The First Time
The Tower Bridge had always had good connotations for Robert before that night. He was waiting nervously by the north tower, as they had agreed, when the woman emerged out of the evening fog and walked towards him, high heels clicking confidently on the pavement. She was prettier than he had imagined from her voice on the phone. She walked past him a step, then paused and waited for him to fall into step.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“A café near here I use for this sort of thing.”
“In public? What if someone notices?”
She gave him a mocking smile. “This your first time? Trust me, no one cares.”
She led the way to a small café and took a corner booth. She held up two fingers to the waiter and two espressos appeared as if by magic.
“Now,” she said, leaning forward. “What have you got for me? Come on; the first time’s the hardest, but it gets easier.”
“I saw my neighbor, Gavin Henry, reading an anarchist newsletter,” he mumbled. “He holds meetings at his house sometimes. Here, I have photographs.”
She held up a hand. “No need for evidence. We’ll find our own. You’ve done a great service to your country. You should be proud.” She took out a thick envelope.
Robert pushed it away. “Actually, I was hoping that you could give me information on my daughter instead. She was arrested five months ago. I can’t find anything about her.”
The woman grimaced. “Next time. For now, take the money.”
The Green-Walled Tower 
July 13th, 2015 at 8:42 pm
Oooh…sounds very 1950s-ish.
July 13th, 2015 at 8:55 pm
Yeah, kind of. That sort of paranoid atmosphere.
July 13th, 2015 at 11:49 pm
Fantastic story David! they have AGAIN DONE SOMETHING ON WP and it will be a PIN for next few days I believe, to navigate and work in.
July 14th, 2015 at 2:20 pm
This is excellent! Great mystery.
July 17th, 2015 at 6:14 pm
Thanks!
July 14th, 2015 at 2:29 pm
Good work, David. I especially like the way you build up the the reveal concerning what this is all about. You hang a sexy sort of anticipation in the words as you peal away each layer. I enjoyed it immensely.
All my best,
MG
July 17th, 2015 at 6:14 pm
Thanks MG, that was my intention. 🙂 Glad you liked it.
July 14th, 2015 at 5:02 pm
You’ve created a scarily believable situation. Really well done. 🙂
July 17th, 2015 at 6:12 pm
Thanks. Hopefully we’ll never get there, although some countries are there.
July 16th, 2015 at 6:57 am
Great job David! Very Le Carré-ish! 🙂
July 16th, 2015 at 4:32 pm
Hehe, thanks Madhu. 🙂