Accelerate - Part 3

To read the first part of this series, click here.

Lucky formed his plan that night, carefully and meticulously, wanting to be sure that impatience did not force him into a mistake. He decided that he would have to conduct a few tests to be certain that he was right about this strange but heaven-sent acceleration. Sleep came in the early hours and it was not until mid-morning that he emerged into the city.

He walked slowly, forcing his steps to assume the lazy pace of those around him. It was as though he was caught in some slow motion replay of a movie that dragged on forever. Down to Hinkle's he went, dragging his feet as much as he could, forcing an unaccustomed patience upon his racing mind.

He had chosen Hinkle's as the hardest test of all. Old Hinkle was used to the tricks and stratagems of Lucky's down-and-out friends and nothing escaped his sharp-eyed defense of his merchandise. If Lucky could put one over Hinkle, it must be proof that this new speed was not imagined.

As Lucky arrived, still moving slowly although the crowds had dissipated in this seedy area down by the river, he saw that a group of his friends were across the street. They were in a huddle around the Rabbit, no doubt listening to some wild tale of his latest adventures, and Lucky found it easy to slip by unnoticed. He entered Hinkle's and stood for a moment as the sound of the doorbell faded into silence. The warm, familiar smells of the store enveloped him.

Behind the counter, Hinkle looked up from the newspaper he was reading. His eyes narrowed slowly as they beheld his customer and suddenly Lucky was afraid. He had seen too many others caught in the act of pocketing something in Hinkle's. The old man was alert and suspicious, ever watchful of the disreputable clientele that remained to him. Lucky looked into those searching eyes and felt that his purpose must be plainly visible, his intent known to this nemesis of every ragged shoplifter. In that instant of fear, Lucky adjusted his plan.

He would take nothing. But the test must continue and so he would adjust things to try the old man's vigilance. With measured pace and beating heart, Lucky approached the counter.

Hinkle watched attentively and then, slowly and purposefully, never taking his eyes off his customer, he lifted a cup from one side of the newspaper and took a long swig of his customary coffee. One more step brought Lucky to the counter and he stood and waited as the cup descended inch by inch to its habitual position upon the wooden counter. It landed and Lucky saw the drop released by the slop of its contents, leaping into the air in graceful play, to splash upon the wooden surface, unnoticed by the shopkeeper whose stare remained fixed upon the object of his suspicion. Slowly the mouth below the eyes began to open and Lucky heard the drawn out question, oozing into the syrup-like air, barely comprehensible in its long and sonorous tones.

"And what might you want today, Lucky?"

Not trusting himself to speak, Lucky brought his arm up slowly and pointed to the shelves of cigarettes behind Hinkle. His eyes not leaving Lucky for an instant, the old man drew a languid breath and spoke again.

"The usual?"

Lucky nodded as slowly as his restraint would allow and then, as Hinkle turned to reach for the cigarettes, he grabbed the cup of coffee and moved it to the other side of the paper. The shopkeeper was turning again, in that practiced movement that foiled every hopeful opportunist, but now so slowly that Lucky had time to laugh inwardly at his silly prank. A pack of cigarettes left Hinkle's hand and landed upon the counter, Lucky knowing that it had been rudely slapped down and yet watching how it bounced slightly before coming to rest. The old man was speaking again, the words dragging themselves from the opened mouth.

"Anything else?"

Lucky said nothing but allowed his gaze to drift to the cup in its adjusted position. Time passed but at last the old man's eyes moved to follow Lucky's gaze. Looking up again, Lucky was able to savor the moment of discovery, Hinkle's brow wrinkling in surprise as he saw the cup in such an unaccustomed position, the long, slow, puff of annoyance as the shopkeeper moved to grasp the cup and bring it back to its rightful place. As he did so, Lucky reached out quickly and moved the newspaper to cover the coffee stain on the counter. The cup continued its descent to land squarely on the newspaper, coffee from its base forming a gradually widening ring as it soaked into the paper.

Lucky noted the look of anger appear on Hinkle's face as his ordered world began to conspire against him. The old man moved slowly to lift the cup and remove the newspaper and Lucky felt a surge of power run through his veins as he realized that his intervention was completely unsuspected. Hinkle had not seen him move the newspaper.

The cup was descending again, now that the errant newspaper had been removed, and Lucky waited his moment. As the cup landed squarely in the coffee ring of ages and the old man's fingers disengaged themselves from its handle, Lucky reached out quickly and tipped it over. A slow motion torrent of dark liquid poured from it, over the counter, seeping into the newspaper with devouring glee, spreading in a gradual flood that reached the edge and began to drip, elegantly, without haste, to the floor.

Hinkle's eyes widened in dawning horror and his hands reached slowly upwards in surprise. As they moved downwards again, to right the offending cup, Lucky quickly pocketed the pack of cigarettes, turned and walked at normal pace towards the door. He heard the bell ring in slow mockery of its usual jaunty tones and then, as he left, the door swinging slowly to close behind him, the expression of disgust from Hinkle as his coffee disaster enveloped him.

Lucky's tests were complete; he had proved his theory. Now he could move on to the next stage of his plan. Without a glance at his friends, still huddled in their intent circle across the street, Lucky set out at normal pace, no longer caring whether anyone should notice his incredible speed.

--ooOoo--

To go directly to the fourth part of this series, click here.