The Last Time I Saw Richard—Chapter 4
“I’ve seen things, man,” Richard said. He was calmer than he had been out on the street but his eyes were still flinching.
“Things?” I took a sip from my bottle, a very wheaty beer filling my mouth. “Please don’t tell me Mulder and Scully are going to walk in here in a few minutes to catch me up on the case.”
“Don’t joke like that. Plus, that show wasn’t that far off.” Richard exhaled deeply as he set down his beer. “However, the lines in that show were more gray than they actually are.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, unsure that I wanted to know the answer.
“Look. They’re out there. They can find you if they need to, and you know what? This government is not going to protect us from shit.” His eyes were wild and dark.
“Protect us from what?” My mind was trying to wrap around the idea that my dearest friend had lost his mind. I had so many questions but did not even want them answered.
“Look, there are things out there. No one knows from where really but it’s not good. It’s all this fucking technology, they can know everything about us and find us. They’re the perfect hunters, they know us and when they get close enough, they can seek us out by our scents,” he whispered to me, his lips barely moving.
I sat back and looked at him. Richard wasn’t like this. Not my friend Richard, I would never have seen this coming. He was the one who kept his shit together and pulled everyone else up to his level. Something must have happened to him to make him do a complete 180 in his life. I needed to ask him what happened, I needed to be the strong one now. I opened my mouth to speak when I felt a large hand on my shoulder.
“Richard! How the hell are you?” The voice behind me boomed and I looked behind me to see a hefty man in a slick suit. “And who’s your friend?”
“Vince, this is my friend, Matt,” Richard said, smiling for what seemed like the first time all evening for this man. “I told him you had a good place here.”
“Nice to meet you, Matt,” Vince said, reaching out to grab sweaty palm over my shoulder. “I hope you enjoy yourself tonight. Richard’s one of my favorite regulars.”
“He’s a good guy.” I gulped and I got my hand back from this orangutan of a man.
Richard and Vince chatted for a while making small talk and I felt slightly relieved to see Richard look calmer in Vince’s presence. I drank my beer and motioned for the bartender to bring me another. I began to drink the second when I noticed that Richard looked too eerily calm as he talked to Vince. Something was up here. Richard never looked so happy to see someone in the past, it made no sense. I waited for Vince to leave us so I could ask Richard what the hell was going on with this guy. I coughed politely, hoping to make my intention clear. It didn’t work.
“It was nice to meet you, Vince, but Richard and I have a lot to catch up on. It’s been ages.” I smiled the way I smiled at my slightly racist grandmother.
“Oh, of course. I’ll leave you to it,” Vince replied, the corners of his eyes narrowing slightly.
“No, hang out with Matt for a second, I’ve got to go to the bathroom,” Richard said, gulping the last of his beer and standing. “I’ll be right back.”
He walked to the bathroom and Vince leaned against the bar. We smiled at each other politely in silence. I spoke first.
“So how long have you been in business here?” I said, being nosy while making small talk.
“You know, I’ve been here so long that I can’t even remember the exact year.” Vince laughed.
“You don’t remember the year you opened your bar?” I found this spurious.
“Well, it’s been eons.” His expression told me I should stop asking so many questions but I couldn’t stop myself.
“Interesting. How long have you known Richard?”
“A few years, he’s a good customer. Nice guy.”
“Yeah, he is.” I finished my second beer. “I’m just curious though as to what’s made him such a nervous wreck these days. It’s unlike him.”
“I don’t think he’s nervous at all.” He looked me in the eye.
“You must be blind then, that man’s a mess.” I met his glance.
“Maybe you shouldn’t ask so many questions and enjoy your friend’s time with you.”
Vince stared me down and chills ran up my neck as he said those words. My friend’s time? What did that mean? Was something going to happen to Richard? We were staring at each other grimly when Richard returned from the bathroom, drying his washed hands on his shirt. He stopped in between the two of us and clapped his hands on each of our backs.
“Now, what have you boys been discussing?” Richard asked.
