They were sitting outside the Araucano Park in Santiago, parallel to the main street. Haley was sitting cross-legged and with her back hunched, playing with a switchblade and paying the locals no mind. As if by reciprocal courtesy, they didn't pay her any mind either. In front of her, much stiffer and looking outside of place, Benjamin scrolled over his tablet.
"I'm surprised you answered so promptly," he said. "It hasn't been that long since the last assignment."
"Seven months, fourteen days. Twenty one hours, give or take." She opened and closed the knife. The numbers weren't a coincidence; she liked multiples of seven.
Benjamin looked up from his tablet, his glasses low on the bridge of his nose.
She didn't know many things about him, other than that his name was probably not Benjamin. He was from East Europe, for starters, but his accent was hard to crack. He had dark hair and a soft face, with hardly any stubble. He could be anywhere between twenty-three and forty. He wasn't very muscular, but Haley had never seen him in clothes that actually fit. Maybe there was muscle mass under those tracksuits two sizes bigger than him.
They'd met more times than Haley had met most people in her life after her twenties. Even though she had no social media presence and abhorred cell phones, he always found her when there was a job for her.
"Okay," Benjamin said slowly. "One might think you missed me."
"You're joking," Haley half-noted, half-asked.
Benjamin gave her a deadpan look, as if saying, you think?
His sense of humor was unique.
"But I am curious about what made you want another job so soon," Benjamin mused. "Any luxurious and expensive hobbies? Running out of money already?" Benjamin wasn't really interested in the question, either. He smiled to himself, looking at the screen, and murmured something appraising in a language she didn't understand.
"I don't have any vices," Haley replied. "And I have a lot of money." She paused, looked up at her sort-of-not-really coworker. "I just got bored."
Benjamin hung onto the tablet for a second longer, studying her. Haley couldn't tell whether he was confused or disgusted. "When people get bored, they usually start going to a bookclub, or volunteer at their local soup kitchen. You could always make friends if you get bored."
Haley wrinkled her nose. "Gross. Are you done psychoanalyzing me, Dr. Freud?"
"I’m shocked at how little you know about psychoanalysis." He sounded amused now, as if he knew. "But it's probably a good thing that you're like this. If anything, you're one of the best at your, um, line of work."
He turned the tablet to her, offering the image of a woman looking in her early thirties. The picture had been taken from afar, so she was mid-conversation with a short man. She wore round white sunglasses and had her long auburn hair pulled back in a single braid. Beautiful, but in a cheap kind of way. In a everyone-is-beautiful-if-you-look-closely kind of way.
Haley took the tablet in her hands. She narrowed her eyes, scrolling down past the picture. The target's name was Monica Santos, and she owned a bakery in Manhattan, called CupcakeCabana. She was the single child of immigrant parents. Their names weren't available.
Haley cocked an eyebrow. "This about her parents?"
Benjamin mused, then took the tablet back. "Maybe. There's something our contractor needs to know before the endgame. Something about a necklace, probably from the target's mother. Can you find out more about the possible location of the jewelry before you blow her brains out?"
Haley rolled her eyes. "I don't blow anyone's brains out. I'm discreet."
Benjamin ignored her. "I'll give you a cell phone. You'll need to look like you exist in this century and function like a normal human being."
Haley stopped playing with the blade, and stared at him. The prospects were looking grim. Having to carry a phone everywhere suddenly limited her options to drop from the face of earth. Plus, she was sure she'd be tracked.
"I don't know, Benny. I like clean jobs. I'm not a spy."
He gave her an exasperated smile. "No one in my life has ever called me Benny."
"That's because no one in your life has style." She smirked.
Benjamin made a sound as if she made him sick.
Haley couldn't help but beam.
Still, it wasn't so bad to be back in the United States after a while. As much as she didn't love New York, there were perks to the anonymity that a metropolis this big could offer someone like her. It was even easier to disappear in the crowds when no one really looked at each other.
Plus, one thing about New York: everyone was a creep, so nobody cared about her leather pants and combat boots, her oversized anime T-shirts and her bomber jackets. On the train up to Manhattan, she even got a girl's number. Quite unexpected, too: a very tall blond woman just smirked at her, said, "You're cute. Can I give you my number?" and just like that, she'd had her first contact in New York.
Benjamin could suck it. She could make friends. And more.
Fully intending to call the woman later on, Haley skipped along the streets, whistling on her way, hands tucked into the pockets of her military green jacket. She'd studied the area online before. The shop was tucked between a tiny bookshop and a pawn shop. The letters that formed CupcakeCabana were in neon and in green, yellow, and blue, like the Brazilian flag that sat on each side of the front. The Copacabana beach sinuous ground was mimicked inside the bakery. It nearly gave Haley motion sickness.
She looked around. There were six tables inside, and they were all taken. Behind the counter with various pastries, stood two women with pastel-green aprons and buns: one worked as the cashier, the other was sucking on a lollipop.
And the second her eyes met Haley's, she smiled.
Full-on smile with pink-colored lips, pushing the lollipop to the side as she bent over the counter, tilting her head to the side. A strand of hair escaped her bun and framed the side of her face. She didn't say welcome to CupcakeCabana, or how can I help you, but instead, "You're new."
Haley raised her eyebrows.
The cashier slapped Monica's arm, then turned to Monica. "Sorry, ignore her. I'm Bruna. What can I get you today?"
Haley did not want to ignore Monica. She was still grinning, like flirting was her real day job. Haley couldn't help a chuckle that escaped her, but still turned her attention back to Bruna.
"She's right, though. I just moved to a shitty one-room down the road." Haley shrugged. Bruna nodded solemnly, as if that was the case for all of them as well, and Monica blinked curiously at her. "Can I just have some coffee to go?"
"Brazilian beans. Great choice." Bruna winked at her. It was a friendly wink, though. She didn't look as if she'd be glad if she could find a way to eat Haley. Not like Monica. "Go, barista. Make a great coffee for our new neighbor," Bruna shooed her away.
Haley evened her breath, and forced her eyes to be on Bruna. She was about Haley's height, a brown woman with a nose ring and purple lipstick. Her nails were the same color as her lips.
Though Haley had planned on making some conversation with Bruna, there wasn't time for that. Monica was fast with her drinks. Soon she was coming back to Haley, with a cup of coffee and her signature smile.
"On the house. As a welcome gift." She winked.
Haley noticed Monica had dimples.
When she reached for the coffee, their hands touched.
It was brief, but judging by the chill down her spine that resulted from it, one thing was sure: this was going to be an interesting assignment.
"Thanks," Haley replied.
She waved weakly on her way out.
New chapter on Tuesday. xx
I love them already!!!! Haley can ruin my life any day she wants!
I’M OBSESSED ALREADY