At a Red Light

Matt had asked me to meet him at the café near his office. “This will be my first date in years!” I thought. After my messy divorce, getting close to people was something I struggled with, but there was something special about Matt. His gentle eyes, his warm smile, his soothing voice; how could he betray me? Though we had only ever video chatted, he had my, albeit cautiously given, trust.

At the red light before my turn into the café’s parking lot, a disheveled-looking man motioned at me to roll down my window. After doing so, he began to yell what I had thought were the ramblings of a madman. However, in just the thirty seconds he had, he managed to convince me otherwise.

“Go home now!”

“What are you talking abou-“

“I’m talking about that man! That man!”

He pointed in the direction of the café.

“Look, I don’t know who you are, bu-“

“Does it really matter who I am? What matters is your safety, Olivia!”

“How do you know my name?!”

“Doesn’t matter! All you need to know is this: file 65-CG-6837.”

With that, he drove away. I decided as soon as I pulled into the parking lot to look up the file name the stranger had given me.

What came up on the screen shocked me.

His real name was Jonathan Henry Ferguson, and was charged with espionage and treason for spying on behalf of Russia. He escaped federal prison a few months ago.

And I was about to meet him for coffee.