South of the Wall

Written for the Daily Flash Fiction Challenge.

Prompt: Write a story that includes the line: "Where were you last night?"

South of the Wall

         New York City 2099, it’s mid-November; waves of rain have been pelting the city all day.  It’s been warmer than usual and the humidity doesn’t help.

         Mark walked out into the misty spray that followed a torrential downpour; he hoped it was the last of the day.  He hailed a Tricycle Taxi and hopped into the small-enclosed yellow sulky attached to an electric motorcycle.  The driver was wearing a yellow rain slicker, “Where to?”

         “Broad and William.” 

         “Ya feel lucky tonight?”

         “I’m not gambling, just clubbing.”

         They drove down East Fiftieth to the FDR and turned south.  He could remember the sounds of the city when he was a child.  It was like a roaring lion then.  Except for delivery trucks, Gasoline engines had been band inside city limits, since 2050.  Overhead public monorails hang in the center of all the major avenues. 

         Traffic is heavy but Mark is in no rush.  He loves to watch the city at night.  Long about Thirtieth Street he feels his phone vibrating.  Removing the spectacles from their case and slipping them on, he pressed the earpiece in; he could see Julia staring at him in the small lenses.  “Hi there.”

         “Well stranger, where in the hell did you slip off to Friday night?  Was she good to you?”  There was a sly sinister grin on her pretty lips.  “You on portable, I can’t see you?”

         “In a Traxi, should be there in fifteen minutes.”

         “Looked for you.  Where were you last night?”  She stood up pointing the camera at her chest and the plunging neckline.  “Hurry, I miss you!”  She jiggled her breasts from side to side then cut the connection. 

         He smiled as the bright lights of the Casino district came into view.  It’s known as South of Wall now. 

Word Count = 298