Unusual EncounterA Story by Andy LeavyA massive mix up brings two people together. One is looking for important information. The other thinks it is flirtation.26th
of March 2016 in New York City was just like any other day, the city was
electric with the hustle and bustle of everyday life, people coming and going
from a to b, cars, vans, trucks and bicycles all squeezed onto the road
creating a line of traffic that would make any sane being think that they would
be better off walking. But in a small niche café in Manhattan something quite
unusual was about to happen, something that would assure that this wasn’t just
another repetitive and monotonous day for two residents of the Big Apple.
Eli Kurzawa
was one of those usually caught up in the hustle and bustle, every morning he
would wake up, get ready for work, and have breakfast then head on out the door
to his job as an IT consultant for the law firm Holmes & Shelton. He enjoyed his work, it wasn’t too difficult,
he got to work with computers and it paid very well, so well that he could
return to his homeland of Bosnia for two weeks every July. Eli’s family were
refugees of the Bosnian war, his parents fled with him when he was only two
years old, they were offered refuge in America and soon settled in, and though
Eli’s characteristics are those of the average American he likes to return home
to Bosnia every year, to see his Grandparents and other relatives, he likes to
do this to remind him of who he was and where he was from. His favourite part
about the Eastern European area was easily the food, he always returned at
least 10 pounds heavier from his trips to Bosnia, luckily for Eli there was an
Eastern European café just up the street from his office, it was owned by a
Russian man named Frank but they cooked all types of food from Eastern Europe,
from Estonia to Russia and of course Bosnia. Eli would visit this café for his
lunch and usually order himself a sandwich or a Begova
Čorba (Bey's Stew) with a coffee. As he sat on the high chair eating his Bey’s
Stew and drinking his coffee he noticed a woman looking at him. Why is
that women looking at me?.....oh shoot you’re staring quick just smile or
something, oh great now she’s getting up….oh god I definitely didn’t order this
for lunch The woman getting up however wasn’t any ordinary woman, she was Ruby Morrison
a rookie agent in the CIA and she was out on her debut voyage, her first time
out in the field alone, her assignment was to meet a Russian whistleblower who
had reached out to the CIA with information involving corruption in the Russian
Government. She thinks Eli is this whistleblower. Eli is not. Man,
this café is empty. Hopefully the informant is already here Ruby took a quick look around the café to see if any of the patrons fit
the description of her man, she seen some old looking guys sitting, conversing
and laughing in Russian, she seen a man behind the counter and beside him on
the other side of that counter sat a young, attractive Eastern European man
drinking coffee, he seemed to be of a medium build and had jet black hair as if
he had just fell into a coal pit. “That’s my man” she thought to herself. She
had been looking at him for some time, probably longer than she knew eventually
however Eli turned and looked at her and smiled. She took this as a signal, she
got up and made her way over to him. “Hi there” “Hello I’m Eli” “Ruby” The two shook hands
as they exchanged pleasantries “So Ruby, can I help
you with something?” hmm
he’s being ambiguous, place is probably bugged best not say anything that will
blow our cover “I don’t know, can
you?” Is she
hitting on me? It’s been awhile, I best play it cool “Depends what are you
looking for?” “I’m looking for the
goods” replied Ruby as she smiled sensually Damn,
she is hitting on me. She’s not holding back either. Alright Eli don’t screw
this up “Yeah I’m sure I can
help you” exclaimed Eli which he followed up with a wink. “Okay well then can
you please give it to me?” “Wait what? Right
here?” “Well there is people
watching” Ruby’s heart started to race oh god,
we are being watched oh no she thought as her face went white with fear. “Who is onto us?” “Well I don’t know if
they are ‘onto us’ but everyone in this café would see” “Do they know? About
you …who you are?” What
the hell is this girl talking about? Who I am? “I don’t know? I say
hi to the old guys every day I come for lunch, Frank knows where I work though” “Wait every day you
come for lunch? How often do you come here?” “Fairly often,
sometimes I go somewhere else with the other employees or if I’m busy I’ll
bring lunch to work…why?” The white colour in Ruby’s skin had now gone even whiter, she was like a
ghost standing in the café seconds away from becoming completely translucent.
