Cristal(30)

He turned his head around and mouthed to her, “Well, are you coming?”

She pushed her chair back, stood up and walked towards him, trying hard not to make a face. He pointed to his watch with his “hurry up” face and let out an exasperated sigh, which sounded like air coming out of his rear. Ugh! She let him walk ahead of her. His royal “highneyness” was enjoying having his minion follow three steps behind.

Her cell phone vibrated inside her pocket. It was a text message from Jenna.

Jenna: Hey, Joanna, got your email. What’s up?

Joanna: You asked me about Harry Doubt. Have a story about his close friends.

Jenna: Finally came to your senses, girl? Come over after work. You still like sushi?

Joanna: See you @ 6. Will bring drinks.

A smile crept onto her face. She shoved her phone back in her pocket.

***

They were polishing off the contents of their Bento boxes while sitting around the coffee table, cross-legged on the floor—like the good old days. She watched Jenna clearing up the empty food containers and bringing them to the kitchen. She would have offered to help, but why bother?

She smirked to herself observing how Jenna’s apartment was small and cramped compared to hers. It made her remember how she had negotiated with Harry to get her a two-bedroom, fully furnished apartment with minimum 900 square footage and the lease paid in full for a year. It was her way to test him to see how much of a valuable asset he thought she was to the team. When she had arrived in New York, not only did he hold up his end of the bargain, he managed to get her a luxury suite on Crosby Street in Soho. She knew that compared to the other Truth Seekers in NYC, her place was in the best location, had the best layout, and had the coolest furniture.

Jenna returned with two wine glasses and the bottle of red wine that Joanna had brought earlier.

“Sushi was just what I was craving. Thanks again, Jenna.”

“My pleasure. It wasn’t much. Just spent all afternoon making them for you. Not!” she laughed, tossing her bleach blonde hair to the side. “Let’s get to work.” She flipped open her laptop.

Joanna smiled to herself. Jenna was never one to mince words. She always had been driven, even when they were college roommates. Jenna was a California babe—blonde, blue eyes, and hot “bod” with brains to top it off. Added to the mix were her cold tactics that she used to get her way, even if it meant sleeping with whomever she needed to get the story. Together, Joanna and Jenna, were a formidable pair.

“So give me the goods, Joanna,” she said with her usual, “I’m losing my patience” tone.

“Shut up and start typing,” Joanna replied.

Jenna never intimidated her, New York Times journalist or not.

Jenna smiled, flashing her perfect white teeth. “Webcam will get everything I need. Now take a sip and start talking.”

Jenna saluted her with her wine glass, kicked off her heels and curled up on the couch.

“Cristal Hernandez and Kerim Ilgaz. They’re Harry’s prized Truth Seekers. But that’s not the story.” She paused.

“Come on, what is it?” Jenna moved forward on the edge of the couch.

“I think that Cristal was responsible for starting the earthquake that happened in different countries all over the world. And I think Kerim had something to do with it, too.”

Jenna rolled her eyes and closed her laptop. “You’ve really lost it, Joanna. I can’t believe I wasted my evening waiting for this earth shattering information.”

She stood up and started putting away her things. “I’m a serious journalist. I don’t do gossip or ET stories.”

“Fine. Don’t believe me,” Joanna said and grabbed her purse from the coffee table. “But I saw it myself with my own eyes.”

“Wait,” Jenna said and turned to look at her. “What do you mean?”

“Aren’t you going to record what I tell you?” Joanna asked.

“No, not until I’m sure it’s worth it,” Jenna said, while leaning back and waiting. “And the only reason I’m willing to hear any of this psycho-babble is the fact it’s coming from you. So thrill me.”

“Harry and I were meeting with Cristal, Kerim, and Gabriel on video chat the day of the earthquake. At the precise time it happened, I saw Cristal freeze, almost like a zombie. Her eyes were blank, while the whole room was shaking like crazy. Kerim was in the doorway, holding onto the doorframe and Gabriel was holding onto him with his eyes closed.”

She closed her eyes trying to remember what she saw that day.“The weird thing was Cristal and Kerim were staring at each other. They both were real calm during the whole thing. Then the screen went black.”