~
He sat watching the man with the olive-colored coat for a long time. He blended in perfectly with his surroundings: a typical suit drinking his usual morning cup of joe. Just another white grain among the noisy static of the New York City landscape. Covertly, he took a seat four tables closer, not once losing sight of the man. Too bad. If he would have taken a quick look around the room, he would have seen me watching him. I walked towards his table slowly, giving him a chance to sense me getting closer. Even as I stood directly behind him, he was unable to feel my presence. I let out a quick giggle as I took the empty seat next to him. Still haven't been spotted. Such an intense stare."So, Benny boy, do you think this stupid attempt of yours is going to change everything?" I asked him. He practically spit out his coffee when he realized who I was, but managed to swallow it. His hands betrayed his otherwise cool exterior with a slight tremble. He turned his head slightly to look at me with one eye, the other on the man four tables away.
"Well I have to try something," he finally replied, "Besides, it's been according to plan so far."
"That's what you think. It's only a matter of time before..."
"And that's what you think, sir." His eye might as well as have burned a hole in my forehead. I couldn't help but grin at his sorry excuse for intimidation.
"Honestly now, do you think this is going to work? No matter what you do, it's still going to happen. I was like you once. Hard to believe, but true. I thought that I could make a difference, that it only took one person to turn the tide of history. Pulled a few stunts in my day. You must have heard about them. Anyway, I learnt that nothing can change how things have happened, or will happen. The universe self-corrects itself somehow. Look, I know this is a phase you are going through right now, but you need to snap out of it. People are starting to talk, and not good things mind you." Benny hardly acknowledged my speech, muttering a few yeah-yeahs and sures. My grin quickly shrank back to its normal frown-like state. I turned my head to look at the man Benny wanted to prevent from fulfilling his eventual fate. He was an ordinary man, gave no impression of genius whatsoever.
"I know what I am doing. The difference between you and I is that while all your attempts failed, mine will be successful." Finally, a response.
"I've always admired your optimism, Benny boy."
"Don't patronize me. I'll be a hero when I get back home. More of a hero than you even." He took a quick glance at his watch. "Now if you excuse me, I must finish what I've come here for." He suddenly stood up from his chair, careful to not make a sound, and began to walk towards the man in the olive-colored coat.
"Benny, do you know why I am still alive?" The question made him stop dead in his tracks. Puzzled, he turned around to face me, and found himself looking down into the barrel of my gun.
"Wha-a-at are yo-o-u go-oing to do-o..." he stuttered.
"I'm still alive because all my attempts failed. Don't you understand? If I had accidentally changed those events long ago, our timeline would have collapsed. You can never be sure of how your actions will affect history. Luckily, someone has always been able to change my mind before I went and did something... crazy. I assure you, Benny boy, I will pull the trigger if you insist on doing this."
"But don't you see I'm doing the right thing here! A million people's lives hang in the balance!"
"You are breaking the oath you and I both swore to..."
"Please, let me do this. Things will be better..."
"You have no way of knowing that for sure. You think it will save us all from experiencing pain and agony but you might end up making someone else, someone of much more importance, stop existing. Things happen the way they do for a reason, Benny boy."
"Let me do this. Let me save both our souls," He motioned me to put the gun down. I lowered the barrel so it now aimed at his groin.
"Dying, Benny boy, isn't the worst thing that could happen to you." I said matter-of-factly. I put the gun down on the table. "I can't force you to come back with me. Do what you want." Benny didn't wait to see if I was bluffing. He quickly grabbed the gun off the table and ran towards the man screaming "Signore Fermi! Murderer! You shall pay for the sins you will commit!" The whole café gasped in horror. The man got up, knocking down the wobbly chair he was previously occupying and began begging for his life in broken English. Benny furiously waved the gun around, screaming at Mr. Fermi to stop helping the Americans develop the atomic bomb, and how it would cause unimaginable death and destruction. Many began running towards the door, others hid underneath their tables and behind chairs as the gun violently shook from side to side.
But just as soon as it began, it just as quickly finished. The café returned to how it was moments prior to Benny's disruption.
"Would you like some more coffee, sir?" a waiter asked me, although he poured me a new cup of coffee without waiting for my expressed permission. "Sure, kid."
~
