Charade

Vic

From the moment Benjamin woke up that morning, I knew something was wrong.

Jittery. Fidgety hands. Twitchy eyes. Nervous smiles. It only got worse when Lily walked in, red-faced with eyes that looked like they'd been crying. I watched them with a mouthful of Weet-Bix, analysing the way they moved around each other, how they wouldn't look each other in the eye, how neither of them said 'good morning' or 'how did you sleep', the way they had been for weeks now. And, of course, I noticed the purple bruise on Lily's knuckles and arms, but when I asked, they grew quieter and Lily told me she'd had a nightmare and the bruises were the result of thrashing around in bed. When I asked what the nightmare was about, she wouldn't give me a straight answer, only leading me to feel even more infuriated and powerless.

At midday, the three of us piled into the car. Benjamin and Lily sat as far away from each other as humanly possible. They stayed silent and tense for the whole car-ride to Anna's house. Much to my disgust, neither James nor Anna came outside to collect Lily, so I helped her to the door and made sure she got inside okay. When I peeked inside, Anna said 'hey' and then went straight back to her phone, matching rows of colourful fruit. Resentment and concern stirred inside me when I left. If Anna was too selfish to help her cancer-ridden daughter to her room, how could I believe she was taken care of when I was gone?

I ducked back into the driver's seat and caught a glimpse of Benjamin's sunken cheeks and ringed eyes before driving to the newsagency. Benjamin frowned.

"What're we doing here, Vic? I did tell you I'm not working today, right?"

"Yes, yes. You did mention that last night. But we're not here for you."

Benjamin frowned.

"Then what are we here for?"

"Blank credit cards. I'm having a man meet us in the alley back there. He works at the bank, so I had him steal some cards for us."

"Did it cost much?"

"I'm giving him a few grand. Nothing too much."

"And you think we'll make a profit?"

"Definitely."

Benjamin and I got out of the car and walked to the left of the store, down the back alleyway. It was just as I remembered from the night I met Dr Evans – dark, damp, and dirty. A rotting corpse smell hung thick in the air, clogging up my airway and tugging at my gag reflex. I glanced up at the graffiti, plastered across the narrow brick walls, and looked fondly upon the image of an enormous, bright blue bird with one beady black eye and a bright orange beak. It was beautiful, really – too beautiful to be back here with the dumpsters and the feral animals.

"Out of all the places we could've met this guy, and you chose here." Benjamin said, standing as far away from the dumpsters as he could.

"I didn't choose it at all. Austin demanded that we meet here. In fact, he refused to meet anywhere else. I can't say why, but he is a little loopy."

Benjamin, standing with his arms crossed, leaned back onto a graffitied wall, and I saw my opportunity.

"Did you and Lily have a fight?" I asked.

Benjamin's head jerked towards me.

"What?" He asked.

"This morning you two seemed... distant. I just wanted to make sure everything is okay."

"It's fine," he said a little too quickly. "It's great. We're great – I mean, not too great – no, I mean – hey look, your buddy's here.

Benjamin looked over my shoulder and I followed his gaze. Austin was walking from the other end, dressed in dirty clothes and holey shoes, with a plain white bag clutched in his hand and a strange neck-spasm that made his head occasionally twitch. He was an older guy, about twenty years older than me. Word on the street was that his neck-spasm was caused by something that happened to him in Vietnam, but I couldn't say what, and I couldn't guarantee it was true.

"Austin," I said cheerfully. "How are you?"

"I want my money, Vic," he spat, close to a yell.

"Okay, calm down, I've got it here."

"I just... I just want the money."

"Here," I said, pulling a wad out of my pocket. "It's all there. Let me see the cards."

Austin's jittery hands opened the bag for me to see.

"Fair enough," I said, handing him the money as I took the bag.

Austin turned around and walked away without another word. I suppose that was just Austin – high and abrupt. To most people who knew him, it was no secret he had some serious addiction issues, but as far as I knew, he'd managed to keep it out of his boss's ear. For now.

"Well, that was weird." Benjamin said.

"He's a bit odd," I agreed. "But we got what we wanted."

I turned around to face Benjamin, standing barely a step behind me, when something caught my eye. There, in the graffitied wall, in that bright blue bird's beady eye...

A red light.

More importantly, a video camera.

"He'll be back in a moment," I said casually, walking past Benjamin. I turned leaned on the wall the way he had only moments before. It was supposed to look casual, but Benjamin knew that I would never make such a gesture. Swiftly, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and flipped it open, then went straight to messages.

Benjamin, somebody is watching us.
I need you to stay calm and do exactly as I say.

A few moments later, Benjamin pulled out his phone.

Who's watching?

I don't know. There is a camera
behind me. I am leaning on it, obscuring
the view. I think somebody is using a live feed.
Are you good with computers?

Yeah.

Can you track the IP?

Yeah.

Good. Do you need anything?

Laptop and wifi access.

Can you connect to the store's?

Should be able to.

Good. Go home and get it. I'll wait here.

I don't have my license.

But you know how to drive.

Yes.

Then go.

I threw him the keys and he left in my taxi.

© A.G. Travers 2015