©NovelBuddy
Contract Marriage with My Secret Partner in Crime-Chapter 136: Sightseeing
Chapter 136: Sightseeing
Obscura responded instantly. "Don’t approach yet. Let’s box him in. I’ll move around through Car 6 and come up behind. If he shifts seats or makes a break, you’ll see it."
Eclipse nodded silently. Her fingers danced across the tiny tracker tucked into her wristband. She activated her lens scanner subtly, confirming facial recognition. Match.
"Confirmed. Identity matches."
Meanwhile, Obscura navigated quietly through the adjoining car. He walked calmly past sleepy passengers and a pair of arguing tourists. Reaching the far end, he waited at the narrow entrance to Car 5.
"Ready," he whispered.
Eclipse checked the time. "Alright. Distraction in 3... 2... 1."
Suddenly, Eclipse tripped forward as if the train jolted, grabbing the shoulder of a man near the target. He stood to help, creating a small ripple of movement. The target flinched and turned.
Right then, Obscura slipped behind him. He slid a slim, pressure-sensitive blade from his jacket and lightly tapped the coat’s inner pocket. The flash drive was there.
The man turned sharply, sensing something.
Eclipse moved fast. "Excuse me, sir, could you help me reach the luggage rack?" she asked the target.
His eyes darted to her, then the overhead compartment.
Obscura’s hand dipped into the coat pocket and retrieved the flash drive in a blink.
"Of course," the target said stiffly.
Obscura was already walking away.
Eclipse gave a tight smile, muttered a thank-you, and retreated back toward her seat.
Back in their original positions, they both pressed their earpieces.
"Package secured," Obscura confirmed.
Eclipse responded, "Good work."
The mission was complete.
Now came the hardest part.
Going back to pretending they were just a journalist and an artist.
The mission had gone off without a hitch, but as the final stretch of the train ride neared, both Zephany and Kendrick knew the most delicate part was yet to come. Neither of them could afford a mistake—not now.
Zephany was the first to move. Still in her Eclipse disguise, she quietly slipped into one of the private restrooms located near the connecting passage between the train cars. It was narrow, a bit stuffy, but gave just enough space for what she needed.
She locked the door behind her, dropped her bag onto the closed toilet lid, and opened a hidden compartment stitched into the lining. Out came makeup wipes, a clean pair of glasses, and a change of soft clothes. She took a deep breath.
"Back to clumsy Zeph," she muttered, wiping away the light prosthetics and peeling off the faint scar above her eyebrow. Within minutes, Eclipse was gone.
Zephany stared at herself in the mirror—messy hair, slightly wide-eyed. Innocent, harmless. No one would guess she had just orchestrated a flash drive retrieval off a moving train.
Zephany stepped out of the cramped lavatory first, making sure to scan both ends of the car before stepping into the corridor.
The disguise she had worn as Eclipse was now gone. Her red long hair was back in its usual messy bun, the faint scar she wore for her agent look was wiped away.
She smoothed her coat, checked her reflection one last time in the panel’s glass, then headed back to the train car where this had all begun.
Meanwhile, Kendrick was also finishing up. He had changed in the service compartment at the far end of Car 6, where he’d tucked away his disguise. The dark coat and prosthetics were now sealed in a zip bag deep in his messenger bag. His hoodie was back on, hair ruffled just enough to look natural, and his face back to the easygoing, soft-eyed artist everyone knew.
He stepped out of the service door, casually moving back through the connecting cars. It was still strange how closely everything had timed out.
He hadn’t seen Zephany once during the entire execution of the mission. Maybe she had moved cars. Maybe she had stayed put. Either way, the clean execution meant she never saw anything. That was all that mattered.
And maybe... maybe he was a little relieved.
When he reached Car 4, he spotted her at the same time she noticed him. Both froze mid-step, a flash of recognition and then relief in their eyes.
"Oh, thank God," she whispered.
Kendrick tilted his head slightly. "You’re back."
They walked at the same time to their original seats and sat down almost in perfect sync. There was a brief silence, then both burst out laughing softly.
"I got lost," Zephany said, setting down her tote bag.
Kendrick looked at her. "Lost?"
