Vicious Romance

Chapter 3

Cameras have lights that illuminate whenever they're active. It's usually hard to find these in broad daylight, but when it's dark, you can easily spot them because of the bright neon dot emitting from them.

When I see three red dots shine from different areas of my apartment, I know that someone, whoever it may be, is watching me.

It honestly could have been something else, but my gut feeling told me I was right. And my gut was never wrong. Ever.

Plus, what would be the possibility that three red neon dots would appear from my apartment? They couldn't have belonged to a smoke detector or a digital clock; they had used green neon lights to show their presence.

These were definitely cameras.

I navigate through the dark to find the source of these lights. The first one is from the ceiling, and as I get closer, I can tell that it's coming from the smoke detector.

Amateur.

Whoever set these cameras up was new at this. Every experienced agent knew that you never hid a camera in the smoke detector; they could be found there.

I walk over to the source of the second light- the bookshelf next to my bed. The camera seems to be attached to a book, and I can't help but laugh. Whoever placed these cameras clearly had no experience in this spy line of work- they hid the cameras in places where five-year-olds could find them after watching Spy Kids.

I see that the third red dot is coming from the kitchen fridge. I'm not even going to try to observe that.

As soon as my suspicion is confirmed, I turn on the lights. I can't let my stalker know that I was on to them. I would have to take a closer look at the cameras tonight, and hopefully, no one would be monitoring them.

For now, I walk over to my closet and decide to change. I want to explore the area and maybe go to Whole Foods to observe Noah if he's on shift.

I decide to wear a simple, pumpkin spice colored long sleeve dress and throw on a pair of long boots.

Before I leave, I take a small wristlet and stuff my new ID in it along with my new credit cards, both of which I got from Noah's case file.

I take a final look at myself in the mirror and soak in the outfit I've created.

I no longer look like myself.

My dark hair is thrown across my shoulders in messy waves. The v-neck shape created by my dress displays my bare skin with a small pendant in the middle, acting as the ribbon to a present. The hem flows to the mid of my thighs to reveal my somewhat tan legs, and then my long black boots covering all of my skin underneath my knees.

I look... different, girly almost. I think I've become so used to walking around in a pantsuit, I forgot what it feels like to dress up like an average 25-year-old. But again, I'm a spy, I work for the government- I don't get the usual people privileges.

I sigh as I take a final look around the apartment and step out of my room, slamming the door against the wall, then strutting down the hallway with my wristlet in hand.

Once I get out of the building, I walk onto 7th Avenue to go to my favorite coffee shop down the street.

So much has happened today, and the only thing that could suppress my feelings from that was: coffee. I needed coffee.

I weave through the crowds of New York City until I reach the small shop, Calvin's, that stands less than a block away from Chelsea, and right in front of Whole Foods.

When I approach the door, I give it a good tug, but it doesn't budge. I pull on it some more. And more. And more.

I continuously tug on the handle, until after a while, I begin to think that breaking the glass would be more effective. As I'm forming a fist, someone calls out to me.