Chapter 17 Adam?

Chapter 17 Adam?
In a busy Arclight street, a blonde-haired figure wearing a white t-shirt on black jeans walked along with the pedestrians, his steps calculated and purposeful. Focused on his destination, he ignored the looks everyone around was giving him as if he couldn't see them or they had no relevance.

Just then, a black sedan came to a sharp stop by the curb ahead of him, and the passenger door opened. Andrea stepped out of it and stood on the sidewalk obstructing his path, hands in the pockets of her long black coat. The backseat door also opened and Lucia stepped out, her smile ever present. She faced the blonde-haired man, an arm hugging the half-open door, and the other on top of the car.

"Hello Adam" Andrea greeted impassively as the man came to a stop in front of her.

There was a pause, and the world seemed to hold its breath with them. Pedestrians and traffic faded away and colors seemed to disappear as the man stood in front of Andrea.

Slowly he took off his glasses to reveal his beautiful blue eyes in a small squint as he stared at her. Andrea remained unfazed, her expression as if she would rather be anywhere else than here now.

The man glanced at Lucia and his frown deepened.

"I'll admit, I did not expect we would be meeting again this soon" he eventually sighed and looked down as he stroked the glasses of his shades.

"We are meeting for the first time" Andrea replied, her tone still even. She subtly glanced upwards at the sun then gestured with her head at the car.

"Get in, let's talk," she said, her tone curt.

Adam's brows raised, and he stared at her without moving, then glanced at Lucia, who still had that signature smile in the corner of her lips. A small smile appeared on his face, but he seemed to be suppressing it.

Nodding slightly, he obliged and got into the sedan.

Andrea glanced at Lucia who nodded back at her and took a step back as she closed the car door. As Andrea joined Adam in the car, Lucia walked to the sidewalk with her hands in her pockets and watched the car zoom off.

Within the car, Andrea and Adam sat silently.

"How did you find me?" he asked seeing that Andrea wasn't saying anything. His left hand tapped rhythmically on the door frame.

Sitting across from him, Andrea's gaze moved to his hand, then to his face and a soft smile appeared on her lips.

"You're consciously doing that aren't you?" she asked. She had seen Adam do this in the past, but to Gabriel it was second nature. She could tell that this wasn't a tick but deliberate.

Adam's hand tapping paused and he glanced around the car.

"Same sedan," he commented.
"Different person" he added and faced Andrea again.

"Let's talk about Min" Andrea changed the subject. Crossing her legs, she leaned her elbow on her knees and stared intently at him.

"Right... of course," Adam sighed and shook his head.

"Your puppet made a mess of my plans" he replied.

"Says a lot, doesn't it?" Andrea smiled again.

"It says nothing!" Adam shot back, his tone cold and eyes turned frosty.

"Save the tone for someone it might affect" Andrea waved dismissively.

"Min was supposed to be my introduction" Adam replied without context.

Andrea's brows raised and her eyes narrowed in amusement.
"Hero saving the damsel? How old school"

"Is this what you've learned from your puppet? Talking so much?" Adam asked, his tone betraying his irritation.

Andrea's expression turned impassive and bored and she sat back on the expensive leather.

"What do you want Adam?" she asked.

"Everything I deserve" Adam replied sharply.

"And what is it you think you deserve?" Andrea asked again.

This time, Adam did not respond. He simply stared at her with a squint.

"You can get out now," Andrea waved and the car slowly came to a stop.

Adam's expression turned frosty and the blue intensity of his eyes began to increase.

"You should know better. . . Adam" Andrea spat the name with warning.

Adam's eyes returned to normal, and the door was opened from the outside. He glanced up at the smiling Lucia and Andrea. Without a word, he got out of the car and Lucia got in. The car drove off leaving him standing on the curb with a solemn expression.

Inside the car, Lucia stared at Andrea with a confused expression.
"Why did you let him go?" she asked.

"He was expecting us" Andrea replied with disinterest.

"And how did you predict the length of your conversation and the distance the car traveled?" Lucia asked again, her eyes wide in bafflement.

Andrea glanced at her but said nothing and lowered her head to the tablet in her hand.

A text came through the notifications and she pulled it open.

"Are you done?" it read from Gabriel.

"Yes, thank you" Andrea replied.

"Why are you using my computing power on a human" another text came through.

Andrea stared at the screen without responding and yet another text came.

Gabriel: "It won't matter if they can't tell"

She smiled and texted back. "This person can"

Gabriel: "Who is it?"

Andrea: "Are you done?"

Gabriel: "No Miles just left"

Andrea: "Miles Oswald?"

Gabriel: "Yes"

Andrea: "Then stop doing two things at the same time"

No texts came after and she let out a breath in relief.

"How's Fiona?" she asked looking up at Lucia.

"She's good. With Tony, that man can be efficient when he wants to be. We got the powerplant," Lucia replied, to which Andrea simply nodded.

Back on the sidewalk, Adam stood as a silver sedan pulled up and the front passenger door opened.

Getting in, he took off his shades once more. And glanced at the rear mirror in annoyance.

"What happened at the plant?" he asked with a scowl.

Behind him, a man wearing a tux slowly shook his head.

"Tony happened" he replied.

"It's him again" Adam growled.

"You ran into Andrea Zade?" the figure asked.

"She's grown even more powerful" Adam replied, his tone thick with caution.

"Let's regroup and let the mad dog take it from here. You should focus on what you need to do" the man said.

Startled, Adam glanced at the mirror.

"Never again tell me what to do" he growled dangerously, his eyes viciously staring into the mirror.

Behind him, the man watched him through the mirror, his eyes narrowing into a challenging squint.
Adam turned around sharply, his eyes spitting fire.
The air seemed to ripple and the seat... was empty.

He glanced at the driver, but there was no one there. It was a self-driving car.

His eyes widened, and he deflated in his seat, hugging himself.