CHAPTER 27. Introducing the Mission
1992 Words
Pearl dropped Crystal off at the boulevard and left after Carol called her because Roxanne was having a tantrum and was asking for her.
“Crystal!” Jason has arrived late. Crystal was standing against the wall facing the ocean.
“I’m sorry, I’m late.” he apologized but Crystal just ignored him and walked past him towards his car. Jason scratched the back of his neck and just followed the lady, positioning himself on the driver’s side.
“What happened to you? Did you cry?” He noticed her swollen eyes, but Crystal was still in her distant manner.
“I need to take a shower first.” she suddenly announced.
“Shower?” Jason confusingly repeated.
“If you want to hire me as your asset inside that place, I have to take a shower first.”
“But why haven’t you taken a shower first at your house before meeting with me?” he retorted, as he felt uneasy with her presence.
“Never mind then,” Crystal replied and about to step out of the car but the man stopped her by holding her arm.
“Fine. I’ll take you to my apartment then,” he agreed and started the engine.
After driving along with the city in just a few minutes, they arrived at his apartment building. Jason guided Crystal inside the lift and pressed the third floor button. While waiting, he took a glance at Crystal and noticed that there is something different about her, but he just can’t point it out. Until finally the door opens and leads her to his door. He opened it and let the lady get in first. His apartment has one room and a small living space. It also has a kitchen sink and bathroom, a decent chamber than the one she has, Crystal commented. She is not complaining about what she has, but only misses her life when she still has her parents.
“I’m sorry about the mess,” Jason apologized as he shoved the clothes that scattered on the couch and went to his room to take out a clean towel, then handed it to Crystal.
“Here and there’s the bathroom, take your time.” He said, pointing to the door beside the sink.
“What about clothes?” he inquired.
“Isn't it obvious that I don't have any with me? So I guess I’ll be using the same one,” she bluntly answers, still in a lifeless tone. Jason sighs, looking at her, and walks inside his room to get a clean shirt and a boxer.
"Use this for the meantime." He hands her his clothes.
"Don't worry, I'll be discussing the mission with you first before we can start. So we will execute our plan by tomorrow night." He explained but the lady only nodded at him and turned, walking towards the bathroom, leaving Jason behind who couldn't help to take a glance at her perfect curves from behind.
While Crystal is in the bathroom, Jason is busy cleaning up his place. He also prepared something to eat and now feels like an i***t for trying to impress the lady.
‘What am I doing?’ he complained, looking down at himself while holding the pan as he was cooking pasta for the lady.
After a while, Crystal comes out from the bathroom with his shirt and boxers on. He felt his heart skip because of the view while he kept his eyes on her.
“What are you cooking?” Suddenly Crystal asked and stepped forward to look at what’s inside the pan but the man can’t respond as he is busy examining her entire body, including her scent. Aside from that, Crystal was so close to him he even felt that he’s about to go crazy, especially his heart, which was throbbing so fast because of her presence.
“Jason,” Crystal wakes him up.
“Ye-yes? I’m so sorry about that. I was just cooking pasta for you.” he answered and looked back at the pan but when he turned, his eyes widened and panic rose in him.
“Oh, crap!” He immediately turned off the stove as the sauce was almost dry and burnt while Crystal was laughing softly at him.
“Don’t laugh at me, it is your fault.” he irritatingly said, shaking his head while trying to save the food, but when he turned to the lady, she’s already shedding tears while crumpling the towel with her hands.
“No! I didn’t mean that. What I mean is, I was just too distracted and forgot what I was doing.” He tried to explain, but it didn’t help as Crystal just turned away and sat on the couch while covering her face with her hands as she continued crying. Jason followed her and crouched in front of her.
“I’m sorry, please stop crying.”
“I always put everyone in danger, first my parents and now my friend. I don’t know what to do with my life anymore.” She mumbled between her whimpers.
“Crystal, what are you talking about? What happened earlier is just because of my negligence.”
“But you said that it was my fault.”
“No, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have said that.” He apologized and sighed.
“I’ll just get the food so we can start already,” Jason said and stood up while Crystal started wandering her eyes around Jason’s apartment until her eyes darted to a photo frame hanging on the wall and stared at it closely.
“That’s my parents,” Suddenly the man uttered while putting down the food on the center table.
