7PM - Bjorn by Chris Heinicke

Author:Chris Heinicke
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Chris Heinicke
Published: 2016-07-07T04:00:00+00:00

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The driveway leading to the house served as a clearway between two halves of a sugar cane jungle, the sight of the towering tubular plants a hypnotic sea of green. A group of men waved the cab to a stop adjacent to a shed. None of them appeared to be armed, so the chance of a threat to us leaving on completion of the mission didn’t seem obvious.

I handed over a pile of money to the cab driver, who agreed to meet us back at the same place in five and a half hours and was polite enough not to ask any questions. Nakato and I stepped out of the cab and surveyed our surroundings.

One of the men walked our way, a mouth full of teeth communicating with us in a language I didn’t know. Nakato spoke back to him in the same dialect, laughing and pointing at me.

“What are you two talking about?” I asked.

“I told him I’m a book salesman, a line Mr Rooney’s using to bring us into the house without his daughter suspecting anything. Oh, and I told him you’re here as my personal security guard, which is why I laughed.”

I nodded, and we walked in single file to the entrance of the house. A pair of concrete columns supported a ceiling above them almost twice my height.

The target of our mission greeted us at the door. “Good morning. You must be the book woman I’ve heard so much about.” The young woman to his right peered straight at me, and I thanked my lucky stars that my job on the mission was to entertain such a beautiful object.

Nakato smiled back at the man. “Yes, my company told me you are a civil war buff. I have a whole bundle of books you might like to take a look at,” she said.

“Please, come inside and get comfortable,” the man said to Nakato. “And you,” he said pointing at me, “I would prefer if you waited outside the house. I have no intention of doing anything to harm your business partner here.”

“Well, what would you like me to do then?” I asked.

The young lady looked me up and down. “Interesting accent you have there,” she said. She smirked at me. “Would you like a tour of the plantation while your assistant talks books with my father?”

It seemed too easy. “Sure. I’ve always had a thing for sugar.”

“Easy there, boy,” Mr Rooney said. “Please, lady, let’s get this started.” His gaze met Nakato’s eyes.

She snatched the bag from my grasp, pulled out the five books and then handed it back. “It would be my pleasure.”

I watched her walk inside the house, and the young lady grabbed my arm and marched me away from the house. “So, tell me where you come from.”

“Belgium, I moved to the United States a few years ago as a lost man, and now I get to do what I love, bringing books to people all over the world.”

“My father is quite the collector. He loves anything that is a first edition.

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