A Hitch In Time

Pt. I The Lodger Morning sneaked inside the flat and lit the dusty air through holes in the torn curtains forming spotlights on the floor. He woke from the discomfort of a night in his armchair and stared at all the empty cans he'd finished hours before. The window to the rear looked down onto the bookshop's yard - a cold and ugly concrete space with a wall some six feet high. The window to the front looked down onto a boulevard and from that room above the shop he watched the world go by. He glanced towards the old church clock on top of the bell tower and sighed and shook his head just as it chimed at 8am. On cue the birds took to the sky exactly on the hour - their frenzied screeches stopping as they came to rest again. A man wearing a bowler hat of the type Churchill once wore seemed angry with a woman who was sitting at her stand. He was reaching out towards her when the woman stood and swore then he turned and walked away without a paper in his hand. When a stranger at the bus stop jumped on board the '39' and sat down on a seat just as the driver closed the door People who'd been queueing stood confused outside in line - and spellbound by the fact they'd never seen that bus before. Above the bookshop in his room the lodger from his chair concluded that the fallout from his actions had begun. Now everything he'd seen outside brought with it dark despair "Oh God!" he whispered to himself "what have I gone and done?" Pt. II The Bus Driver He smiled at all his colleagues at the busy main depot then climbed behind the wheel and drove his bus out right on time. He’d memorized the new route he’d been told he had to go ..then changed the number of the bus to number '39'. The Bowler Hatted Man His every weekday was the same - he'd wake then feed his cat and be ready after breakfast for his walk to the town hall. He would always wear a dark suit with his trademark bowler hat and pass behind the bookshop with its yard and six foot wall. The Newspaper Seller She was early there that morning selling papers from her stand smiling as she made each sale while talking on her phone. She struggled serving people giving change with just one hand while speaking to her pregnant daughter ill and home alone. The Lodger He glanced towards the old church clock on top of the bell tower and sighed and shook his head just as it chimed at 8am. Because he’d had a change of heart before that vital hour he knew then that his life would never be the same again. The Wrong Man Because he lived life on the edge and worked and played so hard to him his crimes brought with them very little risk and fuss. He used his speed to get away fast down the boulevard then pushed in line and jumped on board the passengerless bus. Pt. III The Bowler Hatted Man He was ready after breakfast for his walk to the town hall - you could set your watch by knowing where he’d be at any time. He always walked the same route past the bookshop's yard and wall in a town that was experiencing a spike in violent crime. The Bus Driver His pregnant wife had tried to stop him working on that day she had cried, was ill and didn't want to be at home alone. Her husband had been acting in an odd, peculiar way after getting a strange phone call on the night before at home. The Wrong Man He boasted he committed crimes "Well, just because I can" and was ready with his sharpened blade he dubbed his calling card. He jumped out on the scared and startled bowler hatted man who had just passed by the bookshop and its wall and concrete yard. Because he lived life on the edge and still craved so much more his crimes to him were worth the risk the hassle and the fuss. He used his speed to get away like many times before then saw his chance to jump on board a '39' town bus. The Newspaper Seller The bowler hatted man approached and snatched her phone somehow "I'm talking to my daughter - Give it back!" she screamed and cursed "...But I've just been robbed and badly cut so need your phone right NOW".. - she grabbed it back while shouting: "stop your budget cuts then first!" The Lodger This conscientious hitman wished to turn his life around - he'd been paid to shoot his target when the birds took to the sky. Their screeching would have drowned the firing of the bullet sound but instead he'd let 'the bowler hatted man' walk briskly by. He didn't therefore leave the flat together with his gun and step on board the ‘39’ (he watched now from his chair) But sensed the driver of the bus assumed the 'hit' was done as he drove off with some guy on board to meet The Firm somewhere.