Things Not Subject To Gravity - Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Dee stopped before Cafe Palermo. He stood on the other side of the street, but he was still rather visible. Cautiously, he bent down and pretended to fix the strings of his right shoe—a classic Church in black leather—perfectly polished as it was meant to be. Out of the corner of his eyes, he checked the surroundings, looking for some place where he could lie in wait. He spotted a lingerie shop, the entrance of a private building, a pet shop and the bench at the bus stop.
He wasn't prepared for a tail and his classy outfit would've stood out in all places, however he noticed that one of the girls from the lingerie shop was staring at him. John's advice about enjoying his time in New York came to mind and, since he had already plunged himself into a highly improbable situation, he decided to catch the opportunity. He walked with firm steps toward the girl, and bestowed upon her the most charming of all his smiles while crossing the threshold of the glass door. She blushed. Pleased at her positive reaction, he introduced himself.
"I beg your pardon for my boldness." He showed off his British accent, calm and impeccable like a lord from a romance novel. To enhance his courtesy, he brought his right hand to his chest and bowed his head. "Meeting your eyes, I couldn't resist the temptation to come and make your acquaintance."
For a moment, the woman was left speechless. She just stared at him, as bewildered as somebody who had seen her favorite fictional character come to life. Her lips were slightly parted and a joyous glint danced in her eyes. To bring her back to the current century, Dee took off one of his black gloves and offered his right hand. Woken up from her daydream, the girl grabbed it.
"My name is David Green," he continued in a low voice, holding steadily onto her. "But you can call me Dee."
"Angéline Bernard, very... pleased... to meet you," she stuttered in a lovely French accent.
"I'm in New York for business and my stay is meant to be rather short, but I won't be able to forgive myself if I miss the chance to invite you out for dinner," he offered, with all the confidence and grace he could muster.
Slowly, he let go of her silky hand and, with the tip of his finger, adjusted the simple and elegant Armani glasses resting over his straight nose. He took the chance to cast a side-glance towards the door. He had been careful to stand in a place where he could face the cafe, so there was no chance he would lose sight of his real target.
Dee knew he was a keen observer, with decent knowledge in persuasion techniques and body language reading. He had no doubt he could handle both tasks at a time.
Angéline lowered her gaze and then looked around like a puppy.
Dee could tell she desperately needed to speak with her friend, to feel reassured about a positive reply, which normally would be considered too bold. He knew that inviting her for a coffee would've been much more discrete and agreeable, but he'd decided not to extend his stay for more than a week. He didn't have time to waste, so he got right to the point.
While he was thinking about a diversion that could give the girl the time to talk to her friend, his telephone rang. Dee pulled it out from the front pocket of his briefcase and concealed his surprise at seeing The Oracle's contact flashing on the screen.
"If you would excuse me for a moment," he said, keeping up his courtesy toward Angéline. "It's a professional matter."
He walked off the shop, clicking his tongue at the bus that temporarily shielded the Cafe. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the two girls were already chattering. His fingertip brushed the surface of the earphone he wore and, without further delay, he spoke his name in a clear voice.
"Good evening, Mister Green," the sophisticated and smooth voice of Miss Vain rang in his ear. "I called to let you know that Mister Vain is willing to meet you."
"I thought you said that Sybil Vain was you, did I mishear?" He couldn't hold back his snarky comment, but a satisfied grin curved his full lips.
"Come on now, Mister Green. From what I could see, you seemed to be a graceful and clever man. Don't prove me wrong with such a cheap reply. I'm sure you already know that Mister Vain doesn't make a habit of meeting all his clients and decides personally which are the ones worthy of his attention. Therefore, you should rejoice at the opportunity bestowed upon you."
Depending on the circumstances, it could've been a great opportunity or a carefully laid trap. Either way, Dee needed to gather all possible information.
"Assuming that I deserve Mister Vain's oh-so-precious attention, I suppose that you won't be able to tell me the reason for his change of heart." He took a little break, as if waiting for an answer, when he already knew it wouldn't come. The woman huffed and he completed his speech. "However, I assume you would be able to tell me how and when we are supposed to meet, at least."
"Obviously, reading Mister Vain's mind is not one of my many talents. If it was, you can rest assured that I wouldn't be here talking to you now," she countered. Then, she shifted back to her soft-spoken tone. "The appointment is scheduled for the 20th of May, at 4:30 in the afternoon. As a precaution, you'll be notified the address on the day of the meeting."
Dee was about to express his disagreement, since he had no intention to wait for a whole week, but she spoke again.
"Mister Vain won't accept any change of plan. This is a one-time-offer, David. Take it or leave it."
The Oracle set the rules of the game, placed his bet and already rushed for the showdown. Such a direct approach was uncalled for, even out of character, for Sybil Vain. It could've been fairly dangerous to meet under his conditions. His psychic abilities and massive knowledge of esoteric rituals gave him the upper hand. For all the trust Dee had in the seal placed on him by the Organization, there was no guarantee that Sybil Vain—with the right timing and tools—couldn't remove it. Either way, the Doctor was planning to solve the matter long before the scheduled date. He also believed that negative thinking led to negative outcomes, so he decided to play along.
"Well, Mister Green? If you're not up for it, you can refuse." As she spoke, a hint of nervousness showed up in the woman's voice. It sounded as though she would've been relieved to hear him decline.
"As things stand, I'm bound to comply," he said, keeping his voice low and mellow. "I'll be waiting for your instructions, and—for now—I wish you a lovely evening, Miss Vain."
She wisely glossed over his sarcasm. "Then it's settled. I wish you a pleasant evening as well, Mister Green."
"Mine will be, undoubtedly." He cut off the call and headed back to pretty Angéline.
Then, and only then, he realized that the distraction made him lose sight of his target. The corners of his mouth twitched downwards, but he pulled them right up and smiled at the girl.
If Vain had set up the call to shield his minion, he was even cannier than expected. Unpredictable didn't make any contact on the way to the cafe, but—once again—the place was in Dee's list and belonged to that unreasonably rude Italian man, whose daughter stood in Isaac's alley with the punk. To top it all off, Miss Vain had mentioned Isaac when she was handing over the book. Far too many coincidences piled up.
It was clear that those people were all connected.
Oracle Lady acted as Sybil Vain's decoy, the punk was likely to be his underling, and Isaac lied to cover them up. On the other hand, the bartender had no apparent reason to keep David Green away from his daughter, unless the waitress was personally connected to The Oracle as well.
Really, it didn't take a genius to guess they were all pawns on Vain's chessboard.
"Are you alright?" the girl asked, bringing Dee back to the present moment.
Concealing his bitterness, he nodded—his gaze meeting hers. Given how the day went, he really needed to let off some steam and get his mind to cool down.
"Sorry to have kept you. It seems that my job is more complicated than I assumed," he said while chuckling softly.
The girl gave him a warm, understanding smile. Dee opened the top pocket of his briefcase and pulled out his Swiss pen along with his business card. In his elegant and clean handwriting he noted the address of his hotel, highlighted his phone number, and then handed the card to her.
"This is my contact. I'm staying in the Theater District, at the Night Hotel's penthouse. In the event that you do me the honour of joining me for dinner, I'll be waiting for you at the Red Moon, at 8 p.m." He bowed his head once again.
Angéline read the card and nodded, entranced. Dee picked his briefcase back up, gave her one last glance, and walked off.
He also believed that a theory should be proven before being considered legitimate. For the matter at hand, clueless speculation wasn't doing any good.
Sybil Vain was the type of target he needed to rethink his ways for.