The Mystery Danger Serials: Dead Man Running

A Simple Task

A simple task...

that's what it looked like anyway. All I had to do was wait at the train station for a man wearing a yellow hat, carrying a brown duffel bag.

...

"Get the bag from the man. Then bring it to me here." With her left hand, she offered me a card with an address written across the back. Her right hand held a gun to Jim's side. "Straight forward. Nothing shady. Hell, I'd go myself if every cop in the city wasn't looking for me."

Her tone made it sound like going to the market.

"Straight forward, huh? Nothing shady? So, what's in the bag?" I asked.

"I understand you don't trust me. You are entitled to be apprehensive. But there is really no reason to..."

"No reason to? You're holding us at gunpoint, demanding I do this thing for you, or what? You're gonna shoot my partner. Two months ago, you stacked dynamite under my chair and lit the fuse. So, yeah! I'd say there's more than enough reason to be a bit... apprehensive. Now, what's in the bag?"

She stared at me with hard, dangerous eyes. I really know how to take a bad situation and make it worse.

I noticed the muscles in her jaw clench in frustration. A part of me wanted to glance down at her finger. The finger wrapped menacingly around the trigger of her revolver.

Yet, I feared she might notice and consider it a threat. So, I stared at those hard eyes, trying to hold my ground, without pushing too far.

...

In poker, one of your biggest assets is your ability to read other players. The same can be said for my line of work. In the basement of the flower shop, I had called Rose out. She was going to have to show me her hand.

It was a bold move. A stupid move, really.

There was no reason for her to tell me. She didn't have to. She could have very easily put a bullet in both of us and sent another stooge to fetch the bag.

However, she had not slipped that far away. The girl I knew hadn't completely disappeared.

...

She ripped her eyes away from mine, and then closed them tightly. With a long slow breath, her jaw softened slightly. Her gun hand eased away from Jim's ribs.

"Personal belonging. Private things. Things from before all this started, alright? Nothing dirty. Nothing bad. But extremely important things," she said the words defensively. "Just get it, and bring it to me."

"Then we walk away?" I pointed to Jim.

"Yes, do this and you're both free to go."

Straight forward. Nothing shady.

"But Lincoln..." her eyes were still shut. "Cross me..." she turned her face towards me, "...and nothing between us will be strong enough to save either of you."

The eyes, which met me, were then familiar.

...

Just a simple task...