The Warning

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My colleague made her excuses and wobbled off to the toilet leaving me alone in the café. It was cold in here, both in terms of heating and atmosphere. There was no music, no chatter, just the sounds of cups and cutlery. I tried to avoid eye-contact with the man who’d been giving me dirty looks for the last twenty minutes. I looked at my phone despite the fact I didn’t have roaming and looked enviously at the smokers in front of the terminal building; anything rather than look at the man. But it was impossible, my gaze kept being drawn to his smile. Did he think he knew me? Was it an old friend who I’d long forgotten? Did I remind him of a lost relative? 
The stranger took a mouthful of coffee, slapped his knees and stood up. Slowly and with precision he took five steps towards me and then lowered his bulky frame into my colleague’s seat; his facial expression unchanging. 
“What do you want?” I said looking over my shoulder hoping to see Marta heading back from the loo. He stared at me, smiling but not friendly, and let the words fade away. I scratched my left arm and put my hand on my suitcase. I longed for the clatter of Marta’s high heels on the tiles behind me, but all I could hear was the tail end of the airport announcement reminding us to keep our personal possessions about us at all times.
“Who are you?” I said again, and again he didn’t reply. His eyes were puffy, the eyelashes drooping; his cheeks were red like Santa’s, but this guy was not bearing gifts. I could smell brandy on his breath and cigarettes on his clothes, there was dried saliva in the corner of his mouth. He seemed to be vaguely amused by my agitation. 
“Do I know you?” I said. Again the words drifted away, not ignored but wilfully disregarded. The coffee machine hissed steam, my mouth felt dry, I wished this freak would blink. He leant forward. 
“I know who you are, and I know why you’re here,” he growled. I held his stare, leaning in just slightly. “We’re watching you and if you make one false move… ha ha ha ha ha.” I could see his fillings as he threw his head back.  He slapped his knees again and returned to his own seat. As soon as he sat down, I heard the clip-clop of my knight in shining high-heels.