Dangerous Waters

Prologue

Her journal was always a breeding ground for her drawings and sketches. Although she loved to write, she had never managed to get into the habit of keeping a diary housing the day’s events. She had tried when she was younger but to no avail. So, she drew. Her journals went everywhere with her. She made sure each one was signed and filled out with the relevant contact information to return the book, in case it got lost. That essentially meant her work was free to be seen by anyone.

She settled herself on one of the lightly-cushioned but highly uncomfortable airport benches, preparing for the long layover. The joys her recent life change brought her were long layovers and budget airlines when holidaying. Sketching had been a long-time hobby but since she left her lucrative career as a marketer to pursue her art as a full-time job, money was tight. 

“At least it’s fulfilling”, she thought. “Well… most of the time.”

She got lost in sketching the sleeping baby in front of her with intricate attention to the details in the background.

****

He glanced at his watch. It was time to head to the gate. He gave her one last look from his special seat which gave him a bird’s eye view of all the goings-on while still managing to remain unnoticed. He was excited. It had been a long time since he had found such a perfect match. He wasn’t sure if it would work. Would she take the bait? More importantly, would she really be able to handle what he had to offer? He shook his head impatiently at the second question that popped in his mind.

“They are just doubts. You know you’ve never been wrong”, he said to himself. His last few choices were average, at best, but he knew that going in. Unfortunately, it had been a while since he came across someone truly inspiring. He smiled to himself, slowly strolling out of the seating area, in the opposite direction of the gates.

The First Drop

Edgar was sharply dressed in a well-fitted light grey suit, a crisp white shirt, and dark grey suede shoes. Since he was not traveling for work, he let his two-day shadow breathe peacefully. Business travel or not, Edgar always believed in dressing up when flying. His wavy, somewhat long hair was styled and slicked back. His Armani shades hung from his slightly unbuttoned shirt barely giving a glimpse of his well-built tanned chest; just enough to know he had a good physique but still left wondering what kind of abs that shirt was hiding. He paused for a moment, mid-stroll, to ruffle his hair up a bit. He had to look just right. Everything was riding on this one fleeting glance.

He looked at his reflection in a nearby Emergency Exit doorway and was satisfied. He smiled eagerly and then took off in a fancy jog/run. He held onto his shoulder bag tight while he ran and bent ever-so-slightly while passing her. His glasses fell off an inch away from her sneakered feet, but he didn’t stop running.

“Dammit! How could she not see that!” he thought while running past.

“Or maybe she just doesn’t care enough to return a lost item or be kind with a stranger”, he muttered, annoyed. This was his only shot – he couldn’t try again. This trick had never failed him. He continued running towards the gate, now visibly irked, with a scowl deepening as he neared the gate. That’s when he heard the faint “excuse me” repeating over and over again. 

“Got you!” He smiled, straightened his face and got the harried expression back on. While turning back, he was still nervous. He wasn’t sure if she had actually come after him or it was some random Good Samaritan. He turned and there she was – hand outstretched holding his shades. He maintained his harried expression and added confusion to it.

“You dropped this”, she volunteered, reaching out again with the sunglasses in hand.

He looked down at his shirt, barely touching the top button and muttered a dammit seemingly to himself. He took the shades from her making sure he grazed her hand while doing it and said thank you.

“I’m so late for my flight, just rushing to make sure I’m on it before it takes off”, he said apologetically and gave her the smile. He had her. If it was possible, he would say he literally saw her melt in that moment. He watched her big curls fall around her face as she nodded in response and quickly stopped himself. He couldn’t be distracted. She was the kind of girl he felt he could easily fall for and that wasn’t the game now.

“Yes, yes, go ahead and keep running for the flight”. She turned and started walking away, back to where she was sitting. He was about to break out into a run to the gate when she stopped and tilted her head sideways to see him. “All the best”, she called out. He smiled back at her. This time his smile was natural. She caught him by surprise when she turned back. Edgar started making his way to the gate. She had disappeared from his line of vision.

