Surveillance

“Alex, for Chrissakes, move your elbow. God, you eat like a pig.”

Alex turned to his partner, his face full of pizza. Tiny dregs of pepperoni and cheese lay scattered down his uniform like ghostly remnants of confetti. “What? You wanna slice?”

“Nope, Sally made me a sandwich. I already told you.” Eric pulled out the brown paper bag containing his dinner. He opened the bag and looked at the salad and tuna sandwich glumly for a few minutes, then he glanced at the remaining slice of pizza sitting greasily on Alex’s lap. He suddenly had no appetite at all. He screwed up the brown bag carefully, mindful of any crumbs. He wound down the window to heft the rubbish towards the bin at the side of the car. Missed. Grumbling, Alex opened the door and went to retrieve the bag before picking it up and dropping it into the bin. A light mist was falling and the street lights glowed dimly through the shroud of drizzle. He shivered and turned the collar of his uniform up a little. He glanced towards the building. The doors were firmly closed and the curtains were drawn. 

“Here, throw this out for me, will ya?” Alex was leaning out the car window, the empty pizza box in his hand. 

As Eric got back into the car and pulled the door closed Alex burped and farted simultaneously, loudly and fragrantly. Eric grimaced. Oblivious to his companion’s distaste, Alex took the sheaf of documents from the dashboard and flicked through the papers. He hummed under his breath. Eric watched as Alex's greasy fingers left orange-colored stains on the pages.

“She’s a bit of a looker,” Alex commented. He was staring at the page printed with an image of Krystal Lee, tonight’s assignment. “I wouldn’t mind introducing her to a bit of corruption and debauchery myself.”

“Chrissake Alex, she’s seventeen years old. Get your mind out of your pants. We have a job to do. It has to be done efficiently and effectively. No room for error or diversions. And pass me the air freshener. The car reeks of pizza and stomach contents. It's making me feel ill.” Eric bent his head to peer through the window at the building they were watching. “No sign of any movement in there.”

Alex yawned widely, the action exaggerated. “God it’s boring, all this waiting. Why do we need two of us anyway?” He squirted a few sprays of Nil-Odor towards the dashboard, the droplets hanging in the air for a moment before settling on the faux leather trim.

Eric sighed. He picked up his hat from the back seat and placed it on his head. He checked his reflection in the rear vision mirror. “It's a safety factor. I’ve already explained. If it’s too boring for you, you don’t have to come out again. I can find myself another partner.”

Alex turned the rear vision mirror towards himself to pick at a piece of pepperoni caught between his teeth. "Nah, it’s alright. I can do with the extra dollars.”

Eric glanced at the time and picked up his phone. He scrolled through the list to find the contact and texted a message: “Due to enter building to collect Krystal Lee. Thank you for choosing Eric’s Professional Taxi Services, the secure personal collection and superior safety transport service for your teenage son or daughter.”

“Pass me Krystal’s photo, Alex. I’ll never find her among all those giggling teenagers otherwise. Back in a minute. And put your hat on. This is a professional organization.”