you're here now. I was worried. I kept going up to him and he kept saying he was waiting for someone. I thought that poor boy was being stood up for a date. I gave him a free coffee since he's been waiting for about forty minutes now. Go over to him, now, young lady! Don't make your date wait!"