“Why do you look so gloomy?” Bernard asked.
“You know why,” Noud replied with a sad sigh.
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too.”
The two men picked at their breakfast unenthusiastically. And yet, as usual, Noud had gone all out preparing it. This time, only the cheese slices and the grapes separated from the bunch had been eaten—the fried bacon and toast remained untouched. Bernard occasionally dipped a piece of cheese into the selection of jams and honey arranged in elegant little bowls. He particularly enjoyed the thick syrup extracted from palm trees.
“I don’t even know how long we’ve been here,” Noud lied. In reality, he knew down to the minute.
“I don’t get why you’re making such a big deal out of this. Does it really matter where you spend your time? It’s nice here, it was nice there. You’ve made this place feel like home, just like every other apartment before. And you can work from anywhere as long as there’s electricity and Wi-Fi.”
“Okay, that’s one way to look at it. But you know, I feel good there. There’s a community, a life that seems… normal.”
“There, you said it yourself—seems.”
“Why? And what do you call this? We put on wigs when we step outside and wear these ridiculous clown glasses,” Noud grumbled.
“What’s wrong with them?” Bernard laughed. “I actually love these cheap, rainbow-tinted, mirrored things.”
“We look like two junkie monkeys after their first gay experience in them!”
Bernard burst into laughter.
“See? That’s why I love working with you. I adore that you never lose your sense of humor. And self-irony is always funnier than making jokes at someone else’s expense.”
A faint smile appeared on Noud’s lips.
“I like you too, Bernard. I wouldn’t survive without your resilience and level-headedness.”
“Great. Now that we’ve confessed our love for each other, let’s review last night’s security footage from Carlos and Ted’s houses. Which one do you want?”
“I’ll take Ted today. If I have to watch María José one more time at her age doing… that, I swear I’ll slit my wrists! Never thought I’d be jealous of an old lady.”
“You don’t fast-forward?” Bernard asked in disbelief. “You filthy bastard!”
“Of course I do!” Noud huffed, offended. “But seventy minutes is seventy minutes!”
Carlos stared anxiously at his nails, chewed down to the quick. The disappearance of his neighbors was eating away at his nerves. And not knowing whether Ted had any information about them only made it worse. That self-important idiot always made remarks as if he knew exactly where they were. But there was no way Ted could be more informed than he was—he, who had a past. Ted was just a miserable wreck with a well-earned case of paranoia. The fool with Coke bottle glasses was terrified of being exposed, compensating by keeping everyone under surveillance. Probably just so that if things ever went south, he’d have someone to drag down with him. Or at least blackmail into helping him. But those two shady young men? They were different. They played a much bigger game. The problem was, no one knew what that game was. Even Carlos found himself second-guessing at times—Noud and Bernard’s performance was so convincing. But when Noud had once called Bernard “Kirk,” it had given them away. They thought no one had heard. And Carlos wasn’t about to brag about the fact that the bug he had placed in their living room had recorded it all in crystal-clear quality.