What She Thought She Knew (Rachel Moore Mystery Book 1), стр. 53

"Crap," he said abruptly, "I forgot how much I missed alcohol."

I stifled back laughter as I took in my friend's strange new behavior. "Is alcohol the only thing that you miss? Nothing else?" I asked slyly.

As oblivious as ever, Fear went along with it. "I miss being a kid, where I all cared about was going home after school to play video games. Those were the best times of my life. I fucking hate this war; I hate being an Assassin."

I stared at Fear in confusion, then at his drink as I wondered why he was opening up so much.

Just what was in that drink?

All of a sudden, Fear seemed to have sobered up, and stared at me as if he wondered the exact same thing that I did.

I could only blink as I didn't know how to react.

After a moment of just staring at each other, Fear finally looked away, and stared at his drink.

He pushed it back as far from him as he could, before he turned to face me again. "This is exactly why I stopped drinking long ago." He said seriously.

I couldn't help but lean my head back and laugh.

When I calmed down, I was met by the sight of a confused and slightly annoyed Assassin. "What's so funny?" He asked.

I chuckled a bit before I answered. "Don't you remember the good ole' days when we used to raid your cousin's liquor cabinet after Seeker Basic and just drink the night away? Those days were a blast."

Fear's expression softened slightly as he remembered the memories.

For a brief moment, we both traveled back in time to a place before the severity of the Phantom threat became out of control.

I didn't bother hiding the smile that appeared on my face as I basked in the nostalgia that overwhelmed me.

As usual, all good things had to come to an end as I was pulled from my thoughts by the female agent leaning against the bar and ordering a drink.

I smirked as an idea popped into my head. "You know what you need Fear?" I asked.

My friend raised an eyebrow. "That new Devil's bow with heat detection features I saw in the Seeker market?" He answered.

I shook my head and chuckled softly.

I pushed back against the bar, and stood up straight. "No," I said.

That time I allowed myself to grin widely. "What you need is a date."

With that, I walked past a confused Fear, towards the female agent.

I coughed to get her attention. "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice you checking out my friend. How about I introduce you to him?"

The red-haired woman merely blinked as I turned to face Fear.

Said person visibly tensed, something that he normally never did, once he saw her.

I grabbed him firmly by the back of his light armor, and guided him to the woman.

The few meters there seemed to have been longer as Fear did his best to resist my pull without making it obvious.

Fortunately for me, I was stronger and I literally shoved him pretty close to the woman's face. "This here is my friend, Agent Fear. He would like to buy you a drink, wouldn't he?" I gave Fear a face that relayed the message "disagree with me, and you'll be breathing through a new hole somewhere."

Luckily, Fear was smart enough to keep his mouth shut, and merely nodded hesitantly.

I smiled at the female agent. "So, what would you like to drink?"

The woman blinked in confusion. "I'll just have an apple martini. I'm not much of a heavy drinker." She answered in her smooth voice.

I purposely widened my eyes in excitement. "Really? Oh wow, Fear's not much of a heavy drinker too! You guys have only just met, and already you have one thing in common." I pressed an uncomfortable Fear beside the female agent. "Who knows, maybe you two are more alike than you think."

Right on time, the bar tender set the female agent's drink in front of her.

Said person took the drink and slowly downed it all before she set the empty glass on the counter.

I leaned against the bar on Fear's other side, and nudged him.

He looked at me with a glare, though his cheeks were red.

Inwardly, I smirked as I enjoyed tormenting him. "Tell her that she looks nice." I whispered.

My friend stared at me in shock, but quickly looked away, and grumbled in his breath.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" The female agent asked.

Fear grunted. "I said that you look like a nice person." He repeated.

"Oh, thank you, I think." The woman replied.

"Ask her what her name is." I whispered again.

Fear cleared his throat quietly. "Uh, what's your name?" He asked.

The woman turned to face him, her hazel eyes studied him intensely. "I'm Agent Claire: Combat Specialist, though I do participate in recon missions from time to time."

"A Combat Specialist, huh? Maybe you two could spar sometime?" I suggested.

Agent Claire shrugged. "Sure, if Agent Fear is up to it." She replied smoothly.

I grinned. "Oh, Fear is up to it all right. He enjoys sparring in his free time."

"Really?" Claire asked, faking surprise. "Maybe we can spar when we're both free?"

"I'm sure you can," I said. "Fear's been itching to put his far-out reach to the test, though he's never found a sparring partner with enough flexibility." I put in all my effort to stifle my laughter.

"Oh? I'm pretty flexible." Agent Claire replied.

I had to turn away to stifle the laughter that threatened to burst from my soul.

Fear turned to face me and glared as he knew what I meant by my statement.

I gave him an innocent look, and focused my attention on the woman. "I couldn't help but notice your accent. Where