Mister Nobody

Chapter 2

At first, there was no reply, then a deep voice, which Jack couldn't tell if it was male or female, spoke up. "Are you alone?" Jack paused, not expecting this kind of response, but he eventually managed to speak again. "Um, sorry, who is this? I think I have your phone-" Before he could explain his situation, the voice cut him off. "Are you alone, say yes or no." It clearly wasn't a request, and Jack wasn't liking the tone the voice was speaking in. "Listen, I think I may have somehow ended up in your hotel room, so if you could just tell me who you are, I can-" The voice cut him off again, this time sounding more annoyed. "You're on the 23rd floor of the Time Warner Center in the apartment facing downtown. You're facing away from the window and wearing grey underwear with the phone in your right hand. Answer the question. Are you alone?" A cold chill ran down Jack's spine as the voice described exactly where he was, and judging by the way the voice described it, they knew where he was for a reason. Knowing that asking questions wasn't getting him anywhere, he just decided to do as the voice said. "Yes...I-I'm alone." There was an ominous pause, then the voice spoke again. "In the back of the dresser to your right, you will find a set of clothes and a wallet containing $500 US dollars. Put the clothes on and head downstairs to the storefronts, head into the Porter House New York restaurant and have a seat. Once the waitress walks by, tell her that Ralston sent you. Then, await further instructions. If you do not comply in 5 minutes, you will be dissolved. Understood?"

Jack had no idea what the hell was going on, why the voice was telling him to do these things, or what the purpose of all this was. He didn't know if he was in the middle of some kind of crazy drug deal or what, but all he knew was, these people meant business, and those kinds of people didn't take kindly to being pissed off. Jack knew that whatever was about to happen couldn't possibly be legal, and that he had to be smart if he wanted to get out of this alive. Deciding that he needed to get moving, he quickly walked over to the dresser and opened the drawer. Sure enough, there was a set of clothes, and a wallet. Opening the small leather wallet revealed several 20 dollar bills, which Jack didn't need to count in order to know it added up to 500 dollars. This was more money than he'd ever held in his life. Putting the clothes on the bed, he saw that they were pretty simple. A grey t-shirt to go under a red and white plaid button-up shirt, a pair of blue jeans, socks and Converse sneakers. There was also a watch, which showed the current time, 11:30. Jack was surprised that it was already almost the middle of the day. Putting on everything over his underwear, he straightened out his hair so he wouldn't look too crazy. Putting the phone and wallet in his pockets, he walked to the door of the hotel room, taking one last look inside, and wondering how the hell his life had come to this. Opening the door, he walked out and shut it behind him.

Walking through the hallways of the hotel floor, he didn't see anyone else, save for a single cleaning lady. Jack shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down, trying to avoid eye contact without looking too suspicious. Heading to the elevators, he pushed the button, trying to breathe and relax, remembering what the voice told him to do. The doors opened with a ding, and Jack stepped inside, pushing the button to take him to the main levels where all the shops and restaurants were. The elevator slowly descended until the doors opened again, Jack walking out into the busy level. Looking out over the balcony, he could see several people in business suits walking around, checking their watches, talking to one another, and eating at several different restaurants and cafés. It was lunchtime for the workforce in New York, and everyone was on break. Speaking of lunch, Jack remembered what he was there for, and looked around until he saw the sign for the Porter House. Walking over, he went up to the hostess at the front. "Hi, um, table for 1, please?" He said, trying not to sound nervous. The hostess smiled and grabbed a menu. "Of course, right this way." Walking through the restaurant, he could see several business people sitting around him. With their suits and his outfit, he stuck out like a sore thumb.

Sitting down at a table, Jack looked at the hostess. "I'll send a waiter right around to take care of you." She said while Jack nodded. Walking away, Jack thought over the plan again, remembering to say that Ralston sent him, whoever that was. Thinking to himself, Jack thought about what had gotten him to this point, and he sighed, shutting his eyes as he tried to remember what happened last night. No matter how much he tried, nothing came up. Jack was scared out of his mind and nervous. There was no way he could just lose a day, he hadn't been that drunk. But the implications of that...Jack didn't want to think about it. As he sat at the table alone, he fidgeted his hands in his lap. He couldn't shake the feeling that people were looking at him, sneaking glances at him. His eyes were scanning the room, and he couldn't seem to focus. Suddenly, random thoughts started to enter his mind. When he stared at the door to the kitchen, he seemed to chart his distance from the table to the metal door, and the possible routes that he could take after. Looking down at the table, he thought about how the knives and forks could be used as weapons to cause distractions or be used as makeshift melee weapons. Clutching his head in his hand, he groaned. Was he having some kind of nervous breakdown? What was wrong with him? He looked back up, and his heart stopped. Right at the entrance to the restaurant, talking to the hostess, were two cops.