Half Truths

Ugly truths

Across the street, hidden in the darkened corner of an adjacent building, a man stood under a green and white striped awning, his body shielded from the still falling rain and his eyes glued to the barely illuminated window of the apartment on the second floor. A black hoodie and baseball cap covered his head, while dark jeans concealed him into the night. He ran his tongue over his cracked, dry lips, and pulled his hat further onto his head, hiding his face from any passersby that may take an interest in him. So far, no one had and for that, he was glad. It would be best that no one associate him from ever having been there that night.

He knew he should leave and continue on with the rest of the evening he had planned, but for some reason he couldn't bear to turn his back. Curiosity on how she reacted weighed on him heavily. He wished he could have seen her face, the response she had as she first spied the eye and his words.

"Why are you still here?" A woman's voice rang out from the shadows.

The man turned toward the sound and smiled, his mouth hurting with the movement. He shrugged. "Why are you?"

She stepped under the pool of light cascading down from the streetlamp, her hair damp and clinging to her face. "Just finished up."

"Mmm," he said as he fished in his hoodie pocket for his cigarettes. Once he found them, he held them out to her, the package crinkling in his fingers.

She wrinkled her nose shook her head. "Those'll kill you, you know?"

He glanced at her sideways. "Considering my profession, do you really think I'm worried about that?"

She smirked and moved to stand beside him, her back against the brick wall and her breath floating on the breeze like puffs of smoke. Her eyes drifted to the glowing window and his followed, again filling his mind with questions.

A startling buzz from his pocket pulled him out of his thoughts. The woman frowned and looked at him. With a sigh, he stuck his hand into his jeans and wrapped his fingers around the vibrating object. Once he had it free of its denim confines, he flipped it open and placed it against his ear. The caller on the other end didn't even wait for him to respond.

"Is it done?" a voice spoke through the device just as a roll of thunder rumbled overhead.

"It is."

"Excellent," the voice hissed. The man swore he could hear a clicking sound in the background. It was familiar, but for some reason, he couldn't place it. "And the boy?"

"He wasn't there. Though, I believe he may be now."

"And your partner? Has she fulfilled her duties?"

His eyes shifted to her once more. She played with a curl of dark hair that dangled over her shoulder. "Yes, Sir."

"Then it's all going according to plan?"

"It seems so, yes." He paused and tapped one of his cigarettes into his hand then reached into his jeans and pulled out a lighter. "I don't understand something though." He lifted the cigarette to his mouth and flicked the lighter, burning the end and sucking in a long drag. "Why the girl?"

A long sigh drifted through the phone line. "We've already been over this. You know why."

"Tell me again."

"She's the key."

"Yeah, you said that, but the key to what?"

Silence stretched between them, the cracking of the thunder the only sound for several seconds. Finally, the voice on the other end of the line spoke again. "The key to breaking them both."