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Ann unlocked the door to her neighbors apartment. “Wonton? It's me again.” She said as she stepped inside. Closing the door behind her.
The teen had been babysitting for the cat for a while now. Since her neighbor Mr Kennedy had moved in. She didn't know much about him. Only that he traveled a lot for work and couldn't take his cat with him. But he paid really well so she tried not to question it too much.
Ann made her way to the living room, where she found Wonton napping in his cat tree. “There you are. It looks like it's just going to be me and you for a few days.” She scratched the cat's chin.
She would wonder from time to time what Mr Kennedy exactly did. She had asked before but all he would say was. ‘I work for the government.’ Still, it didn't stop her from wondering. “If only you could tell me what he was up to.”
There had been a few odd moments with him in the past. Like the time she had been writing an essay for history, she decided to write about the racoon city disaster. He had called her to check to make sure everything was alright with Wonton. The two made small talk when she mentioned her racoon city project. He went silent for a few moments, then said he had to go. Maybe he lost someone in that disaster?
Then there was the time he returned bloody and injured. Ann and her father had to insist on him going to the hospital, threatening to call an ambulance on him if he didn't. He had told them. ‘I've lived through much worse. I'll survive this.’
Lastly there was the incident a year ago. Ann was in her living room late one night, when she heard fighting next door in Leon's apartment. She knew she shouldn't listen in, but her curiosity got the better of her. She couldn't make out the details of the argument, but she could hear the drunken slur in Leon's voice. It was after that fight that Ann became more aware of how much alcohol was laying around his apartment.
“Maybe your dad's a secret agent, Wonton.” She joked as she petted the cat. She walked over to the table to check the to-do list that Leon left for her. It was the normal stuff. Feed him, give him water, scoop the litter, and hang out with him for a while so he wouldn't get lonely. Also under it was the check Leon had left for her.
That was another thing she found odd. Him insisting he pay her up front. ‘In case I can't make it back.’ He had said, his icy eyes hiding the drunken haze he was in. She always wondered what he meant by that.
“Add that to the list of things weird about him.” She said out loud. The teen went about the to-do list. Which took her about an hour. “Alright, I'll be back this evening after work. Then we can hang out and play some more.” She gave the cat a kiss on the forehead before leaving.
She would return around 6 in the evening. After she changed out of her work clothes she headed over to her neighbors and stepped inside again.
Ann felt a bit uneasy stepping inside the dark apartment. She turned on the light but didn't see Wonton anywhere. “Where is he?” She thought out loud. She walked over to his food bowl, only to find that it already had food in it.
She did leave him a little right before she went to work. But he usually would have eaten it already. “Odd…” she began to get worried. Had he gotten out while she was gone?
She began looking around the apartment for him. Checking under any piece of furniture for him. Finally she got to where only Leon's bedroom was left to check, and at this rate she was beginning to panic.
Ann stepped inside his bedroom and to her horror discovered that the window was open. “Fuck!” She shouted and ran towards the window. She looked outside, hoping Wonton was resting on the fire escape. But he wasn't. She shut the window and grabbed her phone. She was about to call Leon when she felt the cold muzzle of a gun press against her back.
“Put the phone down.” A female voice said behind her.
Ann froze, completely petrified. “I-I-” she began to panic, but did as the woman instructed.
“Step away from the window.” She ordered. Ann stepped back and towards the bed. The gun still pressed up against her back.
“O-okay. But I don't know where anything valuable is. I don't live here.” She stammered.
“I'm fully aware of that fact.” The woman’s cold voice sent shivers down Ann's back. “So explain to me why you're here?”
“I'm M-mr Kennedy's cat sitter. I babysit his cat while he's gone.” Ann felt something warm rub up against her legs. She looked down and saw Wonton. “Please don't hurt me or Wonton.”
While speaking the cat's name, the woman moved the gun away from her back. Ann quickly knelt down and picked up the cat. Stepping away from the woman. She held him close to her chest.
The woman was dressed in a red dress, with short black hair and green eyes. She looked down at the teen, her gun lowered. “I won't, don't worry.” She gave a small smile. Ann slowly stepped over to grab her phone. “I wouldn’t call the cops if I were you. They won't make it in time before I leave.”
Ann moved her hand away from her phone. “Okay, I won't call them. But you're breaking into a government employee's house. They'll go after you if you steal anything!”
“Leon won't let them.” She replied. She began looking through Leon's desk. “Besides, he'll need my help soon enough.”
“What do you mean by that? Who even are you?”
She turned to face the teen. “I'm Ada, let's just say Leon's gonna be in a bit over his head sooner rather than later.”
“How do you even know him?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“No shit.” Ann said without thinking through her words. “When you're been living next door to a mysterious government worker, who is gone for long periods of time, comes home injured on multiple occasions, probably an alcoholic or at least formerly was one, and pays you oddly high amounts of money, you start getting suspicions.” Before she could stop herself all her suspicions about Mr Kennedy came pouring out.
The woman in red turned to face her. A slight smirk on her face. “You're quite observant. Tell me, what do you think he does?”
She hugged Wonton tighter. “Probably something boring or he's some secret agent doing action movie stuff. I don't know.”
Ada smirked as she looked through the desk. “Tell me then, what department do you think he works in?”
“Uhh.. Cia I guess?”
“Not too far off.” She pulled out a file from the desk.
“H-hey you can't take that!” Ann stepped closer to her.
“Are you worried he'll think you took it?” She asked, looking back at her with a smirk.
“What?”
“Well, you are in his bedroom.” Ada walked closer. Wonton looked up at Ada and reached his paws towards her. Meowing at Ada.
Ada leaned down to take the cat, Ann stepped back. “What? Are you worried I'll take him too?”
Ann didn't reply.
“Did Leon ever tell you how he got Wonton?”
Ann shook her head.
“He was out on a mission.” She began, looking through the files. “He was in some shithole wasteland. When he came across a tiny tuff of fur.” She pointed at Wonton. “I meet him later on in that mission. Where he handed me Wonton and told me to hold onto him while he dealt with something.”
Ada reach out to pet the cat's chin.
“So you work with Leon?”
“We're more business rivals. So to say.” She lean down and gave the cat a kiss on the forehead. Leaving a red lipstick mark.
“So it's like some cat and mouse spy thing?” The teen guess.
“You could say so.” She gave the cat a few more pets before walking towards the window. “I got a flight to catch. Oh, and if he has any questions, tell him Dorothy stopped by. He'll know what you mean.” Ada gave a wink and crawled out the window before disappearing.
Ann stood there, staring for a few minutes, before closing the window. She picked up her phone and called Leon. It rung for a few moments, then Leon picked up. “Is something wrong?” He asked, bitting the words out.
“Um, kinda. I don't know but… Dorothy stopped by?”
Leon sighed over the phone. “What did she take?”
“A uh… a file of some kind. I didn't get a good look at it. But who the hell was she? Your girlfriend or something?”
Leon gave a dry laugh. “It's much more complicated than that. I'll figure out what she wanted soon enough. She didn't hurt you did she?”
“No, she didn't.”
“Good, good.”
“Should I be worried she'll come back?”
"She likely won't. At least for today. But if she comes back. Let me know. I got to go now.”
“I will.” Ann smiled. She hung up and looked down at Wonton. "Well, that's some questions answered about your dad. But a whole lot more."