TRISHA
A week had passed since Krish’s arrival.
Despite his position as the director and the almost-boss, Krish hadn’t stopped being the charming, flirty man he was.
His attempts for a coffee date lingered in my mind, a playful proposal that I deliberately avoided, knowing well enough that he wasn’t going to give up that easily either.
I still lived in the training facility at GLEN, like a few other agents, until we were assigned our real missions.
And in this one week, I observed Krish’s relentless dedication to his responsibilities.
Meetings with agents, technical briefings, and mountains of paperwork on an undisclosed mission—he handled it all with finesse.
Yet, amidst the serious affairs of the law enforcement world, our eyes met at unexpected moments, creating a magnetic tension neither of us dared to explore further.
Each encounter left us catching each other in the act.
At times he caught me stealing glances at him, other times I saw him unabashedly admiring me from afar.
I had almost convinced myself that Krish was merely my director, and any thoughts beyond that were just distractions.
Yet, the unspoken chemistry between us simmered beneath the surface, adding an electrifying touch to all our encounters.
We didn’t get an opportunity to speak to each other again in private, but yes, he was very much around in the facility, making me all the more aware of his every action.
Excitement surged through me. Finally, a mission to call my own. Though seemingly straightforward, I knew that simplicity could often be deceptive in a world where danger lurked behind every corner. Still, the prospect of actively contributing to GLEN’s endeavours fuelled my anticipation.
I suited up and left my room with a sense of purpose.
For now, the thoughts of Krish’s charm and the powerful magnetism would have to take a back seat.
With each step towards the café, I rehearsed the plan in my mind, ready to keep my eyes and ears open and be a silent observer.
The described suspect, a man sporting a navy blue cap, was seated at Table number 7, his gaze scrutinising everyone entering.
Maintaining an air of nonchalance, I looked for a seat that would give me a clear view of him, but my hopes were dashed as the café was brimming with patrons, except for a man sitting alone at a table of two, engrossed in a newspaper. As he lowered the paper, my jaw dropped—it was Krish.
I approached Krish’s table with a mix of shock and disbelief. “What are you doing here?” I questioned, leaning down and placing my hands firmly on the table—my expression a blend of surprise and irritation.
“Hey,” Krish greeted me with a dazzling smile that sent a strange flutter through my stomach.
“I asked you something,” I persisted, poking him lightly.
Krish lifted his mug, took a sip of his coffee, and then licked his lower lip before responding. “Well, I asked someone for a coffee date, but that person denied it, so I thought of pampering myself and go on a date alone. Do you have a problem with that?” he teased.
I gently banged my palms on the table before taking a seat beside him. To any onlookers, we might have seemed like a couple on a casual coffee date.
“Why are you always around whenever I am chasing my suspects?” I asked, furrowing my brow.
“Suspects?” Krish glanced around. “Don’t tell me we need to fight a group of assailants here too, Trisha.
In fact, I should ask you, why are you always ruining my ‘ME’ time?
First in the men’s washroom and now here when I am enjoying my strong coffee?
” he continued with a playful grin, deliberately poking fun at me.
“Fine, enjoy your coffee date... ALONE,” I retorted, ready to leave.
However, Krish surprised me by grabbing my hand and compelling me to sit again next to him.
“Don’t go,” he said, his words unexpectedly making my heart flutter.
Even Krish seemed taken aback by the emotion in his own statement.
Then he cleared his throat before adding, “I mean, if you are here to keep an eye on your suspect, this is the best spot.”
I looked at him, a bit stunned. “You know about my mission tonight?”
“Being one of the directors of the organisation you work for, you think that was difficult for me?” Krish nonchalantly shrugged.
I glanced at Table number 7 again to ensure the suspect was still there.
“Are you stalking me now, Krish?” I really wanted to know and he didn’t disappointment me.
“Maybe,” he responded coyly, leaving me momentarily speechless.
I looked away, unable to decide how to take this conversation further.
Krish was openly admitting that he was tailing me. What was that
supposed to mean? As I continued to stare at Table number 7, I heard Krish tapping his finger on the table to get my attention.
“If you stare at him so openly, he’ll figure out in no time that you are here to catch him,” he warned.
I turned back to Krish, trying to keep my focus split between him and the suspect.
“I know. I am not making it that obvious,” I countered defensively.
To distract myself, I picked up Krish’s mug and took a sip of his coffee. In a split second, I realised my slip-up and put the mug down. But it was too late. Krish already had a mischievous grin on his lips.
“Woah! Didn’t see that coming,” he teased. “I’m glad our coffee ‘date’ is coming true, though you’re more fixated on the suspect rather than the man whose coffee you are sipping.”
He never could stop flirting, could he?
“I have never seen a boss who distracts his own agent from focusing on her mission,” I retorted, giving him a scolding look.
Krish leaned back, crossing his arms in front of him.
“This is the second time you are mentioning that I make you lose your focus, Trisha... Does that mean something?”
I didn’t know what it meant, but with Krish around, I did tend to lose my focus, even if it was for a fraction of a second.
