32(S3E10)-The River

32

(Season 3, Episode 10)

The River

Fenton opened his hotel room door to Lana’s grinning face.  She stepped in and he shut the door behind her, his eyes watching her closely.

“Nice digs.”  She said, looking around.

“Indeed.”  Fenton spoke dismissively.  “Do you have it?”

“Of course.”  Lana said, bringing out the necklace.

Fenton snatched it from her and walked to the desk in the corner of the lavish room.  He pulled out a jeweler’s magnifying glass and examined the middle stone.  He smiled as he saw the micro-drive inside the same as when he had first procured the object.

“See, told you I could deliver.”  Lana’s self-gratification reminded Fenton that she was still in the room.

He looked up at her.  “Yes.  Yes indeed, you did.”

“So if you’ll just pay me, I’ll be on my way.”

“Two hours.” Fenton answered, still examining the stone.  “My buyers will be here then and they will be paying me, which will allow me to pay you.”

Lana groaned.  “I hate waiting.”

“A small price to pay.”  Fenton answered, continuing to play with the necklace.  Something did not feel quite right about it.  It looked like the necklace but something about the weight bothered Fenton.

Almost as if on cue, his phone began to ring.  He picked it up, checking the I.D.

The screen read ‘Sidney’.

He stared for a full second then turned to Lana.  “You said you took care of Sidney.”

Lana looked confused.  “I did.  I left her in the bank vault.  The bank would have opened two hours ago. She’s probably sitting in the back of a fed’s car right now.”

“Then why is she calling me?” Fenton asked, his voice even and ice cold.

“What?  That’s not possible.  She didn’t have her phone and-“  Lana was cut off as Fenton raised an irritated finger to silence her.  He turned towards the window and looked out on the city of Akron in the morning sun.  He took a deep breath and pressed the answer button.

“My only regret is that I couldn’t see your face when my number came up on your phone.” Sidney’s snotty voice came through like a nightmare.

“Well, this is confusing.  I have a former associate of yours here who says you should be on your way to prison for attempted bank robbery.”  Fenton tried to keep the rage out of his voice.

He could almost hear her smile.  “It would be rather hard for them to charge me with attempted bank robbery when there was no bank.”

Fenton frowned.  “Excuse me.”

“Put me on speaker.  I want Lana to hear this.”  Sidney said and Fenton hesitated.  “Come on dad.  What do you have to lose?”

Fenton scowled and put the phone on speaker, placing it on the desk in front of himself and Lana.

Sidney’s voice filled the room.  “Hello Lana.  How’s your morning going?”

Lana Frowned.  “Where are you calling us from Sid, the bank vault?”

“There was no bank.”  Sidney answered matter-of-factly.

Lana shook her head.  “I was in the bank with you, and last night I stole the necklace from you.  I locked you in.”

“That building was a bank, they closed that branch one week ago so the building is still basically intact.  I had to get help but the furniture was moved in the night before, the money in the cage is fake.” Sidney explained.

Lana shook her head as if reality had just warped around her.  “But it was fully staffed!  We cased it that morning!”

“Ah, yes.  The people.  You see, Tobias is a very friendly person.  In fact, when I helped him save his business a couple years ago, as well as the jobs of everyone working there, they became rather loyal to him.  Thankfully a couple of them were pretty good actors, too.” Sidney spoke with a special kind of glee in her voice.

“They were all cooks?” Lana said suddenly pale.  “Even the manager?”

“Oh he is a manager.” Sid almost laughed.  “A culinary manager.”

Lana felt sick.  “But, but why would you go through all this to give me the necklace?”

“Because it’s a fake, you twit.” Fenton snapped at Lana.

“Points to daddio,” Sidney said.  “Fake as can be.”

There was a knock at the door and Lana spun around.  “Who is that?!”

“Too early to be the buyers.”  Fenton said to her and to himself.

Of course, Sidney had the answer.  “That is detective Eugene Sellers.  My guess is that the people who would buy such an object are very dangerous people, so Detective Sellers is here to take your statements.  He has agreed to be nice if you tell him about the attempted murder of Tobias as well as everything else you have done.  I doubt your buyers would offer the same.”

Fenton took a deep breath.  “Well Sidney, it seems I have underestimated you.”

“Save it,” Sid’s voice was dark again.  “We’re done.  Go to prison or get yourselves killed.  Your choice. Either way, I win.”

“Indeed.” Fenton said.  “You always were my favorite.”

“You are ten years too late.  Goodbye Fenton.” Sidney hung up.

“What are we going to do?!” Lana was panicking.  “There is no way out of here!”

