The Corner

We got to the corner and I grabbed his arm. In a whisper I told him: "Grab your stuff! You're being followed". He looked at me with puzzlement and shock in his eyes. He opened his mouth to speak and I interrupted him by saying: "Shut up! There's no time to explain, we've got to move, we have to go to a safe place".

He finally took his briefcase and stared walking with me. We walked at a brisk pace for a couple of blocks and I instructed him not to look back, they where close, I could feel their eyes on our backs. Finally we took a right turn and went into a bar, we sat at an empty booth, the farthest from the door we could find. He started to talk again and I told him to shut up, that I was the one who was going to ask all the questions, that it wasn't my fault that they were following him, that he must have done something that caught their attention, that now we where in the open and now it was up to me to fix things up. We ordered two beers and I took his briefcase, opened it and started looking for something, a tracking device, a chip, some kind of bug. All I could find was a half eaten sandwich, an old daily planner, two bic pens and a pepsi. I closed the briefcase, took a sip form my beer and ordered him to empty his pockets. He had nothing, just some change, a few business cards, keys and an antique cellphone.

I was starting to lose my patience and feeling really paranoid. A bunch of college kids entered the bar and with them two men in raincoats talking on a phone. I signaled them and he asked me what was going on. I told him that we where about to die like dogs and we had to act quickly, his eyes went huge and his jaw almost hit the table. I grabbed his arm and told him that everything was going to be alright but he had to do exactly as I said. He just nodded and downed the last third of his beer in one gulp.

I explained to him that the men that were looking for him worked for very shady people and they where instructed to take care of him. I told him that I was going to try to help him and that I had a plan. I was going to the bathroom to climb out of the window, he should wait five minutes, take his stuff and walk away, take the bus and act as if he was going home, I needed to make some calls and would meet with him in the bus. I told him that if I failed to meet him in the bus it would mean that it was too late for me and he would be on his own. I could smell the adrenaline oozing out of him. I got up, shook his hand and smiled. He just managed a sad frown while sweat poured down his forehead. I went to the bathroom, climbed out of the window and disappeared, just took my bike and rode home, I was kinda hungry but it had been a fun afternoon.

Last week I saw him again while crossing the street, I know he saw me, he recognized me. He just stood there in the sidewalk not knowing what to do. Not knowing if anything that happened the previous week was real and wondering if the men in the raincoats were close. He hugged his briefcase, looked around and with his head down started walking home.