Lesson 8: Blending In

Luckily, Robert liked to plan for every possible scenario. There was a change of clothes in my backpack. Nothing fancy and definitely still a practical outfit. A pair of stretchy denim jeans, a lilac knitted jumper and some black trainers. At least now I wouldn't look like I was about to rob a bank.

I stuffed my 'robber' outfit into my backpack, re-emerging from the tree a good distance from the cafe I'd hidden behind to get changed.

The bell on the door chimed as I walked in but no one paid me any attention. Perfect. I ordered a black coffee and the guy behind the counter had a cute smile on his face as he made it. He was tall, perhaps six two or three but his apron was definitely too small for him as if he'd had to borrow it from a friend because he'd forgotten his at home. He was probably about my age and seeing as there was a university not far from here I guessed he was a student. In fact, there were quite a few students here, headphones in and laptops open, all with hot drinks by their sides. This was almost me three years ago.

I took a moment to wonder what my life would've been like if I'd never met Luca or perhaps if I'd never joined MI5 but the idea of a normal life was so foreign to me that I could barely even imagine it.

I was snapped out of my daydream by the barista handing me my coffee, still with that cute smile on his face. I told him to keep the change as I went to sit down because I knew most students could really do with the extra cash and besides his grin was infectious. Gross, I sounded like a wet wipe. Had it really been that long since I'd been around a guy my age who wasn't the retarded snail that was Kole Smith?

Shaking off my thoughts, I sat down at the two-seater table in the corner of the cafe and opened up the laptop in my bag to better blend in with the students here. I was actually thankful that Robert had made me carry that heavy chunk of metal on this mission despite my protests this afternoon. 'I have a feeling you might need it', he'd said. Maybe I didn't give the guy enough credit.

Thirty minutes later I was ready to die from boredom. No one here seemed suspicious and with every minute that ticked by it was more and more apparent that Kole had sent me here to keep me out of the way. Bastard. I was going to destroy him in training tomorrow, bad leg or not.

However, I was starting to worry about how long it had been. Even if I didn't care if Kole died, I didn't want poor Henry getting caught in the crossfire because he was covering for me after all.

If I didn't hear word in the next twenty minutes I was going in after them.

I blindly tapped on the table, staring at the time on my computer screen. I swore to God that if Kole didn't message me in the next ten minutes, I was going to bring his sorry ass back from the grave so I could kill him myself.

"Didn't you like the coffee?" A voice said from somewhere near me.

"Huh?"

"Your coffee, you've barely had half. It's gone cold," the same guy said again.

I finally bothered to look up from my screen. Low and behold, it was the barista boy, watching me with an amused expression on his face. "I got distracted," I shrugged.

"University deadlines?"

"Something like that."

"I know stress when I see it. Want me to make you a new coffee? On the house."

I shook my head but smiled at him all the same. "It's alright, don't worry about it. Anyways, I better get going. The coffee was great," I said, packing my stuff up, ready to go save Kole's ass.

"Wait," barista boy said, just as I left the building. The door chimed behind him as he followed me out. Before I could open my mouth, I spotted what was in his hands and I internally smiled just a little bit. Fucking hell, Jaia. Get a grip.

He handed me the headphones I'd left behind as well as the tissue I'd left with my coffee. "You forgot these and the tissue is in case you wanna call me sometime. No pressure or anything I just thought you were cute."

He murmured the last sentence and it made me blush despite the obvious rush I was in. "Thanks but I really got—"

I cut myself off, spotting a figure heading towards us in the dark. A figure also known as Humpty Dumpty, still nursing his eye as he stormed in our direction.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I needed to blend in. Without thinking twice, I looped my arms around barista boy's neck and smashed my lips to his. His shock was clear but it didn't take long for him to reciprocate and kiss me back.

I pulled us towards the side of the cafe, the shadows making us harder to spot. Barista boy pushed me against the wall, caging me in with his arms, going along with my plan even if it was unknowingly.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Humpty Dumpty spot us but he was quick to drag his eyes away, continuing his charge down the road and right past me. I waited until I was sure he was long gone before I pulled away from barista boy, my breathing heavy just like his.

"That wa—"

"Sorry about that," I butted in and he frowned in confusion.

"What? Sorry?"

I ducked underneath his left arm, slipping away from him. "Yeah I didn't mean to force that on you or anything," I said, feeling a bit bad. I'd hate it if a guy I barely knew suddenly just shoved his tongue down my throat.

His ears were pink. "No. No. It was fine, honestly," he rushed out, fumbling over his words. He ran a hand through his blond hair before shoving it in his trouser pocket, trying to piece his words together. "Does this mean you'll call me?"

I fidgeted on the spot. I was never one to get flustered so it threw me for a loop slightly. "Maybe I will. Anyway, I'll see ya, barista boy," I said, running in the direction of Kole and Henry to go and save their asses.

"Do I not get your name?"

"No," I called to him from across the road. "It's more fun that way!"

I could just about make out the grin on his face as he shook his head, going back inside the cafe to finish his shift.

I dumped my backpack by a tree near the back entrance where Humpty Dumpty 1 and 2 should've been but weren't. Fuck. I should've just killed them when I had the chance, Robert's orders be damned.

I slipped off my lilac jumper in favour of my usual black long sleeve top and shimmied off my jeans to put on the accompanying leggings. I was just shoving the trainers back onto my feet when I heard a loud crash from inside.

