The Adventures of Travis Walker

The bell hanging in front of the door did its little dance and jingle as an older gentleman passed through the entrance. The man stood there for a few seconds, scanning the room, before removing his sunglasses. He turned to his right and started briskly walking passed the empty booths that led him to the corner booth. There sat, whom Travis Walker assumed was the man he was there to meet, a younger man wearing the agreed upon blank black ball cap. The man, in his mid 30's, was also wearing a dark jacket and blue jeans. 'Incognito' Travis thought with an eye roll. He paused when he got less than a foot from the table.

"John, I assume?" The smooth aged voice of Travis rolled over the cheap plastic towards the man sitting there.

"Yes, … um," John began nervously, "Please have a seat."

Travis' eyes followed John's outstretched arm and then his body. He sat and settled into the faded white cushion across from the younger man.

"Have you ordered, yet?" Travis asked politely as he placed his sunglasses on the table.

"No, I haven't. Do we really need to order?" John asked quickly while staring down the one waitress moving around behind the front counter.

"Why else would we meet at a diner?" Travis responded with a blank face and calming tone, "I enjoy breakfast, actually."

John just watched as the older man raised his hand and actually whistled in no particular direction. In the front of the diner the waitress turned and began moving towards them. She stopped by the front stand, grabbed two menus and continued her umpteenth time pacing the cracked tiled trail.

"Hi, how you two doing today?" The plump middle-aged woman, clad in a hideous green uniform, asked as she placed a menu in front of each of them. She then pulled a pad and pen out of her apron.

"Just fine, miss," Travis answered while reaching for, and opening, the menu, "I would like a cup of coffee, black and some orange juice, please."

"And what about you, sir? Can I start you off with some coffee?" The waitress asked as she looked at John, but also started scribbling on her pad.

"No, thank you." John kept his head down, pretending to read the front of the laminated menu.

"Come on, John, get something," Travis encouraged him, "Might as well, like I said, I am going to have breakfast."

"Nothing right now."

"Why are they always so uptight?" John thought.

"Can you give us a few moments, miss?" Travis asked through a blank stare towards John.

The waitress politely mumbled something, pocketed the pen and pad and paced back to the front. Travis never took his piercing blue eyes off of the man opposite him. John, however, kept staring at the menu.

"Do you expect to meet up and just do the deed?" Travis asked.

"What?" Asked John with shock in his brown eyes.

"Is this just a wham bam, thank you ma'am?" Travis started as he finally had John's attention, "Because I am not that kind of guy. I need to learn a little bit about you. And the best way to do that is by breaking bread together."

"I don't want to be seen!" John half whispered and half shouted back.

"We aren't doing anything illegal," Travis caught the look on John's face before continuing, "Meeting in a diner and eating breakfast during a conversation is not illegal."

"Why do you need to know anything about me? I thought this was a cash business with no questions?" John hissed through clenched teeth.

"This isn't a movie, buddy. I have to make sure to protect myself. And you should be worried about the same," the older gentleman replied, "I could be a cop. You could be a cop."

"You have to tell me if you are a cop!" John was clearly triggered from this.

"Again, John, this is not a movie. A cop is legally allowed to lie to you. But, no, I am not a cop." Travis tried to alleviate the concern now present on John's baby face.

John was about to say something, but the waitress showed up with Travis' drinks. To which he pulled them in front of him. He grabbed a few packets of sugar, unrolled the utensils and stirred the sugar into his coffee. He then took a sip of the coffee and then the orange juice. During this the waitress asked John if he had decided on anything, yet. He mumbled another "no thank you" before Travis spoke up again.

"I would love some pancakes. With some scrambled eggs, a side of bacon and sausage and something … else," Travis said while still looking over the menu with a grin, "Maybe I should save room for dessert? And my friend here, John, will have the American Platter with extra whipped cream."

"No, I will not!" Interjected John.

"John, you need to eat. We have a big day ahead," Travis said with a smile on his aged face, "John."

"I don't want anything!" The uptight junior almost screamed. He then stared at the waitress with anger pulsing behind his brown eyes. Unfazed, the lime green wrapped woman turned and returned to the front.

"Why are you …" Travis started.

"Why do you keep saying my name? Stop it. I don't need people knowing I did this!" John quietly scolded his senior.

"Right, because your real name is John Doe?"

"My first name could be John." The junior, defeated, sighed as he finally relaxed into the seat.

