The Train Station

The Train Station

It is a cold night in San Francisco. Our main character is waiting at the train station. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches a glimpse of an attractive woman. She has long brown hair, green eyes, and a mysterious aura to her. She sits close enough to him; he looks at her without trying to stare. Their eyes meet in an awkward exchange, but she doesn’t look away. She smiles at him. He is a bit shy, but he smiles back.

It is your regular Friday night, the train station is crowded, trains coming and going, people running in every direction. In the distance he can hear a guitar and some singing, nearby there is a baby crying. He his not close enough to the woman to strike up a conversation.

He is trying to decide whether he finds a closer seat, so he looks around. But everything happens so fast, she gets up in a hurry, like she’d just seen a ghost. She holds on to her backpack, but an item falls out. It is a little black notebook.

He notices it and sees it as an opportunity to approach her. He has been sitting there, just thinking of how to break the ice. But he cannot catch up to her – a man grabs her by the arm, and they board a train as it is taking off.

And just like that, she is gone…but he managed to retrieve the notebook in time. “Maybe there’ll be a clue in there about who she is, or what she does for a living” – he thinks to himself.

He opens the notebook and finds it is mostly blank, except for one page that contains a code “LB-3065-112”, and under it the words “Bob’s Lock Box”. He quickly pulls out his phone and finds Bob’s Lock Box – it’s a PO Box center. He decides to miss his train and investigate this mystery girl.

He finds a hotel nearby and checks in. He orders food and stays in the room. He tosses and turns all night, dreaming of the woman, thinking about what happened to her, and what he is going to find in the lock box.

Next day comes, and he goes to the PO Box place. It is a rainy morning, and something feels off. He never heard the girl speak, he does not know where she comes from or what he will find. Does the code open a box? What will be inside it? Too many questions and very little answers. He must go there. “Did she mean to drop the little black notebook for me to find?” he thinks to himself.

He finally makes it to the place; he runs across the street and opens the door. He looks around and finds #306 – LB is short for lock box, and you can key in a password. “It must be 5112, worth a shot” he mumbles softly under his breath. He puts in the password, and the box opens. He finds a thick brown leather envelope inside – he feels uneasy about taking it, but he must find out more about the girl. Is she safe? Are there more clues inside the envelope? So, he takes it and walks away.

He runs to the alley behind the place and peeks into the envelope. It’s cash – and loads of it, about 20 grand - but nothing else. He leaves the place in a hurry.

As he walks down the street, he realizes that he is being followed – a black sedan pulls up to him. The driver lowers the window and says, “Get in the car now”. His whole body shakes with fear, it’s the same guy from before - but he obliges.

The driver points a gun and says to him: “I’m gonna need that package you got if you want to see the girl again – and the little notebook, too”. Our main character is shocked but bravely emotionless, as he hands over the items.

“Where are you taking me?” he manages to say to the driver. “To her” – he says. The driver already got the money, but our main character knows too much – he has seen his face and must be dealt with.

He thinks to himself “Finally, I will get some answers, if the driver does not kill me first”. They arrive at an abandoned warehouse, like you do in most suspense films. They get out of the car; the gun is still being pointed at him.

But the girl is nowhere to be found, at first. Then the driver brings her out, her hands are tied, and she is struggling.

Our main character shouts “Let her go, you already got the money!” The driver says “I’m gonna shoot her first, and you get to watch. She stole this money from me, and you were dumb enough to find it. She tricked me so she must pay; you are just unlucky to be tangled up in this mess”.

He jumps the driver in a moment of courage, if he is going to die anyway, then he has nothing to lose. They both reach for the gun, and there is a struggle, and a shot is fired.

Our main character is wounded, but not fatally. He was shot in his right leg. He is on the floor, bleeding and distraught.

The driver is holding on to the gun again, and he releases the woman.

She walks up to him and kneels down, and we finally hear her speak. “I was at the train station looking for a mark” she says. “Someone gullible enough to get us our money. This has been the con all along. Too much heat on the lock box place, we needed a stranger to walk in for us. 20 grand might not seem like a lot, but it is our ticket out of this place”.

She walks over to the driver and gives him a kiss. The two embrace, and she takes the gun from him, and hits him across the face with it. He is now on the floor, unconscious.

“I do not need anybody where I am going” she says. “Men are too easy to fool. You see a pretty face, and everything around you becomes blurry. It is almost too easy. You dropped everything in your life for me, just to follow the breadcrumbs I’d left for you. And here you are now, bleeding out on the floor. It is your lucky day, however, because I am not a killer, just a clever woman”.

She grabs the envelope and the notebook, and she walks away.