2062.32 Jogging for Dollars

[Trebro]

The man pauses for a moment against a palm tree, panting.

"This had better be worth it," he says, taking a moment to catch his breath. He looks down at his gray Gators sweatshirt, which is already darkened with multiple stains at his pits, neck, chest, and elsewhere. He adjusts his elaborate headgear, which includes a hidden mirror and tests the two cameras hidden in double fanny packs.

To anyone watching him, he's a stupid man trying to get in shape, probably to impress a woman. But the man is far more than that, as his target will learn in due time.

Wheezing just a bit, the man bends over and nearly misses his quarry, Bo Jordan, in the time it takes to stand back up again.

Maybe I should get in better shape, he thinks, then shakes the idea off.

"Got you," he whispers, and waits for a few blocks, craning his eyes to see if Jordan has a phone out.

He does. Good.

Time to start running.

The man jogs behind Jordan at a safe distance. He waits to ensure that his target can see him as he turns a corner. Predictably, he jams the phone into his pocket while the front fanny-cam snaps photo after photo of incriminating evidence.

The man picks up his pace, ignoring Jordan entirely as he jogs by. Or rather, appears to ignore him. He can sense Jordan's relief in his body language that it's only "some guy up too late in order to get laid." It's hard not to break character and wave as he passes. But that would be too risky. There's a small chance Jordan might recognize him.

He passes the Nine's owner and lets his mirror keep track of Jordan's movements as the rear fanny camera snaps away. He watches him talk, then smash the phone. He watches him try to find a trash can, then raises an eyebrow when he sees where the broken phone is going. The motion almost disrupts his headset.

The man sighs. He's going to charge extra for this.

Panting a bit now, the man jogs around idly for a bit, then circles back to the dumpster. He leans against it, and isn't faking for any camera that he needs to catch his breath. He pulls out a small water bottle from the front fanny pack and begins to drink, downing it quickly. This, too, is real.

In the future, I need to get a less stressful disguise, he thinks.

What any security camera won't see is him palming the fanny camera so he can get just the right picture with his next move. He flips open the dumpster lid, nearly pukes (this, too, is real, it smells awful), and snaps as many pictures as he can stand of the incriminating evidence while he tosses the water bottle.

Bo was about to wish he lived in this mess instead of the mess that was coming for him.

After breathing some fresh air, the man smiled to himself and walked away into the Florida night.