It was evening. The sun was setting, and the street was illuminated by the dull orange glow of the setting sun. Adam was sitting in the balcony of his apartment, winding down after a long workday. He lit a cigarette and started absently gazing at the street below. He liked to observe people.

The street was almost deserted at this hour. There was only one person in sight. Though Adam couldn’t really make out from a distance, the guy seemed tall and well built, but he was walking with his shoulders hunched and his face bowed down – like he’d had a really bad day. Adam started following the guy’s slow footsteps with his eyes, as he enjoyed his smoke.

Suddenly, the guy stopped in his tracks and started staring at something towards his right. Adam couldn’t see what it was, but something had obviously drawn his attention. He slowly started walking towards the object of his attention. He then bent over and picked up something. Adam squinted to see clearly, it looked like a wallet. As the guy opened it and looked at what was inside, his demeanor changed dramatically – his frame suddenly became alert and business like, as if whatever was in the wallet had suddenly infused a mysterious energy into him. Adam’s interest was piqued.

Adam continued to look on as the guy now took out a folded sheet of paper from inside the wallet. As he unfolded and read though it, there was once more a drastic change in his frame. His excitement was replaced with what looked like nervous fear. He stood there for a few moments, staring at the sheet of paper in his hands, as if trying to decide what to do. Then he folded the paper up, put it back in the wallet, and placed the wallet back exactly where he had found it. Then, he did something really strange – he started running at breakneck speed, back where he had come from. What the hell? Adam thought.

Adam was so intrigued by the events that had just unfolded in front of him that he forgot his fatigue, stubbed out his cigarette, and exited his apartment in a rush. In the few moments it took him to reach the street, his mind raced through numerous possibilities about what could possibly be written on that paper, what could have made that man react in the way he did. It has to be something supernatural, he decided as he exited the apartment’s gate and stepped onto the street.

He rushed to the spot where the man had stopped, and quickly picked up the wallet. When he opened it, the first thing he saw was a bank cheque, which entitled the bearer to the sum of a million dollars. His heart started racing as he tried to digest what he had just seen. A million dollars! He probably wouldn’t need to work for the rest of his life, if he got that much money! Before his happiness could last for too long, though, Adam saw the folded sheet of paper, tucked away neatly right next to the cheque. He took it out, unfolded it and started reading. It was a typewritten note.

***

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Hi,

Today’s your lucky day!

As you can see, attached to this note is a cheque for a million dollars! It is real, and if you go to a bank and get it cashed, you will get the money! However, there’s the small matter of getting to the bank.

Don’t take this and walk away. Take this, and you’ll have to run. Moving targets are difficult. But that’s what will make the game fun for me.

Cheers,

Your Friendly Neighborhood Sniper

PS: I’m a moving target expert.

PPS: But it is a lot of money.

PPPS: If you decide not to play with me, put everything back exactly as you found it for my next target. Or I’ll shoot you anyway.

***

Adam’s blood froze as he read through the note. His mind went numb with fear. The possibility of getting shot in the head was so real to him in that moment, he could almost picture it. His hands started shaking uncontrollably. His first instinct was to throw down the wallet and run for his life, but he forced himself not to.

He summoned up all his will to stop his hands from shaking. Then, he neatly folded up the note again and put it back in the wallet, next to the cheque. He cautiously bent down and placed the wallet back on the street, exactly where he had found it.

Then, he allowed his instincts to take over and ran for his life.