Cat's Game
from "Dansero" (Richard Hayman)
Twinkling lights. Brilliant Colours. Sultry heat. Dana loved the boardwalk after sunset. It came alive in a way you’d never see during the day. Different sounds. Different people. A different taste in the air. The tourist shops closed and the night clubs opened.
The moving sidewalk buzzed against Dana’s bare feet and soothed away the ache of standing on her feet all day. Neon signs flashed by on either side. She pulled out a tube of fuschia lipstick and reapplied it liberally. The reflection in her compact mirror showed her that her make up was immaculate -as always- and that the man in blue was following her again. Perfect. She snapped the mirror shut and stowed it away in her clutch.
The vibrant green fountains of the Portagio whirled and spit just ahead to her left. Dana pulled free the alligator clip from her hair and stepped off the sidewalk onto the splashed tiles. Mist swirled around her as she shook her tight curls into an organized disarray. She didn’t need a mirror to know that he was watching. Shall we dance, dear mouse? If worse comes to worst, I would like to have seen your face first. She gave her hair a last flounce and strode up the blue-lit steps to the Portagio’s mirrored front doors. She caught a glimpse of him stumbling in his attempt to exit the briskly moving sidewalk -definitely a foreigner- in the door’s reflection as she passed inside the club.
