"Anyway, I just wanted to apologize for last night and..." Vickie turned toward where Mike should be and found no one. "Michael?" She looked back the way they had come and only saw a throng of people walking towards the bank of the Seine.
"Oh great," she muttered. With Mike blocking her from sensing him, there was no way she could find him. She looked towards the other bank and saw Josh and Becki going down the stairs to walk by the river.
Her mind drifted to the conversation she'd had with Mike the previous evening. Granted, she hadn't done more to get those two together, but why didn't she feel guilty? Her eyes refocused and saw a tall man going down the stairs behind them. "Spider sense tingling," she mumbled. "No, it can't be." She shook her head and headed down the stairs to her side of the Seine.
Looking at boats was boring. She had wondered from the beginning why she had been brought along. Sure, it was convenient for Llessur that she be along, but what good had she brought the group besides petty bickering?
With a deep sigh, she reached out through the Force towards the other side of the river. "I wonder if they're having any better luck." She could sense that Becki and Josh were comfortable. There was no worry in their auras, yet she could sense something outside. The feeling of being watched was evident.
"I don't like this," she muttered and headed for the next bridge to cross to the other side.
Raymond had been following them since they had left the apartment. The tensions from the following day seemed to have ebbed. Just before reaching the Seine, the group split into pairs. He'd seemed to have good luck when following the short, younger woman, so he headed after them.
He couldn't help but smile as he watched them walk along the water's edge. It reminded him of a time he had done the same with someone he cared for greatly. These two seemed to be as in love as he had been.
He was so enthralled with remembering that he failed to notice someone following him.
Vickie kept to the shadows of the wall as she followed her quarry. Up ahead in the distance, Josh and Becki stopped alongside the river. The man she was following stopped as well. This was her chance.
Raymond stopped when the two Americans did and leaned against the retaining wall. Perhaps they had found something. Suddenly, he felt the barrel of a pistol being placed against the small of his back.
"Ne bougez pas, Monsieur," a low, guttural, yet decidedly feminine voice said from behind him.
He put his arms at his side.
"Retournez-vous, s'il vous plais. Lentement."
He did as he was told and turned towards her slowly. His eyes widened when he saw who was behind him. "You are one of the Americans."
"My accent is that bad?" she joked. "Why are you following my companions?"
Raymond looked down and saw that the muzzle was actually just a slender metal tube. He had no idea what it was, but the look in her eye told him to be careful. After all, he'd seen what she could do with a sabre. Who knows what she could do with a pipe.
"Mrs. Peacock on the Seine with the pipe," she said as she stared up into his eyes.
Incroyable. She can read minds!
"Only when I find it necessary. I'd much rather you just tell me why you have been following us." She looked at him closely and something clicked. "You! You were at Le Bon Marché. You have been following us since day one?"
"Oui, but it is not what you think. My... employer was going to meet with you once she had gotten rid of a tail of her own. That should have been days ago. I haven't heard from her since."
"And just who is your employer?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his employer's nemesis. "Sacré bleu!" He pulled her more into the shadows. "He is here."
She turned to follow his line of sight. "Just who is 'he'?"
"Wells, the American agent. She despises him." His eyes followed the man. "Oh no, he is going to pass your companions. I hope he does not see them."
Vickie watched the man as he was about to pass Josh and Becki. Watch out, she warned them in her mind. However, she wasn't quick enough. Her jaw dropped open, "Oh... my..."