Frayed Edges

The Masked Man

Mia desperately wanted to call Jake.

Duffle bag in hand, she stood on the top step of the staircase leading down into the subway station. She took steady rattling breaths trying to find the nerve to take another step.

The weight of the bag in her hand was nothing compared to the guilt that was crushing her bones from the inside out. Her last conversation with Drew was still ringing in her ears. A dull ache was wrapped around each of her wrists where he had forced his finger pads into her delicate flesh.

"This one is for you"

"I don't want it!" She spat back at his sunken grey eyes "I'm doing what you asked but I'm not keeping one as a souvenir"

He attempted to force the handle of the heavy handgun into her fingers, but when she resisted he instead slipped it into the waistband of her jeans.

"I'm not asking, you might want it someday and I want you to be safe"

"Safe?! You have no right to say those words to me! You disappeared and left for years and now you're ruining everything, if Alex knew what you were-"

"Alex isn't here." The finality in his words left little else to be said. He took a step towards her cupping one side of her face softly. He tilted her chin so she could meet his gaze but she averted her eyes "This will be good for all us... You'll see it one day I promise you Mia."

When she finally met his eyes she saw that they were filled with sincerity but it didn't stop her from looking at him with a venomous gaze.

"I only want what's best for us"

A stranger bumped her shoulder as they passed, ripping her from her own memories. Her grip on the bag's handle faltered for a second and she was quickly reminded that she had to move. The burner phone in her pocket emitted a violent buzz and she was sure it was Drew letting her know that his associates didn't like being kept waiting.

The rattle of the subway around her was deafening in the dead night air as she descended the steps. That station was quiet at this time, only a few people dotted the carriages around her but she paid them little mind. As she took her seat the cold metal of a gun handle bit into her skin but the irritating sensation didn't phase her. If anything she felt she deserved it. It was little penance for what she would do tonight.

Her fingers hovered over the dial button on Jake's contact. She wondered what kind of image he had built of her in his head and how far it was from the real life Mia sat here in this moment. A train passing in the other direction allowed her to see her reflection in the dirty carriage window. Her hood shielded much of her appearance but what shocked her most was the dead eyes that stared back at her. She thought of Jake's Mia and how she so desperately wished to be her, but the sight before her told her it was too late.

Her head slipped into her hands as she counted off the stops until her destination. The trembling in her fingers had subsided for now after Drew had treated her to a second little parting gift. For once she was thankful, she didn't think she could have gone through with this sober.

By the time she left the subway station a dim glow was beginning to peep over the city skyline. It allowed her to see the streets around her littered with filth and debris.

Bodies in thin sleeping bags lay in doorways to shelter from the night chill. Her given directions took her to a small dock, once she had found it she understood why his instructions had been so detailed. The small expanse of shipping containers was tucked away behind an inlet where the river bent. With no insider knowledge she reckoned this place would be impossible to find.