There was a constant hum in the atmosphere of the classy Berlin bar where only the well-to-do found welcome. Glasses clinked and hundreds of little conversations were being held as the musicians played a new song. Or perhaps it was the same one with a pause in between. It was hard to tell the songs apart by now. All around her, businessmen shook hands with politicians, and politicians wrapped their arms around slim women. She felt tempted to watch them, to gather all the information she could. But at the same time, she also wanted to ignore them. There wasn’t anything important for her here, but she had come as part of formality. At least it was something to do.
She might have left sooner and forgotten about all the nonsense, if she hadn’t kept getting that particular tingling sensation at the base of her neck. She knew what it meant, but why was she feeling it in here? There was no one who cared to watch her. They were barely glancing at her, unless they needed some kind of favor from her. But those conversations had been finished some time ago. No longer able to ignore it, she started to scan the room swiftly, looking for the source. Was it a person, or a camera? She wasn’t sure which one she hoped for. But then, her eyes locked onto those of someone else, she felt her heart skip a beat, and she nearly dropped the empty glass in her hand.
They kept staring at each other for another minute, until she finally set the glass down on the bar and walked straight over to him. As he remained sitting, she stood in front of him, staring down at him. It took her another moment to find the words, partly because she was still stunned, and partly because she wanted to just punch him in the face, despite the disturbance it would cause. “Of all the places you might have shown up in, I should have known you’d slink in through a den of slime and scum. Where the hell have you been? And before you say it, no, the irony of that sentence isn’t lost on me.”
