The cab pulled up to the coffee house. They were about 19 minutes early and headed straight for the door.
“Snipers on the Town Hall roof. I saw at least five of them.” Vanessa said out loud as they entered the Java Jolt for the second time in as many days.
“Got it,” Yumi said into everyone’s ears. “Bricks, are you in place?”
“Will be in 3 minutes.” Bricks said as he turned his hands into bricks and began punching a hole into the side of the large hill located at the edge of the town, and that gave him a view of the back of the Rocky Mount town hall. Bricks was to be the lookout and, if necessary, help provide an escape route.
Jackson and McNair starred at the screens as the two dynamics walked into the coffee shop. The female went straight to the counter, and the man with the hoodie peeled off and went into the men’s restroom.
“Should we report that he went straight to the bathroom?” Jackson asked McNair
“Of course, haven’t you seen the Godfather?” McNair replied. Jackson laughed but got on the communication channel and told everyone that the male had gone straight to the restroom.
Ewan alerted his team that it was time to head over. He and a group of three men walked out the front of the Town Hall and proceeded down the long driveway and across the street to the Java Jolt. He would be a little early, but he didn't want to give them time to execute any crazy plans in a coffee shop.
Scott returned from the bathroom and joined Vanessa, seated at the same table they sat on the day before. He removed the hoodie from his head but left on his baseball cap. He took a sip from the coffee Vanessa had gotten for him and glanced up to see Ewan walk in Java Jolt behind two of his men and a third that posted up outside the door. Ewan and his men walked briskly to the table.
"I need you both to stand up and be searched for weapons." Ewan plainly said
"Nice to see you too, Ewan." Vanessa quipped as both she and Scott stood up and allowed Ewan's men to pat them down. No weapons were found, and the pair sat back down.
"Tomorrow at 1:00 pm come to the Town Hall. Just Scott, no one else." Ewan glanced at Vanessa before continuing. Vanessa rolled her eyes as a minor form of protest. "You have 10 minutes to impress Siren, and if you don't, it won’t end well for you. If you don't have anything or are thinking of trying anything stupid, leave town now. To be honest, that is probably the only way this ends well for you, so I suggest you leave tonight, or there is no turning back."
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"I am shocked at the lack of optimism, Ewan," Scott said as he reclined back into his seat.
"We are risking our necks to bring you guys information," Vanessa added
"I know you guys may be a big deal in the North-eastern territory, but you don’t mean squat to me. I frankly have wasted too much energy on you, and you should consider yourself lucky that Siren will even meet you." Ewan rammed his knuckles into his hands and cracking them. A loud pop crackled out of his massive knuckles.
"I doubt your information is useful. I am almost certain of it because it's my job to know everything important and I am excellent at my job. But please surprise me tomorrow and bring something useful. I will welcome it wholeheartedly. Or don't, I will enjoy dishing out the consequences of wasting Siren's and my time. It’s a win/win situation for me" Ewan flashed a cold half-smile.
"It's a shame Scott, we have seen it a million times." Vanessa stirred her coffee with a spoon.
"I venture to say that we have indeed, Vanessa," Scott replied
"There is nothing worse than a guard dog that thinks he is the master," Vanessa said and took a sip of her coffee. "It's hard to watch when their hubris eventually leaves them out in the cold while the master doesn’t even notice." A red patch appeared on Ewan's shiny bald head and grew, covering most of his face and head. He tightly gripped his fists. He took a deep breath and stood up.
"Tomorrow at 1:00 pm. Just Scott." Ewan walked quickly out of the building. He didn't say a word to his men and didn't slow his pace until he made it across the street and in the driveway of the Town Hall.
Ewan grabbed his communication device from his jacket pocket and spoke into it.
"Did you guys see anything?" A voice responded that he thought was Jackson, but he also wasn’t' certain it wasn't McNair.
"As soon as you left, the male went into the bathroom again and quickly came back out. He and the girl just walked out and are waiting for a car to pick them up. He glanced over and saw Scott with his hood up again, Vanessa standing on the curb, and a cab pulled up, and they got in. The car pulled away.
"Go have someone sweep that bathroom and make sure he did not put anything in there." Ewan watched the cab drive off in the distance. He thought that the con artists were up to something, and he wanted to know what. No, it was his business to know what they were up to. He understood that they were trying to make him angry to throw him off his game. He did well not to engage, he thought. He was proud of himself. In the past, he would have lost his temper. He turned and headed back into the town hall. He walked like a man with a purpose straight to the room housed below the kitchen. He walked straight up to the center console where Jackson and McNair sat.
"I want to be updated every two hours on everything that group does. Everything." Ewan said to the two men.
"Yes, Sir," both men echoed, and with that, Ewan turned and left the room.