Coalescence ➳ H.S.

Four: The Escort

Clarine's POV

Las Vegas was the last place I ever wanted to be with Harry—especially during spring break. He suggested to leave at 5:30 in the morning for optimal time management, but I was far less ecstatic about getting up so early.

"What other names did Evans go by?" I asked, scanning all of the portfolios. Bria was someone who was very good at her job and didn't leave a trace at all. The police were lucky to have caught her decoy, otherwise the probability of catching Evans would be the same as catching smoke with bare hands.

"Lacee Stevens, Daisy Thompson and Kiana Rivers. You won't find those in her files because they're clean identities," he replied, his eyes glued to my laptop screen. "Hey, where are we going to get a car?"

"I have a car."

"Why do you have a car if you can't drive?"

"I can drive," I emphasized (although for the sake of ease I should've just said I didn't), "I just don't like to drive."

"Well it takes fifteen hours to get to Vegas and I'm not driving the whole way, so if you're going to get us killed on the highway, I'd suggest you speak up now."

Shit. It wasn't as if we could take an airplane—I didn't want Harry to use his fake IDs and passports any more than he already had to. I constantly found myself picking between the lesser of two evils when it came to him.

"I can drive."

Harry sighed and printed off the directions to Vegas before he went upstairs for a shower. I still didn't want to believe that I was letting him use my guest bathroom, let alone succumbing to giving him any trust at all. It took me by surprise how cooperative he was being, but it didn't take a cop to realize than anybody could play the 'sweet and innocent' card. I was more than certain that sooner or later he would make a run for it—exactly when, I wasn't too sure of.

Once Harry came down from his shower, he lay himself down on the couch and fell asleep without so much as a word out of his mouth. I didn't know if he was being nice to me earlier because he wanted me to cut his hair properly or because he wanted to persuade me into asking Tomislav to take on the case by myself but I knew that as far as relationships went, ours was straightforward: I was the handler, and he was the asset.

I ignored his snores and continued shuffling through heaps of paper on my dining table before I reached Harry's file—which I had taken for precautionary measures—under the pile of Bria's records. I shifted my gaze to him, who was still sound asleep. Stealthily, I opened the folder and took in all that I could:

Name: Harry Edward Styles
D.O.B: February 1, 1988
P.O.B: Worcestershire, England, United Kingdom
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Height: 5'11 1/2"
Weight: 147 lbs
Eye Colour: Green
Hair Colour: Black/Brown
Visible Body Marks: 50+; Most notable: sparrows on chest, cross on left hand, 'Things I Can' on right forearm, book on left forearm, English ship on left arm, rose on left elbow, butterfly on stomach, heart (filled in) on left shoulder, '17Black' on left shoulder...
Education: Portland State University, Class of 2000; Masters Degree in Engineering, Major in Applied Algorithms, Minor in Biochemistry
Profession: N/A
Criminal Affiliations: Bria Abigail Evans
Arrested: Speeding on the freeway, con artistry