Daniel looked at Nate. “That was an anticlimactic end to an invigorating trip.”
Nate smiled. “You’ll learn to take quiet times without complaint in this business.”
“Oh, yes? And what business is this, exactly?” asked Daniel.
“I’m a cab driver. You’re a bike messenger. Avec un paquet, sans le vélo, it seems.”
“True enough, but I think you have more answers. My destination, for example?”
“Perhaps, but I’ve only been asked to resolve the first of your problems.”
Nate stepped to the side of the dock and flipped back a tarpaulin. Daniel’s bike was beneath, locked securely. Already, these little twists were losing their ability to surprise.
“That’s not my lock. What’s the combination?” asked Daniel, kneeling.
“24601”
“How revolutionary. You sure your name isn’t Jean?” asked Daniel rhetorically. “It’s difficult to deliver a package without a destination.”
“Très profond. Vous êtes un philosophe?” replied Nate, returning the rhetoric, “You always say riding makes you think. Hop on. Enlightenment may follow.”