Bab 64: The Rendezvous

The meeting place was an unassuming bar downtown, the kind frequented by the down and out. Yet, Jake Magno has set the "date" here; if anything happens, no one would be suspicious. Brawls erupt spontaneously here; women pass out and shoved into waiting car trunks, and nobody bats an eye; all the more perfect for Jake.

Claire has no idea what she's walking into. She's never been to this part of town, and she merely found it because of her chauffeur's expertise. Her heart pounds in her chest. "What exactly do you intend to do, Claire?" the voice in her head says. "You could be walking into the lion's den."

The viper's pit, more like.

It's not hard to spot Jake, even when he's sitting at a table half-hidden in the shadows. Claire would recognize that profile anywhere. Jake sees him and he raises his glass. Claire nods, like some gunslinger come to the town's saloon, ready for a duel.