Lethal Curiosity

"No".

"Why not, it's just for half an hour...?"

He was carrying the front end of a single-man kayak, and had asked me if he could leave it on my front lawn.

"I said No.". His cigarette end glowed amber in the dark, with a ridiculous amount of ash hanging off the end. Why didn't if fall off? Why was that amber glow almost pulsating? Ah, the breeze, there was a slight

The querent was around fifty, with a handle bar moustache, dirty singlet, shorts, and thongs. His companion on the other hand, holding up the back end of the kayak, seemed way out of context to the situation. He was a clean-cut, ginger-haired young man, considerably better-dressed and seemingly more nervous than the querent. An unlikely pair, carrying an old kayak, in a suburban street, at 10:30pm at night. Asking me if they could leave it on my front lawn. Nothing to see here folks.

I'd just arrived back from a dinner out and been dropped off by a mate, and was having a quick chat to the lady who fed the feral cats in the area. Val, an unwell, elderly lady with a heart of gold, someone I'd grown to admire for her love of the abandoned.

She murmered, "You'd better go inside while I"m still here."

I responded. "No, I'm going to wait until they're gone. They don't know for sure that I live in this house, so I'm going to wait".

Both the handle bar moustache guy and his clean-cut, ginger-haired, more nervous mate, carried the kayak down the road and promptly disappeared into a recently vacated lot.

Val and I continued to chat for a few minutes more, and the unlikely pair walked past us, empty handed, with a satisfied look on their faces.

"Okay Val, I'm going inside now. Thanks, and I'll see you later." I told her. Her face showed a little fear, but she bid me good night.

She left, and I went inside. I said "Hi" to my dogs with pats and hugs, and received the standard rebuff from my cats simply because I hadn't fed them at the exact time they were used to.

Then, I couldn't help myself. I had to see where the dumped kayak was.

I kicked off my heels and threw on some joggers. I grabbed my phone and headed back out.

Walking down the road, I encountered one of the feral cats that Val fed, Blackie.

"Hi Blackie", he/she was comfortable enough to acknowledge me without bolting, so I took a photo of he/she. I walked a little further on, to the vacant lot where the kayak rested. It was up the far end of the lot, furthest away from the road.

I switched the torch on from my phone, and headed to the kayak.

There was a dirty shopping bag in the guts of the kayak, you know, the kind you buy at the checkout for ninety nine cents. Clearly it had seen better days.

I couldn't help myself, I had to see inside the dirty bag.

I awkwardly rested the phone on the top of the kayak, shining the phone torch (kind of) on the bag. I opened it. Why was I doing this? I will never be able to answer that.

In it, wrapped in glad wrap, was what looked to me like a shitload of money. I easily pulled the glad wrap off, at the same time wondering what the hell I was doing. While unravelling the package something small and black fell out underneath onto the floor of the kayak, but I was too caught up with the thought of the money.

It. Was. Bundles. Of. One. Hundred. Dollar. Notes. Like you see in the movies, or at the bank. I wasn't a mathematician, but managed to count twenty bundles - twenty thousand dollars!

I turned my attention to the little thing that fell out of the bundle. It was a little black book...... Seriously? Was there a hidden camera on me from a reality show? Do I get a prize? Does this shit really happen?

I had to open the book too, hidden camera or not. I couldn't help myself.....

There was only a couple of the front pages filled in. First names (maybe, who know? was it code?), and telephone numbers. Shit. What the hell was this???

GET HOME NOW my unconcious brain screamed to my conscious mind! You idiot! What are you doing here!?!

I grabbed the bag and started running, just as the first car arrived, with it's faded left brake light screaming amber at me as it drove past. It slowed in front of me, did a u-turn, and stopped just behind me .

At what seemed like exactly the same time (but I have no idea and it doesn't matter now), a couple of motor bikes cames around the other corner. I was three houses from home. Do I drop the bag? Is it too late?

One of the bikes cut its engine, and the rider got off. At the same time, I felt a presence behind me, in a split second I thought "It's the driver from the amber brake-light car". I felt the thud against the back of my head, then black.

I came too, for a second or so. Long enough to force myself to roll over in time to see the ginger-haired, well-dressed, young man take his bike helmet off. He said "that doesn't belong to you", a little before he swung his helmet-weapon into my face.

I woke in hospital, for a few minutes. Long enough to see an amber light on the machine next to me saying to me "WARNING!", before I heard them say, "We're losing her again". Shit. Three amber warning lights. I should have paid attention to that first one.