We regrouped at the hotel. We looked at old friends and family of Richard's in the area, and after a few days of recon on them they were cleared. Richard was not here.
"Where on earth could he be?" I practically shouted. I slammed my Association laptop shut. I was getting frustrated. It had never been this hard to find a target before.
"Don't worry," Hades said from the opposite bed in the motel room. "We'll find him."
Hades' calm demeanor irritated me more.
"I'm going for a walk," I said. I practically snapped at him, but at this point Hades is pretty much used to my outbursts.
I put on my boots, slipped my gun into it's holster behind my back and headed out the door, grabbing my jacket on the way.
It was a drizzling outside, just a fine mist. I slipped my jacket on and headed off in a random direction. Soon, I had made it to a small diner. Maybe coffee would help.
I walked in and sat at a random booth. The waitress almost immediately came up to me, and after a nod poured me a cup of coffee.
I looked around, there were hardly any people in here. Then my eyes landed on someone in the corner of the room, and my body froze up. Chills ran down my spine. I don't know if it was instinctual or if it was just because I knew what they craved for.
Goddamn creepy Aevis.
What the hell was one doing in a diner?
These things lived underground, hardly ever making contact with humans. And this one, their icy blue eyes staring right back into mine, was holding a cup of coffee, pretending to read a menu.
I knew he wasn't going to order. He, or she, impossible to tell, knew they weren't going to order.
"An Aevis pretending to be human?" I thought, "that's a new one."
I debated walking up to that booth in the corner. I really did. But Aevis creeped me out more than anything.
And then the craziest thing happened.
The waitress walked over.
The Aevis winked at me.
And then he ordered.