****

She couldn’t believe her eyes when he ran past her. It took a minute for her brain to register what happened when the shades fell at her feet but her body sprang into action when realization dawned. Although she had a decent figure, she was not fit. So, the run after him, to catch up with his sprint, made her breathless. Though she was quite sure she forgot how to breathe anyway when he smiled at her.

“Man, he’s gorgeous”, she whispered to herself, remembering the smile.

“… rushing to make sure I’m on it before it takes off”, he explained. She had missed the first half of his sentence. She was lost in his piercing grey eyes. They were almost the same shade as his suit. She said something lame in response like keep running, still rendered dumb with this handsome hunk standing in front of her. After walking two steps away, she realized she hadn’t even wished him for the flight. She half-turned and shouted out a quick “All the best” to him. 

“There it was – the lady-killer”. This smile seemed different from the first one somehow, but it still oozed charm. God definitely got it right when handing out the looks genes! She watched him have a discussion with the crew member, clearly trying to explain why he needed to be on the flight.

Lara was back at her spot, busily sketching the sales lady in the LV store at the side of the emergency exit. He smiled.

“What about a coffee break?” he said from behind her. She jumped up startled. She spun around and he could see straight in her wide brown eyes. He smiled again. The girl had nothing special in her looks but there was something about her that was highly appealing.

“Damn! What is he doing here?” Lara thought. “Didn’t he just get on a plane? Why am I not able to open my mouth and speak?!”

“You again”, she said, half-accusingly, half-questioningly. He wasn’t sure if she was happy to see him or annoyed.

“Yep, I’m back”, he responded. “Turns out my running was in vain. The plane had already taken off.”

“Tough luck”, she said and shrugged nonchalantly.

“Why was this girl not fawning over him?” he silently mused. “Anyway, he had a purpose. He would keep trying. She hadn’t said no to him or insulted him yet.”

“So how about that coffee?” he asked again.

“I don’t drink coffee”, she responded flatly, noting the surprise on his face. “The boy’s never heard a no in his life”, she thought, amused. Although surprised, his confidence didn’t waver.

“What about a drink then?” he said almost instantly, smoothly transitioning through his first no.

She looked at him for a second, seemingly pondering the question and replied flatly again, “I’m sketching”.

He smiled. This time he was not taken by surprise. He understood now – he had to work for it. “Why not”, he thought to himself. This was his specialty after all. He removed his jacket with all the style he could muster, without it seeming that he was showing off and hung it on the back of the chair next to her. Her curls framed her face softly as she quizzically looked at the jacket, making its own move. He made his way to the front of the bench and smoothly slid in the seat next to her. He returned her amazing look with a dazzling smile and casually asked her about her sketch.

She scowled back at him. He smiled again, quite pleased with himself.

“What do you want?” she barked.

“A way to say thank you for returning my shades”, he promptly replied. He saw her visibly cool down, but just a bit. Somehow, he wasn’t getting peace that it was that easy, so he added, smiling slyly:

“I mean, even though, that’s probably the reason I missed my flight in the first place”

Her eyes widened as she turned to him and immediately narrowed.

“Alright. Wouldn’t want you to miss the next one too”, she responded coolly while starting to gather her things. He stood up, smoothened his shirt and threw the jacket casually over his shoulder. He looked at her and asked again, “Should we get a drink there?” pointing to a nearby bar. She let out an exasperated sigh.

“How do I get rid of you?”

“Have a drink with me.”

“And you’ll leave me alone after that?”

“Yes, if you want me to. But I’m interesting and funny, so I think you’d prefer I stay”

She rolled her eyes and he laughed, but she started walking to the bar.

A Sensitive Subject

Three beers down, Edgar thought it a good time to bring up the fact that she hadn’t left yet. Lara laughed and retorted, “Cocky Lil’ fellow, aren’t ya?”

