Jason’s heart quickened. The tranquility of the cruise felt like it was peeling back, exposing a more sinister reality underneath. He scanned the café, his mind alert to any other suspicious behavior, the ease he’d felt only moments ago dissolving entirely.
He watched as the man at the counter returned to his laptop, oblivious to the unsettling gaze that had been cast over his belongings. The stranger averted his eyes quickly, feigning disinterest, but Jason saw through the act. He sensed a pattern, a calculated plan unfolding right before him.