27 Holding Hands

There was a lull in the conversation after Landon had spoken. The negotiation was momentarily forgotten as the old man looked at Landon in disbelief. Ley's mouth twitched, guessing what was about to happen next.

"You don't know who the tattooist is?" the old man leaned forward with incredulity on his tone.

"No."

The crankiness was lost on the old man's face as he talked animatedly, "The tattooist is really famous here in Warped Alley especially on the engraving business. Other engravers only handle objects but the tattooist can engrave magic spells even on bodies as long as you can pay the sky-high price, be it magicks or shifters- maybe human too but I'm not sure since I've never heard it done before. That coveted business card is the only way to contact the tattooist. The card is enchanted too so you can't use it twice even if you know the number. No one knows the face or even its name that's why that card is very valuable. Whenever it appears on the market, people scrambled to get them even if they might not have a use for it at the moment."

"How are you so sure that I have that business card? Put forward a different trade instead," she cut him off after a few moments when he still didn't show signs of stopping.

"How would I know? I saw you checking out that card one night while you were passing by. I only want that card and you know very well that I am Old Bertie's only point of contact. Are you going through with the trade or not?" he countered, knowing very well that she needed it more than he does.

Ley wanted to slap herself from her stupidity. She was probably checking out if the card was still working at that time. He also was right when he said that he's the only one who knows the information since engravers only have one point of contact in Warped Alley. You could say that their relationship are business partners in a sense. The contacts are the one in charge of the selling and the only one who knows the specific details of the manufacturer.

Landon stared at her after a few moments of silence and said, "Let's just go back."

Ley looked at him and instantly knew that he doesn't care if they missed this information no matter how important it is. He wouldn't insist as long as she found it uncomfortable.

They couldn't afford to waste this chance though so Ley flipped open her wallet and took out a plain unassuming business card that only contained the engraved 'tattooist' word and number. She passed it to the eager-looking cranky guy who grabbed it carefully like it was made of glass. After examining the authenticity of the card, he kept it inside a box for safekeeping while grinning slyly.

He was all smiles now after getting what he wanted. He passed a note to them containing Old Bertie's location and advised, "Old Bertie had stopped engraving and have been in seclusion for a while now. Make sure you speak right when talking to her since that old hag is a pain in the ass to deal with."

She checked the note for any irregularities then said, "Trade complete."

"Good. Go then," he waved Landon and Ley away while he went back to sitting on his chair. The two left just as he started whistling happy tunes to himself.

They were tracing back their steps when Landon spoke in a decisive tone, "Do you really want to give away that card? I'm sure we can employ other methods to get the information that we need."

Ley glanced at his side profile against the night sky full of blinking floating lights. He still had his usual amiable expression but his eyes was indifferent. It radiated a cold light that reflects how cruel he can be when the situation calls for it.

"Well, none of those methods can get the info that we need in just 10 minutes. We can't afford to waste time," she said, standing by her decision.

"True but you lost that business card instead. What if you need that card in the near future?"

"Maybe but this is more important now," she replied, her tone noncommittal. She almost laughed at the idea of contacting herself. She felt a sudden tug from Landon that yanked her out of her thoughts and caused her to veer sideways to his direction and bumped his arm.

"W-woah!" she exclaimed in surprise while balancing herself and putting some distance between them as much as she could with their hands still connected

"There's a lamp post in front," he pointed in front.

"Oh right. Yeah," she mumbled in embarrassment. Stupid lamp post.

Due to that little scene, she was now more aware of their held hands. She didn't know when it happened. Before, she was the one holding Landon's hand but now her hand was the one being held. She felt the warm temperature and every inch of the lines and grooves of his palm enveloped hers. It was like her sense of touch was magnified. It made her feel secure and uneasy at the same time because of the feelings it evokes inside her.

"Hey," she heard his raspy voice whisper suddenly and that immediately got her attention.

"What?" she replied staring at him in confusion.

To her bemusement, he said in an amused tone, "We're already out," and then he pointed a meaningful gaze at their still held hands. More specifically, her hand still hanging on to his.

She immediately let go and started walking back to the building really fast to escape from the embarrassment. She heard him chuckle and sped up even more. They arrived quickly due to her half-running half-walking movement. She was about to head straight inside the building when she noticed a parked car in front with a man on a cap leaning on it.

When she finally recognized who it was, she exclaimed in surprise, "You came here so quickly!"