The Car

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Now back to the story. 

The Car 
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The car slowed down as if the driver was looking for a parking space and then sped up down the hill ignoring the available spots. This was not unusual, even at 1 am the street was busy enough to keep a nosey parker interested. Crickets chirped in the trees opposite and the warm night hummed gently. I sat on the balcony welcoming the cool breeze that was supplying oxygen for the first time that day. Another car crept down the road, slowed down and then sped on, another car or the same one? I was interested now, there was plenty of spaces to park, why the indecision? I watched the road intently, counting the seconds; how long would it take to go round the block?

There it was, the silver car edging down the street again, like a cat stalking its prey. But this time it didn’t pounce, this time it pulled in, its occupants had obviously decided the coast was clear. The engine was cut but no one got out. I watched the car trying to see who was in it, seconds ticked by counted by the chirping crickets. Eventually three men emerged from the car, one was a big, bald man in a vest, even in the darkness I could see a sleeve of tattoos up his right arm. The two other men were wirier and baseball capped. I didn’t have a clue what they were up to but they had guilty stamped across their demeanours. The two stick insects lit cigarettes but baldy marched across the road and into the side street. He looked like he meant business. His two friends looked nervous, maybe they felt exposed not having their muscle close by or maybe they were expecting trouble. The smoked silently, fidgety, twitchy.

A clatter of feet made the two men look in the direction that their friend disappeared.

‘Run,’ the bald man shouted as he emerged from the side streets, ‘run!’ Behind him two more men were running, closing on the big man. I could see weapons in their hands, if I’d thought Baldy was a big man, these two towered over him. The stick insects tried to jump in the car and get it started but they didn’t move quickly enough. The street was now full of men, they’d seemed to emerge from the trees, from behind cars, from everywhere like cockroaches coming out of skirting boards. I had been watching the street for the last hour and hadn’t noticed the build up of manpower but now they were clearly illuminated by flashing blue lights on top of the cars and vans that had suddenly moved into the street. The three men were strewn over car bonnets being searched and then were bundled into the backs of the vans and driven away. I yawned as the street began to return to normal and decided it was time for bed.

Did you enjoy these free short portraits?  If you did, then please consider buying one or both of my novels. Details available here.