Shark of Spades

Out With a Bang

I stood completely still, processing and reprocessing. Finally, "You knew my brother?"

"Yes."

"How well?"

"Somewhere between moderately well and quite well, I'd say."

I was going to ask him what their connection had been when I heard it. A gunshot. I  focused on it for a split second, determining that the noise was coming from the hallway outside the room, before opening the microwave,  grabbing my money, shoving it into my briefcase, bolting towards the window, shoving it open, and tossing the briefcase out right before I jumped. All of this happened in no more than ten seconds. As I grabbed the briefcase and started running, I heard Jack shout for me to wait, but I didn't stop or even look back.

He'd known my brother.

My brother had been shot.

Someone was shooting, probably after me.

Too many coincidences for me to even remotely trust Jack. So I ran as fast as I could, tracing the map Jack had drawn me in my mind until I came to  the train station. I knew that the next train left in four minutes. I  just had to survive until then, and I would be home free.

Unfortunately, what with Jack's seeming betrayal, I would be forced to go farther away and cover my tracks more attentively than before. My brother's friend had managed to track me to Chicago, and Jack was a million times more  intelligent than him. Unless I wanted to end up with a hole in my forehead like my brother, I needed to flee.

Good thing I'd been so focused on saving up cash.

The train pulled in just as Jack reached the station, breathing somewhat heavily and scanning the crowd. I blended in easily and boarded, making sure to sit in the middle of car where there were plenty of people and  to put my briefcase next to me (closest to the window, because I  couldn't risk someone doing a walk-by and grabbing the briefcase) to make it look like the seat was reserved.

Jack got on the train and  started scanning car-by-car, or so it looked like from my point of view as he moved from one car to the next, slowly closer to me. Then he entered my car and spotted me right away, moving to sit next to me, but I  spoke in a voice slightly louder than needed, "Sorry, but this seat is taken."

"Seriously?" Jack asked, his eyes flashing with anger. I'd  never seen this side of Jack, and while it was slightly terrifying, I found myself angry as well.

"Yes. Please go find another seat."

He leaned forward, and as he did so, I noticed other people starting to look over. Damn it. "Come on. You never gave me a chance to explain myself."

"You don't deserve one," I replied icily, refusing to look at him and instead noticing a mother pulling her little boy closer to her, the mom glaring at me. What's her problem?

"Yes, I deserve a chance after all we've been through," Jack argued, waving a hand angrily as his  voice got louder. More angry looks. "You're just going to leave me now?"

"Yes, I am," I hissed, finally making eye contact with him and  forgetting to lower my voice. "There is no "we" anymore. We were never a  "we" in the first place. We were just partners, nothing more."

I heard whispers from all over the train car. Homosexuals. Gays. Get a room. Disgusting. I thought I now understood why the mother had been so angry.

I glared at Jack. "Just leave," I whispered harshly.

"Fine,"  he spat back, and he walked past me. I sank down into the seat with a  sigh, trying to ignore all the hateful glances but unable to. Every minute I was on the train, I became more tense. However, as time passed,  more and more people got off and less and less people got on. Soon, the car was almost empty. That's when I spotted Jack sitting in the last  seat in the train car, obviously waiting for it to empty out before making his way back over to me and...I wasn't sure. Maybe he would try to finish the job he'd started with my brother?

All I knew was that I had to get off of the train.

As we pulled into the next station, I started to stand, intent on leaving quickly, but a voice in my ear from the seat behind me stopped me.

"Sit back down."

"Why should I?" I whispered back, my eyes scanning all of the exits and people going on and off. One older man had gotten off the train; two other people were still on besides Jack and me.

"Because I've got a gun on you, and if you move, I'll pull the trigger."

I  slowly sat back down. Jack slid into the seat across from me, his hand inside his jacket pocket and his eyes intensely staring into mine.

"What do you want from me?" I asked through gritted teeth, my hand already inching towards my own gun.

He leaned forward, never breaking eye contact. "Trust. I want you to trust me, Card."

"Trust you? Like my brother did before he was murdered?"

"I didn't do that," he answered, leaning back in the seat.

"How do I know you're not lying?" I asked, buying time until I could reach my gun.

"Didn't I just ask you to trust me?" he asked, looking sincerely disappointed in me.

"Sure you did, but wasn't someone shooting at me earlier? Tends to dissolve trust."

He finally broke eye contact, looking out the window, and I used the  opportunity to slip my hand into my pocket. "They weren't shooting at  you."

"Then who were they shooting at?" I asked as I clicked off the safety.

He looked into my eyes as though he'd known what I was doing but he didn't care. "They were shooting at me."