Chapter 5. Night Period

Charm was bewildered for a second and didn't notice the drop of blood until it almost touched her lips. It was then she quickly hid her nose and mouth with her thin hands. In the midst of embarrassment and failure, she peeked at the rear-view mirror only to see the shameless man looking back.

For the next few seconds, only her eyes made any movements. Yet the blood had vanished when she put her hands down.

Cough.

For a change, she looked outside the window. Only the street lights were on. Some of them blinked, whereas the others were dim. Most of the houses were blacked out, and the road had no other vehicle. Was this the same road she took while trailing the taxi?

"Stop the car!" she slowly said. "Stop!" she increased her voice. The taxi slowed down but didn't stop.

"Why," Lyle asked. His one hand stayed on the steering wheel while the other was hidden from Charm's sight.

"Where are you taking me?!"

"Love Restaurant," Lyle replied nonchalantly.

"STOP THE CAR!" Charm's fists were clenched. "Otherwise I will kill you." She swung her hand on the glass window.

The taxi further slowed down and finally stopped. Lyle turned her head to look towards Charm. A sense of relief passed over him when he saw the unbroken glass. But looking back at the girl, her face showed a flush of anger.

"I can see your ill intentions," she said. "If you are going to break our agreement, then I… our oath will be invalid. And I will touch you!"

"I am taking you to Cash, Love Restaurant. Open GPS, map on your phone if you are worried about the route."

"You open it on your phone. No! Open it on mine."

Lyle lifted his hand from the steering wheel and exhaled deeply. He took out the broken phone from his pocket and held it so Charm could see the screen. Then he showed the steps to see the directions for a searched location.

"And this blue dot is us." Charm quickly opened it on her phone and showed it to Lyle.

"It's your phone."

"Move." Charm saw the map and arrived at a number. "Eleven blocks forward, then stop." The taxi moved and so did the blue dot. As they moved, Charm looked multiple times at the window. She nodded on seeing the park when the taxi stopped.

The journey proceeded smoothly after this. Charm was busy with her phone the entire time. Apparently, she was looking at pictures of the Love Restaurant and read many reviews that were posted on the map app. And this is how she realized the term 'date' meant meeting between lovers.

***

Love Restaurant was technically the name of a building that had public restaurants on the first few floors. You could actually drive a car straight inside the place, as the parking was in the basement and on the floor above the restaurant. On the upper floors were private restaurants, and at the top were two penthouse apartment units.

A taxi drove into the underground parking lot. This place totally lived up to the expectations of the passenger in the back seat. There were a fair amount of cars parked, but you could see no 1990 BMVV.

"His car is not here." Charm was actively looking outside the window.

Lyle drove the taxi around the parking lot one more time. But there were no signs of Cash's BMVV. He was about to drive around for a third time when he remembered something.

"It must be on the upper floor." Lyle parked the taxi.

"Drive us to the upper floor then!" Charm didn't wish to get out but proceeded to get out when the back door automatically opened. Her eyes were brighter than before, and she was ready for any shenanigans.

"The upper parking lot needs a reservation," Lyle said. He pondered on the possibility of Cash revealing his whereabouts over the phone.

At this moment a tune played, the music echoed in the parking lot. Charm and Lyle both took out their phones. But it was the police officer's phone that got a call. She looked at the number and instantly recognized it.

"Dad…" she looked at Lyle before saying. "I am busy." After a while, her tone changed and she continued with short syllables. "Yes, yes…" While still being on the phone, she signaled at Lyle with her head.

There were more yes and no(s) on them as she followed Lyle, who opened the door that led to the emergency stairs. They climbed up and up until they reached another parking lot. The cars in here were all different and freaking expensive except one. In one corner stood an old 1990 All Black BMVV 325i.

"This is it," Lyle said when Charm hung up the phone. "I won't accompany you anymore." He was ready to walk away as she saw Charm's gaze. "Don't forget your oath," he said at last.

"How did you know this place?" Charm asked.

"I am a taxi driver," Lyle said while walking away.

"Are you breaking our agreement?"

"I helped you." Lyle stopped walking. "And I am sure we will meet again," he added.

"Help me find him," Charm didn't budge on her stance. She didn't like how this taxi driver didn't listen to her and how he wanted to just walk away from everything. On top of it, she believed that Lyle was a compulsive liar.

"And after that? I think we made a simple agreement, and I did my part."

"I still don't see him-"

"We will be fair and square after you meet Cash, face to face." Lyle interrupted. "And you will keep your oath. Yes?"

Charm could only nod in agreement. She couldn't afford to look for Cash on her own. Additionally, she believed that accompanying Lyle would leave Cash off guard. The night was tough on her, but she would turn the whole thing around after this was done.

***

One more floor had to be climbed using the emergency stairs. A guard stopped them, only to let them through after confirming the authenticity of a police badge.

The moment was now. This floor had a restaurant divided into two parts - a magnificent diner and a hostess bar. Charm was walking a step ahead of Lyle and knew just exactly where to go.

They entered the beautiful hall that was dimly lit to enchant the small dining tables. It painted a scenery of a white and red velvet cake. Charm absolutely fell in love with this place. She gently slapped herself a few times to remind herself why she was here .

The place was almost packed, and a waiter approached them. But Charm ignored him and proceeded forward. Soon she was standing in front of the table with Cash and a lovely girl.

"I am a police officer," she spoke in a low voice and pushed her badge closer to the lamp on the table. "You are under arrest," she said smugly. "If you act in a suspicious way, then it will force me to take action.

"Girl is it for real, shouldn't you be in school, not being a fool, with no evidence angle." Cash said, but then he noticed Lyle standing at the back. "Excuse me dear," he apologized to his date. "Fuck you Lyle, wasn't I clear. Now you bring this bitch to my table. Top 10 things to say, weren't you able?"

Cash paused since he saw Lyle hinting something. But he couldn't remember what it meant. Just when he was about to ignore the action, it dawned on him.

"F-Fuck you!" he shouted loudly. Everyone was looking in his direction now. For a brief moment, the police girl turned her head and just then he got up from his seat. "Police, bitch, let me teach you, snitch, you dog time to ditch you.

"People just listen to me say, when you have a shitty day. Police are after your ass, clutch fails and you run out of gas. Remember my book top 10 things to say, at night you be back to bae."

"Shut up!" Charm interrupted! She hated curses, and she hated every word this man uttered. Additionally, she noticed that Cash's one hand was hidden. "What's in your hand?" She asked. Her eyes portrayed dead seriousness.

The eyes triggered a chill through Cash's spine. It wasn't about the girl's face, but the thing Lyle hinted at before. Something clicked, and he was scared, but then he saw two people walking towards him.

"No case, no cause, its your loss," Cash continued in a lower voice than before. "I got my rights you know, where is the warrant you-"

Charm was already at her limit. She quickly closed on to Cash. The full swing of her arm screamed that it would be a deadly punch. Just at this moment, the air got heavier and forced all the background characters to freeze.

"STOP!" a man suddenly roared!