Night Assault

         I knew I was being followed, but I didn’t care. Normally, a creepy guy in a hood following me throughout downtown New York City would have sent me running, but not today. My day was ruined. I thought the interview had gone okay, but clearly it hadn’t since the manager had refused me the job. Ugh, that manager. Why did he get to go around selecting which one of us lowly peasants got to work for him?

         I prepared to cross a street, but I was suddenly grabbed from behind and shoved into a nearby, rocky alley.

         “I’ve been watching you,” the hooded man said in a deep, raspy voice. “You went to the doctor’s office today. Didn’t get the job… tough luck. But if you go back in there and get me a certain tray of drugs, I’ll give you more money than you can imagine.”

         I stared back at the hooded man, wondering what to do.

         “How much money?”

         “One hundred thousand.”

         One hundred thousand? I couldn’t believe it! This could save me. If I could get that money, I could go back to college and get an even better job.

         But no, it wouldn’t be right. I may have been a greedy man, but I was also an honest man.

         “Sorry, but I can’t,” I said. “It wouldn’t be right.”

         The hooded man gave me a long stare, and then nodded.

         “Fine. Have it your way,” he said. “And by ‘your way’, I mean, the job is yours.”

         “Huh?” I said. This dude didn’t make any sense.

         “The job is yours,” the man repeated. “I’ve had to go through this test many times, but I finally found a man I can trust. Thank you.”

         With that, the hooded man flung back his hood. It was the manager.


         (Word Count: 300; Proverbs 12:22)