The thunder punctuated the deep beat of the drum, creating an off-tempo effect. It fitted the place, and the night. It was an ominous night, full of evil tidings; but it was a night he had no choice being out in. He had to work, because working meant food on the table and a roof to sleep under. Working meant keeping out of weather like this, staying warm and dry. Unless you had a job like his, then it never seemed to matter. "Such was life. C'est la vie." was his motto. Life had never been good to him anyway. You just made the best of things that you could.
The smoke was thick in the bar tonight, the jazz band crooning out a slow soft melody. The thunder had quieted down, but the sky still lit up with lightning flashes. He peered down at the drink in his hand. The scotch wasn't aged enough for his tastes, but as he was working he probably wouldn't drink it anyway. He peered through the smoke out of the open door. Now that the rain had ceased, the door had been propped open to allow the air to circulate some. It didn't really do anything except allow the sound to escape, the sound of a good time to lure new patrons into this dim lair. "A futile effort," he thought, "there isn't any tourists in this neighborhood. Nothing but drunks and low-lifes. And me." He chuckled at the thought that he was any different than the drunks or low-lifes.
"And now to work." he muttered. He had finally seen his assignment walk by. He had to tell this guy to wherever he went. That was what the client was paying for. Just a simple case of surveillance. Except nothing was simple about this assignment. The guy followed one of three routes. The only problem was he switched them at will. You couldn't simply walk behind the guy and not give away suspicions, one had to be a bit more careful. The best way was multiple tails, both following and leading. But the way this guy switched routes made it nearly impossible to stay ahead of him. They always lost him on the other side of Canal Street. He was exceptional about losing a tail in foot traffic.
So to get ahead of the assignment, Arthur made a gamble. No tails, and just hope he would pass by. Arthur had been sitting in this smoke filled bar for over an hour watching it rain, and nursing the scotch. Now was the time for action. Gathering up his bag, Arthur stumbled out the door, just another drunk headed home. He blended into the crowd, easily following the assignment. A block or two, and the assignment made a quick cut into a hotel lobby. "So that's how he is doing it." Arthur nodded. The assignment was ducking through one door, and then out on the other side, but a block away. His team wasn't quick enough to keep up with him, and by the time they realize he was gone, it was too late.
Arthur knew he wouldn't be able to follow the assignment this way, so he hurried to the corner, rounding it just in time to see the assignment's back walking away. "Perfect," Arthur thought, smiling to himself. He was just far enough behind the assignment to not be seen as a threat, but close enough to be able to watch him. The man strode through the French Quarter without a care. Now that he thought he had lost his tail, he wasn't quite as difficult to follow. A few more blocks and he turned towards the river.
"Shit!" Arthur exclaimed, shabbling into run. He had to turn the corner before the assignment vanished. There were too many alleyways ahead for him to disappear into. Puffing from the exertion, he wasn't used to running, he turned the corner to spy the assignment's body disappearing down a dark alley, just as Arthur had feared. Trotting with a stitch in his side, Arthur approached the alley as quickly as he could. Slowing at his final approach, Arthur found himself staring into deep darkness with only the other end illuminated in the street lamps. Arthur didn't really want to go down this alley, but he knew he had no other choice. The assignment couldn't be seen from Arthur's end, so either he was hiding in the alleyway, or there was a door somewhere.
Checking the holster holding his pistol, Arthur trepidaciously entered the alley. This wasn't his idea of a good night at work. "But at least it's not raining anymore," he thought. Just then lightning flashed in the sky, illuminating the alley for all to see. That's when Arthur saw the men. He had all of a split second to react as they came charging at him. The lightning passed and everything plunged into darkness.
A passerby would only have heard the cracks and smacks of fist on skin. Lightning flashed again to show Arthur crouched over the men, unconscious now. He had learned quite a few things street fighting. But now, his investigator skills were kicking in, and instead of relishing the victory, Arthur was rapidly searching the men for weapons, wallets, cash. Valuables quickly recovered, Arthur scanned both entrances to the alley. No one had seen anything, there was no screams, no cries for help. It was as if nothing had happened. Arthur smiled, that was just the way he liked it.
Pulling zipcords from his pockets, Arthur quickly immobilized the men and pushed them out of the way. As the lightning flashed again, this time punctuated with close thunder, Arthur saw the door. It was disguised well, he might have missed it in the daylight as well. But just the slightest crack of light shone out from under it tonight. Checking his pistol once again, Arthur debated going in. He was only supposed to tail the assignment here. Nothing more. But the two men attacking him made Arthur wonder if he should let it go at that. The investigator in him felt that there was more to be learned by going inside.
The rain starting to fall made up Arthur's mind. He hated getting wet. So, throwing caution aside, Arthur slowly opened the door and stepped in.
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