Free Fall (Pyramid of Gold)

'Alright, Matt. What the fuck do you want?'

She was looking at me with strange intensity, not exactly hostile, but far from friendly as well. Defensive, maybe. But then, sometimes the best defense is offense, right?

I let a couple of seconds pass by, thinking. I was still wearing the cute barista Matt mask, smiling like a fool, all white teeth and pleasantness. My coworkers were out of earshot, but we were in their field of vision. More importantly, the Protectors had a perfect angle of my grinning face through the shop window.

That's okay. I prepared for this.

Without changing expression, I said:

'I want to talk.'

She leaned back a little and looked at me, one eyebrow raised.

'Is this some kind of a joke to you? Or are you just mentally challenged? In any case, I'm dead serious, so maybe you should stop smiling.'

I didn't.

'Yeah, I could. But then people will notice.'

I raised my voice and said.