Spy On The Town

Scotch stepped out of the alley two buildings to the south of his own apartment  and began walking down the street in the direction of central Soho and some of Duff’s favorite after hours hang-outs. Many places were closing up for the night, there were a few 24 hour diners, that would allow trusted customers to have a drink in a back room provided they brought their own bottle. Duff was a gentle soul who usually needed time alone with a bottle after completing one of Ursula’s errands.

The spy ignored the first odd sound that he heard as he cut across the night traffic closer to late night merry making. The street that he was headed for was still brightly lit and anyone who was following would have to slow their pace to avoid being seen. Scotch stopped and sat down in a bus stop enclosure to send a quick message on Pen’s phone asking if their friends were still outside. She confirmed that they were.

“It seems that I have another new friend.” Scotch muttered under his breath as he put the phone away. “What shall I do with you?” Scotch took a pack out of his pocket and removed a cigarette. He pretended to fiddle with it like someone who was trying to quit smoking and contemplated a quick drag just to take the edge off. It gave the agent a chance to look around and find out where his new friend was hiding.

It took two perusals but Scotch found the tail standing in the shadows underneath a broken streetlamp in what appeared to be a dog park approximately seventy-five feet to the northeast.

“Hello.” Scotch’s eyes brightened for a moment. “How about a walk, Fluffy.” The spy located the most populated, well lit street that he could find and proceeded to stop and talk to...everyone.

Scotch could hear Pen now, admonishing him for taking a dangerous route. But he needed to take stock of who he was up against and what better way is there to do that than to pull the stranger out into the open and watch what he does?

Pen paced the bedroom, looked at the clock sitting on nightstand and paced some more. “He’s doing something stupid.” She muttered. “He’s doing something stupid.”

The display screen on Scotch’s phone lit up as the phone vibrated from its spot on the bed. She picked it up. Scotch wanted to know if their visitors were still sitting outside. Pen walked to the window and looked down on to the street. The black SUV was still there, one of its passengers enjoying a cigarette as he stood on the other side of the street. Pen pulled back out of sight seconds before the man’s eyes found hers.

“Yes still here.” She typed. Good was the only response she received. I’m not just going to sit here and do nothing. There is no way I’m just going to sit here. “I could poke around a bit. I am supposed to be a spy after all. How would a spy get information from another spy? If I’m going to act like a spy I have to be aware of the other spies around me." She thought about the James Bond movies that she had been watching. 007 was never completely safe for more than a few hours at a time. The closer that he got to his answers the more dangerous things became. She looked around the room. He is so full of himself. He wouldn’t be afraid to leave something in here that was classified. Scotch is also not stupid. He would have a booby trap, an alarm, or another kind of fail safe in place. “The way things have been going lately, it would be something that he was keeping separate from the agency. Just in case. I need an explanation if someone comes in while I’m looking.” Pen crosses the bedroom to the closet and opens the door. Her eyes stop on something translucent hanging inside. “Or a distraction.” A corner of the chemist quickly turning into a spy-in-training’s lip curves up into a smile.

Scotch worked the crowd like a host at a party, making it a point to greet the men in a couple first to avoid any unexpected confrontations. On the other hand, starting a fight was always an excellent way to lose a tail as long as you chose your opponent carefully which might be useful later.

As anticipated Fluffy used this unexpected change as an opportunity to close the distance between them. When Scotch used the closed proximity to get a good look at him, Fluffy created a loud scuffle while trying to retreat into the shadows. After a few minutes, Scotch found him lurking in the shadow of a closed lingerie storefront looking a bit pale.

Fluffy is an unseasoned contractor or a newbie. Good.

Fluffy was also tall. Standing a good three inches above most of the men in the crowd. Now that Scotch knew his height and had a basic idea of how much experience his new friend had, the spy had an idea of how to manipulate the situation to his own end. If Scotch played this right he could allow Fluffy to feel a false sense of security and lead him down the primrose path that would end right where he wanted him.

The pair continued up the street and through the crowd, Scotch led him down a darker less populated side street. He wanted to find out what Fluffy’s instructions were. If he caught up with Scotch and attempted to corner him, Fluffy wasn’t just a tail he was something more. An unskilled something more but still something that could be dangerous later. Fluffy stayed back. Scotch smiled to himself as he continued on his mission to locate Duff.

Scotch found Duff at the second place he looked. Ginger’s was a restaurant that boasted authentic American cuisine. An insult to Scotch. The spy felt that the only thing that Americans seemed to know how to do with their food was to drowned it it salt, sugar, and grease. He listened for Fluffy’s entrance as he sat down at the table behind Duff and pretended to study the menu posted on the wall in front of him.

“What is Tex-Mex?” Scotch wondered out loud.

Duff lowered his glass, “A combination of Mexican and American food.”

He doesn’t recognize my voice. Good. “Is it spicy?” Scotch asked.

“Some of it.”

“Spicy food does terrible things to my insides, I don’t want that.”

“It’s pretty good.” Duff countered. “You should try it.”

“At this time of night? I’ll not get a wink of sleep.”

“What’s a wild man like you doing out this late?” Duff asked without turning around.

“Looking for adventure. My girl broke up with me last week. She said that I’m dull as dishwater.” Scotch confessed.

The clicking of a hammer being pulled back came from a darkened booth to Scotch’s left. When Fluffy entered the diner Scotch had heard him sit down to the far right. There were only one or two people that could have anticipated Scotch’s moves so well and gained the upper hand.

“Hello Ursula.”

  *This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.