“No,” Fenton said accepting his fate.  “No, there is not.”

He crossed the room and opened the door.  “Detective Sellers.  Please come in.  My name is Fenton Sanoma and I would like to make a full confession.”

****

“You are ten years too late.  Goodbye Fenton.”  Sidney said before ending the call and placing her phone back into her pocket.

She did so just before walking through the front doors of the hospital, a small gift box in her hand.  The restaurant crew had returned not more than ten minutes after Lana had locked her in the vault to let her out.  They had brought a large flatbed and removed all the furniture they had brought in the night before and were out before the sun came up.

With the job done, her father on his way to either prison or hell.  The energy had drained out of her and was replaced by an all-consuming exhaustion.  She would relish the sleep she would get upon her return to home but she had one last thing to do before the reward of rest.

She had to say goodbye.

She made her way through the sterile halls of the hospital before reaching Tobias’s room.  Sitting on a chair outside the room was Hank.

She had never seen him so broken, his arm in a sling and his broad shoulders drooping low.  He looked up and half smiled at her.  “Hey Sid.”

“You look like shit.”  Sidney gave it to him straight.

“Arm hurts like hell and the sister won’t speak to me.” Hank said shrugging.

“She will, Linda’s not the kind to not forgive her brother.”  Sidney said.

Hank nodded.  “I know, just feel kind of responsible.  I should have stopped him from doing the job in the first place.”

“It’s okay,” Sidney answered.  “I took care of Fenton.  He won’t be bothering anyone anymore.”

“Good.” Linda’s voice snapped both Sidney and Hanks attention as she came out of Tobias’s room and shut the door behind her.

Sidney had a hard time finding the words.  “Linda.  How’s he doing?”

“He’s up and moving.”  Linda explained, her patience still obviously thin.  “He is going to be walking with a cane for the rest of his life.”

Sidney shrugged and tried to joke.  “Well, it will match his suit.”

No one laughed.

“I hope you got some peace out of this.”  Linda said with a very obvious sincerity through her rage.  “So that it was worth something.”

Sidney couldn’t answer.  She felt she had but saying so felt wrong.  Instead she just asked, “May I see him?”

Linda shrugged and stepped to the side.  Sidney walked in and shut the door behind her.

“You are such a hard ass.”  Hank said to his sister as a joke.

“And you’re a jack ass.” Linda growled back.

Hank did not get mad though, instead, he smiled.  It was the first thing she had said to him since the incident.  It meant he could fix this.

Eventually.

****

The door shut behind Sidney and Tobias looked up from sitting on the edge of the bed a cane in his right hand.  “Hey Sid.  So things escalated quickly didn’t they?”

Sidney laughed.  “Yes.  Yes they did.  Why did you do it?”

Tobias shrugged.  “I felt like someone had to.  Apparently I should have let someone else have the honor.”

They both awkwardly chuckled then there was a moment of silence that seemed to last forever.

“I beat him.” Sidney said finally.

“Never a doubt in my mind.”  Tobias answered with a grin.

Sidney sat on the edge of the uncomfortable hospital bed.

“Look, Sid.  I’m always going to be your friend, but I can’t be your partner anymore.” Tobias spoke without looking at her.

She smiled and handed him the box.  “Open it.”

“What is this?” Tobias asked.

“Late wedding gift.” She answered.  “Just open it.”

Tobias opened it.  Inside was a piece of paper forfeiting Sidney’s ownership rights of the restaurant to Tobias.  The other was the original necklace.

“Is this what I think it is?”  Tobias said, lifting the necklace.

Sidney smiled.  “Give it to your wife, it’ll help smooth this over.”

“Are you sure you want to give this to me?”  Tobias said, now referring to the contract.

Sidney stood, getting ready to leave.  “Have a family, run your business and have the life you always wanted.  You deserve it.”

Tobias nodded.  “Thank you.  What are you going to do now?”

Sidney shrugged.  “Let’s face it Bias, you were holding me back.”

Tobias couldn’t help but smile.  “Is that so?”

“I’m going back to the rapids,” She said ignoring him.  “I’m not ready to settle down, yet.”

Tobias smiled.  “Take care of yourself, Sid.”

“Right.  You too Sidney.”  He said and with that Sidney walked out of the room and out of Tobias’s life. As she walked down the hallway, her mouth formed into a bright smile.  She couldn’t help it.  She had always loved a good beginning.

END OF SEASON 3.

