In the Dark (Kerry)

You discover your boss is involved in illegal activity. Tell the story using dialogue as much as possible.

“Follow him, Jimmy,” Col whispers urgently to the young man at his elbow. “I’ll wait here and keep an eye out for the cops.”

Jimmy slips away into the shadows of the building, out of the glare of the street lights. He darts from the laneway where Col is crouching and quickly works his way along the street following the silhouette of the man in the distance. There is no sound in the street. The buildings are dark, long since emptied of office workers, shop assistants and tourists.

The man ahead disappears. Jimmy quickens his pace, anxious not to lose sight of his quarry. There is only one way he could have gone – into the car park at the end of the lane. Jimmy is cautious about entering the car park at this hour. He shivers involuntarily. The wind lifts a sheet of newspaper at the end of the lane, startling him. 

The phone call he had overheard at work that morning had alerted him to this rendez-vous. His boss had appeared nervous and distracted, talking urgently. 

“After midnight…Millers Lane…By yourself…”

Jimmy was furious to think that his boss was pushing into his beat, the area he shared with Col. He and Col had worked the block around the QVB for six months now. They’d have to deal with this intrusion.

Silently now, Jimmy approaches the stairwell to the car park. He stops quickly, hearing low voices close by. 

“Did you get it?”

“Yes, it’s here in my brief-case.”

“Hand it over then.”

The tone is desperate. Jimmy crouches in the shadows. He can’t see the two men but recognises the voice of his boss, the man he has followed. He hears a crackling sound as of paper. A case is snapped shut. Quick footsteps echo across the empty car park. Jimmy presses against the wall, out of sight to any passers-by.

He jumps when he hears his name being whispered from the darkness behind him. He turns. Col emerges from a doorway recess nearby.

“The cops are out there on Clarence Street. They’ve got the sniffers. What’s happened here? Where’s the boss?" 

Col’s breath is coming in uneven bursts. Jimmy raises his hand, indicating danger, urging him to be quiet. Col slumps to the ground to catch his breath.

“I’ve lost him,” Jimmy whispers in Col’s ear. “But he’s done the deal. He handed something over to another bloke. Couldn’t see them though. They’re both gone.”

“We’ve got to get out of here before the cop’s find us,” Col mutters under his breath. He drags himself to his feet and pulls at Jimmy. Suddenly they both freeze. A man has emerged from the darkness of the car park.

“It’s him,” Jimmy breathes. “We’ve got to find out what he’s up to. Let me do the talking.”

He steps out from the shadows as his boss approaches.

“Quiet night, John,” Jimmy says approaching the man coming down the laneway. He stands squarely in the middle of the road, forcing him to come to a stop. 

“Jimmy, is that you?” the man whispers incredulously. “And Col, what’re you doing here?” he adds as Col steps out beside Jimmy.

“Thought we’d ask you the same question, John.”

Jimmy feels for the knife he carries in his belt. His boss is playing it cool and he’s not taking any chances. This could get nasty. 

“Seeing a man about a dog,” the man responds evasively.

“Don’t get smart with us, John,” Jimmy snarls. “This is our territory and you’re trespassing.”

“I don’t know what you mean. I’ve just met my cousin here.”

“A likely story,” Jimmy interrupts with a snicker. “Why would you be meeting anybody here at three o’clock in the morning?" 

“He’s on the six o’clock flight to Singapore this morning,” John explains in response to Jimmy’s hostile questioning. “Wanted me to bring him his passport. He left it at my place last week when he went down to Melbourne. This was the only chance I had to give it to him." 

“What do you mean ‘your territory’, by the way?” he adds. 

“Never mind. None of your business. Just don’t come down here in the middle of the night again. Alright?”

Jimmy starts to back off. It sounds like he and Col might have got the wrong end of the stick.

Their boss nods and sidesteps the two men. He walks quickly away from them, back towards Clarence Street, smiling as he fingers the wads of cash in his pocket.