Second Chance Addison

Koty's mood continued to worsen as he walked back to the car.

It wasn't the chairman's remarks about his age or the doubt surrounding his capabilities that got to him. What was really getting under Koty's skin was the way that the old man had used him as a reason to look down on Chance.

He had implied that Chance was being irresponsible by hiring Koty.

Of course, there were examples where Chance wasn't always the best judge of character. And he was known in the past to easily put his trust into people who probably didn't deserve it. And then there was the fact that he could be a bit of an airhead at times.

'Arggghhh! Why can't he be more freakin' aware, dammit?!' Koty screamed inside his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

He paused for a minute and took a deep breath. Then he continued to walk across the parking lot to where Lola had parked.

When he was about halfway across the lot, he noticed another padiddle pull in to park. It stopped just a few spaces ahead of where he was currently standing.

'Seriously? What is with people tonight? Do they just never check?' Koty, out of the goodness of his heart, decided to go let the guy know that his headlight was out.

The driver, an average kind of guy in a suit, had just gotten out of the car. He started to walk towards the restaurant.

"Hey, mister!" Koty called out to the man as he approached. "Do you know your headlight is out?"

"What?" The man's expression was strange. At first he seemed to be expecting something. Trouble maybe? But then he just looked confused.

"Your car. The passenger side headlight is out." Koty, running low on patience, generously repeated himself.

"Oh, thanks. I had no idea." The man let out and awkward laugh and looked down at the ground.

"Sure, no problem. Have a good night." Koty shook his head and kept walking.

Something felt wrong here but he couldn't put his finger on what exactly was wrong.

He turned back, just to take a quick look behind him, and froze.

The sedan he had just walked by, it was a basic four door model. From where he was standing now, he could see a distinct dent on the driver side panel.

This padiddle, it was the same padiddle that was behind them before!

Koty looked past the sedan, towards the restaurant. The driver from before was already gone.

'Looks like dinner will have to wait.' Koty sprinted back to the restaurant and pulled his phone out to call Lola.

"We may have a situation. I need you ready for a possible extraction." He explained his suspicions to Lola.

Lola didn't question Koty's judgement and drove to an emergency exit at the back of the building.

Even if it turned out to be nothing, it was best to prepare for the worst.

Koty spotted the man as soon as he entered the restaurant. He had taken a seat at the bar, not too far from where Chance and his group were situated.

For now, it seemed like there was nothing more to be suspicious of. Just to be sure, he opted to continue to monitor the man.

Koty got the attention of a nearby waitress. She practically bounced her way over to him and then gave him a wide smile.

"How can I help you, sir?" She asked in a sweet bubbly voice.

Antisocial Koty could only assume, 'She must really like this job.'

"Is it possible for me to sit in that booth in the corner?" He gestured to a booth that would keep him out of sight while still giving him a clear view of everyone else.

"Sure thing! That happens to be in my section too. Will anyone be joining you this evening?" Her bright brown eyes stared up at him curiously.

"No, ma'am. It's just me."

Her smile seemed to widen even more. He was starting to find her to be rather suspicious as well.

"Please follow me, sir." She promptly escorted him to the booth and passed him a menu.

"What can I get you drink?"

"Just water is fine."

"Alrighty then. I'll be right back. Oh, my name's Melinda by the way and I'll be your server tonight." The bubbly woman flashed another smile and left.

Koty let out a sigh of relief and took a peek at the mystery man. Nothing much had changed there.

The guy was still sitting at the bar and, by Koty's count, he was on his third beer.

Occasionally the man would look nervously look around the room. His gaze hesitated each time he looked past Chance's table.

That was enough for Koty to switch from reconnaissance to high alert. He had pulled out his phone to send Chance a message but it wasn't meant to be.

"Here's your water, sir." Melinda had returned with a glass filled to the brim.

She set the glass down a little too quickly and splashed water all over Koty's phone.

He flicked the water off but it wasn't fast enough. He watched the screen flicker and die.

'Shit!'