Chapter Eighteen – I Like Fries.

  It was early morning outside of a chain hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. He wasn't sure of the exact location. The reservation was for here, but it wasn't the right hotel. At least, he hadn’t set this trip up. He had spent the night at this hotel, but the meeting was in another place. This was the reason for the cab. And the reason that he needed to head across town. He had seen cabs on TV and movies, but he rarely rode in them.

  He was in the open air. It was too early in the year for snow. He didn't like the cold. He scanned the people around him and felt overdressed. Northerners, he thought. Full of boredom and irritability, he reached for the cab door. This was when he noticed a blue blur bouncing towards him. It was like a feather set loose on a windy day.

  His lips curved slightly, and his head tilted to the right as he watched a young woman dive into the back seat of the cab. She came complete with braided red hair, a bright blue retro style dress and a vintage cream marble Samsonite suitcase. The suitcase may have been bigger than she was. He shook his head in disbelief. Then he thought. This might be amusing. Earlier, he had noticed some men searching for someone. He nodded and said out loud to himself, “I think I just found a missing person.”

  The young woman hid behind the suitcase and waved at him to get in the cab.

  He said jokingly, “Well, hello. Do you want to go for a ride with me? Who knew I was that cute?”

  She franticly waved at him to get in. Then she ducked down in the seat. She pleaded, “Please, please, please, please. Get in and close the door. Please, I don't want them to see me.” She pointed out the cab door.

  Frank considered things. He didn't like the look of those men. And this young woman seemed interesting. Maybe there was a good story here. He made up his mind. He asked as he got in the cab, “And what is your destination of choice?” Maybe this would be better than being bored.

  Ducking down in the seat, the redhead replied quietly. “Away from here?”

  “Okay.” He turned to the cab driver. He had spoken to him earlier. “Any problems getting to where I’m going?”

  The cab driver shook his head. “No. May take a while. I don’t like her down there.”

  He turned to the girl and said, “I’ll work on it. All right then. Let's get going. Little Miss Runaway, you have a few questions to answer. If you don't mind too much.”

  Her big, pale brown eyes widened.

  Frank leaned over and whispered, “It's okay; you can get off the floor now. They can't see you anymore. So, do me a favor. Sit in the seat.”

  The young woman cautiously rose from the floor. She wiggled into a pseudo-comfortable position on the seat. Her discomfort did not come from the seat.

  Frank mused, “Hmm, you don't seem very scared, and now I can get a better look at you. You seem to be an adult. I thought you were, but I want to be sure.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  She said without any anger or indignation, “I am over twenty-one.”

  Frank was surprised. She was prettier than he expected. He questioned her, “Why are those men after you?”

  Her gaze drifted off into the distance. She replied flatly, “One of them use to be my husband.”

  Frank continued, “But he's not anymore?”

  She shook her head. "Not for a few years.”

  He asked, “He doesn't understand that?”

  She shook her head. "No.”

  He heard this story before, but he went on, “So, which one was he? The tall man with the light hair?”

  She made an odd face and shook her head.

  He said, “The big guy with the dark straight hair?”

  There was no face this time. She shook her head.

  He asked, “The guy with the big belly who's starting to lose his hair?”

  She trembled and answered, “That's him. He found me.”

  Frank mused out loud, “So, you have resorted to jumping into cabs with strangers. Then just riding around Boston aimlessly. You do this because it's better than the alternative? Or do you like bridges and pubs?”

  She smiled. It faded and she said, “Yes, and you're not a stranger. I met you last night. When you were eating?” She blushed with embarrassment.

  Frank remembered and spoke up with a little more energy. “Yes, that was you? A couple of us were wondering why you were stealing my French Fries. You know, that is a capital offence where I come from.”

  Her smile stayed as she said, "Oh, you saw that. I’m very sorry. I get nervous when I'm hiding from a monster. Well, maybe more than one? Anyway, when I'm nervous, I eat. I like to eat fries.” She wiggled into a self-conscious shrug.

  This answered one of Frank’s questions. He knew why she was hiding behind him last night. “Alright, Little Miss Runaway, this is where I’m at. My name is Frank and I'm a consultant. Sometimes, I run programs. Sometimes, I help people with problems. I'm going to a conference. You are welcome to hang around the hotel. You can stay close to where I go. If you need anything, you can come and get me. I am very glad to be of service to you today, but after that... not so much.”

  Her eyes glowed like sunlight through honey. She blinked and turned away. Then she smiled. “I think I'm going to like you. I'm Eden Hendricks. And it is very nice to meet you, Frank. I'm very sorry about your French fries. I'll have to make them up to you.”

  He knew the shine in her eyes was a trick of the morning light, but that was not important.

  A voice came from nowhere. Someone kicked his feet off the chair, then Fred stated. “Hey, wake up. It's almost time to go.”

  Frank replied, “Alright, I'm getting up.”

  The big man looked into a mirror and brushed his curly brown beard. No one saw the sadness in his eyes when he said, “You were kind of twitchy there. You were dreaming about her again, weren't you?”

  There was a long break in the middle of his reply. “Yeah. She's never too far away.”

  Fred spoke, pausing midway through. “Good. Somebody needs to keep you out of trouble. Are you sure the police aren't looking for us? That was some pretty bad stuff that went down last time we were here.”

  “Our lawyer took care of it. The police came to understand that they would have a much better case with our cooperation than without it.” Frank answered.

  “What about Mr. Sullivan? Did the police give him any trouble?” Fred inquired.

  Frank had already answered these questions for Fred. He answered the questions this time to reassure the big man. “No, they question him. You know, they did the usual thing. Kept him too long. Repeated themselves too much. Asked stupid questions. They figured out stuff way too late. You know, normal police behavior.”

  Fred continued, “So, Mr. Sullivan isn't going to be mad at us?”

  Frank answered. “I don't think so. His business is expanding, and he is making money.”

  Fred asked, “So, does he have what we came for?”

  Frank stated, “I think so.”