Light streamed
in from the living room windows when I woke up several hours later. I’d passed
out in the entrance of my apartment still wearing my jacket, my key chain
cupped inside my hand. It took me several minutes to remember everything that
had happened the night before, but it came back. Would there be backlash in
response to my careless exposure? It might depend on what that man was doing on
the roof of the Sears Tower, and why he’d chased by the second man with the
gun.
I spent both
Saturday and Sunday night out at the north end of town, although it turned out
that there were no apartment buildings tall enough to get a good view of the
city from. Instead, I spent most of my time walking the street, and keeping my head
down. Monday at work was dreadful, I’d slept so little all weekend, a trend
which continued on into Tuesday and Wednesday, that I could barely keep my eyes
open. By Thursday, when I’d received no unexpected visitors dressed in dark,
nondescript suits, I decided it would be safe to enjoy the return of fine
weather and eat my lunch outside.
Thursday was
sunny, and warm, and I peeled off my jacket a few minutes after sitting down
on a bench across from the library. I dug through my purse for a moment
searching for my cigarettes, which I eventually found in the bottom of the bag,
then rifled through the contents a second time for my lighter. Leaning back, I
raised my cigarette to my lips and lit it.
“You know, those
things will kill you.”
My heart pounded
and I nearly dropped my cigarette. The speaker’s voice was nightmarishly
familiar. I took another drag, and fully exhaled before I looked up to confirm
my suspicions. For a mysterious, possibly dangerous man, he was alarmingly
attractive…and young. “So will jumping off of buildings,” I said as calmly as
possible.
“You remember
me?” The man smiled, then dropped onto the bench next to me.
I stood up, and
scanned the sidewalk. Everything looked normal, everyone looked busy, hurrying
to appointments, shopping, whatever people did on their lunch breaks. No one
was interested, or even cared that I was here with this strange young man who
I’d saved from plummeting to his death a week ago.
“How did you
find me?” I took a wide step back to make sure I was out of arm’s reach. I couldn’t
take off in the middle of the day, but I could probably sprint back to the
library without anyone noticing my feet weren’t touching the ground.
“You said you
were a librarian, Claire.” He grinned.
“Hm,” was the
best reaction I could muster. A little warning bell rang in the back of my
mind went off. How long had he been looking for me? His determination was nothing short
of alarming. Despite the warm weather, goose pimples flared up along my arms.
“I’m Jason, by
the way. I don’t think I’ve said that.”
He held out his
hand to me, but I only stared at him.
“Would you care
to sit?” Jason motioned to the spot that I’d vacated.
“I’d prefer to
stand,” I said, then took another drag on my cigarette.
Jason popped up
from the bench and shoved his hands in his pockets, causing his shoulders to
hunch forward slightly. He looked uncomfortable and nervous as he paced in
front of me, not like the highly trained government-agent type. “Look, I need
your help.” Jason stopped mid-stride and pivoted toward me. “And I can help you.”
To be continued...look for more of the story on Thursday, March 27th, 2014.
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