EasterSpice

  Either I wasn’t inconspicuous enough, or Elisheba never took her eyes off me. They came over.

  “Good day.” I tried to ignore Bala’s clipped voice. “Hello there. Are you the new associate? From the home office?”

  I plastered a smile on my face. “Yes. I’m Desiree.”

  Bala stepped past Seria and offered me her hand. She introduced herself. “Oh yes. You will be working on Elisheba’s projects? And mine too? I’m happy to meet you.”

  I didn’t want to appear reluctant, but I had to figure things out. Was I supposed to know Elisheba, or not? I nodded, forcing a small smile. Elisheba’s eyes never left mine. She looked as surprised as I felt. She choked a little before regaining her composure.

  “Everyone here has been so friendly,” I said, finally.

  “When did you arrive?” Bala asked. “Is the jet lag so bad?”

  “Just yesterday. Not so much, but I’ve already been lost, and I’ve already been invited to a party, so I guess things are good and bad. I’ll adjust.”

  Surprise crossed Bala’s face, and she let out a little “Oh”. Maybe she was surprised I’d already been invited.

  Elisheba finally got herself together. “Is it tonight? Bala just invited me to one too. Maybe we can ride together.”

  I narrowed my eyes. She needed to go slow and treat me more like a stranger. Whatever had happened since we’d spoken last sure looked good on her. That didn’t surprise me though. Back home, she was always just a little overconfident.

  Bala’s head did that funny side-to-side bobble thing, masking anything else she might have been feeling. If Seria noticed, she didn’t say anything.

  “Elisheba, is it?”

  She looked surprised for a minute, then pursed her lips and extended her hand for a handshake. “Yes. Yes it is. It’s my pleasure to meet you.”

  The little hairs on the back of my neck bristled and my mind raced with a thousand questions. There was something in her tone of voice that made me miss our old friendship, but something else made me annoyed that she had to treat me as she did. She was just doing her job. So out of character for her. Of the two of us. I’d always been the one to do the right thing. She’d been the reckless one.

  Elisheba held my hand just a little too long.

  “You are an American, right?” I asked her. “They told me about you. How’s it been since you got here? Everyone seems so friendly, I’m sure it’s been fine.” I tried my best to make it seem as if I had never laid my eyes on her before.

  “Truthfully, it’s been a little lonely. Until a few days ago, I hadn’t met very many people at all. Very little to do outside of this place.”

  “Really? Homesick?” Elisheba always knew how to find fun, so I found it almost hard to believe that she couldn’t find anything to do.

  “Just a little,” she said. “I miss my friends most.” Elisheba paused. “But I realize that me being here is best. I’m from Texas, but my parents are Indian.”

  Elisheba was trying to tell me something, but she couldn’t say everything in the first few minutes. She was talking way too quickly. I needed to slow her down. “I tell you what. I have a driver. How about if my driver takes us to the party tonight?”

  Both Elisheba and Bala looked surprised. “I suppose that is far better than a taxi, right?” Bala gave me a slight frown, almost as if she were scolding me for embarrassing her in front of the important American. Had I broken some rule by offering my car instead of letting her offer hers?

  “And Bala, you’re the program manager, correct?” I spoke to Bala, but kept my eyes on Seria. It needed to be clear that there would be strict consequences if she broke our cover.

  Bala shifted her weight from foot to foot as if she were uncomfortable as her voice squeaked out the syllables in staccato bursts. “Yes, that is correct.” She seemed completely caught off guard by the exchange between us.

  “That’s great then. Hopefully, this will all run very smoothly and we won’t have any problems.” I pulled out my chair and sat in it. Bala looked from me to Elisheba, then back to me. Her mind was obviously working. I had no real background on her, but I wasn’t about to dismiss her as unimportant. Appearances were often deceiving. The meek office girl might turn out to be very different from the woman who invited me to the crazy party, or whatever it was. It crossed my mind that she might have some deep, dark secret up her sleeve too, but I quickly pushed the thought away.

  Something in my head told me I couldn’t break the gaze first. There was an unspoken sister-girl challenge happening between Elisheba and me, but I still would make no apologies for what I was or what I had done. I liked myself too much for that, even after everything was said and done. My motivations were the ones that been good and honest. Finally, she was the one who looked away.

  I decided to break up the awkwardness. “Would one of you show me where the facilities are?”

  Bala stepped forward. “I—”

  Elisheba cut her off. “I’ll do it. I have to go anyway.”

  Bala shrugged and bobbled her head, but still looked defeated.

  “Bala, it was great meeting you. We can talk about the project first thing tomorrow, okay?” Elisheba and I headed off toward the restroom without leaving time for the woman to answer. Neither one of us said a word as we made our way down the hall.

  I held my finger in front of my lips when we entered and checked the bathroom quickly. There was no telling what would come from Elisheba’s mouth. Surely, she knew how to be more discreet now, but a part of me didn’t trust her. Her spontaneity had often been just short of reckless. She looked as if she was about to burst now. She bounced on her toes, barely able to contain herself.

  “We’re alone,” I said.

