“They were out of creamer,” said Jace as he placed the cup of steaming black coffee in front of me. I flipped to the next page in the People magazine I was reading. “Sorry.”

“That’s fine,” I said, without looking up and flipping a lock of light brown hair over my shoulder. “Thanks.”

“Has the Target shown?” he asked, taking a seat a crossed from me.

“Nope,” I said, still not looking up. We were sitting outside of the popular Clamant Café, sipping coffee, and in Jace’s case, Mountain Dew. Jace had never been one for the bitter taste of coffee.
While at the same time, waiting for the man we referred to as simply, the ‘Target’.
“How do you do that?” asked Jace, as I scanned the article about the latest style of shoes. The shoes were butt ugly in my opinion, but a cover was a cover.
“What?” I asked, taking a sip of the steaming black coffee. I choked slightly on the bitter taste, but managed to swallow.
“Read that magazine and watch for the Target?” he asked, sipping his hot chocolate cautiously.
“The same way you’re watching your back with the reflection of that window a crossed the street,” I remarked, flipping to the next section which was dedicated to the latest Hollywood scandal.
“Lou, Alex, Josh, anything?” I asked over our comm. unit, scanning the article, and immediately losing interest in its heavily opinionated text.
Lou who was sitting on the steps of a rented apartment across the street, which was currently empty, answered without looking up from her book.
“Negative. The Target has not made an appearance. Are you sure you can’t tell me how this story ends, Chris? It’s killing me!”
At the moment Lou Ann was pacing her way through the newest novel by Margret Haddix, and wanted badly to know how it ended, and had started haggling me to start giving away hints. However, I wasn’t one to give away an ending.
“You’ll get there Lou, just breath and read,” I told her, smiling slightly. The book had kept me on the edge of my seat too, and I could relate to her impatience.

“What about you, Alex?” I asked, my eyes leaping to the slim six foot two kid in a worn blue jean jacket. He sat a few tables behind us, typing away on laptop. He wasn’t doing homework, though, he was breaking threw fire walls and setting us up with security cameras in the area around us, keeping an electronic eye out for the Target. Or at least that’s how he explained it to us non- electronic nerds.

“The Mona Lisa wasn’t painted in a day, you now,” he grunted.

“And how does that relate to our current situation?” fished Jace, scanning the sidewalks behind me, barely moving his lips in the process.

“Oh, screw it,” growled Alex. “I suppose I cannot expect you novices to grasp the symbolism of my statement. I’ll dumb it down for you- I’m trying, but have only got into the cameras by that Walgreens store by Josh.”

My eyes swiveled casually towards the regular height boy with wavy hair that stood by a red mustang convertible, eyeing it with a critical eye. He wore a worn leather jacket, beat up t-shirt, and ripped jeans.

“Haven’t seen a thing,” he said, as if he was muttering under his breath. He moved a couple feet to the right to get a better view of the car.

Out of all queer people in the world that have their own weird ways, Josh and his obsession with cars have to top all. He’s continually engrossed in new and challenging engines problems and wires and what not. It’s amazing what he can do with it, but also annoying. He’ll be up at all hours slaving over his newest creation, and keeping us up in the process as well.

“Target is on the move,” said Lou softly, her voice barely a whisper over our connection.

I resisted the urge to rip my gaze from my magazine, and peer in Lou’s direction. Instead, I relied on Alex technical tracking.

“I’ve got five cameras up and going now,” he said just as casually. “The Target is headed over your way, Chris and Jace. Heads up.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Target, a tall man in khakis and a polo shirt stroll casually towards the café were Jace and I were currently sitting. There was only one table that was unoccupied outside, and that was the one two tables to the right, in the corner. The Target sat with his back to the wall, his eyes scanning constantly for any sign of danger.

His biggest mistake was when his eyes skipped over Jace and me. It was obvious that he thought that because we were kids, we weren’t a threat. Boy, was he wrong.

“Alex…,” I said through gritted teeth. I had been waiting for this moment for over seven years, I wasn’t about to let this man slip through my fingers.

“Patching the feed to the authorities. Streaming live…now.”

A crossed the street, a seemingly harmless postman was sorting through mail. A woman was a few houses down from Lou, cradling a baby and watching traffic as it passed by. And I also knew, thanks to Josh’s causal walk he had previously taken, that two blocks away, a T.V. van was parked, appearing empty.

The truth, though, was that they were a mixed task force of FBI and CIA agents, intent on catching the Target. The Target, a killer for hire, who had also dappled in arms dealing, had been set up. Not by the CIA or FBI, but by my group and I. A bunch of teenagers, intent on bring this man down.

The Target was expecting a buyer to show up and purchase a wide range of weapons. The thing was, there was no buyer.

We had set this man up, and then, and the last moment, caught the authorities attention, knowing that we couldn’t bring him in without a nasty scene. This way, it would be official and there would be no way the Target could get out of it.

“Alex…,” I said again, my gaze held unbroken out of the edge of my eyes on the Target. Less than two minutes had passed, and the Target was becoming agitated. I suppose weapons dealing is one where you show up on time, or forever hold your peace.

“I’ve been streaming live from the café’s own camera for the last few minutes,” Alex said frantically. “I don’t know what’s… oh, they’re holding for the buyer.”

I swore silently under my breath.

“Drop them another note, and tell them there is no buyer, and if they want this guy, they’ll get smart and grab him on whatever warrants they have. Lou, Josh, move in cautiously. Keep a hundred meter perimeter, this guy doesn’t get away.”

I glanced over at the Target again. He was checking his phone again, and glancing impatiently around.

“I’m going in,” I said quietly.

Jace choked on his drink, caught off guard by my bold remark. He would have stopped me, I know; if I hadn’t moved so fast. But for me this was a do or die situation.

I moved quickly to the Target’s table. He regarded me with surprised expression as I sat down. I took in his jet black hair, and light brown eyes. I had looked like that once, too.

“Hello, Dad. I hear you’ve got some guns for sale.”