 

 

31(S3E9)-The Back Stab

31

(Season 3, Episode 9)

The Back Stab

The doctor read from his clipboard with clinical precision, telling Tobias everything that had happened to him in the last forty-eight hours.  Tobias should have been listening but he wasn’t.  He was staring at the side of his wife’s head while she listened and held his hand.

He had been in and out of consciousness since he had first come out of the coma and his thoughts had been more than a little scrambled but one remained constant.

Why was she still here?

This was the third time he had broken his promise to her; his promise to stop helping Sidney with the crimes she couldn’t seem to stop committing.  She should have walked away, she should have left Tobias to die, but instead she was sitting here holding his hand, listening to every word the doctor said about her useless husband who had gotten himself shot nearly to death on their wedding night.

Linda realized suddenly that Tobias was staring at her and she turned.  “You need to listen to this. It’s important.”

Tobias nodded and turned back to the doctor.  “I’m sorry, doc.  I’m just a little scrambled.”

The doctor nodded.  “Of course, Mr. Snyder.  It’s understandable.  You are lucky to be alive.”

Tobias couldn’t help but gaze back to Linda, then back at the doctor.  “Yeah, I think I am.”

“As I was saying, you will be staying here for a little while.  The bullets hit your spine and there has been some nerve damage.”  The doctor continued.  “As it stands, you will probably never gain full use of your right leg, but we will get you moving again.  I know this isn’t the kind of news most want to hear but-”

“Thank God.” Tobias’ comment of relief interrupted and confused the doctor.  Both Linda and the doctor stared at him and he regretted saying that out loud.

It didn’t change the fact that he was relieved.  There was a dark part of Tobias that could never quite walk away from the crime.  He could blame it on Sidney all he wanted but at the end of the day, he knew he had choose to do these things.  Some part that kept him coming back.

Now it was out of his hands.

Without full mobility of the legs, there was no possible way that he could be a thief.  It was finally over. It was as if the dark part of his soul had taken the bullets in order to let the good half live.  The part that wanted him to be a family man and a chef, got to live.

“I’ll give you guys some time.”  The doctor said and walked out.

Linda thanked him then turned back to Tobias.  They both sat in silence and Tobias could feel the weight of his sin now.  He never wanted to say something so cliché but he felt himself about to begin apologizing and swearing, again, to never again be a thief.

 Linda stopped him before he got started.  “Don’t.”

Tobias stopped talking and stared, waiting for her to finally give up on him and walk away.  It was what he deserved.

She didn’t.  Instead she spoke.  “You have made that promise to many times, don’t make it again.  I’m sick of hearing the words.  Instead of telling me, show me.”

Tobias couldn’t help his actions and he began to cry.  “I’m so sorry, you deserve better.”

“I know.”  She said and lightly touched his cheek.  “It’s up to you to give me better.”

He held her hand so tight, he planned to never let go.

****

Regardless of Sidney’s second sleepless night, she felt good.  She had spent the night working, putting one of the most complicated cons together and she was happy with it.  Since Tobias had been shot she felt lost and alone but for the first time she began to feel like she was just fine without Tobias. Her brain even began to take it one step higher.  With Tobias’ negative attitude, and his constant insufferable reluctance, he had possibly held her back.  Maybe, just maybe, she was capable of so much more.

“This is a good spot.” Lana said, pulling the car into a Wal-Mart parking lot.

It was a little under a mile to the bank but Wal-Marts made the best places to park for a robbery.  They were open twenty four hours and were huge inside so it was hard for a patrolling police officer to be concerned about a car in the lot.

Too many good heists had been spoiled because of a simple thing like parking.  There was nothing that would set a policeman’s radar off faster than a lone car in a parking lot of a closed building. In any kind of heist, the escape was the most important part.

Sidney had no intention of escaping, however.

They parked and hoofed it to the bank, staying away from the road and sidewalks which made the trip twice as long.  They reached the bank which sat eerily in the absolute darkness.  Lana stopped and they watched the building for a good couple of minutes, making sure there were no surprises.

“Okay,” Lana began.  “I use the key on the front door and open it, and you go in after me and get the security code on the inside.  Then we have all night.”

Sidney nodded.  “That is the plan.”

“Okay, let’s do this.”  Lana said and they went to work.

Sidney had to calm her nerves she had never been on this side of the job.  It had always been Tobias.  She couldn’t help her excitement.  They moved quickly across the parking lot, hitting the first door in less than three seconds.  Lana flawlessly slid the key into the door unlocking the deadbolt and swinging the door open.  Sidney passed through the door.

She moved to the alarm panel and punched in the code.  That was that.

They were in.  Lana strolled in with a smile on her face.  “And just like that, we’re going to rob a bank.”

