Survival Game

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Meeting

She couldn't remember rain like this in years, not since her husband and she both lost their bakery business to a tropical storm. Sheets of water pelted the windshield, sounding like marbles bouncing off the glass. She adjusted the wipers, but they were already working a full speed and it doesn't seem to be working.

The rainstorm was very blinding and kate was late already for the set meeting. She just wasn't good with directions, and this wasn't exactly her neck of the woods.

A stream of cars was inching down the highway at the speed of cooling lava. She reduced her speed somewhere below the school zone Limit, she then checked her watch. She was thirty minutes behind time

Damn. He'd just have to wait. She eventually got there.

This meeting was arranged on phone. They only spoke once, the instructions were simple enough Wednesday at 1 P.M. It was agreed that lateness will not be condoned. She can't reschedule again, not in this weather. This was the target and she was sure.

Just ahead of her, a neon sign blinked erratically, as if shaken by the storm. It was like trying to read an eye chart at the end of a lake, and she can only make out part of it. S- H something - something A - K -

" Sharks, " she said out aloud. This was the meeting place. She drove off the highway and moved into the parking lot. Under all this water, she could only guess as to the exact location of the parking spot. She turns off the engine and checks her reflection in the review mirror. The flash of the thunder lit up the inside of her car and unleashed a crack of thunder that sent shivers down her spine. It frightened her, then triggered a bemused smile. How ironic would that have been? After all her strategy, to get hit by lightning.

She exhaled after taking a deep breath in. No going back now, she just has to go for it.

She came down from the car and started her quick dash across the parking lot in the pouring rain. Her umbrella was snatched by a blast of wind from her hand and threw it somewhere into the next county. Wearing no coat, she was forced to cover her hair with her hands and kept rushing, splashing with each footfall. In a matter of minutes, she arrived at the door, soaked up to her undergarments, her wet jeans and grey blouse pasted to her body.

A guy wearing a Gold Gum shirt with a muscle-bound body was standing at the gate, and he opened the door for her.

The wet clothes contest is not till tomorrow, my lady."

" You think," she says as she heads straight to the restroom to see if she can dry off her clothes. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and gasped. Her n*****s were staring back at her, right through her bra and with clothes.

Oh, my God!

She took the dryer with the hope of hot air. But nothing came out. She tried again and again, but nothing. She reached for a paper towel, but it was empty too. Toilet paper will have to do. She went to the booths, found a loose roll at the too tank, and started using it to dab furiously from the head to the foot. It was a single-ply paper, not a terrible absorbent. She goes through the entire roll. She exited the booths, took a look at her reflection again in the mirror and this time a cry of horror left her lips. Her entire body was covered with shredded remnants of cheap toilet rolls.

She started laughing not sure why she laughed so hard that tears started coming out of her eyes. She could feel her emotional strength drifting up to the ever-present knot of tension at the base of her head. Her shoulders started to heave, and quickly regain her composture

" You are a f**ked up," she says to herself.

She brushed off as much of the rolls as she could, fixed her makeup and said the hell with it. Nothing was going to stop this meeting from taking place today. She took a deep breath for motivation and excited the restroom.

The sight of the crowd came as a surprise to her on this rainy night which was about what she had anticipated. A group of factory workers were playing poker, leather-clad bikers and their blond girlfriends had a card on the table for gambling, as if waiting out the storm. The dress code for this bar seems to be jeans, shirts, T-shirts and a blouse. These people were hard-core, and this was a place that depended on its regulars.

" Can I help you miss?" the waiter asked.

" Yes, I am looking for someone."

" Yeah? Who?"

She hesitated, not sure how to answer.

" Just, uh, some sort of blind date."

" Bruce must be the one you are seeking. A man said from the bar.

Others laughed at her, Kake smiled awkwardly, the inside joke completely lost on her. The waiter explained,

" Bruce was the umpire in our football league. They don't come any blinder"

The waiter explained to her

"Ah, I get it,"

She said. They laughed again at the expense of Bruce. Kate moved away and continue across the bar before their interest returned to her. Her gaze was focused on the third booth from the back, near the broken air hockey table. A guy with penetrating eyes and with a serious face with no smile was staring back at her. He was wearing a deep blue shirt with dark jeans, which make Kate lie eyes on him, but that was the clothes he had described over the phone. This is the guy.

She walked towards the booth and said

" I am Kate."

" I know."

* How did you-"

She started to ask, then halted. There wasn't a woman in the joint who looked like her.

" Have a seat," he said.

She slid into the booth and sat across from him.

" Sorry I am late. It's raining like hell."

He reached across the table and took out a shred of toilet paper from her sleeves.

" What's raining now, fake snow?"

" That's toilet paper."

He looked at her expecting to hear more explanation.

" Let it be, it's a long story," she said. " It was all over me some minutes ago I know I look white all over."

" White be**st."

She folded her arms across her chest.

" Some things can't be helped I guess."

" What would you like to drink?"

" Nothing, thank you."

He used the straw to swirl around the cubes in his rum glass. She guessed since that was the special of the night.

" I watched you drive up," he said. " Your car is beautiful"

" I can see you like cars?

" Yes. From the look of things, you also like cars."

" Not really, my husband does."

" You mean your first or second husband?"

They have not discussed her marital status on phone and this made her uncomfortable.

" My second."

" The German?"

" Hm, I can see you have done a background check on me."

" Yes, I always do, on all my clients."

" I am not yet your client."

" People who look like you rarely come to me and back down."

" Look like me? What do you mean?"

" Know young pissed off, rich and gorgeously looking."

" You call this gorgeous?"

" I am guessing this isn't your look."

" That is a fair assumption."

" What about the pissed-off parr. That is fair, too?"

" I am not pissed off."

" Then what are you?"

" I don't see how my feelings are relevant. The only thing that matters is if you would be willing to do the job I have for you. Mr. -- whoever you chose to call yourself "

" The name is Johnny."

" Is that your name?"

" It's a nickname."

He grimaced while drinking his drink.

" It's John Cane."

" Is that what you call yourself too? Assassin?"

He leans forward, his expression changed to a very serious one

" Isn't that why you are here for?"

"Excuse me?" She said.

" This piece of dirt sitting on the other side of the table. Why are you meeting with him?"

She looked at John, then at the waiter

" That's not any business of yours?"

" I run things here, it's my business

John spoke up.

" Just put a cork in it, man! Will you."

" I want you out of here."

" Ain't finish my drink yet."

" You have five minutes."

The waiter said and walked back to the bar

" What is with him? Kate asked.

" He thinks he is better than everyone else because he was able to escape jail

Her rain-soaked blouse suddenly felt even more clingy

" I guess I brought this on myself."

" Never mind him. Let's forget him and get back to business?"

" I didn't come with money."

" And I didn't give you any price yet."

" How much is it going to be?"

" Depending on the job description."

" On what?"

" How complicated the job is."

" What do you need to know?"

" First, what exactly do you want, secondly, broken ribs? A concussion? Stitches? Mess with his face, don't mess with his face? I can put the guy in the hospital for the rest of his life if you want?

" I want more than that."

" What, more?"

Kate looks one way, then the other way, looking to see if they were alone.

" I want this person six feet under."

John didn't answer. She then said

" How much will that cost me."

He Farrows his tongue into his cheek while looking at her with deep thought

" That depends too."

" On what?"

" Well, who's your victim."

She lowered her eyes, then looked straight at him.

" You are not going to believe it."

" Try me."

She almost burst into laughter then shook it off.

" You are not going to believe it. I'm very serious."