The one sent to meet him was actually Vermouth.
It seemed this mission wouldn't be easy. What Ritsu didn't understand, though, was why the organization had gone to the trouble of transferring him all the way from Tokyo. Could it be that the organization's operational members in the U.S. were so short-staffed that they had to pull people from Japan?
As a working grunt, Ritsu had no intention of idly asking Vermouth about such matters. After all, they weren't familiar with each other though he was quite interested in her.
Since Vermouth was very likely connected to APTX 4869, building a good relationship with her was necessary. Who knew, he might be able to extract some useful intel.
"Long time no see, Vermouth."
"I told you we'd meet again soon." Vermouth walked toward the suite's minibar, where bottles of various brands were neatly arranged. Picking up a bottle of Macallan, she smiled. "Ever had a Blood and Sand cocktail?"
"No."
"It's a cocktail that includes both Scotch whisky and vermouth."
With practiced ease, Vermouth gathered the ingredients and shook them together in a shaker. Her professional movements made Ritsu momentarily think she was a seasoned bartender.
She poured the deep blood-orange liquid into a chilled coupe glass, garnished it with a slice of orange peel, and handed it to Ritsu, indicating it was specially made for him.
Knowing his alcohol tolerance was low, Ritsu only took a small symbolic sip after accepting the drink. The fruity aroma was rich, the aftertaste sweet, with a hint of the smoky flavor unique to Scotch whisky. Overall, it leaned on the sweeter side, more like a beverage than strong liquor.
"This is my first time using Macallan for this cocktail. How is it?"
"It's very good."
"You can tell from just one sip?"
Ritsu awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not very good with alcohol. I don't want it to interfere with the mission."
"What if your mission is to drink with me?"
"Huh?"
For once, Vermouth managed to catch a look of genuine surprise on his usually calm face. She chuckled. "There aren't many operatives in the organization as easy to fool as you. Go sit on the couch and rest for a bit. I'll order room service, have you had breakfast?"
Did the burger from fourteen hours ago count? Of course not, it had long been digested.
Ritsu didn't stand on ceremony. "Then I'll take one too, thanks."
Being alone in a room with a movie star gave him a strange sense of restraint. Back at the apartment, it had been fine but now they were in a hotel suite and he could even see the large round bed through the open bedroom door.
Sitting stiffly on the couch, Ritsu took out his phone to ease the awkwardness, only to realize his airplane mode was still on.
The moment he turned it off, his phone froze.
"??"
He swiped the screen a couple of times, no response. Then suddenly, it began vibrating nonstop. A flood of emails poured into his inbox, and the constant ding ding ding notifications quickly became irritating.
He couldn't help but curse internally, 'Which idiot spammed me like this—?'
But the moment he saw the sender's name, the little voice in his head immediately erased that thought.
Because the sender was... Gin.
There were also two messages mixed in from Rei.
Not only were there countless emails but there were also 44 missed calls.
Ritsu couldn't help but wonder… had something happened in Tokyo? Or maybe one of the organization's labs or training facilities had been blown up?
Wait. Could this be a misunderstanding?
His mind raced, recalling something Vermouth had asked him to pass along to Gin months ago:
"I miss the days when we mixed Martinis together."
Thinking about what "mixing a Martini" implied and then about his current situation, alone in a room with Vermouth…
Could it be that Gin misunderstood and thought something was going on between them, which led to this barrage of calls?
Without even checking the emails, Ritsu immediately hit redial on the missed calls. He had to explain this right away. Otherwise, wouldn't it look like he had something going on with the boss's woman?
At that moment, the ringtone from his phone echoed from outside the hotel room door.
Ritsu blinked. 'No way, it can't be that coincidental, right?'
Vermouth was still in the bedroom ordering room service so he walked to the door with his phone in hand. The moment he opened it, a black gun barrel pressed directly against his forehead.
Standing outside, holding a phone in one hand, was none other than Gin.
"Gin, I—"
"Vermouth, what are you plotting this time?"
After realizing the one who opened the door was Ritsu, Gin lowered his Beretta. With a dark expression, he glanced at Vermouth, who stood there with arms crossed, watching the scene like a spectator and frowned.
"Oh my~ what brings you here, Gin?"
"I'm the one asking the questions."
Standing between the two, Ritsu felt like he should be somewhere far below ground. He quietly stepped back, trying to minimize his presence but with his tall build, disappearing wasn't exactly an option.
Vermouth clearly enjoyed Gin's serious demeanor. As expected of a man she once loved, she casually brushed back her long hair and said leisurely, "Of course I need his help. I have a task that requires his cooperation."
"What task?"
"You seem very interested. Why don't you join us? We've worked together many times before, playing a couple shouldn't be difficult for you, right? I'd be more than happy to have you."
Gin snorted coldly at her words. Turning his head, his gaze swept over the bottles on the bar, then shifted forward and landed on the Blood and Sand cocktail on the coffee table.
Ritsu immediately noticed Gin's line of sight and quickly stepped sideways to block it. "Sorry, Gin. My phone was on airplane mode so I didn't see your messages or missed calls. I was just—"
"A Blood and Sand cocktail. What's wrong, Gin? Want one? I can mix you a glass too," Vermouth interjected casually, observing their expressions.
His explanation was cut off again. 'This woman really thrives on chaos… she did that on purpose, didn't she?'
After staring at the glass for a long moment, Gin shifted his gaze to the tense-faced Ritsu and said coldly, "If you can't handle your liquor, then don't drink. Focus on completing the mission. If this woman tries anything… heh, you're free to deal with her as you see fit."
"??"
This wasn't how Ritsu had imagined things would go at all.
So Gin… wasn't jealous?
"Don't forget my relationship with that person, Gin."
"Hmph. Don't let it happen again."
'Don't let what happen again? Why did their conversation feel so hard to follow?'
For the first time, Ritsu felt a sense of defeat, like his intelligence had been crushed in a very strange way.
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