44 - Going to a Date#2

Mrs. Ndongo parked her 4x4 in a parking lot near the square, blackened by the falling night and the many tourists. She raised her handbrake and disengaged her seatbelt, inviting me to do the same. As the rumble of the car escaped into the empty air of the underground parking lot, Ms. Ndongo and I sighted. Poor us, we had been holding such tension the whole time we were on the road. I smiled at my ex-boss; it reassured me to know that we were on the same wavelength.

She didn't smile back at me right away, as she turned her head away and unfolded the car's built-in mirror. She stared at her hair ends, which were absolutely perfect, and decided they weren't good enough, for whatever reason. She combed her hair.

"Miss, if you allow me to speak, I think you've combed your hair enough. We're in the middle of the road."

She combed her hair for some more seconds before she registered what I just told her. Then, as if she got out of her trance, she stopped the mechanical combing of her head, "What about my jacket? It is well-ironed, yes? You're sure of it?"

I shook my head. I was going to have torticollis tonight.

She put her pocket mirror back where it belonged. In a bag, "In that case...let's go."

We finally got out of the car and went to the meeting place to see... nobody. It was not so abnormal, we had arrived 5 minutes early.

Then came 20h 05 and 20h 10. After 15 minutes late, Boss was glaring at me, as if it was my fault.

"She may be had a problem?"

She gave me back her killer glare. I admit that I didn't feel good at the time. What if Henriette didn't come? My beautiful new clothes were starting to smell like sweat.

"Song-ho, if you lied on the date just to save your life...." She put her hand in her pocket, and her chest 'clicked', "I'll finish you off here and now without any procedures."

I didn't have the time to scream; a redhead storm dashed to us.

Henriette slowed down her marathon and panted, "Sorry I'm late. I... I had problems..."

Mrs. Ndongo dropped the magnum in the inside pocket of her jacket and stared at Henriette. The newcomer gave her back her long glance. Neither of them said anything. I could understand, they had seen each other for the first time since Henriette was known to be working for the State.

They still didn't say anything to each other, but Henriette walked forward, with a reserved step, towards her lover. She looked at her tenderly, before slapping her, "That was for asking Song-ho to kill me! Are you out of your mind?"

I pulled off my hair, "Shit shit, shit."

The other woman reacts only by closing her eyelids. Henriette gave her a second one, "And that's for getting Francis killed, and for all the mischief your organization has committed!"

She opened her eyes and stared at Henriette directly into her pupils. I would have pissed myself if I had been the target of her gaze. Even Henriette trembled. Nadine Ndongo crossed her arms, "I don't know why I agreed to come to see you. It seems clear that we can't get along. I have my job, you have yours. And you have every right to have a different opinion than I do... I'm sorry, we're no longer compatible."

Henriette's palm that had struck turned red. She took it in her other hand and shook her head, "I didn't come here for nothing, and I wasn't finished!" Her eyes were puffy, "Nadine...Maybe our jobs are not compatible, but what if we were mere women?" She directed her hand towards her lover's hand and then stopped along the way, before continuing, "Without our professions, what would we have become? "

Mrs. Ndongo glanced at the now trembling hand of the woman she loved and sighed, "Mere women... "She took her in her arms, "If we had nothing between us, I would tell you that I love you."

Henriette stopped trembling, outlined a smile, and then broke into tears in Mrs. Ndongo's chest..,

Seeing them reconcile soothed my heart. But what would please me the most is if Xiao and I too were to have this discussion. After all, the problem is the same; he and I are working on different goals, but I was just a mere dancer...Ah! I should go to see him! I should call him!

I searched for my phone in my pocket but didn't have it on me. Of course, it was in ly room in the opérette with the rest of my stuff.

My only way to contact him was coiled between the two women. Well, I couldn't do it any other way. I went to meet them and asked them what they needed to contact Wei Xiaojian. Henriette, too happy to think about anything, threw her smartphone at me.

I pressed 'Song's little darling' and waited with the microphone close to my ear. A tone went by, then a second one. I stamped my foot.

At the third tone, Xiao's warm voice greeted me, "Is this just a game to you? You dare to murder my people, disappear, and then call me? What for, to taunt me? Listen to me well, Mrs. Henriette Daucourt, as soon as we find you, we will..."

"I should have known you'd have that reaction." I wasn't listening to the hundreds of insults and threats headed to the phone's owner.

"What were you expecting, you police bitc..."

"Xiao, that's me. Please stop."

The person on the other side of the phone stayed silent for a moment, "What was I even expecting? I was right; you're with the enemies now."

"No, wait! That's not true. She wouldn't.have comes with me otherwise."

"Who?"

"Well, Miss Nd...." I stopped myself. To reveal the presence of Miss Ndongo near her so-called 'enemy' was going to create problems, wasn't it? I kept my lips sealed.

"If you have nothing more to say, I'll go. I'm busy."

Xiao and my chance to make up with him would fly away if I didn't act now! "Don't hang off! I..." I turned some strands of hair around my fingers, "I want to see you. We have to talk."

"I understand. "

My heart skipped a beat, "Really?"

"You neutralized the Puma and now I'm you're next adversary. Next time we see each other, I'll take your life."

I felt the weight of the world crash on my shoulders. My finger released my hair and fell back on my thigh, lifeless, "My...life?"

Was he loving torturing me?

"Where do you want to do it?"

Despite his murderous intentions, I wasn't going to give up on him, "I don't know. Not too far away. Let's say under the Eiffel Tower, in thirty minutes." He couldn't do anything with that many tourists anyway.

Police alarm ringed hard on our ears. The rotating beacons lighted up our faces. Ironically, Henriette lost her colors, "She followed me!"

Policemen got out of their vehicles, like a sad-looking woman in smoking. The size of those bags under her eyes would scare off anybody. She laughed and pointed to Miss Ndongo, "That's your internet crush? The CEO of the Parisian mob? I know why you have a gun now. Why did you keep that a secret? I know that you're on their trails for two months?

Henriette threw a panicked glance to her lover, "Grenadine! Stop, you're lying."

Miss Ndongo widened her eyes, "You...have a weapon with you?"

"Nadine please, it's not what you think...."

"I'd hear I thought you could become part of my plan. I would have protected you."

"Your murderous clan? Are you crazy or what?"

No, they shouldn't argue anymore! My hopes of harmony couldn't stop Miss Ndongo to put her in the pocket of her vest and take out her firearm, "Seduce your target to trap them? You're a spider! How could I have thought a policewoman could betray her country for me?"

Henriette started to shake, for real, this time.

Miss Ndongo smirked, "Look at me, Henriette. Can you see anything more than hatred and deception in my eyes?"

When Henriette rose her head to her, she saw the smiled Boss gave me every time she came back from the opérette. That smile could melt anyone. How could people like David stayed near that monster so long, if Nadine Ndongo's mysterious humanity didn't have something to do with it?

Henriette, like the girl I always thought I knew beamed like the sun. She aimed at Miss Ndongo, "Ah! Sacrebleu! I'm the most spidery spider. Of course, I have 'ever loved you." She tried not to chuckle.

They shot on themselves with as much precision as police freshmen, while screaming at each other lines from the sappiest dramas. The policemen tried to shoot the CEO of the Firm, without much success.

The one named Grenadine scrubbed her arms so hard she could bleed. She seemed to swear.

As for me, I was pretty proud of the result of this date. I got on my way to join Xiao. Talking through him shouldn't be that complicated.