I woke up and put on cargo pants with army print, a long black sleeve shirt and black combat boots. I was ready for my mission today, I'd call in sick and follow Gator around. I got some snacks from the kitchen and got in my car. I started driving to the station and parked a little down the street. I picked up my phone and dialed Gator Tillman's number. The phone rang for a few seconds before he answered. "Talk to me." He said.
"Hey I uh I can't come to work today" I say, fake coughing a little bit. "I'm a little under the weather." I explain.
"Okay well, get some rest, alright?" He says.
"Sure will." I say, hanging up. No I won't. I stay in my spot for a while before I see Gator's grey truck passed by my parked car, pulling into the parking lot a little bit ahead. I get the car going and wait for him to come out of the parking lot. After a little bit, his squad car pulls out and I give him a few seconds before following it. He drove down the long open road for a while before getting on the freeway, I followed pretty close behind him, speeding up. I hope he doesn't recognize my car. He gets off a few exits later and so do I. He drives for a bit until he pulls into the lot of an old abandoned building. I drive a little farther and park up ahead where he can't see me, but I can see him. I pull out my binoculars so I can see him closer. He gets out of the car and walks a few steps, standing in front of the old yellow brick building. It looks like he's waiting for someone. I'm watching him for about 15 minutes before someone pulls up in a black car. Two men get out and walk up to Gator. I watch them closely, my heart pounding. I see the man say something to Gator, Gator doesn't really react, he has a straight face and says something back. Suddenly, one of the men moves closer to Gator, getting in his face. Gator pushes him back, staring at him angrily. I don't want to interfere or get caught, but I don't want anyone to get hurt. I decide to get closer against my better judgement. I get out of the car, closing the door quietly and sneak behind the building. I find a broken window and slide through, walking to the other side of the building. I can hear voices so I know Gator's behind this wall.
"Come on, man we don't want any trouble alright. But a deal's a deal." I hear someone say.
"Yeah, well it's over. Deal's off." Gator says. I hear a clicking of metal and a "whoa man."
"Hey! Chill out man!" I hear a third voice say.
"Come on, Tillman. Deal's on unless you wanna get shot right now." The first man says. I sneak closer against the doors practically shaking. Am I about to hear someone get shot? Suddenly, I slip and land on my hands and knees. Ugh, I've got mud on me. I wipe my hands on my pants and realize everything has gone quiet.
"Did you hear that too?" I hear a voice ask. Shit. Before I can get out of there, the door bursts open and I see one of the men holding Gator's arm and the other one holding a gun. They're all staring at me and I'm frozen.
"Who the hell are you?" The one with the gun asks.
"I uh-" I begin to say.
"You with him?" The one holding Gator asks. Shakes his head at me.
"No. No, I'm just here to do a check... For this building! Yeah, uh from the real estate company!" I say. Gator nods at me.
"Yeah right, just shoot her." The one with Gator says. Before the man can raise his gun, Gator kicks him in the stomach and punches the man holding him in the face. He takes my hand and we start running. He gives me a boost up to the window, and jumps through himself.
"Come on!" He says, taking my hand again as we run.
"This way!" I say, leading him to my car. He gets in the driver's seat and speeds out of there before I can even put my seatbelt on.
"What the hell were you doing there?" Gator asks after a couple minutes of shocked silence.
"I... I wanted to know what was with the evidence room yesterday." I answer honestly.
"Jesus, it's none of your business." He says angrily.
"Well, it's my business now! You could have gotten killed! Hell, you almost did! And so did I! I mean, who even were those guys?!!" I exclaim.
"Listen, just forget about it, okay?!!" He yells.
"No! No way! You need to tell me what on god's green earth was happening back there!" I say.
"Stop asking me!" He said, menacingly.
"Come on, you Shitbird!" I say.
"Hey, you should be lucky I'm not telling my dad! I mean you seriously called in sick just to spy on me?!" He says, aghast.
"What do we do now then? Just go home, go to work tomorrow, pretend like this never happened?" I ask, exasperated.
"We are not doing anything, you go to work tomorrow, I go to work today, you stay out of my business." He says. I stay silent for a while, thinking about how I can convince him to tell me what's going on.
"Gator, listen. I just want to know what that was back there, okay? Just give me an explanation and I'll leave it alone." I tell him, calmly.
"No." He says. I laugh.
"Gator, come on!" I say, a little annoyed.
"No!" He says, irritated.
"Well, I'm gonna find out then, I promise you that." I say.
"Curiosity killed the cat." He says, pulling into the station. He parked and got out, walking in and I got in the driver's seat and started the drive home. I was going to find out what Gator Tillman was up to no matter what it took.
