Parker is in Business Again

Parker is in Business Again

By Olga ‘Allyann’ Gridin

Word Count: 869 words



“…Private investigator Parker made sure nobody was at the hallway and began looking for a brown suitcase. ‘Where would I hide a suitcase?’ he thought, looking around. ‘Under the bed!’ I looked, but it wasn’t there. Maybe in the wardrobe? It wasn’t there among the shorts and coats. And then Parker, whose eyes were already used to the dark, noticed signs of cracks in the wood of the wardrobe. He felt the piece of wood and carefully removed it. ‘Aha, got ya!’ he thought. He opened the suitcase. The stolen cash was inside – one million dollars. Time to get out of here before Johnny returns. He took the suitcase and listened. He thought he’d just heard distant footsteps. He stood by the wall waiting. A moment later the footsteps stopped outside the closed door. Parker put his hand on the hilt of his 22 caliber, which he held in his leather belt. ‘C’mon, Johnny. I’m waiting,’ he thought.



  His hunch didn’t fail him: when a man entered the bedroom he recognized Johnny by the ponytail and the bandana he used to wear. Luckily, the shadows concealed the investigator well. He waited for the right moment to reveal his presence.



  Parker watched Johnny go to the same hole in the wardrobe. The scream didn’t fail to come. Johnny took out his gun calling, “Parker, where are you? Reveal yourself.”



  Parker let the first bullet into the neck of his own gun, attracting Johnny’s attention. The latter looked at the shadows and was staring at an upturned gun.”



  I stopped writing for a moment. ‘Wow, I’ve been writing for 4 hours now,’ I thought glancing at my watch. I felt like I needed a cup of black coffee, but couldn’t get myself to the kitchen – I was hooked to my own story.



  ““Surprised to see me here, Johnny?” Parker said.



  “Not really.”



  “10 years in jail will do you good. Who knows, you might receive even 20 years for smuggling drugs. But I will let the judge decide your fate.” 

   

  I rubbed my eyes – it was 2 a.m.! I blinked and realized that I was staring at Johnny with my own eyes. I was sweating, even thought it was chilly. Suddenly I panicked. What the hell was going on?! I thought I was getting feverish, everything looked so real! ‘Must be the tiredness,’ I thought. I blinked again, hoping I would be in my room again my laptop propped against my knees, but the dream wouldn’t go away. Suddenly the will to survive at any cost was burning inside me like fire. I didn’t know how to use a gun – the only gun I’ve ever held was a shotgun and it was during basic military training 10 years ago. I felt cold sweat gather on my forehead under the brown hat. Gathering courage I put on the bravest look I could manage and stared at Johnny, who looked at ease. ‘Time for some action,’ I thought. I had always loved action movies from the 80s.



  “How is it going to be, Johnny?” I heard myself said like a true cop.



  “Prepare to die, dog,” Johnny said to me.



  I knew what was coming on. I ducked before Johnny put a bullet in my skull. I waited for him to go over to the corner where I was standing earlier. I knew I could trust my hunch. When Johnny approached the corner my figure grew behind his back. I pressed my gun against his back.



  “I have a proposition, Johnny,” I said.



  He listened.



  “Drop the gun. Guns are for amateurs.”



  “Fight then.” He read my mind.



  I heard his gun clink loudly on the floor and dropped mine. Like a memory I heard my hand-to-hand combat instructor’s words. “Wait for the right moment.” I ducked when Johnny swung at me. I got away to the other end of the room. I had a rush of adrenaline, and it was great. Just like my favorite movie in the entire world, Cobra. I took a combat position watching my rival’s every move. Johnny swung again. This time he hit my left cheek. I made myself focus again. I swung at his chest right after that at his leg. It did the trick – Johnny was limping. I ducked, avoiding his fist. Before he had the chance to hit me I hit him at the balls. He was lying on the floor, twitching with pain. I put my booted leg on his neck.



  “I won’t kill you, Johnny,” I said. “I’d rather see you behind bars.” I knew that policemen usually had a cell phone that called in a squad. I looked in the pockets of my jacket. The desired device was there. In a matter of seconds a squad of policemen was in the place. They hand cuffed Johnny and led him to the car. And then everything began to swirl around me. I lost gravity and fell. I opened my eyes, and to my great surprise I was lying on my bed with my laptop propped against my knees. Everything was over. I guess I was so hooked to my story that I was drawn into it. What a great adventure it was!