Cerdic watched with one
raised eyebrow as the boy ran hell-bent-for-leather down the sidewalk, the cop
just a few yards behind him, and gaining ground. The boy would be in for severe
punishment once he reached the house, but for now—
He stepped casually
forward as if unaware of what was happening, ending up directly in the cop’s
path. The officer veered just enough to keep from slamming full force into
Cerdic, hitting his shoulder hard instead. Cerdic reached out, grabbing the
officer to keep from falling.
“Are you alright, sir,” the
officer asked even as he tried to extricate himself from Cerdic’s grip so that
he could continue the chase.
“I’m fine,” Cerdic
responded. “Please continue on and catch the miscreant.”
With a sharp nod, the cop
looked around, muttering angrily when he realized the boy was nowhere in sight.
After checking once more to make certain Cerdic was alright, the cop went
back down the street, disappearing around the corner.
“Miscreant?” someone said,
chuckling.
Cerdic turned to see one of
the older boys leaning against the building wall. “It means—“
“I know what it means,
thanks. I’m not a total dunce. You gonna kill Jakie when you get back?”
“That, Manny, depends
whether what he got what he was sent for. If so, he’ll escape with a tongue-lashing.
Otherwise—“ Cerdic smiled tightly, leaving the rest unsaid. He knew Manny understood.
“Have you completed your assignment?”
“Yeah.” Manny glanced around
to make sure no one was watching and then handed Cerdic a slim folder, which he
immediately slid into his camera case.
“Get going then. I expect
you back at the house for dinner.”
After giving Cerdic a
mocking salute, Manny strolled off and Cerdic reentered the hotel which stood
half a block away from the UN Plaza.
No comments:
Post a Comment