I walked into the restaurant, hand still hurting, and sat at one of the many empty tables.
A waiter wearing a bow tie came up to me within minutes, and asked me to move to another table slightly away from the door.
"Yes Sir?", he asked.
"Beer from the tap! and some ice on the side!"
"I am sorry Sir; we do not serve from the tap. would you...".
"Just the cheapest bitter, and don't forget the ice !!"
Don't know who chose this place for the drop. I was sticking out like a sore thumb. The air of richness was unmistakable. The waiter was back in a short while, with a pint and a fancy bucket.
"Chilled beer; just what I needed after a long day!".
The ice bucket was perfect. I dipped my hand in it and let the ice do the trick.
Two beers later; it had already been a long wait. I was about to walk out. It was then that I saw her. Here was this woman. Right across the room from me. Wrapped in a fancy red dress. Her long hair; neatly combed. She seemed very approachable; yet unreachable for the likes of me. She looked straight at me with her beautiful blue piercing eyes. I wondered why she was giving me the stare. Maybe because of my clothes or the tattoos on my arm. Not exactly high class.
I looked away. But she would not. Surely; she did not fancy me. Maybe she knew someone who had gotten to know me on one my routine appointments. A brother perhaps; or husband. They may not remember my face but they don't forget the tattoos. Ever!
But as she continued to look at me only occasionally glancing elsewhere, it dawned on me that this was far more serious. This was not a beautiful gaze; but rather a sinister stare. I noticed the unusually big bag next to her. What was she really here for? Was this a setup? I checked my Beretta M9 tucked inside my jacket. 11 rounds still in it. The setting was not ideal, there were a lot more people around now, but I was ready.
The staring match continued for a while, and then without breaking her gaze she made a signal to the waiter to come to her. The waiter approached; she said something quietly to him. As he started to move away he shot a quick glance in my direction.
He traveled towards me and then went past me in the direction of the door. They had me in a cross fire. It was a turkey shoot.
This was it, I knew. There was no drop! This was a setup! I had to make my move. Now!! In one swift motion I got my pistol out and shot her straight between the eyes. My sudden move had completely taken the waiter by surprise. I quickly swiveled around to shoot the waiter but in doing that movement lost possession of the gun.
I though my game was up; but the waiter did not shoot back. Neither did he come towards me. Instead he ran for kitchen.
In the brief moment of calm before I ran, I saw it: a dog approaching the dead woman.
I ran as fast as I could. There was something so odd about the scene that I left behind. For some reason I could not get the dog out of my mind. Did it belong to the woman? ? It was so calm! Why did it not attack me? How was it so calm ?! I had seen that kind of dog before. A black Labrador perhaps or a retriever; It had a peculiar leash; as if it were wearing a harness.
I had crossed over a couple of intersections now and made my way into a narrow lane. I looked back over my shoulder just to make sure. No one was following me. I realized I had been running with the gun in my hand. I carefully tucked it inside my jacket.
As I looked up; I saw the same kind of dog in front of me. For a moment I was startled thinking it was the same dog. Thankfully it wasn't. It too had a calm demeanor and a similar harness. There were two words printed on it in bold. Glittering in the late evening sun I could clearly make them out: GUIDE DOG!
Two beers later; it had already been a long wait. I was about to walk out. It was then that I saw her. Here was this woman. Right across the room from me. Wrapped in a fancy red dress. Her long hair; neatly combed. She seemed very approachable; yet unreachable for the likes of me. She looked straight at me with her beautiful blue piercing eyes. I wondered why she was giving me the stare. Maybe because of my clothes or the tattoos on my arm. Not exactly high class.
I looked away. But she would not. Surely; she did not fancy me. Maybe she knew someone who had gotten to know me on one my routine appointments. A brother perhaps; or husband. They may not remember my face but they don't forget the tattoos. Ever!
But as she continued to look at me only occasionally glancing elsewhere, it dawned on me that this was far more serious. This was not a beautiful gaze; but rather a sinister stare. I noticed the unusually big bag next to her. What was she really here for? Was this a setup? I checked my Beretta M9 tucked inside my jacket. 11 rounds still in it. The setting was not ideal, there were a lot more people around now, but I was ready.
The staring match continued for a while, and then without breaking her gaze she made a signal to the waiter to come to her. The waiter approached; she said something quietly to him. As he started to move away he shot a quick glance in my direction.
He traveled towards me and then went past me in the direction of the door. They had me in a cross fire. It was a turkey shoot.
This was it, I knew. There was no drop! This was a setup! I had to make my move. Now!! In one swift motion I got my pistol out and shot her straight between the eyes. My sudden move had completely taken the waiter by surprise. I quickly swiveled around to shoot the waiter but in doing that movement lost possession of the gun.
I though my game was up; but the waiter did not shoot back. Neither did he come towards me. Instead he ran for kitchen.
In the brief moment of calm before I ran, I saw it: a dog approaching the dead woman.
I ran as fast as I could. There was something so odd about the scene that I left behind. For some reason I could not get the dog out of my mind. Did it belong to the woman? ? It was so calm! Why did it not attack me? How was it so calm ?! I had seen that kind of dog before. A black Labrador perhaps or a retriever; It had a peculiar leash; as if it were wearing a harness.
I had crossed over a couple of intersections now and made my way into a narrow lane. I looked back over my shoulder just to make sure. No one was following me. I realized I had been running with the gun in my hand. I carefully tucked it inside my jacket.
As I looked up; I saw the same kind of dog in front of me. For a moment I was startled thinking it was the same dog. Thankfully it wasn't. It too had a calm demeanor and a similar harness. There were two words printed on it in bold. Glittering in the late evening sun I could clearly make them out: GUIDE DOG!
No comments:
Post a Comment