The sudden realisation had hit her. She’s got the wrong man! Oh my
god this isn’t the whistleblower….who the hell am I even talking to? “So Eli…where do you
work?” “Holmes &
Shelton, I work as an IT Consultant, my father owned a computer store in Bosnia
before we fled and " “ “BOSNIA! I thought
you were Russian?!?” “…ehm I never said I
was Russian? What made you think that?” Oh god
I’m an idiot, I just assumed he was Russian without even asking who he was, my
nervous excitement towards this assignment got the best of me and caused me to
get sloppy. “I’m really sorry Eli
I thought you were someone else I was supposed to be meeting for work, you fit
his description and you looked Russian…oh god that makes me sound like a racist?” “Xenophobe actually
and no it doesn’t it’s fine I get confused for a Russian all the time, most of
the people in my school didn’t even know Bosnia was a real place. I must ask
though, how did you make such a bad mix up surely you were given information..like
his name?” “No, I work in Law
enforcement so his name was kept under wraps, all I was given was a description
and the location of the meet, a café on 17th and 1st.” Eli grinned and then began to chuckle. “Well there’s your
problem, this café is located on 15th and 1st NOT 17th
and 1st.” A mix of emotions raged through Ruby’s body, anger, sadness and despair
just to name a few, she felt like laying on the floor and crying like a toddler
when her parents refuse to get her a new toy, but she didn’t instead she just
began to laugh and soon Eli joined her the two stood in the café laughing about
this terrible mix up. Eli smiled and thought about how beautiful Ruby looked
when she laughed, her smile and laughter reminded him of the first sunny day
after a long winter. “Well Ruby, I can
call you a cab and hopefully you can arrive before your man leaves” “That would be
amazing thank you” So Eli quickly paid for his lunch and ran out the door hailing down a
cab for himself and Ruby to jump into. “Where to?” “15th and
1st and quickly please my good man” The taxi drove through the busy streets of Manhattan, as it swayed
through the traffic Ruby thought about what would happen if she missed the
informant, she would 100% be fired for such a mishap, the size and importance
of the occasion had got to her and caused her to make a stupid mistake, but
even though she had made such a stupid mistake said stupid mistake lead to her
meeting Eli, all negatives have a
positive she thought smiling to herself. The taxi made it to 15th and 1st expeditiously,
they reached the café and Ruby asked Eli to wait outside for her. She walked
into the café and instantaneously saw a stern looking man who fit the
whistleblowers description. “You’re late” “I know I’m so sorry
it’s a long story” “Well I do not have
time for your long stories, you have already wasted enough of my time, here is
the file” “Wait? Just like
that, you are handing it over in broad daylight?” “I don’t know what
you think this is lady we are not in a spy movie” “Are you not afraid
the place could be bugged?” “Who the hell would
bug a dump like this? Anyways I have wasted enough time on this. Goodbye.” What a rude man thought Ruby as he
exited the café, she soon followed him outside to Eli. “That’s the guy? He
looks nothing like me?!? I’m much better looking than him…and I’ve got better
hair. His looks like Fonzy’s” Ruby smiled and laughed and then told Eli to shut up. But she knew he
was right they only had some physical similarities but in every other way they
were complete opposites. Eli was a gentleman. “If you say so,
anyway I’m extremely late back to work but I work hard and it’s a slow day, I’m
sure I can talk my way out of it” “Sorry for taking up
so much of your time, you really didn’t have to do as much as you did” “Don’t worry about
it, I’d like to think you would do the same for me. Anyway I was just ..ehm I
was just wondering if tomorrow you would uh..like to get a " uhm…” “I’d love to Eli,
same time tomorrow?” “Same time tomorrow,
17th and 1st Remember not 15th and 1st” “17th and
1st, gotcha” © 2016 Andy Leavy
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1 Review Added on June 3, 2016 Last Updated on June 3, 2016 Tags: short story, humor, funny, mix up, writing prompt, CIA, agent, romance, rom com, comedy, lighthearted, confusion, new york, Manhattan AuthorAndy LeavyArdee, Louth, IrelandAboutAspiring Comic Book Writer but will be posting other stuff here too short stories etc. Most will be Adventure/Action or Sci-Fi but I will dabble in other genres. Hope you enjoy what you see and don't .. more..Writing
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