Wednesday, March 19, 2008; 3:55 PM
His head snapped up quickly as the bell over the café door rang, greeting a tall man, appearing only as a shadow in the mid-afternoon sunshine. Jacob was jumpy though, and the noise caused him to spill part of his fifth cubano across his paper. The fact that it was his fifth cubano played a role in his sudden movement as well. Bringing attention was the last thing Jacob wanted, but immediately all eight eyes in the café was upon him, including those of the imposing new patron.
Charles was surprised by the sudden actions of the gentleman in the corner of the café; his trained eyes immediately taking in the character as he responded to the spilled coffee on his paper.
Interesting…I wonder what is going on with him. He thought.The dangers of being a law enforcement officer had been more and more apparent to Charles in recent weeks; he was increasingly suspicious of all those around him, including now, this poor stranger in the coffee shop where he was to meet Jess. Well, back to my business. What to order?? Hmmm. Well, easily a Café Cubano for me and… the same for Jess, I think she would like and need something strong at this point in the afternoon.
Jacob could not believe his carelessness. Being inattentive was a mistake that he was unwilling to let ruin his plan to eliminate the threat of his CSI enemy. Now he had to recover his own dignity and determine if he had made any serious errors.
Okay, only one new patron to examine. Let's see here… the tall man at the counter is the only new – uh oh. I have seen him before. Where, though? Blast!!
Identifying the man should never have taken this long. He knew where he had seen Mr. Tall before now, on a scene with Jess! This would never do; a quick exit was his only option at this point.
Of course, during his pondering, Jacob's exit was becoming increasingly complicated.
Glancing out the window to look for any hindrances on that front, Jacob saw her, Jessica Mitchell, walking quickly across the plaza between the Lab and the café. There was no time for thinking now. He grabbed his dripping paper, slipped on his sunglasses and hat, jumped up and headed for the door.
I can do this. It's just a business meeting… well, not technically a business meeting, but still… I can do this. It's just Agent… I mean, Charles… remember to call him Charles. Jess' internal conversation kept her entirely preoccupied until she was about to enter their café; their café because none of her colleagues could stand up to the strength of a Café Cubano.
She was so distracted that she almost ran over the sunglassed character exiting the café in front of her. His paper covered most of his face and simultaneously dripped coffee on her white button-up as they brushed past each other. Jess attributed the tremor in her hand as she reached for the door to her upcoming meeting; the coffee would come out of her shirt later.