Short Story 4
'The foul fiend follows me!' King Lear, Act 3, Scene 4
Recently I received a letter to my office. It was from a client who I had helped out. Actually, accordingly to this letter, I wasn't much of help. He had told me a story that was unlike one I had ever heard, and being in the CIA I have heard some strange ones. This is what happened:
Nic Polloi was sitting in his New York City loft. The loft was scattered with paints, paintings, brushes, etc. Nic was setting up a backdrop he painted of the beach upon an empty wall for the photos shoot he had scheduled for that afternoon with his favorite model, Juliet. The doorbell rang. "Come in"
"Good Morning Nic"
"Oh, Juliet, I didn't have you scheduled until this afternoon. That's okay, how about we do the shoot then I can finish my painting of you."
"That works for me"
"Alright, go get into a bathing suit, but make sure it's not too revealing, this is for the calendar for the senior center."
"Okay! But why am I posing for the senior center?"
He ignored that, because he didn't know either. They did the shoot and it went very well. They had lunch and then got ready for the painting. Juliet went into the bathroom and stripped down and put on a bathrobe. Nic had set up his easel and a stool. She took off the bathrobe and sat on the stool facing the door but away from Nic. He was painting and they were talking about the upcoming election when the door was broken down.
A young man around twenty ran in. Juliet screamed and scrambled to cover up her breasts. He fell on the floor and two more men, all in black, came in both with guns and shot him twice. Juliet screamed again and Nic sprinted over to her, picked her up and ran towards the fire escape.
They waited out there for an hour, not speaking, and then they went back inside. Juliet spotted the dead man and turned away. She collapsed into Nic's arms. He put her down onto the bed and she wept face down into the covers. He picked up the phone and called the police. He explained the story and they arrived within a few minutes. The ambulances came right after that. They first took the dead man and then they took Juliet sensing that she had probably suffered from shock. He rode in the ambulance with her and they reached the hospital she was examined and was allowed to go. Nic got a cab and they went to his mother's house in Queens. He went upstairs and put the sleeping Juliet in a bed. He went downstairs, poured himself some coffee and explained the whole story to his mother. When he had finished, she got up to make dinner and he helped. There was a knock at the door and a voice said, "NYPD, open up," His mother rushed to the door and let me in. I explained to both of them what had happened.
"Now, you know a lot, and he knows it, so we are putting you and your friend in the witness protection program. We have arranged to relocate you two to Paris, you two will be given different names. You will have to live together for a year, for protection then you can split up. Your contact to home will be through an email that will hide your identity. You have an hour to pack, a car will pick you up here and bring you to the airport. Here are your plane tickets and your passports with your new identities. Now I must be leaving, thanks for letting me talk." I left; both Nic and his mother were speechless. They met me at the airport later. I referred to them by their new identities, they thought I was talking to someone else; clearly this hadn't set in yet.
"Hello Romeo and Audrey," We picked Romeo because of Juliet's name and we name Juliet after Audrey Hepburn because she once modeled as Holly Golightly. Romeo's last name was Proffer, that name had no significance at all it was picked at random.
They boarded the plane is silence. They stayed awake but did not talk until they reached Paris. They got off the plane and went to their new apartment. It was cliché art studio with a view of the Eifel Tower. Neither was in the mood to enjoy the view or their new home, they both went to their respective bedrooms and slept.
There was a knocking at the door, and Nic got up to answer it. He opened the door and standing there was the same man from whom they moved here. He had a crowbar in hand and walked in. He went into the empty bedroom then went into Juliet's. He came out five minutes later with blood now covering the crowbar. Nic had fled. The murderer swore and ran through the open door.
~m