5.
Walking.
I’ve traveled enough in my life to know that you don’t always get around this big blue planet by means of a map or compass or even GPS. You get around by listening to your gut. And right now, as I walk the busy downtown Manhattan street, I’m once again listening to my gut speaking to me loud and crystal clear. It’s telling me, “Don’t look now, Chase, old boy, but you are being followed.”
It’s not just the voice that alerts me. It’s also the dryness in my mouth, the tightness in my stomach, and the fine hairs on the back of my neck that stand up at attention.
I don’t dare gaze over my shoulder.
Not yet.
I keep walking like I’m oblivious. Just another chump making my way back to my apartment after a long trip, hoping the two bags (my North Face Venture 90 and my twenty-year
