Two Thieves in a Bunker – Part eight

The crate thumped again. The two men looked at it wearily. “You saw that right?” Manny asked.

The other guy didn’t take his eyes from the crate. “Ah, yeah,” was all he said.

Manny took a step towards it. The crate almost bounced. Manny took a giant step back, backing into the wall behind him. “Ahhhh, what do we do?”

Chuck hadn’t taken his eyes off the crate. He gestured broadly. “You should look inside it.”

Manny looked at Chuck as if he was mad, “What? Why me?”

The other guy’s masked face didn’t give away any expression but Manny swore he saw fear in the guy’s eyes. Chuck just pointed. “Yeah, you should open it.”

Manny held up his gloveless fingers. “You said I shouldn’t touch anything right?” The crate stopped moving. They both listened carefully for a long while. It appeared it had stopped. Whatever it was.

Chuck growled. “Seriously?” he grumped and jumped to his feet. Then he hesitated. Manny was going to offer his help but Chuck stomped to the crate and with a deep breath lifted the lid. He just stared down into the crate. He didn’t move.

Manny crept forward, “What? What is it?”

Holding the lid up, Chuck gestured for Manny to come over and have a look. Manny didn’t want to but Chuck hadn’t jumped away or screamed so it couldn’t be that bad… Manny walked forward until reached Chuck’s arm. He peered inside. “Arghhhhh!” he yelled so loudly in Chuck’s ear that the other man jumped and let go of the lid. It slammed shut with a loud bang and the crate rattled from side to side.

“Really?” Chuck looked at him and then started to laugh.

“It’s huge… no rat should be that big.” Manny gasped, looking around frantically for something to stand on.

“Mate, it’s just a rat.”

“That is not just a rat… that is a monster… that is like a dinosaur rat… or a mutant rat or some sort of science experiment. It’s disgusting.”

Chuck laughed. He laughed and laughed and laughed. He doubled over and clutched at his stomach, swiping fingers under his mask to wipe away tears.

Manny looked at him sourly. “Oh come on.”

Chuck shook his head. “Sad, sad, sad.”

The crate stopped rocking and went quiet again. Manny looked at it a little fearfully. “Did you see a hole? Was there a way for it to get out?”

Chuck shook his head. “Didn’t see any.” He walked back to the wall and slid down it again.

There was no way Manny was sitting on the floor if there was any way for that thing to get out. He looked around for something to sit on. Finally he found small step stool hidden away at the back of one of the stacked crates. He dragged it over to sit next to Chuck. He watched the crate for a while but it didn’t move again. Manny eyed Chuck where he slumped against the wall curiously. “So how long ya been stealing paintings?”

“Christ!” Chuck grumbled. “Quit asking will ya?”

The guy sure didn’t like to talk about anything personal did he? Manny was just trying to be nice, make conversation and the like and the guy kept snapping at him. Maybe he was hungry? Manny quickly pulled his bag around his shoulder and started rooting around in it. He was sure he had… Aha!

“Here.”

Chuck stared.

Manny looked down at the powerbar he held out. It was a little squished but the plastic was still tight, “Dude, It’s just a powerbar.”

Manny felt a little thrill when the other guy swiped it from his hand. Now they were getting somewhere – he got even more excited a few minutes later when the guy reached up and tugged his knit mask off. Manny looked at him curiously. He didn’t look like a thief. He looked like a normal everyday sort of guy. Dark messy hair to go with the dark eyes he could see through the masks eye holes. Scruffy face, like he hadn’t saved in a while… didn’t look artistic though, looked like the kind of scruff a guy had if he hadn’t bothered shaving for a few days. Or had been on the run.

Chuck glared at him. “Whatcha looking at?” He pulled open the plastic covering the powerbar and ate almost half of it in one bite.

Manny looked away. “Nothin`” He smiled to himself though, maybe the guy was starting to like him a bit. “How long to ya reckon we’ll be down here for?” he asked.

 

Go to Chapter 9

 

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