TWELVE

The drive to Southbound Pier was a long one, far longer than the forty minutes he had bargained for.  Neither of them spoke much along the way—they were too wired for that.  Every now and then Thad glanced at her as if to reassure her everything would be just fine.  She merely acknowledged his glance with a weak smile.  They drove further into the night like a dream.

The city outlook grew dark and foreboding as they drove closer to Southbound Pier.  It was a seedy part of the city known to house society’s dregs.  Decades ago it had been a thriving port, but hurtful budgetary cutbacks and union strikes had forced the majority of the businesses in the area to close up and move elsewhere.  The area housed row after row of empty warehouses and decrepit cinderblock structures, much of which have become abodes to homeless derelicts and whatever else that inhabited the nightmarish streets.  Brooding eyes followed them