His heart pounded as he turned the corner into the alley. Would they find him? How had he come to be there? It all came back to yesterdays abnormal proceedings.
The day was dismal and wet from an afternoon storm. He had a prearranged meeting with a shady character who wouldn’t even give Tom his name. He wasn’t expecting trouble but one can never be sure. He checked his pocket again feeling slightly comforted by the sight of his lucky multitool, when the street was suddenly lit up by car lights. It was a black sports car that pulled up to the curb, the door opened and the man inside said, “Get in Tom.”
They had been driving for over an hour and had long since left the city and were currently in a dense forested area. He thought about inquiring over the final destination of the vehicle but decided otherwise. The tires crunched on a pebble driveway as they pulled into an old manor with an iron gate being the only visible way through the high wall. He was trapped all right, any sign of trouble and he wouldn’t stand a chance but he was an optimist, this meeting wasn’t over any extremely important matters, was it?
He was led to an over-sized dining room with a massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling. “Sit down my friend,” said the man Tom was meeting.
“By the way, what should I call you?” Tom inquired.
“We’re all friends are we not? You may call me Eugene,” responded the man. “Now that that’s cleared up, let’s talk the real reason you are here Tom”.
“Ah, yes, the blueprints. They are right here”. Tom pulled out a thin metal briefcase, unlatched it and pulled out two large rolled-up pieces of paper. “I knew I could count on you Tom, as for your reward you’ll have the five grande as promised”.
“Thank you Eugene. Would it be wrong to ask just what you plan to do with the blueprints?” asked Tom.
“Ah I’m delighted you asked. You’ll see what we are going to do with them, you’ll see,” Eugene said in a tone that hinted toward something much darker than what Tom was anticipating. Eugene clapped his hands and a large man entered the room. “Mr. Blaise here will take you back to our rendezvous”. Tom followed the giant back to the car, climbed in, and they left without another word.
They arrived at the same curb he had first seen them but now it wasn’t raining. Tom strolled down the street thinking over the day’s events. He couldn’t stop thinking of the way Eugene had said, “You’ll see”. Tom figured that it wasn’t anything to worry about. It’s amazing just how wrong a person can be.
Tom woke up in an otherwise dark room, save the one light glaring in his face. There was one other man in the room. He was tall, muscular, and had the aura of a leader about him. “how are you feeling?” the man inquired. Tom squinted to see the man’s characteristics more clearly.
“I feel just great considering how I’ve just been kidnapped,” Tom retorted.
“Don’t worry we’ll fill you in soon enough,” the man said. “By the way, the name’s Clyde Johnson, but you can call me Clyde.”
Another man entered the room the room and said “Have you interrogated him yet Mr. Johnson sir?”
“Calm down, the world hasn’t ended quite yet. I’m doing it right now. Tom, you’re going to tell us all you know and you’re going to do it right now.”
“All I know about what?” Tom said bewildered.
“About Eugene of course. First, what was in the case?”
“I was given the case to deliver to Mr. Eugene and told that if I opened it I’d know to much and they’d be forced to kill me, so you tell me, what was in the case.”
“If you really want to know I’ll tell you,” said Clyde. Tom thought about it and his curiosity got the best of him.
“I want to know what was in the case,” Tom said at last.
“It was some blueprints. Blueprints to a deadly innovation. A device that could surely destroy an entire country or worse, the world,” Clyde replied.
“How could any one thing do that.”
“Nanotechnology. Everyone thinks its a big step forward, but when Eugene uses it for his own evil plans it will surely be a step backwards.”
“Oh,” Tom said despondently.
“Don’t feel like this is your fault. How were you supposed to know?”
“I don’t know, but I still think think it’s partly my fault. That is why I’ve decided to help you guys stop him”
“Well if you truly feel that way, we’d be glad to take you in.”
Tom woke the next day back in his own home, wondering if everything that had happened yesterday was truly real, but for now, he felt safe back in his home he knew so well. With that momentary speculation, Tom got out of bed and walked out of his bedroom.