Putting on pants was quite fast indeed.
Lena barely had time to react, just looking at him with a slight shock as he put on his shirt, only fastening a few buttons casually, before picking up his coat and car keys.
"Stay in touch, Wildcat."
He leaned down and left a near perfunctory kiss on her forehead.
The door gently closed, leaving only Lena and the lingering ambiguity and lies in the air.
The woman was stunned for a moment, then burst out cursing, "Hey! Aren't you going to pay?"
…
Half an hour later, inside a soundproof phone booth of a noisy 24-hour internet cafe in downtown Toronto.
Ethan inserted a few coins and dialed an extremely complex encrypted number routed through several countries.
The call connected, but there was only the sound of breathing on the other end.
"The wind has changed."
This was the prearranged security code.
After a brief static hiss, Reinhard Tristan Eugen's voice came through.
"Buddy, you changed your number again?"
