Hey, did anyone else think Paulo would end up looking like a really rough, better looking version of Diego Luna? Cause I did :D…and you SO needed to know that --
"There are at least five suspects linked to the case, each have been isolated from the public and from one other-" Li turned the TV off. Listening to it was like listening to a parent, its basic message: stay inside, the outside world is unsafe; it's all just sex crimes, drugs and murders. But Li knew better; the "outside world" was a place of beauty and wonderment, she knew because she'd run through it, saved it before, years ago. The people in this city, in London, had no idea what it meant to be alive, living in this world. She shook her head and looked back to the documents open in her lap.
She knew as much information as the government did about her friends now. She found that she'd laughed at discovering some of their information. Picking up her mug of coffee she took a sip and read through the last known location of each of them. It was so typical of them, wanting to be unknown by the authorities, because in the end they had all known this would happen; that someone would want them to work for them. But that's not what they wanted; their missions were usually where they had some control themselves, being an employee meant they had no control. So they split up, lost ties, travelled the world, in hope that they'd be left alone. She picked up the nearest file and knew who she wanted to see first. He wouldn't be too hard to find.
The heat was overwhelming in this part of the Arizona desert. Not only did it kill your enthusiasm for anything, it made route 66 seem to stretch on for far longer than it really was. Made you stop more then, made you drink more, made you kill time by sleeping. It was so hot in fact that Paulo had at least two fans on him, one above and one beside him. Like he always did when he came to this tavern. He sat back lazily, lounging out amongst the humid chaos, his feet up on the table, a cigarette loosely gripped in his right hand. A bead of sweat ran from underneath his slightly long, messy hair, past his sunglasses, along his rough, unshaven cheeks, down his neck and under his shirt. He looked incredibly rough, like a criminal on the run, like a cracked and chipped diamond. That didn't stop at least three women in the bar glancing over to him every now and then, in vain hope that he would look around. He lay beneath a glowing neon sign that said, "The Red Moon," the name of the dingy tavern he was in. He didn't move, he just sat, absorbed by the heat, by his own charismatic aroma that attracted so many to him. He was so absorbed that he didn't even jump, nor register the fact that someone had thrown something on the table in front of him. Probably another car part that needed fixing, he waited a few moments before dragging his boots off the table, sitting upright, removing his sunglasses and placing his cigarette in his mouth. He muttered something about being disturbed before looking up at his customer. The cigarette fell from his mouth.
"Hello, Paulo." Li said quietly with a smirk. He stood up slowly, taking in the new image of the girl he once knew. Well, it had only been six years but she wasn't a girl anymore. Even though the bar was dimly lit he could see that the woman that stood in front of Paul, though still being petite, had more curve than he remembered. Perhaps it was just the fact that she was flaunting them more than she used to; with her tight ¾ jeans and she had tied a knot at the bottom of her shirt to show her midriff. Her angled eyes appraised him with similar surprise; Paulo had gone from a messy teenage boy, to a rough, handsome man. They stared at each other for a little while. "Can I sit with you?" Li said after a moment, Paulo nodded, his mouth suddenly dry. He held his hand up to the barmaid and beckoned her over; he must do that a lot because she knew what to do. She brought over two drinks, what they were Li had no idea but she was thirsty so she didn't care. The pretty barmaid stopped as she was about to leave their table and smiled at them both.
"Last time I saw you look at a woman like that you were pretty heartsick Rico." She winked at him and walked away, still he said nothing, just stared at Li in disbelief.
"How've you been, Rico?" Li asked, smiling slightly at Paulo's discomfort towards what the barmaid said. He grunted a response.
"Good." He said, stubbing out his cigarette on the dirty table in front of him. "How've you been?" He asked, dreading the answer.
"Oh, you mean since you left me waiting for you at the train station six years ago?" She said bitterly.
"You still upset about that?" He said quietly.
"Yeah, kinda." She said quickly, taking a sip of her drink. She immediately regretted it; the liquid was warm and thick, like syrup in her mouth, she swallowed it quickly and didn't touch the drink again.
"Apart from that?" He asked and drained his glass in one. He smirked; Li was sat upright, still, completely unfitting into this place, unlike the rest of the girls here, who swayed unconsciously to the music that hung in the air.
