Surviving Stephanie Chapter 14
The restaurant was gorgeous. It was decorated to echo an Italian villa, or ruins of one, maybe. The floors looked like they were marble and the walls were a rich cream, plaster, with the requisite cracks and occasional bricks revealed, or covered in frescoes. The room was sectioned with rows of ornate pillars, and above the central dining area was a domed skylight. I'm a sucker for all things Italy, so I was pretty much in love.
The flustered young waiter seated us at a table in a corner just off the main area, sheltered enough to be out of the way of bustling waiters, while still being visible and accessible. It was the corner feature that got me. They had to have a retainer going to all the restaurants around town, a Rangeman employee signal, something...
The waiter asked for our drinks in a thick accent, probably Italian but it could have been eastern Europe, I have a hard time telling the differences all the time.
"I'll have a water for now, thank you" I said with a smile. The poor boy blushed. Aww, it was cute.
Jack said some kind of wine that I didn't catch and I looked at him, half-surprised. I kept thinking these guys were above silly mortal things like drinking. Although oddly not sex. I kind of figured they were complete guys about that one.
"Do you always flirt with the waiters" Jack asked, grinning. I faked a pout.
"I smiled at him! Can't a girl be polite"
"He's probably going to be walking on cloud nine for days."
"Right. Only if I were Britney Spears."
Jack grimaced. "Honey, if you looked like Britney Spears I wouldn't go out in public with you."
I laughed. It was always fun to find a guy who didn't like Brit. Probably very catty and shallow of me, but I don't care. Just like it's nice to hear a guy dis Paris Hilton or some other famous twig. It gives you hope that maybe, just maybe you don't have to be perfect after all.
"Yes you would. I'd be insanely rich." He shook his head, chuckling. Oh, that's right, he had an Aston Martin. It probably wasn't a big thing for him, money.
"The issue was you with the waiters."
I delayed my response a moment by looking over the menu, pretending to be absorbed in the food choices. Hm, honesty or insist on my innocence?
"I flirt with everyone, according to some of my friends" I admitted. It's true, I've never been able quite to figure it out. I know when I'm deliberately flirting of course, but apparently I do it when I don't mean to. It's gotten a few girls pissed at me. Then again, the guys in those cases were sleazy idiots who followed anything with breasts, so I'm not convinced any flirting had to be done on my part.
Further discussion was thankfully interrupted by the waiter, who must have been aiming for the fastest service award. He gave me a gigantic smile as he set my water down. He was considerably cooler toward Jack. I almost laughed.
We placed our orders and the waiter, Paolo, took our menus and disappeared. My mouth was watering already for the Chicken Parmesan. Gah. If I ever move to Italy I'm going to be very happy, very tan, and very pudgy.
"So, how long have you been Alyssa for"
I had just taken a sip of water and I nearly choked on it. Oh holy hand grenades, Batman!
"Excuse me" I felt the panic rising in me, choking my lungs...
"Alyssa. When I met you at the club" Jack said, leaning forward, his eyes piercing. "You never once slipped up. You have to have gone out using that name before."
"Oh, not really" I laughed. Only twenty-one years or so. "Its- it's an old nickname. From college." From birth. "I don't even remember how I got it." Except it involved my mother and a baby name book...
"College, huh" Jack sounded interested. "Where'd you go"
FUCK. Where the hell did she go? Oh hell. Why didn't I say high school"Good ol' local community college. I was a horrible student though. I hated business classes, I'm not sure how I managed to keep it as a major, even."
Which is true. I was a business major once. I loathed it. Marketing isn't much better but at least you get to do stupid ad campaign stuff.
"Where did you go" I asked him, more to get the focus off of me.
"Rutgers, Newark. Graduated with a degree in psychology" Hey, didn't Ranger go there? "Then I joined up with the army for a while."
"Why the army" I asked. I wasn't about to ask what he did in there... okay, yeah I would. Eventually. Maybe. When I felt like risking life and limb.
Jack shrugged. Well, actually his shoulders moved incrementally in the suggestion of a shrug. There must be a RangeMan training course"Moving and how not to do it" or "Conserving Kinetic Energy 101." A Prerequisite for Intro to Mercenary Life. Huh, it must be time to start schedules for next semester. My inner computer has the urge to name classes.
"I didn't know what I wanted to do, wasn't ready for a desk job. I wanted to travel."
"Travel the world, meet interesting people, and kill them" I remembered the old quip one of my friends had been so fond of. Jack blinked at me, and it took a moment to realize I'd said it out loud. Whoops. I felt myself begin to blush.
"Sorry, it's something a friend of mine used to say" I offered by way of explanation.
Jack inclined his head a little, not looking upset in the least. In fact he looked kind of... intrigued. Like some sort of new idea had occurred to him. Uh-oh. He kind of looked like Renee when she got one of her schemes.