  “Oh my god, Desiree,” she said, rushing toward me. “I’m so glad to see you.” She held out her arms as if she was going to hug me, but I stepped back.

  My feelings were mixed. “I’m not here to be your friend.” I could hear Sam’s voice in my head. You could never be too careful.

  Elisheba looked surprised. I almost felt a pang of guilt. I missed her as my friend, too, but I couldn’t just forget what had happened.

  “We have a job to do and we can’t blow our cover by acting like we know each other when we aren’t supposed to.” I needed to make it clear how things were going to be. Business was business.

  “I see. I guess that this whole super-spy thing is a big step up from data entry for you.”

  I ignored her comment. “What’s the deal with Bala?” I sensed Elisheba’s hesitation as she put things in perspective. Finally a glimmer of recognition entered her eyes.

  “Well, she has pretty much ignored me until now, just like all the other women around here. I’m still an outsider.”

  I nodded. “You’re not here to make friends, anyway.”

  “Well, she invited me to that party. I was surprised. That’s it,” she spat. “But you know that already. You can just look at the video.” She pointed to the bindi jewel. “People pretty much ignored me and I just stood around. I think they were checking me out or something. Frankly, I was surprised to be invited back.”

  “Well, I’ll be there tonight. If there is any information to be found, we’ll find it.”

  “That’s what we’re here for, right?” Elisheba paused. “You should be thanking me, I guess. If it wasn’t for me, you’d still be one of a hundred in a go-nowhere office job instead of a Moneypenny chick with a bad-ass retirement plan and unlimited expense account.” The venom her voice was unbelievable.

  “You always did have to be the center of everything.” I shook my head. “We have a job to do. We can settle our differences later, or at least put them to the back of the agenda for the purposes of accomplishing the mission.”

  She was quiet for a minute. It seemed as if she were mulling things over. “Whatever, Desiree.”

  “Either this thing gets solved or you go to jail. Is that a chance you’re willing to take?” The silence in the bathro
om was long and loud.

  Finally, she nodded. “Orange never was a good color on me.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “If you say so.”

  Elisheba softened. “I’m proud of you, Dez. You are so much more confident than the Dez I knew. You’ve changed your life. You have so much more going for you now.”

  She was right about that part, but I wasn’t about to tell her that. “Maybe,” I said. “But we have to get back to our desks or it will look suspicious.” A thousand questions roared through my brain as I tried to figure how we would work together without being awkward. I thought I was angry with her, but it was obvious Elisheba had some baggage too. We were on opposite sides of the wrong people, but we were still pretty much in the same place. I had flashbacks to a better time when we were best friends and shared secrets. The secrets had been small and petty and didn’t really matter back then. Things were obviously different now. These secrets were life and death. I’d blinked and we’d graduated from girlish things and into the big leagues.

  She didn’t speak to me again until we were almost back to our desks. “At least one of us has a path. I have no idea what I’ll do next.”

  Our reunion wasn’t what I’d expected, but it was clear that things were very, very different. We certainly weren’t in Texas anymore.

  Chapter Eight

  Sam

  The party wasn’t hard to find, especially since I had a driver. I don’t know how anyone came to India and drove themselves. I ditched him around the corner and made my way to the address that Reed had sent me. Walking was no easy feat; I had to avoid piles of garbage and cow dung. All India had never seen a trash bag, I was sure of it.

  I reviewed my memory of the slip of paper in my head. The address had been written out, plain and simple, and Reed had promised that the place would be easy to find. It was dusk, and I didn’t want to be out walking around in the filth alone at night. One call and backup would show up, no problem, but I was more worried about the unfamiliar creatures than I was unfamiliar people. Who knows what I might be bitten or stung by wandering around after dark in this place.

  I knocked at the door, but no one answered, so let myself in. There was a small table just inside the door with a guest book and a small velvet bin with a sign next to it. I hesitated. The sign said “Take one” in English instead of Kannada or Hindi, and that threw me off so much that it took a moment to register. There were masks in the box. I picked one up and turned it over in my hand. Basic black with a few jewels around the eyes, it was a Robin Hood-type mask. Why in the world would they want their guests to wear a mask, but then sign their names in a guest book?

  A long hallway opened into a dark, cavernous room, already half full with people and it wasn’t even nightfall. Apparently, these parties were pretty popular.

  Fake candles, attached to the wall by old-fashioned sconces, dimly lit the room. I couldn’t really make out too many faces, and the voices only sounded like a low murmur over the Indian music. The candles cast shadows that gave everything an eerie look. I felt as if I was watching a thriller-type movie at the point just before bad shit happened.

  My eyes adjusted to the light and I realized that the room wasn’t a cavern after all. There were several small alcoves set in varying distances around the room. All were portioned off by heavy curtains that fluttered occasionally. The light coming from behind several of the curtains flickered as if someone was moving behind them. I watched as an occasional person passed in and out of the alcoves; some carried things in, others went in and came out looking reasonably happy.

  A feeling in my gut told me that I needed to see what was going on behind those curtains. I tried to be inconspicuous as I slinked around the room, sticking to the walls as close as possible so I could keep my eyes on things.

