The pawn ticket – When it came to Tucker

Tucker was no longer sleepy. In fact, he has never felt more awake in his life. From what he can tell, he is in a large cargo van. They are moving fast on what must be a highway. Twenty minutes before he had been safe in a hotel room. Alone. But safe. Speaking of alone, where the hell was Jenson?

The van thumps over a bump in the highway, then sways back and forth. Tucker is handcuffed to a side rail in the back of the van. Furthermore, he is not blindfolded or gagged. Therefore, he is able to monitor everything around him. With his free hand he checks for the pawn ticket. Despite the circumstances, relief floods his system, as he discovers the ticket nestled deep within his pocket.

The pawn ticket – When it came to Tucker

Never once does he find it odd that he should feel so relieved. In fact, relief is only a part of it, a generalization. There is also the overwhelming belief that it is right. The pawn ticket is in the right place. As well as the right time. This is the relief Tucker feels when he touches the pawn ticket.

The van sways and creaks, as they barrel down the dark highway. As they move, Tucker slowly becomes aware of being watched. In the dark interior of the van, he sees an unblinking pair of baleful looking eyes. They are watching him intently. His skin crawls with goose bumps, causing chills to race up his spine.

As his eyes adjust to the dim interior of the van, he can see there are more than one set of eyes watching him. His mind replays the running man from the previous week. The sound of the gunshots are still fresh in Tucker’s mind. He shudders, and tries to remain calm. Obviously they wanted something. Otherwise he doesn’t think he would be here.

The ticket

While he tries to decide if he feels more encouraged, or less so, from the knowledge that he is still useful. He also knows there is much more going on, than is evident from the outside. Even if the pawn ticket was what these strange government types were looking for, they still had some use for Tucker.

With this in mind, Tucker decides Jenson must have left him for dead. Furthermore, there is no surprise at the betrayal. What did Tucker know about Jenson? And what did Jenson owe Tucker? That one was easy to answer. Nothing. In fact Tucker had only known Jenson for a few days. And a few life threatening moments. Other than that, they were complete strangers.

Strange days

The van enters a tunnel and the interior dims even further. Now Tucker feels his nerves strain, and his fear grows. What if they were waiting for the right moment? He unconsciously braces himself, for anything. Instinctively his hand covers the pawn ticket. Protecting it. As the van exits the tunnel, Tucker sees the baleful eyes have not moved.

Likewise the pace has not slowed. They are traveling some distance this time. As near as Tucker can figure, they have been on the road for at least an hour. If they were not going to ambush him, or worse, what was the plan? Was he being setup? When the agents came to his office looking for the pawn ticket, and questioning Patty, he hadn’t realized how big this situation is. Indeed, he still feels as though he cannot grasp what is going on.

The van slows, and begins a series of no-stop turns.Tucker is certain they are moving purposefully now. Therefore there will be a destination. The question is what happens then? What was all this leading to? And how could they just capture him? What had he done, other than witness a crime? Furthermore, he hadn’t even seen who did the crime. These thoughts do nothing to alleviate his stress. Particularly considering they were no longer hiding their identities, anyway.

The pawn ticket

He is still pondering all of this as the van slows to a crawl, and then stops. There is more light. It fills the interior of the van. Now the mysterious kidnappers move toward him. They unfasten his cuffed hand, and prod him toward the exit of the van. Once in the parking lot several agents surround him. From there they prod him forward. As Tucker begins to move he over hears a directive. Though mumbled and short, he is still able to pick out the words, “to the lab”. Tucker feels an icy pang in his gut, as they begin to move into the building.

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