“You haven’t seen the best of me yet”, he responded with a twinkle in his eye. They ordered the next round of beers and continued the light-hearted conversation. It was soon time for Lara’s flight to start boarding and Edgar knew it was test time now. He felt more confident now that he had chatted with her but this was the sort of topic that you never know which way it could go until you’re knee-deep in the discussion.

“Lara?” he asked gingerly.

“Mmm”, she responded trying to chomp down the last of the fish sticks they ordered so she could avoid the terrible airline food.

He pondered a moment, then decided a direct approach would be best.

“I have this proposition for you”

“Uh-huh”, she responded distractedly, while checking if she had all her stuff and digging around her bag searching for something. He blurted it out. Her hand froze as it was, in her bag, and she looked up at him with wide eyes. Most people would worry now that it was a wrong move, but Edgar wasn’t most people. He knew what he was doing, and he did it well. He quickly continued explaining before she had a chance to say anything or make her decision. He felt that she could still be up for it, despite the shock on her face right now.

“So?” he asked her after explaining everything he thought relevant. He was drumming his fingers on the table nervously. He had gone off-book on this one. If things went sour, it could be disastrous with long-term negative effects. She looked like she was mulling over a complex math problem in her head.

“Let’s face it, this is so much more complicated”, he told his quick beating heart. 

“How long do I have to think about it?”

There was no emotion in her voice. 

“A couple of days. But you can let me know if you need more time to think about it”

“And if I have more questions? Who do I ask?”

“Me, of course.”

“How do I get in touch with you?”

“I’ll get in touch with you.”

“You don’t have my number or any contact details of mine”

“Don’t worry. I’ll manage”

She scowled. He had said something she didn’t like.

“I won’t invade your space”, he added but that didn’t console her. “All I have to do is get a hold of one of your journals. Those things are covered in ways to get in touch with you”, he said laughing nervously, desperately trying to lighten the mood. Her frown deepened.

“That was a joke”, he said apologetically.

“I know”. She paused. “Alright, get in touch with me tomorrow late evening.” She picked up her bags and walked away, not smiling nor turning back, not even for a wave. Time to play the waiting game. He was normally a lot more confident by this stage. He disliked this anxious feeling. He collected his bag and walked out of the airport. 

****

She laughed at what he said, lost in those beautiful gray eyes. She’d realized quite a while back that she had stayed way past the 1-drink request. Her ego was not ready to accept defeat, so she never brought it up. He, however, did. She passed it off with a laugh and some smart-ass comment. He let her end it at that and they continued their conversation. Just as she was thinking of giving him her number, right before she had to head off for boarding, he dropped a bombshell. When he started saying he had a proposition, this was definitely not the conversation she expected.

She couldn’t believe he asked her that. Part of her was sad. She liked him – the question ruined the romance. The logical part of her was deciding how much she liked him – enough to consider his proposition? Or too much, where her feelings would get in the way? She pulled her eye mask over her face and slept the rest of the flight. A scowl seemed to have permanently attached itself to her otherwise open, relaxed face.

As the wheels of the plane touched the ground, Lara started lacing up her sneakers. She hated flying. This flight was extra horrid as she couldn’t sleep. Her mind kept going back to Edgar. The problem was the man was unbelievably handsome. Normally that didn’t affect her work but there were two hiccups here: 

1. Her recent track record with decisions about men had been disastrous
2. This was not regular work, like the kind she was used to.

This was like an alien project to her.

“I can’t think about this anymore”, Lara thought as she walked to the baggage claim area. “My head’s going to explode”.

She had landed late night, which meant she could get some sleep tonight and mull over this the whole of tomorrow. He would call her only in the evening.

The Phone Call

Lara ran to the ringing phone in the hall.

“Hello” she answered breathlessly.

“Is everything okay? Is this a bad time? I’ve been trying to call you for a few days.” Lara wanted to throttle her aunt.

“Aunty, I’m about to jump on a conference call. Can I call you back later?”