"Have you ever done anything … similar to this, or are you a boy scout?" The smooth talker asked, cautiously.

"No, I am new to the depraved side of society." John answered with a hint of superiority in his tone.

"Right, because it is common for people to wake up one day and contact someone like me." Travis blankly stared again.

"I am sorry," John started, "I meant no offense."

"Sure you didn't," Travis smiled, "As long as the money spends, I don't care."

There was something the dark clad lad had to say, but just then the green hostess appeared with plates. The odor that enveloped the two men was mouth watering. The pancakes were the first on the table and started the aromatic journey. They were plain, but still had a freshly made scent. The eggs, sausage and bacon came next. The fluffy and cheesy looking eggs supplied the fragrant vessel for the sweet and savory mix of the sausage and bacon. And the crescendo was Travis pouring sweet syrup over, almost, everything.

"Say dear, could I have some jalapeños?" The smooth voice rolled out as the man reached for the hot sauce in the middle of the table.

Without a word the waitress turned around and went back towards the front. Travis politely stared at John, waiting for his fake and forced apology, and started to cut into his pancakes. He had sampled some of everything, even took a few drinks from his orange juice and coffee, before John finally made eye contact.

"I really didn't mean any offense …"

"I really don't care. If the money is real, and spends, I … could not … care less about your opinion of me," Travis interrupted him, "Let's get to business."

"Right," John nervously agreed and paused for the waitress to deliver a bowl of jalapeños, relay pleasantries between the men and then return to the front, "I need your assistance with an issue I am having."

"Yes, that is why we are both …" Travis took a bite of a fork full of a little bit of everything, plus swiped through syrup, " here." Through chewing his large bite of breakfast he continued to speak to John. "That is why …" chew "we are," chew "or I am," chew "having breakfast."

While Travis chewed his bite he also stared down the younger man across from him. When John stayed quiet Travis continued to stare. They both locked eyes until Travis swallowed his bite and continued to talk.

"Please, tell me why I am enjoying this wonderful breakfast with you, Mr. John Doe?" Travis asked as his eyes traveled to his fork that was now gathering more food.

"Well, I need help with, my, my uhm, my … I need help with my, my wife." Mr. John Doe nervously mumbled in a half whisper.

"And he calls me depraved!" Thought Travis as he continued to eat his breakfast.

"And my, my uhm, my, uh my son, Zachary." John whispered while he stared at the table.

"Damn, this just keeps getting more 'depraved' by the second." Travis thought.

John looked up at Travis. His eyes were overflowing with tears and all Travis could think was "Crying while asking me to kill his family, yeah, I am the depraved one".

"I don't know if I can do this." John's overflowing eyes were soon accompanied by quick, and close to silent, sobs as he tried to stifle his emotions.

After a few fork fulls Travis wiped his mouth with a napkin, cleared his throat and said with a blank stare and no malice in his voice, "You might as well tell me. Cash is king and you aren't as anonymous as you think, Jeffrey Addams."

With all of the blood now out of his face, John or Jeffrey Addams, he also went mute.

A few more fork fulls, napkin and then, "Continue your story, John," Travis politely encouraged with the most incredulous innocent face he could nonchalantly muster.

Wide eyed, Jeffrey started stammering. His words were as confused as he was and couldn't come out of his mouth in a coherent way. He was now full of questions and they all kept trying to get out together. He swallowed the cool air and continued, "They have been kidnapped. And … and I need help getting them back."

"Damn, I was not expecting that." Travis thought to himself.

"This is more complicated than a simple murder for hire, John. And I am …"

"Murder?" Jeffrey all but yelled.

"Calm down, John," Travis said with a stern look, "That is what these meetings usually mean, but I enjoy a challenge. So let's get back to my place and get into the details."

"So, you are going to take the job?" Jeffrey nervously asked.

"I won't know until I have all the details," Travis answered as he threw his napkin on his empty plate, downed the rest of his drinks and got up from the booth, "Come on, let's go."

Jeffery got up and followed the older man towards the front. Once at the counter, under the neon green light that made them, and the middle-aged waitress, look like zombies, Travis paid for his meal with a fifty dollar bill and said, "Thank you for everything, sweetheart. The rest is for you."

With that the two men walked out of the diner, into the mid-morning sun, and towards their separate vehicles. One followed the other out of the parking lot and down the road.