Chapter 203 - First Encounter

After an enjoyable lunch at the beer garden, Jackson and Halia finally went to check on Jaclyn. Mia and John had been giving Jackson regular updates on his sister and told him she was doing fine, so Jackson left his sister in their hands. Normally, John would wait at least 3 days, after the peak of the withdrawal symptoms passed, before he allowed family members to visit. But, he knew that Jackson was from Interpol and Jaclyn seemed to be doing well, so he told Jackson that he could visit if he wanted to.

Halia had heard that one of the possible complications of heroin withdrawal was dehydration and a deficiency in nutrition due to poor appetite, nausea, and vomiting. So, just before they left the beer garden, she specifically ordered some food for Jaclyn. 

"Jaclyn has to try this food. It's so good," she smiled as she carried a couple of bags of takeaway in her hands and handed them to Jackson. "The pork knuckle was crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, the bratwurst was fragrant and addictive, and the pretzel from this morning had the perfect chewy texture. It's a shame to come to Germany without trying it."

Jackson watched as his fiancee closed her eyes, savoring the taste from earlier. He was glad that she had enjoyed herself.

"You've never bought me takeaway like this before," he frowned, pretending to be jealous.

Halia looked at her man in surprise. Was he jealous of his own sister?

"Don't be jealous. I need to get on your sister's good side so your family will like me," Halia explained.

Jackson raised an eyebrow, but he didn't seem to be convinced by her explanation.

"How about this? I'll buy you dessert later," Halia coaxed.

Jackson looked at his fiancee's adorable face. Slowly, a cheeky smile appeared on his face as he wrapped an arm around her waist and winked, "What kind of dessert?"

Halia looked into the man's eyes and realized he was having some indecent thoughts. She quickly nudged him away and sped up her footsteps. "What are you thinking?" she asked as she blushed.

Jackson smiled and quickly followed behind his fiancee. Why was she acting so shy? It wasn't like they hadn't done it before. "I'll be anticipating my dessert tonight," he called out.

...

Meanwhile, inside the central square of Munich, a place called Marienplatz, Trisha and Oliver were seated outside a cafe, enjoying the beautiful spring weather.

Oliver sipped on a cup of coffee while Trisha ordered a slice of black forest cake. The chocolate sponge layers coupled with whipped creams, cherry filling, and kirsch was a delicious little afternoon treat. Trisha had eaten black forest cake in the past. Back when she was in London, she would have it with a cup of tea sometimes, but never had she had a traditional German one made with kirsch. Kirsch was a kind of brandy made from cherries, and unlike cherry liqueur, it wasn't sweet.

Oliver watched as Trisha scooped one bite of cake after another into her mouth. Women were interesting creatures; why did they always enjoy desserts so much? Didn't they find it too sweet?

Oliver didn't have a sweet tooth. In fact, the coffee in front of him had no sugar at all, and that was the way he liked it; the more bitter, the better.

Trisha noticed Oliver looking at her and paused. "Do you want some?" she asked.

Oliver quickly shook his head, "Isn't that too sweet?"

Trisha shook her head and took another bite. "Life is bitter enough. We need sweetness like this to balance things or we'd go crazy."

Oliver glanced at Trisha and smiled. Her reason made sense. After all, she was an Interpol agent that had seen the bad side of human nature.

Now that he thought about it, perhaps he needed some sweetness in his life too. He brushed back his curly brown hair and opened his mouth, "Ah."

Trisha glanced at the man opposite her and laughed as she scooped up the last remaining spoonful of cake and directed it towards her own mouth. "You missed your chance. It's all mine now," she teased.

But, just before the spoon reached her mouth, Oliver suddenly grabbed onto her hand, leaned forward and tried to take a bite. Trisha giggled and leaned forward as well, beating the man to the cake and accidentally smearing some cream across the side of her lip.

Oliver looked down at the woman's lips. "That's not fair," he said in a deep charming voice that sent tingles down Trisha's spine.

Trisha looked up and found herself staring into the man's blue eyes. Like diamonds, they twinkled in the sun.

She still remembered the first time she looked into these eyes. At that time, she was undercover in London's Chinatown and Oliver was trying to write an article about the Chinatown Underworld. She saw him sneaking around one day and thought he was spying on her, so she dragged him into an alleyway to question him. 

"Who sent you?" Trisha said in a threatening manner as she lifted a hand to hit the man on the head.

Oliver quickly covered his head and said, "Don't hit me. No one sent me. I don't know what you're talking about."

Trisha did not believe the man for a second as she grabbed his backpack and tipped it upside down.

Out of the backpack came a camera, a notebook, a voice recorder, and an ID card. The ID card was from the London Times; one of the biggest newspapers in London.

"Are you a reporter?" Trisha asked as she looked at the man's ID card.

"I'm just writing an article about Chinatown," Oliver quickly replied.

Trisha picked up the man's camera and started looking through his photos. They were all photos of gangsters from Chinatown; many that she knew. This man was obviously chasing a story about the underworld. Trisha couldn't let him get in the way. What if he discovered who she was? Or worse, what if he got himself injured or killed?

"I suggest you give up on this story. You don't know how much danger you're getting yourself into," Trisha said as she deleted the photos and handed the camera back to the man. "I'll be keeping an eye on you. If I see you around here again, you're dead!"

Oliver finally lifted his head and looked into Trisha's eyes for the first time. His blue eyes and curly brown hair were an oddly attractive combo, but his gaze was cold as ice.

"You can't scare me. I am going to uncover what you guys are doing here and bring justice to all your victims!" Oliver said as he kneeled down to pick up his things.

But, when he stood up again, Trisha was already gone.

That was their first encounter and certainly not their last...