Agent Reptilian: Exploiting Gold|editing

Chapter fourteen: "Not all of Florida is Disney, mind you."

As the three of us stepped out of the cool airport, we were hit by the hot and humid temperatures of Miami. Mademoiselle Picket pulled out a fan from her purse and flapped the device in her face.

Bandana still wrapped around my head, one by one, I peeled off my jacket, scarf, gloves, socks and placed them into my suitcase I had grabbed from the luggage carousel from earlier. The smooth heat from the sunrays hit my face and parts of my arms, warming my body temperature down and making me feel like I was alive.

I looked down at my fingers and folded them into my palm then opened them again, flexing them as if I had once lost my mobility but now regained it. While that was most certainly not the case, after being in the cold and dry airplane and then the airport, being in the heat as opposed to the cold climate of New York felt good. Actually, it felt amazing.

A smile played on my lips and I held my hands out as if my hands could absorb all the rays of the sun and save it for later. I looked over at Nix who had a heartful smile on her face and laughed at the little creature in her hands. A small gecko with bright yellow skin like the sun and dark spots like the night sky had crawled on her and curled into a ball inside her hands. It gently lay its head against her palm and blinked its large eyes several times. We watched it, as it's breathing fell as it slept in her hands. However, a loud grunt escaped from Mademoiselle Picket, sending the little creature scampering away. I made a face at her.

Nix sighed and got up. "Okay, I guess all we need is a taxi, you have the directions to the apartment right?" Nix looked at me and I nodded my head. "Great. Um, I'll look for a taxi then." She left her stuff with me and went to catch a driver.

We found a bench nearby and sat down on it. Mademoiselle Picket insisted to put her suitcase on the bench so she kicked me off and her suitcase laid where I used to be only moments ago. I sighed aloud as we sat in silence, contemplating saying something to her.

"At least the weather isn't too b-"

"Don't make small talk with me." She hissed. I rolled my eyes and turned around so my back was pressed against the bench. I don't know what her problem was with me. In my mind, I recalled the conversation we had on the plane. How she called me 'weak'. I know I shouldn't have let her words get to me, especially not Mademoiselle Picket out of all the people but I honestly, I was a little hurt. I know I wasn't the best person, especially these past few days since I was lying to pretty much everyone I cared about but I didn't deserve being treated like that.

"Hey, you guys made it out alive?" My thoughts left my mind as I looked up and saw Thomas' tall frame. There were a pair of ear phones in his ears that he was pulling out and placing into its little case. He then looked up and somewhere behind me, he must've seen a familiar face because he nodded his head at the person then snapped his gaze back at us.

I stood up on my feet and heard Mademoiselle Picket creating commotion from behind me. "Yeah, barely though. At least the weather is nice." He quirked an eyebrow at my comment.

"Nice? I thought you hated the heat and loved the cold. As someone with the name 'Alaska' should." I chuckled and punched him slightly. It was certainly odd for a person who loved winter to suddenly be in love with summer. But the way I was feeling, the way the sun fell around me and heated my body up, I felt...free.

"Come, sit Thomas. There's plenty of room here." I turned around and saw that she had cleared a massive space for him. I narrowed my eyes at her and she stared me back down. So there was place for Thomas but apparently none for me. This woman was going to be the death of me.

"Thank you Mademoiselle Picket, but I should get going. I have a report due tomorrow and need to complete it and run it with my partner. Uh, where's Nix? I wanted to say goodbye to her before I depart."