His Surprise

The evening had been one of many twists and turns. She had played her cards well. This wife of his was really good and fiercely strong. Not to mention seriously competitive. He was proud of the way he had set up all the gifts and all highlights of the day.

There was something bugging him and he couldn’t place his finger on it. The lesson she was supposed to have learned didn’t feel like they had registered. Sure, she was a bit curious as to his true motives and all, but that was not quite it. He was worried that his options to teach her to behave was going to not work.

As he walked the narrow alley way towards his car, all the efforts he had put into today seemed to come to a head. He had to make sure the lessons were learned tonight. That was his plans. However, being it was her birthday, super extra care had to be taken to ensure it didn’t create a horrible memory for her.

He had to factor into this that she could well stubbornly put her foot down again and he would be seriously hard pressed to continue with her. He had even entertained the notion that this final standoff would test the limits of their marriage, if not actually break it.

He was not so obsessed with her being obedient and all. He was just concerned that she would not respect him as she should. He had specified over and over that he hated when she snooped. But yet, nothing he did nicely managed to make her learn. She found a way to elude him and continue.

Sure, others had broken up over much less before, but this was not just an ordinary love. This was built to last. They were perfect for each other. They were harmoniously in tune. So he kept repeating to himself. It just had to be so. It was nearly so as it was, minus that pesky snooping habit of hers.

As he heard the sound of some creature scampering to get out of his way, he chuckled. This vision of perfectly suited for each other was so far only in his head. From all the efforts she had made to train him correctly, she must have had this notion that he was flawed and in need of much help. This he had resisted. It should only be fair that she would resist his efforts to get the balance of boundaries right.

Looking ahead, he saw his car was waiting. He was the only one in the alley. There were the faint sounds of all the various production houses pumping out their music and thrills to their audiences. His show had taken a lot of time to create and rehearse. The investment had paid off. The lessons had to be obvious by now.

The way she had looked at him during the last intermission almost convinced him that she understood what he was trying to teach. But there was no way of really being sure. So, with a slight evil smile, he picked up his pace to his car. This was going to be the lesson of their lives. The room would finally be revealed and she would take in whatever he had in mind to dish and she’d eventually thank him.

As he neared his car, his senses drew to high alert. He was no longer alone. Something had entered the lonely semi dark street and was using the shadows to maneuver around and about him. That energy signature also seemed very intent on not being discovered.

Ordinarily, he would not have been concerned. His size and gender offered a slight deterrent that most would hesitate to challenge without full commitment or a weapon. This energy signature was singular.

Not wasting much time, he unlocked the door of the car manually instead of by remote to ensure that whoever might be on to him could not jump into one of the seats of the car once it was unlocked. Also, he didn’t want to activate the headlights. He wanted the cover of dark so that whomever tried anything wouldn’t see his stance changing for maximal effectiveness in defense.

As he pulled the handle to, to his surprise, the alarm unlocked the other doors. Unsure to step in or back, he saw the passenger rear door open and a black outfitted body slipped into the back seat. Best he could tell, no weapons were drawn, so he stepped back and slid into the shadows ready to run away.

The person in the car was quick in thinking. They flicked off the dome light and opened the rear driver door and called out to him. This nearly froze him. The voice sounded familiar and very authoritative.

As he further positioned himself into the depth of the shadows, the voice called out with a hint of laughter, but this time using one of the cover codes he had given his team. The code was to signal any major change in plans that were unexpected and needed his fullest of attention.

Oh?