He should have been here by now. Why isn’t he here?

Jon looked up at the clock, surrounded by benches full of smiling sun-washed people. He looked down at the watch on his wrist to verify the time. He’d already compared the two six times, each time with the same results. The clock was accurate.

I found something. Something big. Darren’s words played back through his head countless times.

“What did you find?” Jon whispered. He looked up at the clock again then checked his watch one more time. It wasn’t like Darren to be late.

Where are you?

He sat there in the perpetual cycle of checking both the clock and his watch for another half hour before his phone buzzed with a text message from Darren.

5th and McVinton. Come quick.

Jon darted out of the park and sprinted nearly the entire five blocks to the corner of 5th Avenue and McVinton Street.

His eyes studied the throng of people, searching for Darren. Something felt wrong. Darren should have been there. He usually stuck out like a sore thumb.

Jon turned and started walking away. Two blocks later he noticed a pair of men in black suits following him. He rounded a corner and bumped into a third. A hand snaked around each of his arms.

“We’re going to need you to come with us, Mr. Rosen.” They tugged him back toward 5^th and McVinton, rougher than was necessary.

“What’s all of this about? I didn’t do anything wrong.”

The three men didn’t say another word, simply guided him through a nondescript green door and down a flight of stairs to a dark, damp corridor with a single flickering bulb in the center and a red door with peeling paint at the far end. They walked him down the hall, opened the door, and shoved him inside.

“You’ll have to pardon my associates. They can be a bit rough around the edges, but they do have a certain knack for getting things done,” a woman wearing a leather apron said from beside what looked like a dentist’s chair. “Do sit down. We’ve much to discuss., Mr. Rosen”

Jon shook his head.

“Please… sit down. You really don’t want me calling them in here, do you?”

Jon shuffled his feet across the room. The woman strapped his arms down before he could protest.

“Now. Let’s get down to business shall we?”

“What’s this about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Jonathan. Your friend told me you have it.”

“Have what?” Jon struggled against the restraints.

“I want it back.” The woman pulled a scalpel from the pocket of the leather apron.

“If I knew what the hell you were talking about you’d have it already!”

“Why doesn’t anyone ever choose the easy way?” She shrugged and stepped toward him. “You will talk before I’m done with you, Jonathan.”

“I can’t tell you what I don’t know!”

She shrugged. “Then you’ll die, and it won’t be quick.”

—-

This post was written for my monthly Storybook Corner prompt. Join the fun by visiting the prompt post then adding your link to the linkup below.