Brainsick Halloween

I Should Have Known (lyttlejoe)

I Should Have Known

"You're late." I watched him walk cautiously between the buildings into the alley, stopping ten feet away. He wet his lips and wiped them with the back of his hand.

"I'm here now."

"Well, are you going to tell me?" He seemed a bit nervous and I shifted my hand behind me. The man reached into his jacket and we both paused, a classic hesitation of distrust.

"It's what you wanted to know." His hand reappeared with an envelope.

"I'm waiting." I took a deep breath.

He moved closer, handing me the envelope and watching my face intently.

I needed both hands to open it and his right hand was still near the opening in his jacket. I began a slow walk to the side that forced him to turn left, it would give me a split second extra should I need it.

I tore open the envelope and studied the contents from the dim light of a naked bulb over an exit door in one of the buildings. It was a blank page.

"I told you I wanted to know the past, present and future!"

"I know, but there was a problem."

"What problem?"

"Things got a little tense."