The light from the café's floor-to-ceiling windows illuminated a faint silhouette inside, visible from Jack's car parked across the street. He picked up his tablet, which displayed a crystal-clear feed of the café's interior.
The equipment had been a courtesy loan from the FBI's New York office. A couple of hours earlier, someone had posed as a plumber and installed two hidden cameras inside the café.
The passenger door opened quietly, and Hannah, soaked from the rain, slipped into the car, wearing a long black trench coat. Jack immediately grabbed a towel from the back seat and handed it to her.
"I followed him all the way. The poor guy was wiping away tears as he left the subway," Hannah said, leaning over to kiss Jack lightly on the lips.
"Where is he now?" Jack handed her the tablet, showing Yvonne inside the café, crying silently. He glanced around but didn't see Charlie.
"He should be rounding the corner any moment now. I walked ahead of him after he left the subway."
No sooner had Hannah spoken than a figure appeared at the street corner. Wearing a plaid shirt and moving slowly, his posture hunched as though weighed down by the burdens of life, Charlie shuffled toward "Yvonne's Café."
"Do you think this test is too much pressure on him?" Hannah asked sympathetically, watching Charlie make his way toward the café.
Jack scoffed. After orchestrating such a grand setup, even enlisting the help of Justin and Garcia to manage the narrative online, if Charlie couldn't handle this little test, Jack might as well whisk Yvonne away to Los Angeles himself.
"People only truly treasure things they've fought hard to earn. When something comes too easily, it's usually taken for granted."
"So, does that mean I was too forward in the past?" Hannah quipped, catching Jack off guard.
Thankfully, he was quick to respond. "That's why I didn't let you win me over too easily. Otherwise, you might've already gotten tired of me."
Laughing, Hannah playfully punched Jack in the arm and then planted a loud kiss on his cheek as a form of "consolation."
"Look, look! The show's about to start!" Jack said, setting the tablet on the dashboard like a screen at a drive-in theater. Then, as if performing a magic trick, he pulled out a bucket of popcorn and two cups of iced cola from the back seat.
Hannah laughed hysterically, placing the popcorn bucket on her lap, as the two of them watched the scene unfold as if they were at the movies.
"Is anyone here? Yvonne?" Outside the café, Uncle Cage—or rather, Charlie—was pleasantly surprised to see that the gate was open, with a faint light glowing from inside. He quickly pushed the door open and stepped inside.
From across the street, Jack and Hannah watched as Charlie entered the café, and on the tablet screen, they saw Yvonne, sitting quietly in the corner, wiping away her tears like a startled rabbit. She stood up instinctively but awkwardly refused to turn around.
The way the scene shifted between Jack's view from outside the car and the feed from the hidden cameras inside the café felt almost like a movie director cutting between shots.
"Please, just leave," Yvonne said, her voice trembling.
"Yvonne—"
"No, you shouldn't be with me anymore."
"What are you talking about? I love you."
"No, don't you see? I've ruined your life. I'm the one who's truly unlucky."
Watching Yvonne's tear-streaked face, Hannah's heart melted.
"Oh my god, this scene should be in a movie. You wouldn't even need to change the dialogue," she gushed.
Jack couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction, but then a strange feeling washed over him, as if he were trapped in a dream. For a moment, he wasn't sure if this was a dream or if his past life had somehow turned into one.
"Hannah?"
"What?"
"Don't move."
"Hmm?"
Jack leaned in and kissed her, confirming that this was very much real.
---
Inside the café, the emotional exchange continued.
"Are you crazy? Do you know how heartbroken I was when you left me in the courtroom?" Charlie's voice cracked.
"You won four million dollars! Do you understand what a miracle that is? And now, because of me, you've lost everything. There's even that $100,000—I'm willing to make a public statement for you so that at least you won't go bankrupt because of me."
"Because of you? No, *for* you. You're the real gift here, Yvonne. You're the miracle. Don't you see? Can't you understand? Do you even want to be with me?"
"Oh my god, I can't take it. This is too sweet. They're being so unfair," Hannah muttered, almost overwhelmed by the romance.
The difference between men and women was on full display. While Jack was cringing so hard he wanted to crawl under the seat, Hannah was happily gobbling up the emotional drama, as if she were eating popcorn at a romantic movie.
"If you don't want me, I'll walk out that door, and you'll never see me again. But stop talking about money—it means nothing to me," Charlie said, taking a step back, his hands falling from Yvonne's shoulders, his face a picture of heartbreak.
"Do you want me to leave?" he asked again, devastated.
Yvonne instinctively reached out, her expression conflicted. There was hesitation, guilt, reluctance, joy, and, of course, sweetness in her eyes.
Taking two deep breaths, she shook her head slightly and whispered a single word.
"No."
Then, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Charlie's neck.
"Don't leave. Never. Not ever," she said, her voice quivering. "Forgive me, because no one has ever loved me like this. It's all my fault."
Moments later, the café was filled with the soft sounds of old blues music playing from the record player, as the couple embraced and swayed gently together, lost in the moment.
Jack breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The two were locked in a passionate embrace but thankfully refrained from anything inappropriate. Otherwise, the next critical part of the plan would have been difficult to execute.
"Cough, Dupree, it's your cue," Jack muttered as he sent a pre-written message from his phone.
The next second, Jack nearly choked on his soda. What was he seeing?
Dupree, dressed as a homeless man, was staggering out from around the corner—exactly as planned. But behind him? There were the elderly Hunter couple! They were improvising and adding their own little twist.
"What the hell are they doing?" Jack exclaimed, too late to intervene as the three of them made their way to the café and knocked on the glass door.
By this point, the rain had intensified. The elderly couple stood at the door, folding up their umbrellas, waving at the two lovers inside, and gesturing toward the bedraggled Dupree as if asking for food.
"Oh my god, let them in!" Yvonne said, rushing to the door.
"I'll check the kitchen to see if there's any soup left," Charlie replied, heading to the back.
"Thank you, kind people. We got lost, and luckily, this gentleman helped chase off some bad guys. We'd like to help him get something to eat," Mr. Hunter said, his voice trembling, with Didi at his side, supporting him as though he were still recovering from a stroke.
Jack slapped his forehead, while Hannah burst into laughter, spilling popcorn all over the car. This was the first time Jack realized that the elderly detective couple also had a knack for theatrics.
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