The mysterious roommate

When Ronnie first came to live with Timothy, the city was already lively filled with men who has ambitions and dreams of starting new ventures. So, it was quite easy for Ronnie to fit in easily because he spoke with lots of confidence and had that charisma of someone destined to succeed. During their outings together, he spoke about the import and export business he wanted to venture into with so much enthusiasm.

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“Well, as long as we’re together, know that I got your back” Timothy told him. “But first, you will have to know the city well before you can make money here”.

Ronnie smiled. “That’s why I have you.”

Months have passed and life seemed to be ordinary as usual until one evening, when Timothy had returned from work unexpectedly and saw Ronnie pulling out a bag from under the bed and emptying the contents on the mattress. What spilled out wasn’t paper work or trade documents instead it was steel cutters, bunch of keys and a gun.

Timothy froze at the door.

When he finally mustered the courage to speak up, he asked him “what kind of export-import business requires those?”

Ronnie was shocked Timothy has been watching him all this while. For a moment, he looked like a kid that was caught stealing candy. He quickly shoved his tools back in his bags and told him “you have seen too much”.

Timothy couldn’t sleep throughout that night. He was frightened and was wondering who he was harboring in his home. Was Ronnie a thief? A spy or worse, a serial killer in the FBI most wanted list?

The next day, Timothy confided in maryann, a his colleague at work because she has a way of seeing through facade.

”He could be a smuggler” she smiled. “All those talks about import and export could all be bullshit. Is a cover to run his illegal dealings”.

“But he’s too polished to be a thief. He speaks so well, you would mistake him to be a professor.” Timothy argued. “But , that’s actually the least of my concerns. My issue is that why choose to live with me?”

“Is that not clear to you?” Maryann said smiling. ”It’s because you’re ordinary. Nobody suspects the man who hides behind ordinary.”

When Timothy returned from work that evening, he confronted Ronnie.

Timothy: look, I don’t care what you do but what I won’t tolerate is a liar living under my roof. Tell me the truth, or I’ll have to report you to the police.

What do you import, Ronnie. Guns? Iron cutter? master keys??

Ronnie: You think I’m a thief ? Don’t believe everything you think you saw. What you saw are my tool boxes.

Timothy: oh I see!!! They are tool box to do surgery on iron doors ?

Ronnie: if only you could tell, how many secret operations are running in this city? Corporations spying on each other and politicians hiding wealth.

I work for… let’s just say an organization that deals with these threats. Sometimes I need to cut locks, I need to defend myself. And sometimes…” He tapped the gun lightly, “…I need to convince people to talk.”

I know it might be hard for you to believe but just know that Not everything illegal is wrong and not everything legal is right.

Timothy: are you a spy like “007”?

Ronnie: Not really. Just think of me as a man with extraordinary talent and access

Timothy didn’t know what to believe again. If Ronnie was a dangerous man disguised as a savior or a savior disguised as a criminal.

The real twist came one evening when news broke that there was an attempted heist at the central bank but the police caught them. Rumor said it was an unknown man who sabotaged the thieves before disappearing into the shadows.

Ronnie stumbled into the house, later that night battered and few broken ribs. As Timothy helped him inside, he caught sight of a glittering diamond wrapped in cloth being shoved into the tool bag.

“What have you done,” Timothy screamed.

“I didn’t steal it, if that’s what you are thinking”. Ronnie explained “I had to take something the wrong people wanted and now is safe”

Timothy pushed his hand away. “Why drag me into this?”

“Because you are my friend and I trust you. No one will ever suspect that an ordinary man is harboring an extraordinary man”. Ronnie spoke softly.

From that night on, Timothy’s world changed because he lived in constant fear of being attacked.

Days later, Ronnie vanished for good without any goodbyes. Timothy thought the nightmare was finally over until some strange men in black came asking after Ronnie and about the diamond, that was when he realized that he’d become part of a story far dangerous than he could ever imagine.

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But the question on everyone lips was: who was Ronnie? Thief, savior? Or Spy?

Perhaps Ronnie was exactly what he claimed he was; a man with extraordinary talents, caught between law and crime, truth and deception.

But despite the absence of Ronnie , he could still hear his words in the silence of his room;

“Not everything illegal is wrong and not everything legal is right.”

I’m inviting @bossj23, @goodybest and @basil20 for this contest.