Frank woke up in his hideout the next morning. He
remembered talking to the woman in the room, but
not much about what was said. Had she drugged him
somehow? An aerosol perhaps? He couldn’t remember
how he got home. She said she was going to tell him
something, but he couldn’t recollect if she had.
He glanced over to the corner. The cooler was still there.
They’d be after him again, soon enough, once they opened
the bag. Maybe they wouldn’t be so friendly this time.
He’d gotten nothing out of the conversation with Shela,
and he still hadn’t been paid to collect the bag. Well, they
were screwing with him and he was screwing with them…
S.O.P. for many of these kinds of shady deals.
He went to a different internet café and checked into the
private chat room. No one home. He wrote a message:
“2 PM”, and left the café. He took the subway down-
town and looked for a place to eat that was not one of
his usual haunts. He stopped in at “Philbert’s”, a nutty
little place that catered to the theatre crowd. He took a
booth away from the front door. He ordered a Philly
cheese steak and a stein of “Devil’s Due” porter. His
mind began to wander.
It was as if he was having a waking dream…he had some
kind of blue outfit on, and he was wearing a cap. He was
walking along a corridor in an industrial facility that he
didn’t recognize. In one hand, he was carrying something
by a handle…it was heavy.
The plate hitting the table woke him up. The waitress
looked at him. He must have acted startled… “Sorry…
I didn’t mean to interrupt your daydream.”
“No, no, just not sleeping well lately…” The waitress
looked at him oddly for a seconded and walked away.
He enjoyed his meal. He had a couple more beers and
started feeling right. He didn’t think it strange that he’d
nodded off…he was under a lot of stress. He checked
the clock on the wall. He paid for his meal…smiled at
the waitress as he left…her expression was neutral.
He found a new internet café. He checked into the chat
room. “Coffee10” was there.
coffee10: “What happened?”
Nick: “We seem to have stiffed each other.”
coffee10: “You got your money….did you check your
account?”
Nick: “Not lately…I’ve been rather busy.”
coffee10: “The money’s there…where’s the package?”
Nick “Also, your friend l like to call Shela was going
to explain what this is all about….I think…I
think she drugged me.”
coffee10: “We were trying to spare you from further
involvement.”
Nick: “Too late.”
coffee10: “Yes”
Long pause.
So now at this point in the novel, I should write about how
Frank makes arrangements to meet again with the unknown
and the various subterfuges concocted to make this part of the
reading very juicy. But, that’s not what happened.
coffee10: “go outside.”
Coffee10’s name vanished from the chat room. Frank went outside. Shela was waiting for him on the sidewalk. “Let’s
walk this way.” They walked.
“We can’t give you the big picture right now. The best we
can do is give you instructions to prepare for what’s about to
happen to you….in fact, is already happening…we know.
The object you were supposed to convey to us emits a
certain…..radiation…not nuclear….and it’s shielded…but
some individuals are more…sensitive. You happen to be
one of those.”
“OK…” Frank was thinking out loud….”So, why did this Tsnelda want to steal it? Is it valuable?”
“Not intrinsically, but it’s powerful….and there are always
those that want power just to have it. They are quite foolish,
really, no matter how evil they may be.”