Half Truths

Crashing down

  A methodic clink of a spoon hitting the sides of a ceramic cup echoed throughout the otherwise quiet café. The woman absently stirred her coffee, clockwise three times and then counterclockwise once. Never varying, the pattern always stayed the same. It was one of her nervous habits, something she always did when trying to keep her mind from the things she had to do. She'd only gotten the coffee because it was the cheapest thing on the menu, and she needed to buy something in order to stay at the diner.

The waitress returned constantly, asking if she needed a refill, to which the woman responded by narrowing her eyes and barking at the silly girl to go away. The girl scuttled back to the counter quickly, but not before she threw a dirty look over her shoulder. Like the woman cared. If Little Miss Thing wanted to know how it felt to get the stink eye, she could give her one that would burn her stomach for a month.

The woman turned her gaze back to the dust coated window, deciding that LMT wasn't worth the effort, and trained her eyes on the apartment building just across the street. It was a little older, but decent considering the neighborhood. She bet the rent was reasonable too. Sometimes one could find these hidden gems in the city. Unfortunately, she hadn't been so lucky. Her place was about the size of her thumbnail and had a rat problem in the basement. At least she had the luxury of staying at her boyfriend's most of the time. He was loaded, so his place was like a freaking palace compared to hers.

The bell over the door chimed and in walked a few guys. She could tell immediately that they were college kids due to their unkempt appearances and the university logo on one of their hats. They sat in the booth farthest from where the woman had parked herself and delved into some meaningless drivel about sports teams. She rolled her eyes and continued staring out into the streetlamp lit street. The dull yellow cones of light fanned over the sidewalk, brightening the path every ten feet or so. People passed underneath, oblivious to the fact that they were being watched. It always amazed her how clueless people were. She could sit there watching, waiting, and no one would be any the wiser

Finally, she saw movement as the door to the apartment building opened. Out stumbled a couple, the boy, blond, and the girl, red-headed. The boy pulled her out onto the sidewalk and then around the side of the building into the alley. The smiles on their faces nearly stretched from ear-to-ear. A pang of jealousy shot through the woman as she remembered what it had been like when she and her boyfriend looked like that. It had been way too long.

After a few moments, a motorcycle pulled out from the dark passage and took off down the street.

The woman stood quickly and threw a few dollars onto the table. She exited the diner and climbed into a car she'd stolen a few hours before, and followed after them. The taillight to the motorcycle was just a dot in front of her. Digging out her cell phone, she pressed the autodial and held the receiver to her ear.

"Yeah," a gruff male voice answered after the third ring.

"They're on the move," she said, looking out her rearview mirror and signaling for a lane change. "You know what to do next?"

"Of course. You've both drilled it into my head so many times, how could I forget?"

"I don't know. You seem to have a gift for idiocy."

"Very funny." A pause resonated through the static. "You working on the next phase?"

"Don't worry about my job. I'm on it. Just do yours." She cut the call off and dialed again. The motorcycle stayed just within her sight, weaving through traffic but never getting too far ahead. It didn't matter, though, since she planned to exit at the next road anyway. She turned on her blinker, and started to veer to the right, when the ringing on the other end cut off and a female's voice answered. The woman smiled.