Do I Know You? (1)

Fem elegantly chewed her food in silence as she pretended to have not noticed the eye-catching neatly composed tall figure slowly passing by the isle. Her heart pounded like a dribbled ball while her back felt pricked by millions of tiny needles and her ears started to feel hot.

'This man!' Fem was almost suffocated as she toyed her delicious food absentmindedly.

"Ma'am Maia, is the food not your liking?" Steve eyed at the lady beside him. Why did she suddenly went quiet? And she seemed out of trance.

"Ahhh..a...actually Im a bit full but I don't want to waste this food. Can I just take it out?" Fem suddenly had the urge to go home and hide. Maybe she's a bit tired if there was such a word as tired.

"Sure, I also need to check my mom in the hospital." Kevin said.

"What's her sickness? How is she?" Fem waved to a waiter.

"Well, I hope she's okay. She just had a mild stroke yesterday. Maybe because she forgot to drink her medicine." Kevin said.

"Okay then, order some take out and bring them to your mom. This is my treat. I forgot to tell you guys, I'll turn 23 on the 18th, so this will be my advance treat for you!" Fem smiled faintly.

"What? You're so tricky! You should've told us earlier so we could have ordered the most expensive ones!" Kevin slapped the table like something went to waste.

"Hmmm...what will I do? I just remembered it now!" Fem laughed a bit heartily as her nervousness began to ease.

Steve watched his superior laugh lightly. Her eyes brimming with silliness. He glanced away and rubbed his nose helplessly.

After ordering some seafood porridge for Kevin's mother and paying the bill, the three headed out only to ne stopped by the cashier at the entrance. Fem held the box of her left over while Kevin had a plastic bag of seafood porridge.

"Maam, Sir, please wait a moment." The woman cashier said as she gestured for them to come near the counter.

"Did we miss something?" Fem raised her left eyebrow.

"Not really ma'am. Your bill was actually paid by someone who just gone out ahead of you. I should refund your money but I need you to sign this first." The cashier said as she handed a refund sheet of paper.

"Hmmm... why we paid in cash so it's not really necessary to sign anything, what?" Fem raised her right brow this time. She did not find ut necessary to sign anything when all the cashier would do was to give back her money in cash. She smelt something fishy.

"That's right ma'am but the cash register is closed and I cannot just take out anything without permission, so would you please help me. I'm really sorry." The cashier said like apologetically.

"Steve, please sign it. After all you're our big brother." Fem said with a chuckle.

"My dearest Maia, sure! I'm willing to sign anything for you!" Steve had few words but he always makes it a point that his words made sense. He grabbed the cashier's pen, wrote his name then scribbled something like a doctor's prescription over it.

"Okay, that's it?" Fem stared at the cashier only a disappointed expression.

'Ha! You think you can trick me huh!' Fem smiled in her mind. She knew that the 'someone' who paid their bill a while ago was that that man. 'Does he want to study my penmanship?' She felt goosebumps all over her body. 'What if he goes found out that I'm working at WangCargo Express? Would he come and investigate me?'

"Okay ma'am, sir! We're so sorry for holding your time. We'll be glad to offer you 20% off of our service next time. Here, please take this coupon. We also have VIP rooms upstairs if you want an exclusive dining room for yourselves." The cashier said her lengthy advertisement.

" Sure, sure, no problem. Thanks for the service. Bro Steve, Little Kevin's mom must be hungry. Let's go!" Fem lightly nudged Steve's arm.

Steve and Fem dropped Kevin to the South City Medical Center which was along the way to Fem's apartment. After dropping his boss, Steve headed back to the warehouse. Unknown to many employees, he made himself a backroom behind his office. Most of the time, he uses this room as his lodging especially if he needs to wake up too early or do overtime work which he often does.

Fem on the other received a message from a new number while they she was in the car with Steve.

[Meet me at the cafe we last entered in 30 mins. Don't reply.]

Fem shivered. Her brother is here! What could he be bringing this time? She heard Mark speaking over the phone about being 'active' and 'tapping conversations'. She also remembered her brother telling her to leave her simcard at home for fear of being tracked.