“They passed away a long time ago, I was your age back then. After that, my grandparents took me in and took care of me. What about you? What do you mean by putting your parents in danger that you mentioned earlier? What exactly happened to them?"
“I don’t know. When I returned to our island, only the burned house welcomed me. I’m honestly not sure what happened to my parents, but I hate to think that they have left me for good.”
"You came from an island?"
"Yes," Crystal timidly answered and sat back on the couch, but her eyes suddenly darted to the pasta.
"Is that a shrimp?" She frowned with furrowed eyebrows.
"Yeah! Here, taste it. I'm sure you'll like it." Jason excitedly offers and hands her a plate full of pasta in red sauce and plenty of seafood.
"Thank you, but I can't." Crystal declined.
"Huh? But why? Are you allergic to seafood?" He concluded, and the lady just nodded her head in response.
"I should have asked you first," Jason mumbled, scratching his head.
"Anyway, don't worry, I can just order us a pizza," he added.
"I want waffles." Crystal demanded shyly.
"Waffle?" Jason repeated as he softly chuckled at her, and she nodded.
"Well, I don't have waffles, but I guess a pancake will do as a substitute. What do you think?"
“Sounds good.” Crystal agreed with a wide smile.
“Alright then, just wait here and I’ll prepare it for you.”
“Can I help you?” Crystal offered and stood up as well.
“You sure?”
“Yes,” she answered excitedly, but Jason abruptly swallowed when he noticed Crystal was wearing nothing under his shirt and her tiny buds were poking against the fabric.
‘Is she trying to kill me?’ he unbelievably accused, wiping the sweat that formed on his forehead.
“Jason?”
“Ye-yeah! I’m coming.” He finally followed Crystal to the sink and prepared the ingredients they needed. Crystal mixes the batter while he prepares the pan.
“Aren’t you sad about living alone?” Suddenly Crystal questioned while waiting at the table.
“I’m actually not living alone. I’m only staying here for the mission and after this, I’ll be back to our house where my grandmother and sister are.”
“I see. By the way, what exactly is it that I needed to do to comply with the mission and how much are you going to pay me?” The lady inquired, feeling determined to do the job.
“Are you sure you can do it? You know, my friend needs a helper in his restaurant. I can recommend you to him.” Jason suggested while putting down the plate on the table in front of Crystal with already cooked pancakes with dried fruits on it. He also offered syrup and went back to the stove to cook the remaining pancake batter.
“Thank you.” and she takes a huge bite. Crystal suddenly realizes that she hasn’t eaten yet since she rises from the water and again remembers her parents of how they took care of her. A tear escaped from her eyes and Jason noticed it.
“Crystal, what happened? Is it bad?” astounded by her sudden emotion.
“It tastes good. I’m sorry, just don’t mind me. I’m fine,” she denied, wiping her tears off.
“I only can work at night, Jason. If your friend needed a helper in the daytime, then I can’t accept it.” Crystal added.
“But why?”
“Because I’m not available. That’s it.” she bluntly answered while munching the food.
“Alright,” he declared, and delivered the last batch of pancakes to the table. He took a seat across from the lady and watched her as she ate.
“So, as per to our informant, Margaux Valmonte has a connection to a vast group of mafia here in Creekwood and she is the one who trades illicit firearms to them. Our major goal here is to know her source and their trading schedule and place so we could catch them off guard.” He explained while Crystal seems to be easy and busy finishing her pancakes.
“Also, we need to know where her weapon vault is. We believe it is inside Mi Paraiso, so you have to get Margaux’s trust first.” He continued while Crystal just nodded as a response.
“This is a dangerous job, Crystal. But don’t worry because I will always be at your back. I’ll protect you at any cause. I assure you that.” and that’s when Crystal finally looked up to him.
“Protect me? I already heard that word before. Don’t say it again, just do it.” she coldly said and continued swallowing her food.
“Of course, I’ll definitely do it.”
“Last, some customers might ask you out,” Jason continued.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean they might pay Margaux so that you can spend a night with a customer.” Crystal’s eyes widened in disbelief after hearing his words.
“No way!” She protested.
“See? I told you it’s a dangerous job.” he rebutted, laughing at her reaction.
“You’re putting yourself in that dangerous world the moment you agreed to work with Margaux Valmonte. But you don’t have to worry, beautiful. Because I’m with you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see, darling.” He said and winked at her.
- Writer
