Sauerkraut Soup

Knox finished making the Sauerkraut Soup and placed it in front of Rory. He then made him a plate and sat at the other side of the counter.

Rory didn't bother to pick up her utensils. Instead she carefully watched his every movement.

"Considering that a free meal doesn't exist. I'm curious Mr. Mikhalson. What exactly do you want from me?"

Knox looked at her untouched dish, "You think I added poison?"

"How could I? After all, roommates wouldn't do something so evil to each other would they?"

Rory picked up a spoon and swirled it around the untouched soup. Since she only entered the room when Knox was nearly finished cooking, she couldn't be sure that it was completely safe.

Using poison to control someone wasn't something uncommon nor was it a bad idea. Whoever was the victim could be inflicted for life; therefore, possibly in slavery for their entire life.

She couldn't smell any obvious signs of poison, but then again only an idiot would make a poison obvious.

"Really? Then why aren't you eating?" Knox's lips tilted up into a devilish smile.

Rory didn't let the taunt bother her and motioned toward his meal, "You first."

"You are the one being served. Isn't it only right that you get the first taste?"

Rory felt the urge to shove a spoonful in his mouth. Her hand clutched the spoon tightly to prevent herself from losing her temper.

Didn't he know not to poke a starving bear?

"How could I rob the chef from getting the first taste of his work?" She let out a thin smile. "I insist."

Knox let out a low laugh. Gracefully he used his spoon to collect some of the soupy cabbage and tasted it. "Happy now? If I wanted to poison you I could just directly force the poison down your throat. Hiding it in food is such a waste of time... don't you agree?"

It was blatant threat.

"I completely agree. Unfortunately there are so many slimy looking people in the world. They all hold the same shifty eyes and creepy smiles. It's hard to differentiate."

Rory finally picked up her spoon and swallowed some of the soup. Her eyes shined after she tasted it. His cooking was actually really good!

"Are you saying I have shifty eyes and a creepy smile Mr. Hynes?"

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some people like that look, don't worry you will find someone one day."

Knox lost his smile.

It seemed that this kid decided to drop all precautions. To sit right in front of his face and call him ugly? Who would dare?

"You are getting bolder... some would say too bold." Knox's voice was filled with malicious intentions that could send chills down even the bravest person's back.

Rory felt a rebuttal coming, but stopped herself from mocking him. It ended with her choking slightly. If they didn't reach the point of this conversation, he was going to murder her.

Bold!? He hadn't even seen the tip of how bold she could get!

"Mr. Mikhalson isn't it about time you told me the reason for this lovely dinner? While I know my personality is exceedingly enjoyable to be around, I'm rather sure you didn't invite me here for idle conversation."

Rory twirled her spoon in the soup once more before placing it on the napkin next to her plate. She folded her hands on her lap in a sophisticated manner while giving Knox a probing look.

"Are you sure you don't already know why Mr. Hynes?"

Knox's eyes took on an appreciative light at Rory's down to business personality. Seeing her formal posture and calm eyes, he couldn't help but get the feeling that she had handled millions of business transactions before.

How could someone like Rory have this kind of sophistication? He had done extensive research on her life, but still couldn't figure out how she learned to disassemble a military grade gun or hack into a secure network like cloud.

Never before has he encountered so much trouble finding out about someone.

"I'm guessing it has something to do with the man in the trench coat you had following me earlier today?"

Suddenly, Rory had the impression that she was being stared at by a lion. Her lips tilted into a wicked smile. She already found a way to play this game.

Sadly, for Knox that playing field wouldn't be fair.

"How did you know he was someone who worked under me?"

No one except for those close to him or after him knew his network of people. Rory wasn't someone close to him. He had dropped his guard because he was excited to meet someone who could match him in hacking.

It would be such a shame if Rory had affiliations with any of his enemies. Killing him would be the least thing he would do.

Rory gave him a simple look, "You mentioned the coffee shop earlier."

"Yet, out of all of the people following, you specifically knew he was the one I had following you? Don't play games with me Mr. Hynes, I don't give second chances to those who betray me."

"Betrayed? I didn't think we were so close to betray each other."

Knox stayed quiet. His lips were pressed and his sharp eyebrows were drawn together. It was clear he wasn't going to repeat himself.

Rory sighed, "I read his lips through the window speaking Russian. The rain was to heavy to know what he was saying. However, It didn't take much brains to figure out who sent him."

Knox's face blanked. This kid knew Russian? Who the hell are you Rory? He was slowly starting to become sure that the person in the records wasn't the person he was looking at now.

However, how was that possible? It may not be possible, but he couldn't shake the thought.

"Impressive. How is it exactly that you can fail nearly all of your classes, however can understand Russian?"

"Read."

"Your computer skills?"

"I can use Microsoft and excel."

Lines grew on Knox's forehead. This was going no where.

"Mr. Mikhalson, is my past relevant to this conversation?"

Knox looked at her lightly, "I guess it is not. Mr. Hynes I want to offer you employment at Cloud."