5 Years Earlier…
“It’s always the same damn thing.” Hunter mumbled before taking a long pull from the water bottle. He leaned against the crumbling brick building looking unimpressed. It was a gift for him; always remaining
distant and uninterested. He had learned from early on to hide in the shadows and blend in; it kept him alive and relatively unnoticed. Today it provided him with a front row view to the constant fighting between the other messengers. It wasn’t glamorous or exciting, but the gig as a bike messenger had helped to keep a roof over his head. A roof that he earned, one that he had shed blood, sweat and tears for.
Summer in Chicago could be a bitch, but Hunter Jameson loved it. There was nothing better than the sun beating across his back as he weaved in and out of traffic on what some might call a suicide mission making deliveries. It was the freedom and the ability to empty his mind while he rode around the city.
At 25 most thought he should have more ambition, more going on in his life but for Hunter this was enough. The fear that had chased him for most of his life was long gone and Hunter couldn’t have been happier. At least that was true for most days. Today, however Hunter wanted to wrap his hands around the scrawny dispatcher’s throat and squeeze.
Lolli sauntered over to him. She was all legs; toned and tan with a smile like a cobra. Hunter had tangled with her on a couple of occasions and had quickly realized that the woman was as deadly as she seemed. One long tan finger dragged down his bicep as she spoke. “If all they’re going to do is fight over who pays for tickets, we might as well get out of here and find something to do.” The invitation was written all over her face. It would have taken a blind man to miss it, but Hunter still played dumb. He couldn’t afford to piss off this woman and lose this job. Hunter had witnessed Lolli’s vengeance one too many times. The woman’s temper was legendary.
As he pondered his response to the vixen before him, Hunter heard a call for a delivery across town. Quickly deciding that baking in the sun was healthier than getting bitten by Lolli he jumped at the chance. Granting her his killer smile, Hunter pushed off the wall and headed toward the dispatcher’s office yelling behind him, “Sorry babe, money talks…” Within minutes he was cruising through traffic, his head once again blissfully clear. Another long day, another set of deliveries. Nothing to dwell on, all he had to do was make it from one place to another in one piece.
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