I bolted into the building, not having the time to strap on most of my weapons, trying my best to keep quiet and remain unseen. No matter how concerned I was, being spotted wasn't going to help me save them.

There were bodies scattered across the floor, all with various types of wounds in different places but I wasn't sure if they were dead or alive, probably a mixture of both. I took that as my blessing to kill whoever necessary. I could just blame it on Kole later.

I crept further through the dark building, my back pressed firmly against the wall. Seriously, did no one in this place know how to use a fucking light switch?

There was a scuffle to my right and I darted to face it, quick as lightning, throwing a knife at the shadowy figure. My motto had always been strike first and ask questions later.

A woman crumpled to the floor in pain, grasping at her wound. I took her struggling as my chance to slit her throat and reclaim the dagger plunged deep in her stomach. It was a kinder death than bleeding out so I was doing her a favour if you thought about it. A quick and painless death. So much easier for everyone involved.

I carried on in a similar fashion with the next few people who I ran into before I finally made it to the main room where no one was trying to keep quiet.

It was a mess.

Bodies were scattered all over the floor, blood spattered across the concrete walls and even the ceiling in some places.

At the centre of it all, causing the commotion, were Kole and Henry. They were fighting well but were devastatingly outnumbered; they'd never make it out alive at this rate.

Kole punched an older looking man with a receding hairline in the jaw, knocking out a few of his teeth but another guy kicked him in the back from behind, making him stumble to the floor.

Henry wasn't in much better shape, trying to aim his gun but having to dodge a barrage of knives at the same time, causing him to miss most of his shots.

They were backing them into a corner and if the boys didn't escape soon there'd be no hope for them.

Luckily, no one had spotted me yet, all much too focused on Kole and Henry. Perfect. It gave me just the opening I needed but I had to be smart about this. Thanks to Humpty Dumpty, I was in no shape to run in guns blazing and take them all out by brute force. Even now, my leg was screaming with each step I took, begging for rest but all I was focusing on was the adrenaline pumping through my veins, numbing the pain just enough to be bearable until this fight was over.

With not a moment to lose, I snapped into action. There was a metal scaffolding of sorts that ran up beside the wall closest to me and across the ceiling. It led to what I believed was a balcony of sorts that was still under construction. That would explain all the random bits of wood, brick and orange cones I'd seen thrown around the site when I'd first arrived.

I hoisted myself up onto the scaffolding. I was slim and didn't really have curves so I was confident it'd be able to hold my weight. Even so, the contraption buckled slightly.

Barely breathing as to not make a sound, I shimmied across the metal pipes to get into position. Not that making noise would have made much of a difference. The shouts from below were much louder than the sounds I could've produced from so high up.

I shifted, trying to find the perfect spot to aim the blow darts I had on hand, the only weapon other than my knife I'd managed to snag from my backpack before running in. Not my usual weapon of choice but Kole had me practice with them recently, saying that they'd help improve my aim.

I only had about ten because I'd used most of them in training over the past few weeks and hadn't gotten around to getting a refill from a Robert. That meant I had to make each dart count. There were about twenty people still standing so if I could take half of them out it'd give the boys a fighting chance. Unfortunately, the darts weren't lethal. They were just sedatives but they were all I had so would have to do.

My first dart hit the old man with the now-missing-teeth in the bicep. He stopped his charge at Kole, opening an opportunity to be tackled to the floor before the drug started to take effect.

Next, I blew one at the closest girl to Henry who was about to whack him on the head with a bat. It clattered to the floor, her whole body going stiff as she looked at me in horror for a few moments. I smirked and she dropped to the floor.

I blew the next three in rapid succession, hitting each of my targets. I didn't have much more time. People were noting their comrades just falling to the ground.

Someone yelled in my direction, pointing a crooked finger at me. They'd spotted me. Fuck's sake.

I blew four of the darts in a hurry, not having the time to aim because I had to get off this damn metal beam before they shook it or smashed it and I fell to my death.

Only one hit its mark but I didn't have the time to care. I jumped off the beam, gripping it with my palms, feeling oddly like a circus performer as I swung to gain momentum. Perhaps not the smartest move because now I was an open target for them to fire at. Pushing as hard as I could, I aimed for the partially completed balcony on the opposite side of the room.

Knives flew at me as I jumped through the air, one grazing my arm as I barely landed on my target. One foot shorter and I would've fallen.

My bad leg took the brunt of the landing and I silently howled in pain. Breathing heavy, I forced myself to my feet, trying not to wince as I climbed down the metal scaffolding, dodging the weapons hurled at me.

My feet had barely touched the floor when the first person tackled me to the ground but I was ready. I'd held the last dart in my fist, the sharp end now directly in the vein of my attacker. He stumbled away from me, clutching his arm and whimpering before falling helplessly to the ground.

With the attention on me, Kole and Henry had managed to get back to their feet. However, I was determined to keep that attention for a little longer both to help the boys and also because I did love proving Kole wrong. Using the gun I'd swiped from the waistband of my last attacker, I shot the two people closest to me dead right between the eyes. No one had even the chance to blink.

I knew the glow in my dark eyes was menacing as I looked up, a few of the remaining gang members flinching.

"Who's next?"

~*~*~

Sooooo... barista boy *nudge nudge* 😏

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter and it made you smile. See you next week!

Stay safe xx