Worried slightly at how long he had been waiting, Alex downed his fourth nervous shot and glanced with slightly blurred vision towards the newcomer.
Finally, Alex thought.
The newcomer sat beside him at the bar and casually lowered a desert-camouflage bag between them. It came to rest beside an identical one that Alex had already deposited on the floor.
“Did you get them?” Alex asked the newcomer with barely controlled impatience.
“Not exactly. Take a look.”
Alex picked up the newcomer’s backpack and rifled through the contents. As promised, there were 11 ring-bound dossiers in the bag, but the contents of each were heavily redacted and some had been partially burnt. Alex didn’t mind.
“I’m out, kid, and if you want to see your next birthday, you’ll leave that bag here and never look back. And before you ask, yes, I was followed. This sneaky little identical bags swap thing of yours won’t work. They will still get both of them: one here and the other when they jump you in the carpark in five minutes.”
“And what if I leave them both here?”
“What? I risked my life to steal these for you and you’re going to leave it all for them?”
“Yes, and don’t get too upset, you’ve been well-paid for your inconvenience and your silence. I have my plans and you have your payment. We’re done here.”
The newcomer stood, hesitated a moment and leaned over Alex.
“They are going to kill you, take the bags and destroy whatever little web you are spinning here. I almost wish I was around to see that smug look get cut from your idiotic face, but I plan on being a long way away when the hammer comes down.”
Alex watched the thief leave before discarding him from memory. Re-opening the second bag, Alex unbound the paper contents of dossier eight and secreted the thick binding in his jacket pocket. He removed an identical one, which he used to rebind the contents of the dossier.
Satisfied with his work, Alex placed the bag on the ground and casually opened the desert-camouflage backpack he had brought to the meeting. Within, the small bomb sewn into the bag’s lining lay dormant. He awakened it with the flick of a secreted switch and new that it’s twin in the other bag had also come to life after a silent handshake between the explosive brothers.
With the identical bags sitting casually next to each other, Alex threw a few dollars on the counter and left.
Alex couldn’t see the other interested parties and wondered where they might secret themselves on a night such as this. He raised his hands slightly towards the night’s crescent moon to signify that he wasn’t carrying anything. He disappeared into the night as the bar behind him became somewhat rowdier.
