Blind Date

He didn’t look anything like she had expected.

The online profile had said he was five foot eight, with ‘luxurious’ dark hair and ‘striking’ blue eyes. The only thing vaguely striking about the man was the size of his beer gut, which was considerable, and rested against the counter as he ordered a venti mocha frapuccino with an extra shot of chocolate. He carried the drink, which was heaped with whipped cream and produced a slight drip of chocolate sauce as he walked, as he wandered into the middle of the Starbucks.

She frowned internally, dreading the experience. She hated liars. He was obviously shorter than she was and at 5’5, she was no giant. And the ‘luxurious’ dark hair had receded, creating an oddly shaped bald spot directly on top of his head. She watched disdainfully as his eyes finally landed at her table, taking in the red rose sitting beside her book.

“Oh, well,” she told herself. “At least this won’t take long.”

“Hi, there,” he said, sliding his bulk onto the uncomfortable wooden chair across from her. “You’re Cindy?”

“Yes, I am,” she said, planting a false smile on her face and forcing herself to make eye contact. “And you’re Robert?”

“One and the same,” he said proudly, one hand subconsciously patting his belly. “I must say, you look just like your picture.”

“You look… great too.”

She managed to say the words without breaking her smile.

“You know,” she told him, looking up at him through her lashes and taking a sip of her latte. “I’ve been waiting such a long time to speak to you in person. All the things you said in our chats … well, I just couldn’t wait to hear your voice in person.”

“Me too,” he said, chubby hands curled around his drink and eyes planted firmly on her chest. “Meeting in person was a great idea, if I do say so myself.”

She grinned at him and took another sip, letting the silence hang for a moment.

“So, did you come here straight from work?” she asked finally.

“Yeah, just traded the lab coat for a suit jacket and went. Barely made it here on time with this traffic.”

“You mentioned before that you worked in a lab. Which one?”

“Preston labs,” he said, before taking a prolonged sip. “Downtown.”

“That sounds really interesting,” she prodded. “What department do you work for?”

He stroked his stomach again as he answered.

“You know,” he said, scooting in closer. “That’s not really something we’re supposed to tell people. But seeing as a lovely lady like you wouldn’t tell anybody, I think my secret’s safe."

"I work in the genetics division."

“That sounds fascinating,” she leaned in, crossing her legs under the table. “I wish I knew more about genetics. Do you find cures for diseases? Help people get healthy?”

“Umm, something like that,” his eyes were glued to her chest and she didn’t expect much of an answer.

She ran her hand through her long dark hair, taking the time to twist a strand around one well-manicured finger. She glanced around the café, deliberately avoiding his glance for a moment.

“I would love to learn more about… genetics,” she told him softly, speaking the words quietly enough that he had to lean in farther to hear them. “I would love to learn more about you.”

She reached out and ran a finger down his chubby cheek. She watched his breath catch in his throat and knew that she’d had the desired effect.

“I’d love to get to know you better too,” he stumbled through his words slightly, but it didn’t matter.

“Maybe we can go somewhere … more private?” she asked. “You know, so we can discuss more.”

“Sure, that sounds great,” he stood with surprising speed for someone so awkwardly built. “Do you want to maybe go back to my place?”

“Perfect.”

She stood, flinging her bag over her shoulder and walking out. She could feel him waddling along behind her and knew that he was staring at her ass. That was ok. It would help her get the job done… and she did have a fantastic ass. She walked confidently, knowing her job was halfway done.

Flinging open the swinging door, she turned right down the now-empty street. Traffic had died down and most people were home for dinner now. She wasn’t worried about that. Walking a block down, she took another right into the alley. It was long and fairly narrow. There was also a large garbage bin at the mouth of the alley that would block the view from the street nicely. She wouldn’t have been able to find a better place if she’d picked it herself. Oh wait, she had picked it herself.

She turned down the alley and he’d followed her fantastic ass for another half a block before he realized that this was not the route to his car.

“Umm… Cindy?” his voice echoed slightly in the alley. “You’re going the wrong way, sweetheart.”

“No, I’m not.”

Her voice was a little more than a whisper, but he could hear it perfectly.

Before her words could properly register, she turned around, shoving him against the wall.

“I’m sorry Bobby,” she told him. “I just couldn’t wait till we got to your place.”

She had pulled the gun out of her handbag when she was walking down the alley and now he felt it, pressing insistently against his stomach.

“Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.”

Those seemed to be the only words he was capable of, until she gave the gun a hard shove into his gut. She could feel him gulp.

“Are you going to kill me?” he asked, his voice taking on a whining tone.

“I haven’t decided yet,” she muttered it under her breath. Her thoughts were elsewhere.

“Where is it?” she asked.

“Where is what?”

“You know perfectly well what.” She rolled her eyes in exasperation. “The formula. I want the formula.”

“Who do you work for?”

The whine was gone from his voice but his face was ghost-white.

“That is none of your business,” she told him. “Now, tell me where the formula is and I won’t harm you.”

“I don’t know,” he pleaded. “I swear, I don’t know.”

She frowned for a moment, thinking.

The sunk was sinking fast, throwing odd shadows in the alley. The red glare caught some of the windows across the street and for a few moments they were bathed in orange light.

A strange look of focus passed over her face and she smiled at him. For a moment, he thought maybe she would let him go and he let out a sigh of relief as she removed the gun from his gut.

He wasn’t expecting the blow to the head. Swiftly, she tapped his skull with the butt of the gun and her smile widened as she watched him crumple to the ground. She knelt over him almost lovingly and reached her arms around his neck. Carefully, she undid the latch of the thin silver chain that hung around his neck, allowing the chain to pool in her palm, along with the charm hanging on it. The charm was a diamond-shaped tag. It looked like surgical steel but was probably silver and the engraving on it was the answer to a puzzle she’d been trying to solve for a long time.

Standing up, she examined the engraving in the dying light before stuffing the necklace into the pocket of her jeans. The smile swiftly faded from her face as she walked from the alley.

“All that trouble for only half of the formula,” she thought to herself as she hailed a cab. “Maybe I should have killed him.”