Peas in a Pod

"Hello?"

"Finally! Where the fuck have you been? It’s the fifth time I’ve called!"

"I’m a very busy man. I had things to do."

"I don’t give a shit about your things! We need to talk!"

"Yeah, well... I’m here now. Talk then."

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no! You can’t afford to get cocky with me! Now it’s time for you to shut up and listen to me for a change."

"You little..."

"You little nothing! You keep your trap shut and do as I say, or the chair you’ll spend the next few decades of your life won’t be as warm and comfy as the one you have your behind indented now! You’ll bring the camera to me. Tonight at 7 p.m. in the coffee shop."

"Are you insane?"

"No. I’m keeping it myself. I don’t trust you."

"Have you lost your mind!? You wanna go back there?"

"It’s the safest place for the handover. Neutral."

"...safest place...neutral..."

"Stop muttering! Tonight, 7 o’clock."

"I can’t tonight. I promised my wife I’d be home for dinner."

"Too bad. Think of something."

"I can’t. I’ve been away too much already. She’ll start asking questions."

"Perhaps for little Melanie then?"

"Leave my daughter out of it, you little shit!"

"Watch your mouth Mr. Minister."

"It’s too dangerous. We’re not going back there. We’ll meet at a park."

"No. You don’t call the shots here. In this mess you’re exactly as good as I am, I’m afraid. And a little lower, honestly."

"Never! I’m not going there! You might not have anything to lose, but I have a life."

"Careful, now. You really don’t wanna piss me off any more than you already have."

"Pick a different spot."

"Do you know where guilty people never hang out?"

"Outside of home?"

"At the place of the crime."

"Well, clearly!"

"Jesus Christ! And you make the decision for the people... Do the math now. 1+1 equals?"

"I could be followed! We’d be leading them right to where we..."

"Without the evidence, no one will ever know. The coffee shop is the safest place for us to meet. No one will suspect us if we actually show our faces there. And it’s crowded. We’ll blend right in."

"It’s still too dangerous! My boss could’ve easily put a tail on me. It’d be like handing the camera to them. With a bow on top."

"Don’t you think I know that! That’s why we need to hurry! That’s why we’re doing it tonight. We’ll go there like nothing’s wrong. We’ll act like it’s any other day."

"I’m not that good an actor. Someone will notice something’s off."

"You’ve managed to convince people you care about their well-being, and not the paycheck and benefits, for twenty years. You’ll be fine."

"I do care about people!"

"I guess you count as people too..."

"I’ve just done what needed to survive, like everyone. Like you."

"Oh, yeah, we are just two peas in a pod, aren’t we? You’ll do as I say. Go in, order a coffee and sit somewhere at the back. Put the camera on the chair next to you, read a paper, scroll Facebook, make a phone call, play Candy Crush, for all I care, just act like a normal person. Stay for ten, maybe fifteen minutes. Leave the camera there when you’re leaving. I’ll be waiting and I'll pick it up right after."

"It’s too dangerous! Do you have any idea what will happen if it falls into the wrong hands?"

"All the more reason for me to keep the camera."

"And how do I know I can trust you?"

"You don’t. But you have no choice."

"I don’t like that."

"Yeah, well, that’s too bad. The people don’t like you either, yet we’re forced to trust you."

"I’m telling you. It’s a bad idea!"

"What the fuck is wrong with your phone? Why is it crackling like this? It's annoying!"

"Crackling? Shit... not good..."

"That fucker! He didn’t just hang up on me!? Fuck!"

"I didn’t. I’m still here."

"Then... what was that sound..."

"Can you still hear the crackling?"

"No."

"When did it begin?"

"When you picked up."

"Shit! Run! Now!"

"As in... it was..."

"Yes. Run!"