Part 3 - The Diner

The waitress returned to the table with my three scrambled eggs, piping hot and with a side of bacon.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" she asked, smiling politely.

"4 dozen eggsssssss." hissed the man in the diving suit and goggles.

"F- FOUR dozen eggs? I don't know if we -" the waitress began, clearly as confused as the strangely goggled man's request as I was.

"Put them in a bowl and a float a pieccccccccccccce of toast on top." Continued the man in the ribber suit, cutting the flustered waitress off. The waitress was clearly quite distressed at this point, and began to walk quickly back towards the kitchen.

"And bring a bendy-straw," the man in the rubber suit yelled after her, "My friend here issssss paying." He gestured towards me with his left hand which was actually a hook and not a hand at all. Thankfully, the waitress didn't seem to notice the hook since she and the diner's cook had gotten into a heated argument about how many eggs it was appropriate to serve one person.

I pulled my gun back into sight now that the waitress was gone and pointed it at the man in the diving suit. "What was all that about? You trying to be funny?"

"Not funny. Jusssssst Hungry. Wasssssssss waiting in trunk for long time. Waiting for chessssssst."

"What do you know about the chest?"

"Lotssssss. But won't talk until I get eggssssssssss."

I was starting to get angry. Between his ridiculous goggles, his hissing speech, and now his refusal to talk I had had just about enough of this guy. "Listen here, I'm the one with the gun here, and you're going to do what I say; eggs be dammed."

"What will you do? Sssssssssshoot me like you ssssssshot Rory? Won't find out about chesssst then." He seemed unconcerned about my threats of violence, which only made me angrier.

He began to carve into the table with his hook hand as I sat stewing across from him. Before long the waitress returned bearing a large bowl, sloshing with uncooked eggs. She set it down in front of the man in the diving suit and left before either of us had a chance to say anything, her face ashen and disgusted. With his good hand the man in the diving suit picked up the straw (bendy, as requested) and began to suck down the eggs. I tried not to vomit, but between the horrible sucking, smacking sound he was making and the frothing of the eggs in the bowl I threw up a little in my mouth.

"You've got your damn eggs, now tell me everything you know about the chest."

The man in the diving suit paused a moment before saying, "Fine." Before he continued however he picked up the bowl in both hands and drank the rest of the raw eggs in one giant gulp. He set the bowl down with a small thud and continued, "Chesssst isssss in car." He picked up the soaked and yolky toast from the bowl and began eating it.

"What else? You said you would tell me everything you knew." I demanded.

"Nothing. Know where chessssst isssss. That'ssssss it." As he spoke chunks of toast flew out of his mouth and littered the table. The waitress sobbed in the background.

I was enraged. "Are you serious? That's all you can tell me about the chest?"

"Yesssssss. Employer very tight lipped. Hassssss good eggsssss though." The toast was gone, and a slight smile marked the man's face.

"And who," I asked, "might your employer be?"

"Might be lotsssss of people. Never meet employersssss until after job isssss done."

"Stand up. Even if you haven't met him, you have to have a way to find him, or get in contact or something."

The smile disappeared from the man's face. He slowly stood up. I pointed towards the door with the gun. As he began to walk, I pulled some money from my wallet and tossed it down on the table. I noticed he had managed to carve "G was here" into the wood while we were waiting. Noticing he had almost reached the front door I hurried to catch up with him.

As we walked outside into the sweltering heat and blinding light I spoke up. "So, what should I call you? G? or do you prefer something else?"

The man in the diving suit spun around, the shock visible on his face despite the giant goggles. "Sssssssssssssso, not assssss ssssssstupid asssss I thought."

The man in the diving suit moved fast, far faster than I was expecting. He wrenched the gun from my hand, and in one smooth motion had me by the throat once again. I struggled, but this time he had me. The desert slowly began to fade as my vision began to go black. After all this work it was about to end like this. But still, there was one thought going through my mind, running in circles even as I began to run out of air. As I went unconscious I couldn't help but think This is bullshit.

....

The man in the diving suit took the car keys from the unconscious body and walked to the pay phone in the parking lot. He placed one phone call before taking the car and leaving the diner. That call lasted 15 seconds. The only thing the man in the diving suit said before he left was "Sweeney. This is Gibbs. I have the chest."