She nodded with the most convincing sheepish grin she could summon. "Yeah. I went to the bathroom and forgot which car I was in. You know how all the seats look the same? I accidentally ended up in Car 5, then somehow ended up in Car 6. Took me a while to realize I was in the wrong section."
Kendrick chuckled, clearly amused. "And here I thought I was the only one wandering around aimlessly."
"Oh? You got lost too?"
"No," he replied, stretching out his legs. "Reception was horrible here. I got a call from Levy, and I couldn’t hear her, so I kept walking car after car until I found a decent signal."
Zephany’s brows lifted. "Let me guess. She’s mad at you again?"
He gave a helpless shrug. "What else is new?"
They laughed together this time. Then a moment of silence fell over them again. But this time, it was easier. The tension from earlier, the awkward stammering, the subtle panic of being found out, all of it seemed to evaporate.
’She’s safe,’ Kendrick thought.
’He didn’t see anything,’ Zephany told herself.
They both let out small, matching sighs of relief.
As if on cue, the voice from the intercom rang overhead, announcing the upcoming arrival.
They stood when the train slowed, moving through the crowd until they exited the station together.
Outside, the air was different—fresher. The city they had arrived in was smaller, quieter than the capital. Rolling hills could be seen in the distance, and a strip of old-style buildings lined the horizon with little cafes, local shops, and old train memorabilia repurposed into benches and signage.
Zephany looked around and took a deep breath. "Smells like roasted coffee and antique furniture."
Kendrick chuckled. "That’s oddly specific."
"It’s a gift," she said, smiling.
They stood there for a second, neither quite sure what to say next. Then Kendrick shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket and glanced over at her.
"So..." he started. "Why don’t we just hang out today?"
Zephany blinked. "Huh?"
"You know. Look around. We hardly ever go anywhere after we got married. No honeymoon. No quick weekend escape. We’re here already. Might as well make it worth the train ride."
Zephany tilted her head. He wasn’t wrong. She hadn’t really been to this city before. There were no urgent work calls, no Pia asking her for backup, and honestly—being with Kendrick, even in this strange, accidental domestic act, wasn’t the worst thing.
"Alright," she said. "Let’s go sightseeing."
His eyes lit up. "Seriously?"
She nodded. "But only if you promise to buy me lunch."
"Deal."
---
They first walked through a cobbled street lined with local boutiques. Zephany paused at nearly every window, commenting on odd trinkets and colorful scarves.
"Look at this! A candle that smells like rain on tin roofs," she said, holding up a tin. "Very specific."
Kendrick sniffed it. "Smells more like old laundry."
She grinned. "You clearly lack imagination."
Their banter followed them into a small antique bookstore, where Kendrick flipped through vintage art prints while Zephany found an old romance novel with a ridiculously dramatic cover. She held it up. "We should reenact this. You be the brooding sea captain."
He smirked. "Only if you’re the sassy runaway duchess."
---
Later, they arrived at the heritage garden just a few blocks from the station. It was an open landscape with walking paths, quiet streams, flowering trees, and shaded benches. Tourists strolled slowly through, camera straps around their necks, paper maps in hand.
Kendrick pulled out his phone and glanced at a nearby map sign. "There’s an overlook deck near the top hill. You want to go?"
Zephany glanced up the stone path ahead. "That’s like... Thirty minutes uphill."
He grinned. "Afraid of a little walking?"
"I’m wearing sneakers, not hiking boots."
"I’ll carry you if you pass out."
She narrowed her eyes. "You better not. I swear, Kendrick."
Still, she walked beside him, and together they climbed.
By the time they reached the deck, both were clearly surprised as they stared at each other—neither of them looked tired, unlike the other tourists who were out of breath.
For a moment, both were lost in thought.
’Never thought she had that kind of stamina. Just when I was thinking I might finally get closer to her... maybe even have to carry her if she got too tired.’
’How can he still look so fresh—and handsome—after all that walking? He didn’t even break a sweat. I thought he’d be frail from staying cooped up in his room or art studio all day. Never imagined he’d be this fit!’
Then she suddenly remembered that moment in the laundry room when she saw his abs. She gulped and quickly turned away.
"Okay," Zephany muttered. "Stop it."
Kendrick barely caught her words and asked, "Huh? Did you say something?"
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