CHAPTER 6

He watched her how she was sitting on the seat like a battle conquerer; he watched how her lips touched the glass putting a new meaning to the word malapert; he watched her how her dark eyes showered ignorance and arrogance at the same time and he watched her how she wasn't even aware of all these things that were making her look desirable in his apparently lifeless eyes.

Then she got up; undulating the atmosphere around and started walking in a wild feline gesture - towards him.

"Hey stranger!" She said, taking the opposite seat, piercing him with radiating eyes.

"Took you a while to notice the knight among soldiers!"

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Samantha watched him carefully as her ignorance slowly turned into interest. Up close he was even more attractive that how he looked from over the table, which is rare.

And he's confident. He seems to be a person who's always present in the moment, Samantha could guess that by his grip on the glass and the little tilt in the head.

"What makes you think you're the knight?"

"I don't think", he smiled lopsidedly, "I know. That's why I can identify another!"

Okay, he doesn't seem to patronize women or judge them just by the looks.

"Don't you think it's a little weird saying things like that the first time you met a woman?"

"To an ordinary woman, no. But a knight, oh yea."

"I'm no night, I'm just a girl in the bar." She refused to play, wanting to see where he takes it.

"I can say the same, but knowing the fact that I'm seeing you for the first time here, I can tell things about you impartially. You are not wearing your outfit, you are wearing your attitude which is awesome. You have been ignoring me for a while thinking I'll just stop looking which means you don't waste time on things what you think is unnecessary. And last but not the least, you were careful and looking out for your drunk friends. You are a knight in shining armor!" He smirked and took a sip of his drink.

Samantha smiled genuinely at that statement.

"So, do you come here often?"

"Not really. Today is a special though."

"And what might that be?"

"My furniture business got a big offer today. In the middle East.... "

Samantha never thought that she would make small talks to a stranger like that. He is straightforward, knows how to talk to a person and make them feel good about themselves and also there was a way of his speech she couldn't understand. It was being difficult to understand at times whether he was making a statement or being sarcastic and she just happened to like that.

And she observed, there is a tinge of green into those electric blue eyes of his.

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Avery and Jill, well, mostly Avery was getting impatient by every second they were watching the duo talking and smiling and making faces. For some reason they seemed to look like old friends catching up together or may be it's just her drunk eyes making her see things.

"Hey Jill, why are they gossiping? Do you see any sign of what we assumed?"

"Umm, no."

"What are they talking about anyway?"

"Only they know."

Samantha would lie if she says she wasn't enjoying this. This guy is a reservoir of stories, from bone chilling to belly tickling; all from regular stuffs but he was representing them in such a way that it made hooked on that uncharacteristically. She was the listener there and paying her full attention to every word he spoke almost forgetting her own drink. He was not gesturing anything lewd so far and she caught on that; deciding to throw a challenge.

Her hand crawled into the Martini he was holding and took out the olive. She brought it near her mouth, held it for a while in between her lips and sucked it in; carefully looking for any change of expression on the face of the man she was sitting in front of.

She saw, for a little instance, his pupils dilated and a breathe was stuck in his throat, making her proud of her unknown potential of seduction. She was once trained with this ancient art for mission purposes, but it never really came handy as she likes to use fists more.

Avery and Jill saw that from a distance and sweatdropped, exchanging 50 bucks.

He was astonished. Not at the meaning of whatever message she wanted to send her but how ravishing it looked on her. She didn't strike him as a regular girl looking around for some physical fun. She was gorgeous and bold; in her own way and it had nothing to do with the lack of feminine gestures.

His eyes shifted from surprise to admiration and Samantha happened to notice that change.

"So, what's on your mind?" She asked.

"Well, it's been a long day. Just waiting for the alcohol to kick in, then a warm bed."

"To sleep."

"To sleep."

"With... "

"With Pillows." They almost said in unison.

"So you're single?"

"I might be. Does it matter?"

"Yes it does. Committee people are crappy in bed."

He kept on staring at her in awe. The more words were coming out from her mouth, the more he was being drawn towards her. She is a trap and she is a mystery. Her eyes bore scars more that a human skin can and she was too young to be this old.

"What makes you think I'm here for sex only?"

"I don't think, I know." He smiled at his own word getting back at him. She continued, "you are playing it cool just to impress me. You think I might take you as a gentleman which will add a plus point on your purpose."

"I see." He cleared his throat, the smile never leaving his lips. "What if I say that it was never in my mind to begin with?"

"You're a f- overconfident if you want me to believe that."

He noticed how her lips formed to say the word 'fool' but it didn't and felt proud at the achievement.

"Well I just have to prove it then! I'm gonna finish this drink and walk out of the bar, waving a goodbye at you from the door; if that will make you believe."

To Samantha's surprise, he actually got up from his seat, drank the last bit of the Martini and stood beside her, ready to leave.

"Well, it was nice meeting you! I look forward to the next time we cross paths again!"

She saw him buttoning his coat and take one step backwards when she found herself reaching out for his arm and grabbing it by the fabric.

"Wait, you didn't tell me your name!"

He smiled from his eyes and took her hand that was holding him. Slowly lifting it up, he planted a kiss on her knucle and said, "I'm just a guy in the bar!"

And then he left, not looking back or waving from the door at all. Samantha stared at his back the whole time hoping it was just an elongated glitch in the matrix.

But it wasn't.

Because something inside her was moved, telling her that she won't be the same ever again.

The way back home was a blurry memory like a dream in the dawn.

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Rats has made a whole colony in this part of the dungeon. With the sewage water running by, it was a perfect habitat for the giant sized rodents.

Samantha walked through all that, ignoring the few time they ran over her steps. Her nose was crinkled with the disgusting smell but her brows were furrowed at the thought of why, after all this time, she was summoned at the base of The Eirineftis.

Carefully calculating the turns and passages, she entered the clean destination clean and waited there to be courted. A while later, Gustavo came into sight with his swagger.

"Hey Sam!"

"You too? It's been a while!"

"Yeah, how've you been?"

"Where are the others?"

"They are here too."

They walked towards the directon where Gustavo leaded and reached the chamber. Samantha entered there to find Sumire, Larry and Christina already there sitting, probably waiting for her.

As soon as they saw her, they came running.

"Hey Sam!"

"You look older!"

"You were very smooth killing that prick! We heard!"

"You guys... " They group hugged. "It's good to see you. Does anyone know why we are here?"

"Not yet. Boss might be arriving any moment."

No sooner did Larry finished his sentence than a hum was heard from the dark gully behind. A tall man, in his fifties appeared and took the seat; while the others stood there in rows.

"I must say, it's really nostalgic to see you all gathered here once again."

"Indeed." They agreed.

"Is there a reason behind all these, Atticus?" Samantha jumped straight to the point. "There must be something for which you summoned us all here."

"That there is."

Everyone held their breath.

"What I'm about to say is the most difficult assignment of your life."

"All of us need to do it together?"

"Yes. It's going to be a long process."

"Well what is it?"

Atticus let out a deep sigh that revealed the gravity of the upcoming mission.

"You need to eliminate the Black Pegasus."