Chapter 1: The Starling and The Cuckoo

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Large-brimmed hats suited her.

He admired her from a distance. The beach was crowded, bustling with people, whether they be tourists or families or office workers on breaks.

Between the large number of people, he glanced at the retreating silhouette of the woman, watching her as she entered the restaurant.

He felt his phone vibrate. Not taking his eyes off the strutting figure, he answered the call, sipping his smoothie as he did so.

"She entered the building."

"I'm aware," he drawled, recognising the voice as Jay's, "I'm watching her right now."

"Alright," Jay's voice was muffled over the sudden roar of laughter that could be heard in the background, but he could tell it seemed colder than usual. "Make your move in three, don't make yourself too obvious."

"Sure, sure." He hung up, placing his cup on his table; stretching his arms, he sat up, and looked at his watch. There were eyes on him, but it was hard to tell whether it was his side or theirs.

Yawning, he slowly made his way towards the restaurant, causally putting his hands in his pockets and attempting to flatten his hair. After squinting at his watch again, he made a phone call.

"What do you want," The groggy voice was obvious, telling him that his partner had been sleeping in.

"Ah, hey!" He said brightly, "I'm almost there, it'll only take a minute. Are you there already?"

"What are you spouting, you creepy bas-"

"What, you're not? That's fine too, I'll be waiting in there, there seems to be a few seats free!"

"I swear, you need to stop calling me during your stupid missions when I'm asle-"

"All good! See you then." He replied cheerily, and hung up. Smirking at the thought of Barn cursing him as he went back to sleep, he entered the restaurant and was hit with a blast of cool air conditioning. He pretended to search for a seat, although he knew that Jay would have reserved him one anyway.

He walked past her as she coyly smiled at the man sitting opposite, stirring her drink with a straw.

"I always knew you would look good," He heard her start, "But I didn't realise you'd look this amazing..." She trailed off, smile evident in her voice.

The man stammered compliments back, but he seemed more overwhelmed by her beauty than the fact that he sounded pathetic.

He sat down on his seat, only a table away from theirs, but it was still difficult to hear them over the constant laughter and chattering of the other customers.

"Well, what did you think abo... I'm not going to force you... Just thin..." The conversation kept cutting off due to opening of doors, random spurts of yelling and shouting, and he groaned in annoyance. His phone buzzed again, and pinching the bridge between his nose, he answered with irritation.

"Don't worry," Jay stated, "I got the table tapped just in case," - a moment of poignant silence - "so just remove it when you leave. I can hear what they're saying so don't focus on it. I'm sending Firecrest your way. Tell her the plan then." As if on cue, the door opened and a petite figure entered, her small head bobbing up and down as she struggled to see above everyone.

He stood up, and motioned her to come his way, knowing she wouldn't provoke suspicion from those watching him.

Her child-like stature noticed him with a nod, and she trotted her way over.

"You don't understand how much bother you have caused me," she complained, smiling, as she pulled out her chair. He noticed that she swivelled around slightly to see the woman. "Why was it so hard to contact you?"

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