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Arch: Of course, caramel macchiato for me, please.
Arch: Also, enough with the sweet cheeks, or your cheeks will be pretty red and swollen.
Me: Coming right up. And is that a promise?
Arch: Thank you. Always.
Getting up, I stretch, already knowing all my muscles are very stiff. I need to start doing yoga or something. Keep my body from falling into disarray. It might also help with the route that Archer and I are going. The sex is intense, and I'm sore after each time. But I'm starting to get addicted to it, mainly to him.
Today, I decided it was a dress-down day. I'm wearing brown flowy pants and just a black blouse that's tucked in, so it's still business but business casual. My jewelry is more dressed up, but business casual is definitely my favorite style to wear. I hate wearing the skirt suits that I wear to court. They are so stiff and uncomfortable. I mean, I did pay for the cheapest ones, so I guess I get what I paid for. But still, those days suck. Rory's trial will probably be coming up, but I'm not sure if I'll have to testify yet since the guy pleaded guilty. I just do as I'm told.
I go to my desk to turn off the music that I was listening to. Putting my hair down, I brush it out with my fingers. I have to start trying to not put it in a ponytail all the time. I'm going to start developing a receding hairline. I need to purchase some headbands. Maybe I'll run to the corner store that sells everything before I get my Starbucks. Grabbing my purse, I head out of the door, texting Nisa while I make my way to the elevator.
Me: I finished the skull. I'm going to get a congratulatory Starbucks; would you like one? I'm also getting Archer one.
Nisa: Congratulations hopefully, we will have an I.D. soon. And no, I have a meeting at the Library of Congress. But we need to get lunch soon.
Me: Yes, we need to talk about all the details!!
Nisa: Oh boy, I'm afraid that I said something.
Me: Don't be afraid. Go do your important meeting. I'll talk to you later.
I get to the elevator, press the 'up' button, and stand, patiently waiting for it. It finally comes, and I get in. Sometimes this thing takes so long. Making my way out of the building, I turn left to go to the store that's on the corner. Keeping up with the flow of others on the sidewalk, I make it there in five minutes.
I grab a pack of headbands; they are the 'pastel version' of the original. I like pastels; they are more calming to the eye for me. I wait in the checkout line; that seems too busy for a Monday morning.
"Find everything?" the store clerk asks when I get up to the
counter. He's a short man with curly blonde hair.
"Yes, thank you." I place my headbands on the counter and pay for them. $7.99 for a pack of headbands is ridiculous, but I'm almost positive that this colorway was two dollars more, so I guess it's my fault. I quickly pay and leave the store. Now, I am heading the opposite way to Starbucks.
Taking my phone out, I order the drinks ahead of time. The Starbucks is always packed inside, and I don't feel like waiting. Order ahead is genuinely one of life's greatest inventions. Some might say that you're lazy, but when you're working and in a hurry, it really cuts down on the waiting time.
Twenty minutes later, I have mine and Archer's drinks in a carry tray, walking back to the FBI building. My phone rings, and I dig it out of my purse with my free hand. I look at the name, and it says "Unknown Caller." I don't answer collection companies; they should know we all get the same message on our screens by now. I truly have no idea why people fall for that scam, but if you just have good trust in people, I guess it makes sense. I clicked my power button twice to make it cancel the incoming call.
Before I can put my phone away, it rings again. What the hell. I cancel the call again. These companies are getting out of hand; not answering means they are not interested. I put my phone away, and once again, it rings. Digging it back out, I see it has the same caller I.D. I pick it up. "Listen, I am not interested in whatever you have to –"
"You'll want to listen to me very carefully." What the fuck, it's not a robotic voice.
"Who the hell is this?"
"I think you'd be more interested in knowing whom I have rather than who I have." My blood turns to ice, and I almost drop the drinks.
"What is this about?" I drop the drinks in the nearest trash can, completely forgotten about.
"You're going to listen to me very carefully. Your sister is
tied up and beaten. She won't be here much longer unless you do exactly what I say." My mind races, my sweet sister. I'm clever; I can figure this out.
"What do you want?" I stand on the sidewalk like a waiting duck. My heartbeat getting faster each second.
"First, you will contact nobody else; after this call, you will throw out your phone exactly where you threw out those disgusting Starbucks drinks. I will know if you contact anyone, and if you try, you won't see her." I look around; he's watching me. But how? He must've tapped into the video surveillance feeds that are around us. "Do you understand?"
"Yes." I'm not cowering to this low life.
"After that, you will go to the tram station and get on tram five. You will sit in seat seventeen. There will be a phone under that seat. Once you get it, then I'll be in contact. Don't get lost, you have half an hour to get there. Better get going." He hangs up the phone.
