The Geek - Part 1 by Azriel Johnson

    I met Angie by accident, just like the Agency told me I would. Upon first glance she wasn’t the kind of woman who would go for a guy like me, a geek.  She was the same height as me, long, dark brown hair and covered in tattoos.  Don’t get me wrong, I found her lovely, but in this day and age it was common knowledge a geek avoided a tattooed woman.
    I went for her anyway.  It was my assignment.  I had to follow through.  She stood in the magazine aisle reading the latest issue of ‘Hard Trucking’ magazine.
    “Excuse me miss,” I said politely tapping her on the shoulder.  She turned and smiled.  “I noticed the tattoo on your back, it looks like the devil.  I was wondering if it had to do with the group Hard Devils.”
    A good opening line, not too geeky.  Angie’s file said not to over estimate her.  She wasn’t supposed to be possessed of a lot of brains.
    She smiled, but shook her head.  In a voice as soft as angels song she replied, “Actually, the tattoo is from Faust, in his deal with the Devil, Mephistopheles.”
    Well played miss, I thought.  Faust was one of my favorite stories.  I resisted the urge to geek out about Faust and what I would have done in his situation.  Instead I asked, “Oh, well, heh-heh, can I see the rest of it?”
    Her slightly annoyed look was more of a no than I would ever need to hear.  She looked back to her magazine without another word.
    Her file had been misleading.  It had shown her being involved with a number of this day’s more barbarous men.  I had never pegged any of them her choices of mates to have an abundance of brains, so maybe I was the stupid one.
    It was time for a new tactic.
    I tapped her shoulder again.  She turned back to me.  In a more annoyed voice she said, “Yes?  Now what is it?”
    “I, first, wanted to apologize.  My comment was rude.  Second, I wanted to say that if I were in Faust’s position, I probably would not have taken the deal.  I mean, you gain the world, but lose your soul?  What good does that do for you?”
    Angie smiled.  I was beginning to like her smile.  “Sometimes, I could agree.  Sometimes I feel it is too late.”
    “What is your name?” I asked.
    “Well, Angie, forgive me if this is forward, but would you like to have a drink with me?  We could discuss Faust and any other work we could bring to mind.”
    To my surprise she agreed.  We continued walking through the store as she shopped.  I filled my hand basket with a few random items to make it less obvious I had been following her.
    Her bill was huge.  It was more than twice the price of mine.  She had to have been buying for the sleeper cell.
    We discussed literary, historical fiction for close to an hour.  We both drank our share of caffeinated beverages.  At nearly the hour mark, Angie looked at her time piece, an odd brand of cellular phone.  She said, “This was fun Mister….”
    “James.  Jimmy James.”

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