They had been looking at him before he'd even known who they were.
The quiet man had claimed a small area of the restaurant, far away from prying eyes. With his nondescript clothing and appearance, eyes washed over him forgetfully. No one lingered on this stranger who had quietly been nursing beer after beer for the past ninety minutes. He had a newspaper laid out in front, and from the looks of it, he'd merely been the whole time. In fact, he hadn't done much more than skimmed a few articles with only half an eye. Ears perked, eyes carefully at the bar, he had been concentrating on one, sole person.
Luis Sera was a tall, nice-looking guy, mid twenties, with wavy, dark hair a shade too long for the man's taste, and nice clothing. He looked more like an actor than a scientist, but evidently, the young man, with a degree in biology, was as bright as they came. And friendly, the man decided; he joked with every person who he came into contact with, using wide, animated gestures.
He also seemed to like his drinks and smokes. In the time that Sera had been in the bar, he had downed three tequila shots to accompany his beer. The man had also seen him, over the course of several weeks; duck outside like clockwork to smoke like a chimney.
He clucked his tongue in disapproval as he watched Sera toss a wink to a girl across the bar. She smiled back at him, coyly, wrapping a strand of dark hair around her finger before going to whisper into her friend's ear before standing and snaking her way through the crowd to the bar. They began to talk, which gave the man a chance to quickly clean up his table and stand, dropping some money onto the tabletop. He wanted to duck out before Luis did, so he wouldn't look like he had been following him. It was nearly 10:30; the man felt very certain that another smoke break was coming up.
The outside of the opened onto a dark street; people milled in and out of the bar. The man hunkered into the shadows, right near the door, and waited. He wasn't disappointed. Five minutes later, Luis Sera followed suit, stepping out the door.
The door shut behind the Spaniard, cutting off the loud noises and music from the inside. The man was pleased to see that the new lady friend did not follow him; for the moment, at least, he and Sera were alone. Luis didn't seem to see him standing there; he grabbed a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket and selected on, sticking it into the corner of his mouth while simultaneously grabbing a lighter and flicking it on. He held it up against the butt of the cigarette, taking a deep drag as the tobacco caught the flames, and breathing it out into a smoky sigh. The man let the moment of silence settle, before he stepped forward from the shadows, bringing out a cigarette of his own from his pocket.
"Excuse me?" The man's voice caused Luis to jump slightly, and turn around. The man offered a sheepish smile. "I am an idiota and seemed to have dropped my lighter. I don't suppose you could spare a light, could you?"
"Si." Luis returned the smile warily and held out his own lighter. The man—who rarely smoked—bent forward to light the end.
"Gracias, amigo."
"Mucho gusto." Luis nodded, and turned away, resumed his vice. The man, who had never gotten a good look at the young man up so close before, discreetly examined his face, noting the first signs of a beard, and somewhat sleep-deprived looking bags beneath his eyes. Both were signs of a man who worked hard, he hoped, and took another drag, trying to appear far more casual than he felt.
"I never go to these places," He said, and gave what he hoped sounded like a self conscious chuckle. "I am too old for this kind of thing, I suppose. How you young people do it, I have no clue."
Luis smiled politely. "I don't know how we do it, either."
"Si. Along with your classes, you must be exhausted."
"I'm graduated, actually."
"Oh, I see. What was your major?"
"Biology."
"Oh, interesting." The man said, nodding approvingly. "As it so happens, I work in the science field, as well."
Luis turned his head to look at the stranger. "Oh?"
The man gave an off hand shrug. "I just got a new job, actually. As a supervisor for a small, independent research team. It's pretty exciting, so far, but we're still getting some kinks figured out." He paused for effect. "Scientists are both the most organized, disorganized human beings."
Luis actually laughed, his baritone cutting the quiet of the night. "I couldn't agree more. What field do you work in?"
The man threw the rest of his cigarette down, and stepped on the butt with the toe of his boot. He was getting close. "Parasitology."
"Nice. I've always been fascinated by parasitology. What sort of work do you do?"
"Just some superficial stuff at the moment. Nothing terrible interesting; looking at parasites, seeing their reactions to various hosts, figuring out what makes them tick." He slid a glance at Luis. "No pun intended."
"Found anything interesting yet, with them?"
"Lots. Fascinating specimens. These are historical ones we are researching. Ones that could unlock a lot of the past for us. We, in the science world, thought they were dead for a number of years. With any luck, they unlock a lot of our past for us, and give us some answers for the future."
"Where is it that you work, exactly?"
"A little town. Doubt you've heard of it. It's called Pueblo."
Luis shot the man a startled look, and then a genuine smile lit up his light eyes. "No kidding! Small world…I'm from there!"
The man managed a surprised look. "Are you, now?"
"Si. Born and raised. Small world."
"What a coincidence!" The man appraised Luis' appearance. "With no offence to your upbringing, you certainly don't dress like you're a farmer."
Luis smiled sheepishly. "I'm not, and never thought I would be. I loved growing up there, but I always knew I wanted to live in the city." He gave a short laugh. "I gave it a try for the first eighteen years of my life."
"Does your family still live there?"
"No…" His gaze dropped, and he, too, dropped the remainder of his cigarette. "My parents died when I was very young, and my grandfather raised me and my brother. He died two years ago. My brother is in school to be a veterinarian, so he doesn't live there, either."
"I'm sorry to hear that. It's a quaint town."
"Yeah." A wistful smile. "It is. I haven't been there in years."
"Well…" The man paused, and withdrew a small card from his pocket. "If you every find yourself in that area, look me up. We don't normally let non-employees into the lab, but I think you'd genuinely find our work interesting. Also," He handed Luis the card. "It is your town."
"Thank you. That's a very generous offer."
"Absolutely, amigo." He glanced at his watch. "I'm afraid that I must be going to meet someone. It was a pleasure meeting you…"
"Luis." He said quickly. "Sera."
"I'm Arturo Riviera." He offered his hand, and Luis grasped it in a firm handshake. He could already see the Spaniard's gears working in his head. He smiled warmly. "It was nice talking to you. Come stop by sometime."
# # #
The man made sure he was far enough away until he discreetly slipped into a dark alleyway, ears perked for noises of anyone else near. Nothing. He slunk against a building, and pulled out his phone, rapidly dialing a number from memory. It rang once, twice, before a heavily accented voice answered.
"I found him." The man said.
"You are sure he is the grandson?"
"Si. I think he will contact us on his own. If not, I will be more persuasive in the future."
There was a pause on the other end. The man heard breathing, and a cluck of approval. "Well done. We depend on you to do this."
With that, the line was disconnected. Satisfied, the man pocketed his phone, and disappeared down the street.