black treacle - matt sturniolo

Chapter Ten, What's more evil than poor punctuality?

If the King and Queen of Spades didn't show up in two more minutes, Matt was going home.

The first time, Matt concluded that they were late for dramatic effect. Although it was annoying to waste hours of his lifetime, he couldn't deny they knew how to make an entrance. Shattering the glass window with a playing card, attacking the store with queen of hearts cards and then signing off on their crime with a double-sided Queen and King of Spades?

Not to mention, they did this all without revealing their identities. It was straight out of a comic book. Even if Spider-Man wasn't immortalised through vivid graphics, he hoped that they would.

He had also chosen to believe that it was a coincidence they had aimed for him at the convenience store. Matt was standing right by the window, distracted by the flashy posters on the Slurpee machine.

He couldn't help it, they presented Blueberry Lemonade Bliss and Peach Perfect and expected him to pick one in a reasonable time frame?

He might as well have had a giant arrow with flashing bulbs saying 'hey bad guys, here I am, innocent bystander, distracted by the Slurpee machine. Come attack me!'

Today, Matt's patience was drained and he had no energy to be doing their treasure hunt. There wasn't even a prize at the end, just an ass beating and a full body ache. The same pain you get after slamming into a billboard, not that he was speaking from experience...

This endeavour would've been easier if they had stopped with the card-themed riddles. Matt's comic book knowledge was limited but he knew damn well he wasn't Batman and they were not the Riddler.

Sure, learning how to play poker would have eased his torture but Matt wasn't going to learn how to play cards, especially not for a pair of card loving villains who seemed to have an obsession with theatrics.

His mom had always told him that whatever outcome he could reach would be satisfactory as long as it manifested from hard work and effort, and the Google-assisted game of solitaire he won was as satisfactory as it gets.

The heart of Queens Robyn had referred to was better known as the geographical centre of New York, right in Woodside, and it was marked by a plaque on the sidewalk at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and 58th Street.

It would've been a landmark if it was accurate. Even the misconception couldn't lure anyone in, like spiders trying to trap their prey in non-sticky silk.

At least Times Square did its job as an attraction and could, you know, attract? The only visitors Matt could spot from the roof were residents of the area but even they understood how stupid the plaque was.

Surprise surprise, the couple still hadn't arrived, even with the generous two minutes, Matt had awarded them. He scowled, this was the last time he searched for them.

And before you ask, no. The thought of Robyn being wrong had never crossed his mind, and the empty street in front of him hadn't manifested the idea. Where else would they be? The only place he could think of was JFK airport but aggravated assault near TSA? They were late, not stupid.

Before he left, Matt squinted at the speckle of white next to the plaque. Wishing he had no sense of curiosity, Matt investigated the area.

An ace of spades.

Matt flipped the card around and read the instructions scrawled on the red and white patterns.

Turn around. Matt obeyed, following orders like a sitting duck, and faced the couple staring at him.

"We've been waiting for you."

"Jesus Christ," he clutched his heart, stumbling back. "You've been waiting for me? Maybe spend some of your card budget on a watch?"