Hitching a Ride Part 1

It was a warm day for so early in the year. Simon sat on his rucksack, enjoying the sunshine and wishing vaguely that he possessed sunglasses. His thumb went up languidly every time a car turned off the roundabout onto the sliproad. He had almost given up hope and was considering other, more costly, methods of travel when a big silver car slowed and pulled over. Picking up the rucksack, he ran after the car.

The tinted passenger window went down and the driver shouted across his passenger and the radio music. 'Where you going?'

'Anywhere south; towards London.'

'Hop in,' said the passenger, indicating the back seat with his thumb. 'Put your bag in the boot, if you like.

The boot flipped open automatically and Simon lifted it and put his rucksack in, next to a solitary briefcase. When he opened the door and clambered in, he realized that there was a second passenger, a big man whose bulk left little room on the back seat, even for Simon's slender frame. He wasn't fat though. Simon thought he could see the man's muscles bulging under his suit jacket and, as the car pulled away, feel the rock-hard muscle in the leg that pressed against his thigh.

'Student?' said the man in the front passenger seat, without turning, muting the radio as he did so.

'Yeah. Going home for the holidays.'

All three men wore dark business suits and dark glasses. 'Men in black,' thought Simon. 'What do you guys do?' he asked.

There was no answer. The car tore down the fast lane, slowing only for traffic and the occasional police car. The radio came back on. An inane DJ gibbered about a competition before segueing into some bland retro pop. The silence of the men made Simon increasingly uncomfortable, as did the pressure of the giant thigh against his.

'We've got to make a small detour,' announced the driver as the car swerved over to the slow lane. 'What's your name?'

'Simon. You can drop me here if you like.'

'Wouldn't hear of it. We're going to take you all the way today.'