fardell24

Robert Towns entered the small cafe which lay in the middle of the shopping area which lay between the two universities. It wasn't busy, so he went to the counter and ordered the unusual drink that he had to order. It was different each time, so as to not to provide a pattern. In any case the only time the cafe was busy was on Friday afternoons, when the small stage was used for music, poetry or some kind of lecture (or some combination thereof).
It was just after Wednesday lunch time, a time he was supposed to be in class, but circumstances had conspired so that he was here instead of one of his university's Arts lecture halls. He received his unusual order. “Thanks,” he said quietly. He turned from the counter and looked at the other patrons. He knew the person who he'd be meeting would be someone from the other university that he hadn't met before, but he'd also been told what to look for. It took him less than 20 seconds to determine which one of the other patrons it was.
All the others were intent on something or other on the screen of their devices. The person he was looking for was staring out the window at the greenery in in the middle of the pedestrian mall outside. He walked up to her.

Isabelle Grady saw the man she didn't know come over. She sighed inwardly, knowing that meeting a string of strange men in a cafe was a given in the deal she struck in order to be able to attend the university. She looked him over and saw that he had ordered something unusual. But that was still not everything that had to be met. He sat down. “What brings someone like you to a cafe like this?” he asked, with emphasis on the second person pronoun.

“Oh, something,” she said as she had been directed and then waited for the second phrase. This was always the part she was most nervous about.

“Stability is important, I. M. G. Trouble can come at any moment,” the man said.

'Here goes,' she thought as she completed the code talk. “Truth is needed, but here it is R. N. T. Today is a not a day of trouble.” The man relaxed and took a tiny box out of his jacket pocket.

“This is what you need to pass along,” he said almost in a whisper/

Isabelle nodded, and finished her cappuccino in a gulp. Simultaneously she swept the box into her handbag. “Thanks for the meeting, but you're not my type!” she said loudly as she stood up.

Robert turned as the younger woman left the table. He would have preferred that she stay longer, but he knew what the rules were. He looked out the window and waited until he could see her cross the mall (twirling the end of one of her braids as she did so) before disappearing into an allyway on the other side. Once she was out of sight he took a sip from his order. He immediately spat it out. It was absolutely atrocious!

Isabelle entered her university via a side gate and entered a secluded garden between two of the faculties. She then placed the box beneath the single oak tree, to the side of a birdbath. She waited, but she didn't have to wait long. Another woman appeared, and took the box. “There was no trouble.”

“No trouble at all,” Isabelle answered.

“You can go now. You'll receive further instructions at a later time.”
“Yes, Ma'am.” Isabelle turned and then went towards a bathroom in one of the nearby faculties. She had class in less than fifteen minutes, and she wanted to look like her regular self.