QUARTER MOON
New Orleans, Louisiana Friday Evening
Logan's flight touched down at Louis Armstrong International at 1645 hours and by the time he'd collected his bag and caught an Uber into the city, the sun was starting to sink toward the horizon. The driver took him through streets that got narrower and more crowded the closer they got to the French Quarter, past buildings with iron balconies and hanging plants and that lived-in feeling that came from centuries instead of decades.
"First time in New Orleans?" the driver asked.
"Yeah."
"Here for business or pleasure?"
Logan thought about Mara. About six weeks of texts and calls and video chats that had led to this moment. About the fact that he'd cleared a week of leave and flown halfway across the country to meet a woman he'd spent maybe an hour with in person. "Pleasure. Definitely pleasure."
The driver grinned. "You picked a good time. Weather's perfect. Not too hot yet. Quarter's gonna be busy tonight but nothing like summer when the tourists really hit."
They pulled up in front of a hotel on Chartres Street. Small. Historic. The kind of place that looked like it had stories in every brick. Logan paid, grabbed his bag, and checked in at a desk that was probably older than he was. The clerk handed him a physical key attached to a brass tag and directed him to the second floor.
The room was perfect. Exposed brick. High ceilings. A window that looked out over the street where music was already drifting up from somewhere below. Logan dropped his bag and pulled out his phone.
"I'm here. Tomorrow can't come soon enough."
Mara's response came back almost immediately."Get some sleep. You'll need it."
Logan smiled and set his phone on the nightstand. Sleep. Right. Like that was going to happen when his brain was spinning and his stomach was doing things that had nothing to do with the airplane food he'd skipped. He unpacked, showered, changed into jeans and a t-shirt, and stared at the ceiling for twenty minutes before admitting defeat.
He grabbed his jacket and headed out.
The Quarter at night was alive in a way that felt both chaotic and intentional. Music poured from doorways. People clustered on corners with drinks in plastic cups. The smell of fried food and beer and something sweet he couldn't identify filled the air. Logan walked with no destination in mind, just moving through the crowds and trying to settle his nerves.
He'd been in hostile territory more times than he could count. Had breached buildings and cleared rooms and made split-second decisions that meant life or death. But walking through the French Quarter the night before meeting Mara felt more intimidating than any of that. Because this mattered in a different way. This was personal in a way operations never were.
His phone buzzed. Mara again."You okay?"
"Can't sleep. Walking around the Quarter."
"Where are you?"
Logan looked around for a street sign."Bourbon and St. Peter, I think."
"That's tourist central. If you want actual New Orleans, head toward Frenchmen Street. Better music. Fewer drunk college kids."
"That an invitation to join me?"
There was a pause before her response."I wish. But I'm still at work. Early morning tomorrow. Need to get some sleep before I drive in."
"Drive? How far are you?"
"About an hour and a half. I'll head out around six tomorrow. Meet you at eight."
Logan did the math. She was closer than he'd thought. Not in the city but not far either. Somewhere in the bayou based on the things she'd mentioned over the last six weeks. He wanted to ask more but knew better. They'd agreed to keep some things separate. To protect what they each did and the people they did it with.
"I'll be there at eight,"he typed."Probably seven-thirty because I won't be able to wait."
"Don't be early. I'm going to be late on purpose so I don't look too eager."
"You are eager."
"I know. But you don't need to know that."