"Fine." She lied.
"How did you find me?" He asked, completely dumbfounded, "I've managed to go undetected for at least three years, I was pretty pleased with myself but now…you turn up." He gestured at her and she smiled mischievously.
"What's with the name Rico anyway; you a criminal now?" She changed the subject quickly, he chewed his bottom lip and decided to overlook it.
"I don't like people around here knowing who I am." He shrugged, "so if you could keep my past off the topic of conversation it would be much appreciated." He leant back as though he'd finished the matter.
"You mean it would be much appreciated so you don't have to talk about what you did-"
"Hey!" Paulo said and took her hand that was lying on the table, "you don't think I regretted it? Everyday you don't think I thought about you-"
"You were always just words to me." She said quietly but he noticed she didn't move her hand away.
"Forget you then!" He said and moved back again, taking his hand off hers. "What about the others; I didn't mean to just, forget you all." He said quietly. "I'm sorry." He ran a hand wearily though his hair.
"Well why don't you tell them that yourself-"
"They're here?" He jumped up in excitement to meet his old friends but looked down to Li who shook her head solemnly. He sat down and waited for her to explain.
"I was approached by a guy named Brain Adams," she waited for him to catch on, her sentence could only mean one thing, he shrugged and she sighed in irritation. "He wants us to work for him." Paulo had lost interest already; he didn't work for anyone involved with a government and he knew that's what she was insinuating. "He's willing to pay just under 750,000." That got his attention. "And judging by the places you hang out," she glanced around the dingy tavern, "I'd say that's an offer you can't refuse." She smiled weekly at him in a way he remembered and found himself smiling, she may have just offended him but she was beautiful when she smiled. And she couldn't help but laugh at his school boy-like grin that he had when evaluating her offer. They sat in silence for a while and in that time Li noticed, as her Alpha Force days had made her good at noticing things, that at least four women kept glancing over to them, she grimaced.
"What're we doing for him?" Paulo asked and Li shrugged.
"No idea; says he'll tell us when we all get together." Paulo thought about what that meant; Alpha force was getting back together, he'd see his old friends again. "It'll be like old times," she added to see his reaction. His face clouded over with reminisce.
"Old times?" He said dreamily, "they're my favourite kind of times." He spoke slightly nonsensical and Li laughed. He finally snapped out of it and looked at her; taking her hand again he looked her in the eye. "If I say yes when do we leave?" She contemplated.
"First thing in the morning; I'm not riding a bike to the airport at night, in the desert." She said slowly.
"We got bikes…as in motorbikes?" He said with loving caress in his voice and she nodded, he gave a low whistle, "I take it Adams is paying for everything?" She nodded again. "We've got to find the others ourselves though?"
"Yep. We'll decide where to go from here in the morning."
"Alright…" his voice trailed away and she could feel the rising excitement in him as the thought of a reunion and a new mission. "So you'll be spending the night in the motel opposite this place?" He asked and she recognised the twinkle in his eye immediately.
"Yeah." She mumbled.
"I'm there too." He said happily, "so really…you'll be spending the night with me?" He winked at her; she shook her head and stood up to leave.
"You'll be lucky," she said and turned away from him.
"Exactly." He said and stood up after her; he smiled as he heard her laughter and walked out of the tavern in her wake. "I don't see no ring on your finger." He said conversationally as they walked through the darkness, across the road. "And judging by the way you keep smiling at me I'm guessing you don't have someone back home do you?" She stopped walking and turned to him, he almost cowered when he saw the look on her face.
"Why don't you just stop?" She said loudly, "our boat sailed a long time ago." She started walking again and did not turn back to him when he shouted out.
"How many times do i have to tell you I'M SORRY!" He yelled but she didn't turn to him again, she walked straight into the building and waved a hand at him to say goodnight. He raised a hand in acknowledgment and swore out loud; they weren't kids anymore, they couldn't tease each other into gaining affection. Well, agreeing to do this meant he had plenty of time to spend with her, to get her to change her mind.
What's really difficult about this story is staying in character, because they're older they've obviously changed but you have to write not to the extent that they're unrecognisable or easy to dislike…whew this is a difficult task!
Review appreciated!