Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. Such a pity...
A rare day in the Big Apple, with the sun drizzling golden rays on rooftops, providing a charitable donation to hide the grime. A slight breeze pushes air around that for once smells clean and crisp...taxi fumes and old grease just memories to be resurrected tomorrow. Life is good.
And quite amusing at the moment…
He had moved along rather briskly but now, to allow his aching hip some relief, stops to focus on the storefront window of a pastry shop. Mmmm. An interesting display of cholesterol laden calories; fat soaked carbohydrates covered with sugar. Not that he's buying any of those anytime soon, and certainly never there with that fly buzzing around the confectionary collection.
But he needs the rest….and to stall a few minutes.
The phone finally beeps and fishing it out of his jacket pocket, he nods his satisfaction at the display. Yes, there…a small red dot just on the other side of the alley. Rotating his head slightly, he tries hard not to shift his entire body, but it is an impossible feat. So he turns back to the window and angles his sight to mirror the area behind him. Not perfect, but now he can see enough of the street to confirm there is no sign of his employ-partner.
Of course that is to be expected. A CIA operative who can't tail his subject without being seen would promptly be declared incompetent and…retired…from service. John Reese might be a lot of things, but incompetent is not one of them.
He moves away from the window, walking with purpose down the sidewalk. About another block to go and then he needs to seriously consider how to lose his stalker. Ditching my tail, he thinks wryly. That's what they call it. And smiles to himself. There is such humor is this…a computer geek outwitting a well-trained assassin. A finch outfoxing a wolf…!
Now he chuckles for real. He has no concerns about being successful, having perfected the art of becoming invisible at a very early age. After all, only the paranoid survive.
Glancing at his wrist he notes the time and peers down the street. The 28 bus will be pulling around the corner and into the stop in exactly 3 minutes. And the UPS truck is already parked in its customary slot in front of Andrew and Associates, presumably to deliver its daily consignment of documents to the small law firm.
Three…two…one…and there is the bus, its driver no doubt raining curses on the ionic brown van blocking his stop…again! The driver deliberately angles the bus alongside and in the front of the van, assuring that the UPS driver will have to wait until all bus passengers are loaded before being able to maneuver away from the sidewalk. Small revenge, but no doubt satisfying.
He crosses the street with a lurching gait, giving the appearance of a harassed passenger hurrying to catch his ride and turns in front of the bus onto the sidewalk. But instead of entering the mammoth vehicle, he moves further along and neatly steps into the UPS van.
Within seconds the bus emits a loud diesel belch and bullies its way slowly into traffic while he stands quietly inside the brown van, surrounded by shelves of small packages...and watches the busy sidewalk through filmy windows.
Only minutes pass before his ex-op lopes into sight, thin-lipped and scowling at the departing bus. Clearly convinced that his target is aboard the public transport, Reese turns quickly and hurries to hail a cab to the next stop where he will no doubt be on watch for his quarry. Well hidden of course.
The UPS driver approaches, not immediately noticing a slight, well dressed man calmly stepping from his van. But then the driver does and raises an alarmed shout. Well, too bad. After all, if Big Brown is so sloppy as to allow their drivers to leave vehicles unattended with doors open, then they deserve to be alarmed.
He ignores the shout and continues down the sidewalk. The plaza is just ahead now, the condo door already within sight as he increases his pace, quietly satisfied with his morning activities.
Today has been a good day.