"I'm tired. Where is this place?" Eddy complained, his voice whining on and on like a jammed CD that Mary wished she could break. They were walking the very crowded streets of Shanghai at rush hour, a continual stream of well-dressed business men, fat tourists and disruptive youths. At least Eddy would be easy to see in his bright orange Hawaiian shirt and white slacks.
"It's just ahead okay? Stop your droning." Mary told him. She was telling the truth; the small shop where they were meeting the contact was just ahead.
"Don't tell me to stop. You're not my mother." He replied,
"Be glad I'm not. If I was your Mother, you'd be in an orphanage.."
"And if you were my Mother I'd be happy to go."
She ignored him and when she saw the shop ahead, she put a little kick in her step. Eddy fell behind, he seemed in no rush. Mary entered the shop without him. Inside the walls were a dark green wallpaper with small gold pinstripes. Tables of various sizes and styles displayed what could roughly be called antiques. It just seemed to be old, worthless junk but the Tourists paid good money for it. Behind the counter was a Chinese Man wearing a denim jacket, busily sorting through stacks of dusty, age worn books. Mary approached him just as Eddy came through the glass door and into the shop. He caught up with Mary.
"You two are the agents?" The Chinese Man asked plainly, not taking his eyes from the brittle pages of the book in front of him.
"No." Eddy mocked. "We're two tourists who came in off the streets like idiots to purchase this junk you're hawking." He wandered off to mull about the shop's tables, picking up the occasional item before scoffing at it.
The Chinese Man looked and adjusted his horn-rim glasses. He looked at Mary. "Your friend is certainly charming."
"That's not word I would use." Mary said and decided to get to the point. She leaned her elbows on the counter. "You got the info?"
"Yes." The Chinese Man reached below the counter and brought up a manila envelope. "The lab is under the Han-Zsuing Building. Supposedly it's involved in advanced marketing firm for high-end companies but me and you know better, eh? "
"Will there be civilians to deal with?" Mary stood up straight, grabbing the envelope from the countertop.
"No. The building was closed a few days ago for unscheduled restorations. Everyone's cleared out but there's no evidence of construction. Odd, don't you think?" He gave a knowing wink and smiled. The smile quickly disappeared as Eddy begin to remove a very old spear from it's wall mount.
"Hey! That thing's the only antique in here, leave it be." He shouted at Eddy, who obeyed with a mumble. "Idiot. He somehow manages to find the only thing in the shop worth two cents."
"Be glad you caught him before he started swinging it around." Mary said and realized that they'd probably overstayed their welcome. Eddy confirmed this when he tripped over a rug and crashed headlong into a table of ceramic figurines. He hurried outside as the Chinese man grabbed a broom. He probably only meant to sweep the mess up but Mary was taking no chances. She apologized for Eddy and left as soon as she could.
Eddy was outside the store smoking now, staring up at the sky. Mary slapped his arm.
"Ow." He said.
"What the heck was that? Can you behave like an adult for three minutes?"
"Can you loosen the knot in your knickers?"
Mary stared at him. She regretted getting paired with Eddy but the High Brass had commanded it. If the mission wasn't so important she'd abandon him in an alleyway somewhere. No chance for that however, as annoying as he was she needed him.
"Let's just go. The conatct gave me a map. If we take a left on this -" Mary looked around to see Eddy walking off in a seemingly random direction, hands in his pockets and cigarette in his lips. "Where are you going?" She shouted at him as he walked away. No answer but he kept walking. She groaned and followed him.