Mother sat nervously in her booth. It was late, well after midnight, and the Diner was mostly empty. A few patrons dotted the main counter, sipping coffee and reading papers or flipping through their phones. They had no interest in her when she had entered, and continued to show no interest in her, which was much to the Caprisians liking. She had been nervous from the start, ever since making the call to Kalik. Which was why she had picked a booth in the furthest corner away from everything.
The waitress had come by a couple of times, asking her what she would like, and even raising a judgemental eyebrow when Mother had asked about Twinkies. The waitress had walked away, shaking her head, muttering something about always getting the weird ones. Needless to say, there were now a pair of Twinkies sitting on a plate, a cup of coffee to their left, and Mother sitting with a business card in her hand.
She had examined it a hundred times over since getting it. Reading each letter carefully as if maybe they would reveal some hidden clue that she hadn't seen. But nothing sinister ever seemed to surface. Even as she sat nervously flipping the card over and over in her hand nothing stood out. It simply had a name, a number and the words "Bounty Hunter" etched neatly into it. She doubted it could be this simple, yet here it was.
Despite her better judgment she had eventually decided to call the number. The bounty hunter in question was Kalik. An alien of a species she had never seen before, who seemed to know a lot about herself and her situation. Just how much had yet to be determined. Mother had opted for a place like this, semi-public given its time and location. Just enough people to ensure there were witnesses, but not enough as to interfere with this private affair.
One of her free hands slipped across the table, picking up a twinkie and raising it to her lips to take a bite while she rested her head on her two lower arms. Hopefully, he would be here soon.
The waitress had come by a couple of times, asking her what she would like, and even raising a judgemental eyebrow when Mother had asked about Twinkies. The waitress had walked away, shaking her head, muttering something about always getting the weird ones. Needless to say, there were now a pair of Twinkies sitting on a plate, a cup of coffee to their left, and Mother sitting with a business card in her hand.
She had examined it a hundred times over since getting it. Reading each letter carefully as if maybe they would reveal some hidden clue that she hadn't seen. But nothing sinister ever seemed to surface. Even as she sat nervously flipping the card over and over in her hand nothing stood out. It simply had a name, a number and the words "Bounty Hunter" etched neatly into it. She doubted it could be this simple, yet here it was.
Despite her better judgment she had eventually decided to call the number. The bounty hunter in question was Kalik. An alien of a species she had never seen before, who seemed to know a lot about herself and her situation. Just how much had yet to be determined. Mother had opted for a place like this, semi-public given its time and location. Just enough people to ensure there were witnesses, but not enough as to interfere with this private affair.
One of her free hands slipped across the table, picking up a twinkie and raising it to her lips to take a bite while she rested her head on her two lower arms. Hopefully, he would be here soon.