Unsure of how to respond, I avoided meeting his eye again and shifted my attention to Table number 6 instead.
A handsome man was sitting there, texting on his phone.
Something about him seemed off, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
It was like he was pretending to be cool.
Soon, my gaze returned to Table number 7, and that’s when a tall man entered the café.
He glanced at Table number 7 and swiftly walked over.
He had a look of a criminal, making me instantly alert.
Working against crime for years, I had developed a keen ability for identifying suspicious behaviour, intuitively reading their intentions from subtle cues.
This man and the one at Table number 7 didn’t give me good vibes.
“It must be him,” Krish alerted me too.
I nodded gently, my eyes returning to the door, which opened again, and a woman entered, happily running to the guy at Table number 6. They exchanged a quick kiss before sitting down.
“Looks like the deal is going to happen any moment now,” Krish murmured, and I was instantly attentive to every detail at Table number 7.
However, my focus shifted occasionally to Table number 6, where the couple was now holding hands.
The way their fingers intertwined seemed peculiar, raising my suspicion.
“You look more interested in the lovebirds than the suspects,” Krish interrupted. “I think them holding hands, exchanging kisses... is distracting you.”
I shot him a deadpan look.
“This is not the time for your jokes, Krish. Let me focus.”
He chuckled softly, acknowledging the gravity of the situation.
As the tension in the air escalated, I noticed from the window that Team Beta had arrived, and were disembarking from a speeding van and waiting for the right moment to intervene.
The man with the navy blue cap at Table number 7 retrieved something from his pocket and handed it to the menacing-looking man who had recently joined him.
“Hands up!” Team Beta shouted, intervening at that very moment to arrest them both. Guns were aimed at the suspects seated at Table number 7, sending shockwaves through the other customers in the café.
“Everyone else, out…” the head of Team Beta ordered, instructing civilians to leave the premises. As the chaos unfolded, I stepped forward, taking out my gun and aiming it at the couple from Table number 6, who were preparing to leave with the rest of the crowd.
“Trisha? What are you doing? Why have you aimed the gun at these innocent civilians?” the head of Team Beta shouted at me, his confusion evident.
“They are the real suspects, not the ones at Table number 7,” I replied firmly. Ignoring their curious gazes, I proceeded to frisk the woman at Table number 6 thoroughly. To everyone’s surprise, I uncovered a stash of diamonds concealed in the inner pocket of her denim jacket.
Team Beta’s leader looked stunned as I handed him the diamonds. Simultaneously, his team frisked the two men at Table number 7, finding nothing. I had been right.
“How?” Team Beta’s head asked, his disbelief evident.
“I sensed something was amiss the moment I arrived here,” I remarked.
“The way this couple was tightly holding hands suggested an exchange was taking place. Their expressions, eye contact, and the winning smirk on their faces as they openly smuggled diamonds in the midst of this crowd—pretending to be an ordinary couple—did not escape my notice. That’s how I identified them as the suspects, not the men at Table number 7.
Although the latter initially appeared suspicious, their expressions and behaviour didn’t match those of true criminals. ”
As soon as the words left my lips, a round of applause erupted behind me.
Krish was clapping, clearly proud of my insight.
Soon, everyone in the café, including the fake suspects at Table number 7 and the couple from Table number 6 from whom we recovered the diamonds, joined in the applause.
Even the Beta Team members, who had initially aimed their weapons, now lowered them with smiles on their faces.
Hold on a second! What was happening?
Krish walked over, a smirk playing on his lips. “Well done, Agent
Trisha. You never fail to surprise. Always one step ahead. You have cleared the mock mission test with flying colours.”
Mock mission test? All this was to test my intellect? It wasn’t real?
“Was this all a setup?” I questioned him, and he nodded his head, signalling the team to wrap up. The members began dispersing.
“Yes, it’s a procedure—the final stage of your training to be part of the active missions. You didn’t just blindly follow the details of the mission provided to you; instead, you correctly apprehended the real culprits,” he explained.
I sighed. A part of me felt pleased that, even unknowingly, I had successfully cleared the test.
“It’s all part of the job,” he continued. “Observing the details, being vigilant and trusting your instincts. Plus, a bit of unpredictability adds flair to the mission, isn’t it? But despite all the distractions, you handled it beautifully.”
I couldn’t help but crack a smile.
“And what was your role in all this?” I inquired. “I’m sure the Director doesn’t have that much time to be a part of every trainee’s mock mission test like today’s.”
Krish’s lips curved into another smile before he stepped toward me, almost invading my private space. Our eyes locked in an intense battle.
“You are not just one of the trainees for me,” he replied without breaking our gazes. “You will always be special, Trisha.”
My heart fluttered at his choice of words.
Special? What did he mean? Before I could process my thoughts, Krish winked at me and walked away.
Fortunately, I had the table behind me to lean on because I needed its support badly.
Krish’s wink had the power to topple me off the floor, and I definitely liked myself more—a lot more than I liked him.