"Are you not coming to school?" Anna asked the next day as I stepped out of my room. I had a bag on my shoulders and a cigarette in hand. With my hair tied up and my clothes looking almost the sa as the day I had gone to help Anna, anyone would think the sa.
"Not today," I said. "I’ll drop you nearby if you want."
Anna nodded, biting on the toast as she rested on the kitchen counter. "Have breakfast first."
She was great as a roommate. Not asking any questions where not necessary. Perhaps it was because I was ’buying’ her silence and her cooperation as a way of letting her stay. It was definitely sothing I could get used to.
Anna and I indulged in a quick breakfast and then she grabbed her bag. She seed a little excited about going on the bike again. We took the lift down to the parking lot, and I put on the black helt.
"No earrings today?"
"I don’t want to be noticeable."
"Ah."
The bike’s engine whirred and off we set. Anna didn’t say much throughout the ride as we made our way on the road.
"Will you be late?"
"I am not sure, really. I am going to have a long day."
"Well, tomorrow is the weekend so you’ll have ti to relax. I’ll keep dinner ready."
"You don’t have to."
"I want to—Ah, the signal’s green."
I drove her close to the school, a few turns before the bus stop we would usually get off at, and stopped the bike on the side of the road. Any further and people would see us, which wasn’t really a problem for , but I figured Anna wouldn’t like to be seen driven to school by so shady biker. It was fair.
She held her bag in front of her and smiled.
"Be safe," she said as she left.
It was a Friday.
***
Near the arcade Mrs. Benson owned, I stopped the bike and t with a tall man looking completely out of place on the street. His bulging muscles and his glowing skin under the sunlight was sure to intimidate kids.
I waved at the man, and he turned to with a frown.
"Johnson. Good noon."
"Tsk." The man clicked his tongue. He was not wearing his barista uniform that I was used to seeing him in, but instead was in complete casuals. The man was none other than the ex-pat from the US who worked as the head barista at Peridot’s cafe.
"Why are you wearing your helt on the streets?"
"I don’t want to be noticeable."
"This is far more... Haah. Alright. Anyway, is that arcade the place you needed help with?" Johnson asked as he crossed his arms. Both of us turned our gaze to Mrs. Benson’s arcade.
"Yup. Just keep her out the entire day today."
"Haah," Johnson sighed again. "I really didn’t think I’ll have to con people in this country.
"Hey, it will be a fun date. She’s just like, twice your age at best."
Johnson frowned, I raised both hands and took a step back. Not fighting this tank of a person, I would get my ass handed to . I lightly tapped his arm and gestured at the shop.
"Please. Do you have your cover?"
"Yes. I will tell her she’s on jury duty."
"Is she?" I asked, my eyes slightly wide. Was that a good way to get soone out of their house for the day?
"No, of course not. I don’t want to make that many arrangents for a single day."
"I hope this works."
"Do you think I should have said I am from Micr*soft support?"
"Won’t that be foolproof."
We both shrugged. I took to the walls of the streets and Johnson walked ahead to the shop. He slowly entered, and I started glancing at my watch.
15 minutes, that was as long as it took for him to go and co back out, this ti with Mrs. Benson in tow.
Johnson probably told her he was from the district courthouse and her presence was needed. A flash of so random paper would work as an ID for soone unsuspecting. As Mrs. Benson left, she locked the entrance of the arcade behind her. For a second, her eyes went up to the steel shutter door.
Johnson tapped her shoulder and urged her to move.
She left the shutter open. Perfect.
Within minutes, Johnson and Mrs. Benson had disappeared from sight, he had taken her to the car he parked near the road, and off they were.
A ssage ca over on my phone from him.
[IloveJohnCoffeeSon: Thumbs up]
[~: Ok]
Why would he not send an emote? It was beyond .
The next step was simple as well. I pulled out a tripod and a cara from my bag and started recording a video. A simple video that took the shop in the fra, and also the road. I started the recording with a simple voice-line.
"Take one. Gathering stock footage for video-editing side jobs. This is a ti-lapse of a local street. The next video in this line is set to ti-lapse mode."
I placed the cara and the tripod on a wall, a high enough spot that people won’t knock it over while walking around.
There was no need for myself to enter the fra for the starting voice-line. All I had to do now was not to speak.
This much was enough.
All the preparations were ready.
I waited next, nearby, but not too suspiciously. Soon, my phone rang. I quickly picked it up.
[Hey, kid? It’s , from the restaurant.]
The voice from the other side rang in my ears as I took a deep breath.
[The people from that gaming house next door just left. It was the biggest group I’ve seen. You ntioned it might have sothing to do with your friend’s shop so be careful ok? I highly recomnd you call the police, just in case.]
"I understand. Thank you very much, uncle. I will handle it."
It was go ti.
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