“Okay child, but I’m worried about you. You know, Viola was telling me…”

Lara cut her aunt off before she launched into a long story about Viola’s opinion. Lara loved her Aunt Vi to death – she was more a cool older sister than an aunt, but right now, Lara was focused on the call for her answer. She had decided – it was too risky. She would politely decline. She was still considering if she should joke about going on a date. He was really cute.

“Oh well, the date would be super awkward after I say no anyway.” 

****

Edgar was more nervous than when he had first started doing this. He remembered his first time. He was sick to his stomach.

“Why is this girl messing with my head?” he wondered to himself. He was trying to decide a look for tonight which would be both casual and impressive. 

“I’m just going to take her out for one drink, get it out of my system and then to business. Then, if she says no, at least we went out once”, he explained to Roger.

“What do you think of this, Rog?” Edgar asked, holding up a collared white muscle tee against the khaki pants he had on. Roger barked his approval. 

****

The phone rang again. Four people had called so far, and not one was him. Lara was annoyed with the wait as well as with each person that called.

“Hello”, she answered, not bothering to mask her irritation.

“Wow! Who got your goat!” the smooth husky voice cooed on the phone. “I think you need a drink. I’ll pick you up in an hour.” Lara looked at the phone in shock and awe. This guy had some balls… “and charm”, she whispered inaudibly, sighing to herself.

“Listen”, Lara started telling Edgar, “I’ve thought about it and me…”

Edgar cut her off, not wanting to hear the answer.

“First a drink, relax a bit. We can discuss business later.” Edgar responded gruffly. His heart sank as he said the last two words. He could feel her “no” coming out as soon as she opened her mouth. He was not just disappointed that he had chosen wrongly for the job but was devastated that he wouldn’t get to spend more time with her. He hadn’t even thought of the repercussions if she told anyone what he asked of her.

“I’ll be there in an hour”, Edgar added, speaking woefully into the receiver.

“Of course, you already have the address”, Lara responded bitterly.

“Yes”

With that flat response, he put the receiver down. Lara held on for two more seconds, listening to the dead tone. Then snapping out of her trance, she put the phone down and searched for something to wear.

Decision Time? Or First Date? 

The second the hour was up, her buzzer rang. He was extremely punctual. She didn’t bother checking, she just buzzed him in. Thirty seconds later, her doorbell rang. She opened the door immediately and stood in the doorway expectantly, unsure what she was waiting for. But he knew. And he did not disappoint.

“Wow”, he breathed. Her blow-dried curls softly framed her lightly made-up face. She was wearing a pretty printed sundress with wedges, perfect for the warm Summer evening.

“You look… “, he stopped, searching for a word, “… perfect”.

“Well, you don’t look too bad yourself”, she smiled, instantly happy. Although he looked handsome in the suit yesterday, it didn’t do his body justice like the muscle tee he wore today. Her night was already made by this hunk of a man telling her she looked perfect.

“So, shall we go?” she asked, both eager to start drinking and unsure of spending more time with him than necessary. 

The trendy club was obviously packed, being a Friday night. To top that, Edgar had booked both that overlooked the main dance floor. After squeezing through the already drunk crowd, Lara realized she quite liked the booth. It had an excellent view of the entire club but was still secluded enough for them to enjoy a nice conversation. Edgar slid onto the heavily cushioned sofa beside her, whispering in her ear about some gaudy outfit the DJ had on. She giggled. Someone came to take their order. Edgar remembered her choice of beer and asked her if she wanted the same or something stronger.

“I’ll start with a beer”, Lara responded grinning. Edgar looked confused. He ordered the two beers and some fries for the table and asked the server for a minute to decide on the remaining food.

“Why do you look so confused?” Lara asked, clearly amused. By what, Edgar had no clue.

“I’m not complaining; I’d love to see you like this all the time, but what’s brought on the 32-teeth display?” he responded puzzled.

