Todd had a shadow. He wasn’t sure, exactly, where he’d picked his shadow up...at some point between parking his car in the downtown garage and now, as he walked along the busy street. He paused, pretending to look into the window of one of the ground floor shops he was passing, as if considering whether to go in or not, while he quickly glanced out of the corner of his eye. Yep, still there, about half a block away, was the figuring shadowing him.
Whoever they were, they certainly weren’t a professional. The ski-cap, big sunglasses and a jacket far too heavy for mid-October did a good enough job obscuring his shadow’s features, to be sure, but it practically screamed from down the street this person was trying not to be recognized and it made them stand out from everyone else hustling and bustling through the busy downtown.
They were also following way too close, as if worried if they lost track of Todd for a second among the crowd they’d lose him. Whenever Todd sped up or slowed down or, as he did now, paused to look in a window or at an advertisement, the shadow did the same, a fraction of a second too slow and with an awkwardness that gave away that they were shadowing him.
For a time, Todd had been paranoid, surely such an obvious tail had to be intended: letting him see he had a shadow and make him confident he could elude them whenever he wanted, while letting the more professional shadow or team of shadows, do the real job of following him to his destination. But either they were far more skilled then he was, were completely invisible, or for a surprise the obvious answer was the correct one: he had but a single shadow and an amateur at that.
The question now remained though: what to do about them? It would be easy enough to lose the shadow, sure, he’d seen half a dozen opportunities to do just that along the last block, but that would leave a loose end and a question unanswered. And Todd was feeling curious.
There...up ahead, between two of the buildings, an alleyway which turned off a short ways in, hidden off from the busy streets less then a dozen yards away. About twenty feet from the entrance, he suddenly put on speed, dashing forward and ducking suddenly into the alley. As he did, he heard the footpadding behind him as his shadow realized what he was doing and ran forward to, afraid of losing him in the alley. A professional wouldn’t follow. They’d realize what he was up to and wait at the entrance, most likely while calling in backup to cover the buildings and any other exits. Only an amateur would blindly chase him in.
A second later, Todd’s shadow blindly raced into the alley. Todd grinned as the coated figure started past the dumpster he’d crouched behind. It seemed almost unsporting, sticking out a foot to trip them. The figure stumbled, waving their arms as they tumbled to the ground. As Todd jumped on top of them, making sure they wouldn’t get a chance to get back up, his shadow lost the ski-cap. Soft golden locks spilled out from under the woolen cover. The young woman gave a quick yelp as Todd’s hand came around, cutting the scream off by clamping a hand tight across her mouth. His other hand grabbed one of her flailing hands, twisting it behind her back, finding the point at which it was merely uncomfortable, but the slightest twitch could bring excruciating pain.
“Alright…” He whispered, as the young woman in his grip struggled and squirmed. “I’ve got a few questions…
***
As it turned out, Todd’s shadow was a Miss Helen Parker as it turned out. While she’d been somewhat recalcitrant, the contents of her jacket pocket were more then illuminating: notepad and pen, two recorders: one a high-end model for “in the field” interviews, the other a small, subtle one like the kind you’d plant somewhere and hope to pick up some juicy gossip. He’d delved into her purse, looking for a press pass and instead found a college ID. A journalism student, then, not even a real reporter.
“I’ll give you credit for spunk kid.” He teased. “You’d have had a nice future in that field…” “Mmmppphhh!!!” Miss Parker grunted frantically into her gag. The tie up job was a rushed, slapdash affair, he had to admit, but he was working with limited materials and was in a bit of a rush. Her hands and feet were lashed together with strips torn from the dress she’d been wearing underneath her jacket, leaving her in a loose hogtie. Another strip was tied across her eyes as a blindfold. The sash from that was currently knotted tightly between her teeth, holding in her wadded up panties and bra. Of course, this did leave her completely naked, but that was an added bonus as far as he was concerned. As for her concerns, either for modesty or the cold, well, that was her problem…
“Now, I’d love to stay and chat, but I have a meeting with some gentlemen I need to get to.” He teased, picking up his captive and dropping her into the dumpster. “But don’t worry, I’ll be back in just a bit…” She gave another muffled scream as the lid closed, trapping her inside.
Todd turned and started walking. Getting her out of the alley would be tricky. He’d have to get his car, back it down the alley and hoped no one stopped to look down it while he retrieved her from the dumpster. But the extra effort would be worth it, he thought. He hadn’t even met his clients yet, but he was already on his way to filling their order. He was sure Miss Parker was just the sort of girl they were looking for their organization. Though, he added with a grin, certainly not for her skills as a reporter or as a shadow...