"Does it bother you, that I might have killed people"
Oh, boy. Now this is a normal first date conversation... if you're in the CIA.
"Not really. Some people are only alive because it's illegal to kill them" I quoted a bumper sticker I had seen once. A quote got me in this mess- maybe a quote could get me out.
"Besides" I added trying to remember what the hell kind of order the Stephanie series went in"I've killed, too. It would be hypocritical." Please, please let me be right about that, Janet...
"During the Ramirez case."
Squee! Inner victory dance! I kept my features blank, allowing myself only the small upward movement of my lips in the hint of a smile. "Yeah, that" I said, taking a sip of my water.
The rest of dinner passed by in a blur as I found it increasingly difficult to remember the script I was working from and Jack didn't seem interested in talking about himself. Just my luck, there's one guy in the universe that doesn't want to tell you his life's story and I end up going out with him when I can't share mine. Well, I could, but he'd lock me up and start a thorazine drip.
I hate you Janet. That was the thought revolving in my head all night long even as I dug into the superb cheesecake. I hate you, Janet. I hate you for making up this world of wonderful guys and for it all being some sort of hallucination.
Maybe the thorazine drip wouldn't be so bad after all.
"Excuse me, Madame" The waiter was back, looking more stressed than ever. "There's a phone call for you. You can use the courtesy phone"
I frowned, suddenly uncomfortable. A phone call? From who? Or what"Thank you. Where is it" I asked, looking around.
"In the front, miss. I'll show you" He said, stringing his words together into one long string. Poor boy, I made him nervous... I glanced at Jack. He looked a little displeased. Huh, maybe Jack made him nervous. Smart boy after all. I nodded to the waiter and followed him up the front, past the maitre-d, who eyed us suspiciously. I barely repressed the urge to check my shoes for polish.
The young waiter led me to a small cubby I hadn't noticed in the waiting area and handed me a nondescript white phone. Somehow I had expected something more... exotic here. Ah well, nowhere is perfect. He disappeared as I spoke a cautious "Hello"
"Did you like the spiders" wheezed a metallic, synthesized voice. Oh, joy, someone's sibling had given them one of those thingys 'from Home Alone.
"Good evening, Mr Abruzzi or associate thereof. No, I didn't enjoy the spiders. I'm more of a duckie and bunnies type of girl. Even Teletubbies."
There was a low chuckle from Mr. Sharper Image on the other end before the line went dead. I sighed and took a moment to stare at the phone before I hung it up. Hey, Janet, have I mentioned lately how very deeply I loathe you? Stupid corny things like stalkers who enjoy prank phone calls. I bet Abruzzi even tortured flies as a kid, didn't he?
At least this life wasn't boring. And there weren't any history tests. No more algebra either. I smiled, feeling a little better. Probably that says something about my thirst for academic excellence when I prefer the thought of sociopath crime lords to a little homework. Probably I need therapy. Probably I need a shot of Jagermeister.
I mentally ran down the list of alcohol I currently desired as I headed back to the table. If I was myself I would have grabbed Jack, and started dialing my cell for reinforcements. It would have been a Varsity Blues night. It would have been a Dude, Where's My Car night. I was going to be...
"Who was it" Jack asked, pushing in my chair for me. Ah, chivalry. Thank goddess it's not totally dead.
"Just my sister" I said evenly.
"Liar."
Grrr. "I am not lying."
"Yes you are" he said as he sat back in his own seat. His eyes were assessing me, weighing the possibilities. "Now, who was it"
I rolled my own eyes. Fine, be this way. "Probably it was one of Abruzzi's goons. Wanted to know if I liked the spiders."
Jack's face went Ranger-blank. Damn. "They're following you."
"They need a life. Look, someone of his probably saw us and sent word in..." but Jack had his cell phone out and had hit a button. "Or we could just send up the Bat Signal" I muttered down at my pasta. Jack shot me a look. I ignored him, zoning out to look around the crowd. His conversation was short as usual, only the basics of language necessary. No Telephone Manners badge for these Scouts.
"Abruzzi isn't a nice guy, Stephanie" Jack said, setting the phone down. "This could get ugly."
Correction, this would get ugly, I thought, feeling suddenly very tired. "I know" I interrupted before he could get started. "I know he's schizo, I know it's dangerous. I'm training with Mac, and I'm being careful" I smiled to reassure him. Plus, I know what he's going to do, more or less, I added to myself. All I was going to have to do was get the timing right, avoid Pino's, and... uh-oh.
If I didn't get abducted, how would Abruzzi end up dead?
Fuck me.
Just wait, Janet Evanovich. I'll get you, and your little hamster too.
"Come on, beautiful" Jack said, suddenly appearing at my side. "We're going dancing." I sighed in relief and actually laughed. Dancing. Dancing was good. No thinking about anything but mood, music, and a very hot guy with silky blond hair...
"Let's go" I said, letting him help me to my feet and sweep me out the door.