“Well, two things. First, I was pleased you remembered the beer I like”. Edgar smiled.

“Two, I enjoyed watching you scratch your head on why I was grinning before we’ve even started talking. For a minute there, you seemed to have lost your sophisticated, always-together air and looked like a 14-year old boy whose first-ever crush has just said hi to him”. Edgar laughed heartily. It was his genuine laugh. As he looked at her, he thought “This girl is amazing. God, please let her say yes… I’m going to change her no to a yes by the end of the night”. He couldn’t let her go.

Lara joined in his laughter and then abruptly stopped.

“Edgar, about your question…”, she started. Edgar interrupted her “Let’s discuss business later, let’s eat something first. What do you want?” Edgar asked, scanning the menu. 

“I’d rather just get it out of the way, so we can enjoy the rest of the night”, Lara flatly stated. Edgar looked at her woefully.

“How does my night get better by hearing a no from those pretty lips?”

Lara looked at him in astonishment, wondering how he knew.

“Look, the way I see it, you had made your decision by the time I called. You’ve still granted me the pleasure of your company tonight. Let me enjoy it untainted.” Edgar paused. “Besides, if you tell me at the end of the night, then the 14-year-old me can go home and bawl peacefully without worrying about maintaining his macho, put-together image”, Edgar added, with a twinkle in his eye. Lara burst out laughing. 

“How do you always know the exact right thing to say?”

“Well, I was 14…”, he gave her a boyish grin. She smiled but gave him an encouraging look. He looked confused again. Then he started out again in a serious tone.

“I was actually 12, she had just shifted to our neighborhood. Her dad was some sort of businessman and he had just got transferred to the city. She had the most beautiful brown eyes and her hair… big brown curls that matched her hair”. His voice grew soft “I was in love from the first morning she knocked on our door, wondering if she could get a ride to school”. 

Edgar went on describing their interactions together. He seemed to be in a different world. There was an innocence about him that was adorable. He suddenly snapped out of his world and gruffly said: 

“Then one day I went to her house with flowers and her favorite chocolates, armed with the courage to finally ask her out”. Lara smiled excitedly – the climax of the romance.

“Seth opened the door. He was captain of the football team, of course. It bothered me slightly, but I didn’t let it stop me. She was popular from the day she joined the school. She came to the door, behind Seth and quite friendlily asked what’s up. I put my hand out with my gifts and asked her if she’d go out with me Saturday night. She laughed at me and said ‘Which world are you living in? Ewww, I’d never go out with a dweeb like you’”

Lara was shocked and disappointed.

“And that’s the moment you decided never again, and you turned into a Casanova”, Lara finished. 

“Actually, no” Edgar responded to Lara’s surprise. “I was disappointed, so I turned back, went home and bawled my eyes out. That’s the first time I cried. Luckily for me, it was almost the end of the year. I spent the rest of the year being ridiculed by the basketball team, the football team, and even the band group. She had twisted the story completely, made up some stuff and I came out looking like a jerk as well as an idiot. I begged my parents to let me transfer for a year to school near my grandparents. I lived with them for a year, learned football, made a good body, saw a dermatologist clear up my acne, got braces and grew out my hair. I came back the next year – back to this school, ready to ask her out again. People couldn’t believe how I had changed. Girls fawned over me”. Edgar paused to down the last of his beer.

“What will you have?” he asked, pointing to her nearly empty bottle. “I’m switching to Scotch”

“I’ll have a vodka”. He signed to the server and we placed our order.

“Alright, what happened next?” Lara asked eagerly.

“Next”, Edgar sighed. “I asked her out again”.

“Don’t tell me she said yes and then you did the jerky thing of taking revenge”, Lara worriedly said, frowning. Edgar ignored her and went on.

