Night Moves
Synopsis
Andy Anderson is a CPA who, one night, works past midnight to get ready for an important presentation the next day. If only he knew what was in store for him on the way home.
Night Moves is a flash-fiction story of less than 1,500 words. I hope you enjoy it, and I'd love to hear what you think
~Simultaneously published on Wattpad and Royal Road.
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Night Moves
Andy hadn't planned on working this late at the office, but the day didn't go as he had expected. The deadline was tomorrow, and the work wouldn't complete itself. He had called his wife six hours ago to let her know he wouldn't make supper and to tell her not to wait up for him. She knew the drill. "Okay, love, please be careful on the way home. We'll save a steak in the fridge for you." He closed his eyes for a beat and thought about that steak he was giving up. From then on, it was fresh coffee, and the few stale donuts left over from the morning meeting as he worked on the presentation he would give to the company's newest client, just 9 hours away.
He applied the finishing touches as the clock struck midnight. It was finally time to go home and catch a few Zs. He made sure everything was secure, grabbed his bag and keys, set the alarm system to 'away,' locked the office door, and then made his way to the elevators. As the elevator doors opened, the janitor nodded as he exited with his utility cart. "Late night, Mr. Anderson?" Andy acknowledged him with a "Hi, Joe. Late night, but I'm going home now," as he entered the elevator. Joe replied, "You'll get home quicker if you take the shortcut through the industrial section of town." Andy thanked Joe, rode the elevator down to the lobby, and then exited through the door to the enclosed parking structure. His Chevy Traverse was right where he had left it 16 hours ago. No reason why it wouldn't be, other than that his coworker Jack had his car stolen from the lot a few months ago. That was still fresh in Andy's mind, especially since they always parked next to each other. The SUV fired right up, and Andy would be home in a little over an hour.
Andy started on the route that he always took home. He thought about what Joe had said and decided he could make better time by driving through the industrial section of town. Hardly any traffic this time of night. At the next intersection, he made the turn that would change his life forever.
Fifteen minutes into the drive, Andy felt like he had hit the jackpot. No traffic other than an occasional eighteen-wheeler. At this rate, he'd be home in less than 30 minutes. When he reached the area where the streetlights ended, things got really dark. He turned on his brights to increase his reaction time in case he came upon a deer or something left in the road. He noticed that he had over three-quarters of a tank of gas left, which would be more than enough to carry him through the next few days.
After he had driven what seemed like only a few miles past the last streetlight, suddenly the SUV went dead. Nothing worked. The engine, the exterior and interior lights, and the climate control system. He coasted to a stop at the shoulder of the road. He tried the radio. Nothing. His Bluetooth system wouldn't work, so he reached for his cell phone. It wasn't there. His pulse started to race. He quickly checked his bag. No phone. He took a flashlight from the glove compartment and exited the SUV, opening the back door and dumping his bag onto the back seat, using the flashlight to sort through everything. No phone. He couldn't believe he lost his phone. Where was it? He used the flashlight to search under the seats and found nothing. His mind raced as he thought through the day's events, trying to determine where he might have lost it. He realized this wasn't getting him anywhere, so he walked to the middle of the road and did a slow 360 as he stood there, looking all around for lights—anything—some sign of life that might have a phone for him to use.
The only light was the glow of the city back in the direction he had just come from. That would mean a five-mile walk back to the last streetlight. Perhaps there would be an eighteen-wheeler or another vehicle he could flag down along the way. This was nuts. But what else could he do?
He wrote a note explaining what had happened and where he was headed and left it on the front windshield under one of the wipers. He manually locked the SUV's doors, then took the flashlight and started walking back the way he'd come. As he walked, he kept thinking about where he could have left his phone.
After walking about a mile, he heard what sounded like a car alarm in the distance, back toward his SUV. He knew how sounds could play tricks on you in wide open spaces, so he faced North, then East, then South, and finally West to try to zero in on where the sound was coming from. It was definitely in the direction of his vehicle. So he started walking back to his SUV. Unbelievable.
As he got closer, he could hear his SUV's alarm system and see its lights flashing on and off. He also saw a figure standing next to the passenger side door. He increased his walking pace to a jog. As he approached his SUV, he noticed a police cruiser in the distance, its lights flashing. Andy arrived at the SUV just as the cruiser approached. There was no sign of the person he had seen earlier.
Andy turned off his SUV's alarm. No more sound and flashing lights. He waited at the driver's side door for the officer to exit the cruiser, which the officer did in short order.
"Good evening, Sir. I'm Sergeant Pepper. Looks like you're experiencing some trouble."
"I'm so glad to see you, Sergeant Pepper. My car broke down about 30 minutes ago. I was on my way home from a late night at work, and it just shut down."
"Where do you work?"
"Anderson Keller and Associates."
"You an attorney?"
"No. It's a CPA firm."
"Ahh, bean counters," Sargent Pepper said with a laugh.
"That's me," Andy replied with a smile.
"Well, we can get you going again. But first, I need to see your license and registration."
"Certainly," Andy said. He slid into the driver's seat, retrieved the registration from the glove compartment, took the license from his wallet, and gave them both to Sergeant Pepper.
"Wait right here." Sergeant Pepper said. "This will only take a few minutes." Sergeant Pepper returned to his cruiser to check out the documents.
Andy was thankful that the cavalry had arrived. He was glad he didn't have to do all that walking to find help.
He saw Sergeant Pepper exit the cruiser and walk back.
"Please exit your vehicle."
"Yeah, sure. Is something wrong, Sergeant?" Andy asked as he got out of his SUV.
"No, no. I'm sure it's just a paperwork glitch. It shows your vehicle is stolen. Please turn around and put your hands on the vehicle."
"Stolen? That's not possible." Andy said as he complied. As Sergeant Pepper was patting him down, Andy felt the sharp stick of a needle in his neck. He quickly turned around and saw two additional men standing next to Sergeant Pepper, one with a hypodermic needle in his hand. All three were laughing. Andy immediately started feeling groggy.
"Let me introduce you to my two friends." Sergeant Pepper said. "Mr. Kite and Mr. Henderson."
The irony of the three names didn't escape Andy even as he lost consciousness. His last words were, "Why are you..."
As Messrs. Kite and Henderson loaded Andy into the back cargo area of the SUV, Sergeant Pepper asked, "Is the vat ready?"
"Of course." Mr. Kite replied.
"Excellent!" Sergeant Pepper was pleased. He looked at Mr. Henderson. "Is the device taken care of?"
"No worries." Mr Henderson added, "Why can't I be Sergeant Pepper next time?"
"Because you're Mr. Henderson, silly. Now let's move out."
Sergeant Pepper led the convoy as they disappeared into the cover of the night.
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