Welcome to a dreary drizzly Thursday. It seems our brief warm spell has been obliterated by the rain brought cool. It’s brought up a spate of mist and fog this morning that makes me think that I’m not the only one who wakes up with a brain wrapped in sleep fumes. But it is time to clear away the morning fog and get to work. Are you ready for the morning prompt? Cause I am more than ready. Between this and pounding back coffee I may actually get my brain moving this morning. So timers set? Then let’s go. See you in fifteen.
That was an interesting one. Sometimes the sort ones leave me scrambling and other times something clicks into place. I had fun with this. Plus as much as I like my heros and heroines, writing bad guys is just sometimes a lot more fun. I may not know much about Carl, but I do know he is not a pleasant man. Fun stuff.
Thursday, November 12th: The box was empty.
The box was empty. He stared at the empty space. His mind rebelled.
“How..” he started and then clamped his lips shut.
He knew how.
They got here first.
He slammed his fist on the table making the open metal safety deposit box bounce and jingle. It sounded as though it was mocking him. He shot it a glare but it had no real heat to it. He had only himself to blame. They got here first. He was too slow.
Somehow.
He wanted to strike the table again, venting his frustration physically, but was concerned someone might hear and come to investigate. The bank manager who let him in seemed a bit on the jumpy side. Carl could see him calling in armed guards and a medical team if he heard a thump, just to cover his basis.
He thought about asking the nervous little man how long ago the box was cleaned out, but decided against it. Now doubt it went against protocol and the officious banker no doubt had follow the rules emblazoned upon his heart. Carl had a brief fantasy of cutting him open to see. While pleasantly diverting, the thought of splitting open the banker wasn’t helpful.
What he needed was a new plan. There were still a number of ways this could play out. Depending on who actually arrived here to retrieve the contents of the box and how much of a head start they had on him. There were several groups in play at the moment. He hadn’t really focused on any of them as he didn’t think any of them knew about the box, or would learn of it quick enough to reach here before he did.
He was wrong.
He was rarely wrong and didn’t care to have it happen when the stakes were this high. He would need a moment to regroup. While he doubted the bank or its representative would give him anything, he knew there were other ways to gather information. This bank didn’t stand alone. Surrounding it were other businesses, all security conscious and fitted out with security cameras. There was the odd chance he could get lucky with them and find an over lapping view to let him know who was here before him. He may not know too much about the others, but he took the time to learn their faces in case it became necessary.
He thought it a waste when he memorized the images, but followed through because it was part of his training. If he ignored that step he would have felt off balance the entire job. Now he preened a little at his own attention to detail. It was a bright spot in the dark failure.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. This was a setback, but it wasn’t the end. He still had options. He nodded to himself, his mind already flicking through the area surrounding the bank, evaluating angles, positioning and opportunity.
It was time to get moving. He lifted the empty box. As he reached down to close the lid, he inadvertently tilted it. Out of the dark corner covered by the locking mechanism slid a black piece of paper. It blended with the shadows so he missed it before. The paper was folded and shaped by clever hands to form an origami frog. He looked at the small black paper frog sitting on the dull gray metal of the bottom of the box. He set the box down again and reached for the frog. There was nothing to be gained by staring at the outside so carefully he unfolded it. Pulling it apart. When the page lay flat, there was one word inscribed in the center in silver ink.
Prague.
Ten til Midnight 