“This time I was better prepared. I had saved up for a pretty locket necklace. I went over with my cool jacket and Doc Martins and my well-wrapped gift. After I asked the same question I asked over a year back, she laughed at me again. ‘You can change your clothes, learn to play football or even get a 12 pack, but Edgar, at heart, you’re still a dweeb. And I don’t go out with fools like you. Your lot are just meant to be bridges to the real thing’. Those were her exact words. That’s the moment I changed. I didn’t become a Casanova. I just never believed any girl liked me again”.

Edgar turned to look at her and saw the tears in her eyes.

“You don’t need to feel sorry for me”, he bellowed. Lara didn’t flinch. All her fears had fallen away. She was no longer wary of him.

“I’m not sorry for you. Or her. I’m feeling sorry for me”. Edgar looked at her quizzically, half expecting a cheesy dialogue like ‘I’m sorry I didn’t know you then’ to come out. Instead…

“Imagine my shit luck. I never faced such an epic rejection, so I will never be able to read people as well as you do, nor will I be able to use this story to make the opposite sex fall for me”. Edgar couldn’t control his laughter. This was why he liked the girl – she was different. They laughed, joked and danced for the rest of the evening. At the end of the night, Edgar reached her to her door, thanked her for a lovely evening, bent down and moved forward to kiss her. Lara reciprocated. He was soft and gentle with his kiss. He then smiled at her and turned to leave.

“Wait”, Lara said. She moved in front of him, whispered in his ear and then walked into her apartment and shut the door behind her.

Edgar turned to stare in amazement at the locked door. Did this girl just surprise him again? He played the scene back in his head.

“Wait”, she said. “My answer is yes”

The Next Recruit

Lara was waiting, watching her prey, as he sat alone on the airport bench. He made lists of all he saw around him, then put the list by and walked to a faraway area. He then took a fresh piece of paper and wrote down the list from memory. He would then compare the two lists. Lara knew each time he missed something or got something wrong on the list. He would grumble to himself. Horace was just starting his new list. It was time. 

Lara moved smoothly out of her seat, grabbing her Louis Vuitton bag coolly. She adjusted her Cartier watch so that it fell slightly loose on her wrist. With her cream skirt suit and high maroon heels, she raced to the boarding gate. As she passed him, she flicked her wrist slightly and the watch fell at his feet. She continued her stride as if nothing happened. He came after her, returning the watch. She hurriedly thanked him and then raced on to the boarding gate.

At the end of it all, Horace was game. From the airport itself, the two of them made their way to the office in town. Once they had all discussions at the office and Horace was in one of the rooms completing formalities, Lara turned to Edgar and asked

“What do you think?”

“Excellent! I think he’ll do quite well”, Edgar responded flatly. 

“Do you think he’ll get caught?” Lara further questioned.

“You know the rules, Lara. If you get caught smuggling the drugs in or out of any country, you’re on your own. We can’t help. Under no circumstances are you to give our names. In case you do, it will make no difference as our names don’t belong to a living soul and to add on, we will also come after you along with the cops. And trust me, the cops aren’t as dangerous. But follow the rules and we will try to protect you. Do you need to sit in on the explanation of the rules with Mr. Horace, as a refresher course?”. Lara ignored his question.

“Edgar, can I ask you one more thing?”

“What is it?” Edgar snapped irritated.

“Why did you choose me? And that too off-book? You knew they wouldn’t protect you if you were wrong”

“Why? You don’t like the money? Or the lifestyle?”

“Edgar?”

Edgar’s harshness softened with her question. He gently answered her.

“You have great attention to detail. Every sketch I had seen had every piece complete – even stuff I had missed on. That’s just the perfect raw talent for the business”.

“What about when you took me to the club five years back? When you told me to give you my answer at the end of the night, so it doesn’t ruin the night. You have avoided me since that night. We haven’t even spoken to each other. Why?”

Edgar replied coldly, “Needed you to say yes or I was screwed. It was just business. Nothing more. Did what I had to do” 

With that, Edgar walked out. No one from the business ever heard from him again and Lara became highly successful in the business. Lara never saw him again.