I pop my head through the door opening, flashing a wide, silly grin.
"Hi, Babe."
Jennifer's eyes widen slightly. "What are you doing here?"
There's surprise in her voice, but thankfully, it's the pleasant kind. She stands, approaches me, and scolds me lightly as I step inside her office.
"You're supposed to be in bed, resting."
But even as she says that, she leans in and kisses me.
I smirk. "I missed you."
I kiss her again, my lips lingering on hers.
"Can't we have some privacy somewhere?" I murmur, nibbling her lips.
Her office walls are all glass, completely transparent, with no covers, no shields. Her assistants work just outside.
"No. There's no room to do secret stuff in here," she teases.
Her hands press lightly against my chest, but her hips stay glued against mine.
"You pervert," she adds, feeling my reaction against her.
"You make me one," I whisper in her ear.
She giggles.
"Well, you're in bad luck," she says, kissing me softly. "Lunch is only half an hour away, but the presiding judge invited me to discuss a case in his office."
I click my tongue in disappointment.
"So I can't have you for lunch?" I ask.
She giggles again.
"Unfortunately, no. I'll be lucky if I even have time to eat lunch at all."
She kisses me again. "Sorry."
"That's okay," I murmur. "At least I know you'll be hungry enough to eat my sausage tonight."
She laughs. "I can't wait to eat it."
She bites her lower lip, teasing me.
Damn.
I inhale sharply, restraining my urge to take her right here, right now.
"I better leave before I do something we'll both regret," I exhale.
"You can stay if you want to," she offers.
"If I stay any longer, I can't promise I won't have you on that desk."
She laughs. "You really are a pervert."
She pecks my lips. "Okay, go."
I finally walk out of her office.
Now that I know she won't be leaving for lunch, I can be in relief. Her car will be ready before her office hour ends. I made Bob's man took her car to inspect it thorough to make sure that the culprit didn't make any dangerous action to it. I make a call to her favorite fried chicken restaurant and place an order.
"Hi, Thief. I just sent you a sketch of a face. Can you help me track this guy?"
The moment she picks up, Thief lets out a sigh.
"You're already on another mission?! You're supposed to be on bed rest for two weeks!"
She's grown up too fast. Nowadays, she acts like my mother.
"It's not a job," I explain. "That guy planted a bomb under Jen's car."
There's a sharp inhale on the other end.
"And I am resting!" I quickly add before she scolds me again.
"I've been laying on my couch all day," I lie. In reality, I've been researching disappearance tricks—exactly what the culprit pulled when he escaped Bob's men.
Thief sighs.
"So," I coax, "Would you do me a favor? Please?"
"I need to attend my father's debate," she says.
I pause, then soften my voice. "I see…"
I let the disappointment sit just long enough.
"Look, I'll remote into your computer and set up firewalls and security," she finally gives in. "Then, I'll hack into the traffic department systems from your laptop so you can access every CCTV in town."
I grin.
"I'll also run a facial recognition plugin to help you search for that man," she adds.
"You really are the—"
"I know," she cuts me off. "I just hope she's worth all your efforts."
I pause. "What do you mean?"
"Come on. You're definitely in love with her."
"I'm n—"
"Nanana! And don't say you're not! Even a stupid person could see it, and you know I ain't one."
I exhale.
"You don't approve of me being with her?"
She sighs again.
"I just don't want you to get hurt. She's exactly the kind of person you should avoid—because of your job. And hers."
I stay silent for a moment.
"Don't worry about me, okay?" I finally say. "I just don't want her to be killed. I would do the same thing for anyone I know."
Thief doesn't respond right away.
Then, finally—
"I'm remoting into your computer now," she says. "I need to get ready for the debate in less than an hour."
She ends the call.
Since Thief only gave me access to traffic department systems, my search is limited to license plates, tickets, and street cameras.
I run the facial recognition program.
No match.
I sigh.
I knew the chances were low, but I still feel a pang of disappointment.
I glance at the CCTV stream window—footage from cameras all over the city. The program scans the live feed, sending an alert if it finds a match.
No need to stare at it constantly.
So, I open a search engine.
And type one word.
"Ninja."
Bob's man said the culprit disappeared in smoke—a classic ninja technique.
He's either a ninja or an illusionist.
My gut says it's the first one.
The man's sketch doesn't scream Japanese, but it's the modern age. Globalization means even a white guy could be a ninjutsu practitioner.
I find a few ninjutsu communities in the country. Only two have websites.
The rest? Just gym addresses.
A click echoes through the room—Jennifer's door opening.
I immediately shut my search engine and pull up a game window.
"I thought you were resting," she half-scolds as she sees me staring at my laptop instead of sleeping.
I stretch. "I got bored sleeping too long."
I'm lying, of course. I haven't closed my eyes since morning.
She leans down and kisses me. "Thank you for the fried chicken."
I smirk. "You'll need energy to keep up with me later. I don't want you fainting in the middle of our… extreme exercise."
She laughs.
"I'll out-perform you this time," she declares confidently.
I grab her waist, roll her over, and pin her beneath me on the couch.
"You sure about that?" I murmur, kissing her nose.
"You recover too fast," she muses, amused by my quick movements.
I silence her with a kiss.
Within minutes, I've stripped off her bolero and tossed her blouse to the floor.
I reach for my shirt, but—
BEEP.
The laptop pings.
I sigh, reluctantly pulling away.
"What's that?" Jennifer asks.
I glance at the screen. The search application is open.
"I found a suspicious man in your office parking lot today," I say.
Her face hardens. "My killer?"
"Maybe. He was lurking near your car before my men… drove him away."
Her brows furrow. "Your men?"
I sigh.
"I asked someone to watch over you at the office."
She stays silent.
"It's just to make sure you're safe when I'm not around."
Jennifer swallows. "Are you mad at me?" I ask.
"No… I just… I thought I was past the danger."
"Hey," I whisper. "You're safe. I'll make sure of it."
A new alert pops up.
I scan the images.
The man is at a convenience store—then a crossroad—then…
An apartment building.
"I have to go."
"Alone?" she asks.
I kiss her. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."