Baby, You Are the Weapon I Choose

“Oh this place is -- interesting,” Christine observed as we walked into the beat down restaurant.

I laughed as we sat down at my usual table. “I’m sorry. It’s just that with the whole fame thing, it’s hard to get a good meal at regular places, and um – on a date, it would be bad. The press wouldn’t leave us alone.”

She smiled. “It’s really no problem. I totally get it.” She picked up the menu and started flipping through it. “Do you come here often?”

I smirked. A double meaning ran through that whole question. Did I come here often as in did I bring girls here often? “I like to come here by myself too,” I said. “The owner is pretty cool and gives me free refills.”

She smiled, obviously getting a satisfactory answer. She looked up from her menu. “So Mr. Jonas, why the sudden interest in paying me back a cup of coffee?”

I laughed. “Is this turning into an Ellen interview?”

She laughed. “No, I’m just curious. I mean, I’m not exactly the kind of girls you usually go for.”

“And what kind of girls would those be?” I inquired.

“I’m not blonde, or super skinny, or famous, or anybody really,” she counted off her fingers.

I reached over and put my hand on hers. “That’s exactly why I like you,” I smiled at her. I wasn’t sure how much of what I was saying was true and how much was an act. “You’re not those girls.”

She blushed. “Oh um, okay then.” She quickly looked back at her menu.

I smirked, and picked up my own. I sighed. Christine was actually cool. She wasn’t like the rest of the girls in California. She was real. She clearly had a brain, and she was beautiful. If only I didn’t have to kill her dad.

“Hey Joe,” Rob, the owner said, coming to our table. “Back again? Haven’t seen you here in a couple of nights.”

“I haven’t gone out for a while,” I told him.

His eyes flickered to Christine, and a smile broke out on his face. “A girl too? Well, well.”

I rolled my eyes as she smiled at him. “Rob’s a romantic.”

“Well what’s life without a little love huh,” Rob asked, winking at her.

She laughed. “True,” she said.

He pulled out his notepad. “So what can I get you kids?”

“A cheeseburger,” I said, handing him my menu.

Christine looked at her menu. “Um, what is good?”

“Try the chicken club sandwich,” Rob suggested. “The sauce is amazing. A secret family recipe of course.”

“I asked for it once,” I told her. “He almost beat me down.”

Rob shrugged. “I told you it was a secret. So what’ll it be?”

“Um, one of those then please,” she handed him back the menu.

He nodded, and walked back to the kitchen. The place was empty, so he had no reason to be out here.

“So,” I said, looking at her. “Christine – Ellen’s assistant?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I’ve only been working there a week though.”

“Well do you like it?” I asked, trying to find out as much as I could. I needed her to trust me enough to show me where her father was.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “I never really thought I’d spend my life being an assistant, you know?”

I nodded understandingly. “Well Ellen said you’re really good at it.”

“Been talking to the boss, have you?” she smirked.

“I had to find out as much as I could,” I shrugged, smiling. “You’re not an easy person to figure out, you know?”

“I like my privacy,” she shrugged. “Besides, there aren’t a million fan sites all about me.”

I laughed. “You’re lucky then. Makes being stalked more difficult.”

“Is it hard?” she asked. “Having everyone know everything about you?”

I shrugged. They didn’t know everything. They couldn’t know everything. The fan sites, the press, the fans, they knew one side of me. The rock star side. They could never meet the assassin side. They could never know I was a professional killer. Though being famous made it somewhat difficult to hide. “Sometimes, I wish I weren’t famous,” I admitted. “But most of the time, it’s not that bad. I mean, the fans are what make us who we are, right? So if they want to ask questions about us or ask for an autograph, how can I really not like that?”

She nodded understandingly. She leaned on her hands in front of her, her eyes locked on my face. “You’re a good guy Joe.”

I smiled. “That’s what they tell me.”

“So you have three brothers right?” she asked, taking a sp of her water. “I mean, I know there’s only three of you in the band. But I met the youngest one at the studio.”

“Frankie,” I smirked. “He’s the man.” This was good. Family questions. “What about you? Any siblings?”

She shook her head. “Only child.”

“Oh, that must have been great for your dad to spoil you,” I smirked. “My dad always wanted a girl to spoil. He got four boys instead.”

Her face changed completely. I saw a reserved façade take over as she looked at me. Her face was emotionless. She portrayed nothing. But I knew that face. That was the face of someone who had a secret. “My dad died when I was little,” she said, her voice dry of emotion.

“Oh,” I said, my tone weary. Dead? Was this the story she kept? “I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “It was a long time ago.”

Rob came out with our food then, ending that conversation. The rest of the night went smoothly, and uneventfully. I was thinking about what she said even when the words out of my mouth were light and kind. He was dead, she said. Dead? I sighed after I dropped her home without even trying to kiss her. First date. Gentlemen’s rules. I would have to play this one carefully, especially with the situation. I wondered how long it would take and how close I would have to get before she revealed the truth and the location of the target.