  “Can I help you find a drink, perhaps? Or something else?”

  I cursed under my breath and tried to look around the man who had stopped my progress. “No, I’m good.”

  “You really must try our spirits.” I tried to place his accent but couldn’t. It was clearly not Indian, but it wasn’t British either. His face was obscured by his mask. His was different than the others in the room; a feather protruded from where the brow line should have been.

  I tried to relax. This was supposed to be a party after all. I leaned back against the wall. “On second thought, I will have a drink.”

  The lower half of the stranger’s face broke into smile. His skin was tan, but not Indian tan. “First time here?”

  I nodded, then swallowed hard.

  “Welcome, then. I’m sure you will find something to enjoy here.”

  Why did that sound so loaded to me? “Enjoy?”

  “That is the whole point, isn’t it? Come. Walk with me.”

  I was wary but not stupid. I glanced over to the alcove that had been my intended destination. My heart beat loud in my ears. I didn’t know who this man was, but I’d been trained to find out without asking.

  We walked toward the back of the large room. He continued, and I let him. “Many people come to my parties. Three times a week. Some come for fun. We have it all here. Everything India has to offer in a good time.”

  In those few words, he’d already told me a lot more than I’d counted on. So far, so good. “That sounds promising.”

  He stopped walking so abruptly that I almost walked into him. “It’s more than promising, my friend. It is guaranteed.”

  Chapter Nine

  Desiree

  The mood was absolutely tense in the car. Elisheba and I sat as far away from each other as possible, each one of us practically hugging our door. The driver periodically made eye contact with me using the rearview mirror, a look of bewilderment on his face.

  I cleared my throat. “So, Bala said her friend wanted to meet you? You know anything about this friend?”

  Elisheba shook her head. “Not a thing.”

  “And you’re willing to just walk into that?” It was hard not to sound condescending. “What if it’s a trap?”

  “What kind of trap could it possibly be? Besides, this is the most excitement I’ve had since I got here. The dullness is killing me.”

  As long as she was chasing excitement, she’d always be just outside some kind of trouble but it wasn’t my place to tell her that. I wasn’t the type to rain on anyone’s parade. “You know anything about this place at all?”

  Elisheba shook her head again, and unlike me, she didn’t seem to be concerned at all. “It seemed cool last time, but you know I have no sense of direction at all. The car will get us there.”

  “You sound very confident of that.” How did she know the driver wouldn’t just run off with us? I’d read somewhere that Americans had been kidnapped in India before, forced to go from ATM to ATM to withdraw money. I pulled put my iPhone and shook it. “How well do you know him?”

  “Very well. He’s driven me several times, so you can stop worrying. Shaking your phone won’t help you get a signal. And if you’re planning to use the map, it won’t work out here, so forget it.” Elisheba turned back toward the window, but I knew she couldn’t ignore me. There was still too much tension between us.

  I stared at the blip on my screen that was supposed to be us as the car lurched back and forth. The driver kept taking roads that were more alleys than anything else. I couldn’t tell where I was because I could barely make out any landmarks. It all looked the same. Hell, I couldn’t even really see the road at all. They were packed curb to curb, filled with every kind of vehicle you could imagine, and those were punctuated by the occasional cow. The narrowness made the roads barely look passable and most of them didn’t even register in my map software. I kept holding the small screen in my hand and stared at it periodically, even though it said I was in the middle of nothing when there was obviously lots and lots of stuff going on around me.

  Elisheba chuckled. “This is India, Dez. You’re just going to have to go with it.”

  What the hell was she talkin
g about? Go with what? My screen showed nothing, not even on satellite mode. It was obvious someone who thought they were the center of the universe didn’t think that these people and these neighborhoods were worth charting. I shook my head. How could a country with a population of over billion not be worth charting? Not much different from the ‘hood back home.

  The longer we rode, the narrower the streets became. Every kind of vehicle filled the road. There were more lorry trucks than anything else. They owned the road, the fronts decorated with lights and flowers because of the upcoming “festive season” as they called it. The information had been in the material Reed had given me. I’d read it all, even if it was extremely slanted and had barely skimmed the surface.

  Almost all of the religions, except Christians, and certainly the entire country of India celebrated Diwali. It seemed like a cross between our Christmas and Hanukkah or something like it. They gave gifts and lit candles for it.

  Small three-wheeler cars and tons of motorcycles carrying as many as five people wove between the trucks. I watched in stunned amazement, flinching every turn. The occasional ox pulling a flatbed cart, donkeys and even cows thrown in, made for the perfect mayhem.

  “You think we’re lost?” I asked, not really expecting an answer.

  “Of course. But sometimes, you just have to trust. No use worrying about things you can’t control.”

  “And therein lies the difference between the two of us.”

  Elisheba chuckled. “Therein? Since when do you talk like that? Is that what they taught you for all these months? I feel like I barely know you.” She laughed again. “I hope you learned some more useful stuff. Unless you plan on talking your way out of any tough spots, and I don’t think that shit is gonna work.”