If Looks Could Kill

Chapter 2

"Hi, I'm here to see Chloe Surge," Barrett tells the woman at the desk.

"Her office is on the fourth floor. You can find her secretary and make an appointment," she responds, barely even looking up from her computer. Barrett nods and turns to walk towards the elevator. His heart is beating so fast. He hasn't seen her in years; not since their last meeting during freshman year of college. It wasn't a very pleasant meeting. They had tried to keep in contact after that, but it was just too painful so eventually they stopped talking. It sucked.

The building for the New York Times is extremely nice, with elaborate furniture and some of their most memorable news stories framed on the walls. Chloe had always wanted to be a writer, but Barrett didn't know she had landed a job here. She went to school down south, so Barrett can't help but wonder what made her settle down back up here in NYC.

Just as he reaches the elevator, the metal doors slide open. Inside, a woman is looking down at the phone in her hand. She uses her other to push a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear. Once the doors are completely open, she looks up and starts to make her way out of the elevator. Within a few seconds she locks eyes with Barrett and then stops dead in her tracks.

"Barrett?" she says, clearly shocked. Barrett's stomach drops and he's not quite sure what to say.

"Hey Chloe," he finally spits out. The two just stare at each other for a while, before someone finally pushes past them to get to the elevator.

"Oh I'm sorry," Chloe says, shaken out of her daze. "Um, why don't we move into the lobby," she then says to Barrett. He nods and they walk awkwardly a few steps away from the elevator. "What are you doing here?" Barrett shoves his hands into the pockets of his black jacket, something that has grown to be a nervous habit of his.

"Well...I..." Barrett stops himself. He can't tell her his actual reasons for seeking her out. That would just scare her. So he quickly thinks up a lie. "I saw your latest article in the paper and I didn't know you worked here so I wanted to come see you. I mean it's been, what, five years?" Chloe smiles a bit, her face turning towards the floor. She's dressed in slimming black dress pants with a pair of black heels poking out at the bottom. Her torso is wrapped in a nice grey dress coat, but Barrett can barely see a blue blouse under it. That's always been a great color on her.

"Yeah...it's been a while," Chloe says, glancing up at Barrett for a moment. Her eyes are hazel, just like he remembers they were. "Hey um... I was just headed out for my lunch break...would you care to join me?" Barrett can't help but smile as he accepts the offer. They had so many amazing times together in high school. It really was a hard time for him when they broke off their relationship after a little over thee years together.

For the next hour and a half, the ex-couple walk down the streets of NYC and just talk. Surprisingly, the awkwardness went away pretty quickly, so now they just talk like nothing bad ever happened between them. It's so unusual, but Barrett can't help but feel extremely happy to be talking to this girl again. He's always been proud to call her his high school sweetheart, but has never truly realized how much he missed her until now.

"So why did you really come to see me?" Chloe asks, taking a sip of her coffee. "I can tell there's something you're not telling me." Barrett avoids her gaze and looks down at the metal table. His fingers absentmindedly run over its swirling designs, something to procrastinate his decision whether to tell his ex-girlfriend that she's the next target of a serial killer. "What, you getting married or something?" Barrett lets out a laugh, shaking his head.

"Nope, not me. Single as can be right now," he says, still trying to avoid the topic.

Chloe just looks at him for a while, almost as if she's studying his facial features. Or trying to read his mind.

"What is it then?" she asks again, leaning forward in her chair and folding her arms on the table. Barrett does the opposite and leans back, letting his weight be supported by the thin metal back of the chair. This cafe is his favorite place to go for coffee when he needs a break from research. It's small, the food and drinks are amazing, and they even have a bar attached to the back for nights when he wants to forget a case for only a few hours.

Barrett finally looks up to meet Chloe's eyes. They're a deep hazel, with a thin ring of dark blue around the outside. She still wears the same amount of makeup as she used to, only some eyeliner and mascara. Barrett has always thought she didn't need any makeup at all, but she always insisted that that was not true. The look on her face makes her look so innocent; like someone who could never do anything bad. She doesn't deserve this. She doesn't deserve to be hunted down by this maniac.

"You're in danger," he finally spits out. Chloe's brows come in at the center in confusion. She doesn't say anything, but just waits for an explanation. "I know it sounds crazy but it's true. I can't really tell you anything more than that, but you're gonna have to trust me on this one." Chloe listens to this excuse for an explanation. She doesn't seem to buy it, because she just stares blankly at Barrett.

"What?" she finally says. Barrett leans forward while she leans away.

"I know you have absolutely no reason to believe me. I get that. And I knew it was pretty much a long shot even coming to find you. But I did it so I could tell you that you need to be careful. There is someone coming after you," he explains. Mid-sentence, Chloe stands up to leave. She shakes her head and puts money down on the table.

"Thank you for your time but I have to get back to work," she mumbles, avoiding Barrett's gaze. Panic sets in and Barrett jumps up from his seat and reaches out for her arm.

"Please, Chloe. You have to trust me. Watch your back while out in public. Lock your doors and windows immediately when you get home. I'll take care of it but I need you to help me by being careful."

"Get off of me," Chloe growls through her teeth. "You haven't talked to me in five years, why should I listen to you now." Before Barrett can even think of a reply, she storms off, not even giving him a second glance.

"Shit," Barrett swears under his breath. He plops down into his chair, causing it to scoot back a bit. His one chance to possibly warn her and he blew it. Figures.

The rest of Barrett's day consists of research- anything he can find on this mystery criminal and on Chloe. He's unable to find her address, which he would love to find so he could monitor her home to make sure she isn't approached by anyone suspicious. But was this going too far? Was this turning into more of a rescue mission than a take down?

After a very long and stressful day, Barrett makes the decision to spend the night in his office. He pulls out the blanket and pillow stashed in the closet and lays them out on the couch. After locking the door to the office and shutting down the computer, Barrett takes off his jacket, shoes, and jeans, so he's left only in a black t-shirt. The blue emergency light is the only thing keeping the room slightly illuminated. With everything shut down and locked up, Barrett situates himself of the couch and lays his head down to try and get some sleep. His alarm is set for six the next morning; a very early start to his first day of physically hunting this guy down.