'What if Mark had tracked her brother and saw them together! She hurried to her apartment to get changed. She first washed her face including the mole of ink that was almost becoming permanent on her cheek. She quickly dabbed a ready made plastic tattoo on her right arm. It was a deep red rose with thick thorns on its stem. Even at close eye proximity, one could not tell that it is just a ready made tattoo sold in the market. Fem bought this from a store in the street market when she was bored at her apartment one Saturday evening. She never liked wearing tattoos by the way, but it seems everything she bumps into were having their own use. She put on a long cotton black and white striped sleeveless dress, and studied how she might disguise her face. Wait, it was actually her hair that needed to be disguised first.

Fem quickly removed her dress and changed into a straight cut jeans that was quite large for her. The jeans was falling off from her hips . It came to her that he needed to wear more pants underneath so she could look more big. She undressed and grabbed one skinny pant, and two shorts. She wore the tight shorts first, then the skinny pants, then the other bigger short pants then finally the straight cut jeans. It was now fitting just right on her hips.

Now, she needed also to expand her upper body. What will she do? Isn't it quite weird to look stout in the lower and very slim at the upper?Hmmmm! Ha!

Fem snapped. She grabbed back the striped dress she just removed a while ago and wrapped around her tummy part tucking its end inside the layers of pants. Next, she pulled a red t-shirt and put it on. She smiled wickedly as she looked at her bulging figure. She is not yet done!

Since it was night and the aircon inside the cafe might get her cold, she pulled her dinem jacket which she brought all the way from home. Good thing was that she wasn't able to use this when they first appeared here from the rebel's camp.

She thought of camouflaging her face with her nonprescriptive anti-UV eyeglasses which she uses in her office, put on her black cap, her socks and sneakers then hurriedly struggled to the nearby cafe.

At the cafe, Vhan, who was dressed like a distressed wife was feeling tensed at the stares of the staff passing back and forth beside him. He had told them earlier that he needs to wait for somebody to treat her for dinner. His shuggy hair and worn out slippers looked like he just escaped from a near death experience.

As Vhan was frowning like an scorned house wife, a bulky framed not so tall man entered the cafe`s entrance. His aura was magnetic that one couldn't help but stare for longer time. Vhan indeed stared at him suspiciously but when the man drew closer, he noticed something was different. He looked down and discreetly tapped his hand on his seat as a sign that it was him.

Fem approached him twitching a smile.

Vhan couldn't believe how handsome his sister could also be! Ha ha!

"Get us some food first! " Vhan originally wanted to ask why she took so long but didn't fuss anymore about since it must have taken her long time to disguise herself.

"You talk and eat while I listen. Oh, by the way, do you have with you the simcard you used to text me just now?" Fem whispered worriedly as Vhan started eating.

"Shhh, that was Niel's number. I called him to text you around this time before I rode the bus coming here." Vhan answered.

Fem's face turned grim all of a sudden.

"Idiot! Why did you do that? Do you know Mark could trace me right now? I think he has tapped Niel's number!" Fem whispered angrily.

"I'm not dumb and Niel is smart! He got another phone you know? All thanks to you for spoiling him." Vhan kept his eyes on his food as he attentively talked.

"So why did you show up this time?" Fem asked. Why not tomorrow or next day?

"How could you say that my dear brother! I need a place to hide from my husband. Does your apartment have space for your sister?" Vhan's now louder voice automatically sounded like a pitiful woman.

Fem eyed at her brother feeling some laughter churning inside her tummy but could not let out. She had to suppress her careless laughter now. If only she could imitate a deep baritone voice, she could have erupted into a fit of laughter and rolled on the floor.

"Poor sister, why do you always make yourself miserable? I always told you to get out from that addict of a husband! Let's go!" Fem rode on the drama, mustering a deep male voice he could manage. She quickly stood as she stared at her brother who stood up like a battered wife.

It was now half past nine at night. Vhan and Fem silently made their way to her apartment. While they were in the stop light waiting for the go signal to cross the road, a wailing woman was heard at the opposite side of the road. She was being chased by a drunken man who staggered as he strived to chase the woman. The green light lit and everyone at opposite side of the road was now on their tracks.

"Wait!" The wailing woman shouted. Vhan and Fem didn't give much attention to the couple. They both thought they don't have time to mind others' business when they themselves have their own.

" I said wait! You can't ignore me like this! Please help me stop that man!" The woman shouted and pointed at Fem and Vhan's direction.

In Fem's annoyance, she turned her head to the woman only to see her pointing at her.

"What!" Fem uttered in complete surprise. This woman is cooking up some trouble!