It took me a minute to compose myself before I stood up as well, our faces finally leveling.
"How did you - I mean where could you even have…" I was completely wordless. The fact that she'd been able to locate me as if unintentionally blew my mind.
It appeared though, based on her response, that she had no time for wordlessness.
"Look, I've got another client waiting in a few hours, so let's talk business." She stood there and tapped her foot rapidly, as if my delay in cognition was costing her time and therefore money. I quickly regained my composure as we delved into conversation.
"So," she said. "Remind me of what exactly it is you're trying to do here. Is there a specific one I need to jam, or…?"
I glanced around, watching the skies above the area. Based on the dozens of people surrounding them, the clear blue sky was cluttered with what was probably half a ton of steel in CCTV cameras. I looked back down at her.
"No. Not one. I want you to teach me." Taken aback by this statement, she sighed and turned away.
"You know," she said. "This kind of talent doesn't come for free."
"I'm well aware of that." She turned to face me once more.
"Imagine you walk into an exotic animals shop. It's the only one in town. You walk in, and you buy all the animals off of the owner. Oh, and don't forget that you ask the owner how to collect more. The owner goes bankrupt, and the buyer begins to profit off of the huge amount of money that the exclusive business he now monopolizes rakes in every month."
"Linda, please." Right as the word "Linda" was uttered from my lips, her expression shifted from annoyance to anger. From nusciansed to appalled. She began to raise her voice, a risk in a public space like this one.
"So help me god, if I ever hear that name again, I will sever your head from your body and chain it to my wall with your blood and bones. You clear?"
I sighed, crossing my arms, before turning away from her. "I'm not saying it."
"It's the name I go by now, it's what you'll call me."
"I refuse."
"Remember. Head. Severed."
With a sigh, I muttered curses under my breath before turning back to face her. Forcing a smile, I continued.
"So, Miss Dangerous," I said, gritting my teeth. "Are you going to teach me or not?" She smirked before replying with a sense of narcissism that annoyed me to no avail.
"Miss Dangerous will think about it," she said, smiling as she sarcastically whipped her head away from me.
My conscience got the better of me, and I erupted. "Linda, this is bullshit. I'm not putting up with this any longer."
She scowled at me, but didn't scream herself, instead rising to her feet and taking a step away from me, talking with her back turned.
"Well then I believe our time here is done."
She began to walk away. I wasn't done yet, though, so I quickly followed, our walking conversation standing out amongst the crowd.
"Why are you so persistent about that name?"
She stopped for a moment, looking down at the ground, before she straightened out and continued walking.
"Linda is a part of my past. I'm Miss Dangerous now, and there's nothing to be done that can change that." She resumed her stroll.
I decided that this topic was no longer worth pursuing. Instead, I attempted to shift the conversation back to my original intent: CCTV signal interference.
"So," I said. "About those cameras…"
This time, she stopped dead on, got all up in my face, and gave me a stern response. "Leon, I'm not selling you my skills. They're all I have left, and I can't just give them up that easily."
I stood up, marching her eye level. "If money's the concern, then this should be no problem at all. I can fund it, alright? I can afford any price you throw at me." I smiled smugly, though no internally I was digging my way into a hole. "Hell," I said. "I'll even throw out a starting bid. How does 35,000 sound?"She turned away once more, walking away as she talked.
"First of all, you're bluffing, you have nothing near 35,000." Before I even had a chance to reply, she cut me off. "Just trust me, I know. Secondly, that wouldn't nearly cut it for the value of what you're asking for. So, as I said before, our conversation has concluded. Goodbye, Leon."
I tried to run after her, but she soon neared the ferry's parking lot. She crossed the street, and vanished behind a departing car.
I turned around, looking out at the water. In pure agony, I kicked over the garbage can nearby the bench we were sitting at.
My seething continued for a few moments before I realized the gold that had just poured out of the mound of trash.
Whether it be by way of divine intervention or some odd miracle, she had left her cell phone on the rim the trash can.
And I had a pretty good idea on how to unlock it.