Inner Workings

Inner Workings - Part 18

Will casually turned back around and walked down the sidewalk. In the reflection of store windows he saw the two men from the van catch up with foot traffic just a half a block behind him. They both wore flannel jackets and jeans. Will kept his calm pace, not turning around.

Okay, I'm being followed, thought Will. His bandaged arm tightened around his stomach. Not good. Just keep calm.

But no amount of self-conviction could stop the adrenaline from pumping through his veins.

***

Louis pressed his hand into the slick ripples of the stomach walls. The pulse under his palm quickened, as did the throbbing sound that boomed in the chamber.

"Something's wrong," said Louis.

"You can tell that from a heartbeat?" said Massaru.

"I can if its Will's." Louis sat up straighter and concentrated on the swaying motion of the chamber. Will walked steadily, but the heart rate increased. "I got a bad feeling about this."

***

After three blocks of shops and busy sidewalks, the men behind Will were keeping pace, not running after him, just keeping him in their sights. At least they weren't trying to catch him or drag him off somewhere. Yet.

His fingers grazed his stomach. "Guys, I'm being followed. Keep in your toes; I'm going to try to lose them."

***

"Great," growled Louis. He shifted against the wall, wishing for a handhold for him and Massaru.

"I take it we will have a bumpy ride?" asked Massaru.

"Oh, trust me, roller coasters got nothing on this."

***

Timing it, Will figured the gap between him and his followers was about thirty seconds. He did a mental checklist of his resources and his surroundings, picking out a surf shop, Beach Bunnyz, a block down. It would have to do; he just had to be fast enough.

He entered, plastered a smile on his face and asked to use the bathroom.

Fantastic, I'm getting a grand tour of all the popular San Francisco toilets, thought Will bitterly. Whatever happened to going to the beach and seeing the sights; like Muir Woods.

It was a dimly lit stall with gridded ceiling tiles and fluorescent lights. He took his jacket off and laid it over his bag. Louis was right to growl at his Star Wars themed luggage, but for the wrong reasons; it was too noticeable in a crowd. Actually, any luggage in a crowd was noticeable. It would have been better if he had stayed in the area of the airport. He moved the essentials from his bag to Massaru's, including Louis' shrunken duffle, and then stood on the toilet, lifting one of the ceiling panels and shoving his bag into the space. Dusty as hell, but it would keep his luggage safe until he could come back for it.

Noticeable luggage gone, he went about fixing his own appearance. It didn't take much to change the way one looked; he took his jacket off, changing his body silhouette. With a handful of water from the sink he slicked his hair back away from his face, plastering it to his skull. He lengthened the slack on Massaru's suitcase strap, slinging it across his chest like a bulky satchel. For the final touch, he put on Louis' sunglasses.

Will walked out of Beach Bunnyz slouching, hands in his pockets, and he nearly walked right into his flannelled pursuers. They didn't give him a second glance as they entered the store, and he walked right down the direction they came from. He went a block and then paused, looking in a store window, pretending to check out his reflection when he was really checking on the flannelled men. They had exited the store and were searching in the opposite direction.