Sidney gave her a hard look.  “Let’s just get this done.”

“Awe, we should savor this.”  Lana purred, leaning on the main counter.  “Want to pop your lesbian cherry on a bank counter?”

Sidney frowned at her.  “The vault.  Let’s go.”

Lana frowned.  “Fine, you are such a party pooper.”

Lana strolled over and they keyed the bank Vault before spinning the giant locking mechanism and pulled the big metal door open.

“Huh, this door is a lot lighter than I thought it would be.” Lana said as it opened.

“Its box thirteen.”  Sidney said walking in ignoring her.

She found the box and opened it, a smile creasing her face as she pulled the necklace out.

Then she heard the click of the hammer.  “You should have taken the fuck.  You could have at least had a little fun before prison.”

Sidney stared down the barrel of Lana’s .45.  “Wow, a gun to the head?  That’s so uncreative.”

“I prefer to think of it as simple and elegant.” Lana said, her smile unwavering.  “Fenton made a better offer.”

“Spare me.”  Sidney scoffed and tossed the necklace to Lana.  “This is why you will never get the good jobs.”

Lana laughed.  “That’s funny, I’m going to make a load on this thing and then I’m going to set up shop in a new town and you are going to be doing 25 years.”

She stepped back and put her hand on the door and pushed it closed.  “Adios Sidney.”

The bank door locked as it shut with Sidney inside.

****

Fenton stared out over the night sky from his top floor room, sipping scotch.  The cliché did not escape Fenton but it didn’t bother him either.  His phone rang and he eyed the number and smiled.

“Do you have it?” He asked.

“Easy peesy,” Lana replied, happily.

“And Sidney?”  He asked.

“I left her locked in the vault waiting for the police in the morning.”  She said.  He could hear her smiling.

“Wonderful, come straight to my hotel.  I’ll text you the address.”  He hung up without giving her a chance to reply.

He quickly thumbed another number.  Two rings and a deep voice with a Russian accent answered. “Hello.”

“I have it.  The deal is back on.  Do you still have the money?”  Fenton asked.

“Of course.”  The voice said.  “Where are you?”

Fenton gave him the hotel’s address and the man spoke one final time.  “We will have someone there in six hours.”

The man hung up.  Fenton finished his scotch and smiled.

It was going to be a good day.

End Episode 31

 

 

 Hy

30(S3E8)-The Trick

Episode 30

(Season 3 Episode 8)

The Trick

 

Lana exited through the back just like she had entered.  She could not help the smile on her face.

It had been nearly twelve years since she had an opportunity to work with Sidney and she was looking forward to finally getting rid of her for good.

Twelve years ago they had done a job together.  Since then, Sidney had made it her mission to make Lana a Judas in the business, forcing her to work alone on any jobs she wanted to do.  This had made her life very difficult.  It had caused her to focus on smaller plans rather than larger ones that would need partners.

Of course, Lana had betrayed Sidney but what did Sid expect?  Lana was a thief.  Sid could have been a better sport about the whole thing.  After all, Sidney didn't get pinched.

The tables had now turned and Lana finally had the chance to correct the mistake of not making sure Sidney was arrested the last time.  All because Tobias had been shot.  The idea made Lana giggle.  She had met Tobias on a few occasions and had never liked the man.  He had the look of someone who did not belong, like he was in the business against his will. He smelled like a cop.

Lana got to her car and got into the driver’s side but before she could start the car her phone rang. It was an unavailable number which made Lana leery.  Curiosity got the better of her and she answered anyway.

"Hello?" She asked, giving as little information as possible in her voice.

"Lana Simon?" The voice was smooth and confident.  It also sounded older… aged.

"Who is asking?" Lana replied, her interest peaked.

 

"My name is Fenton Sanoma and I have a business proposition for you."  He got directly to the point.  "I firmly believe your services have been requested for a bank job with Sidney Thomas.  She wants to steal a specific item from a bank.  If you steal it from her and bring it to me, I will pay you $2.5 million. 

Lana sat in silence, unable to read the situation.  Fenton picked up on her confusion and spoke.  "Miss Simon, I was hoping I could get an answer."

"It sounds too good to be true."  Lana came back with this trying to figure the situation out.

"Well, I could pay you less if it would help you decide?" Fenton replied, matter-of-factly.

Lana nodded to herself.  "Okay, I’m in.  How do I let you know when it's done?"

He gave her a phone number.  "You will call that number when you have acquired it and I will tell you where to bring the goods.  Nothing funny with the Item, just bring it straight to me."

With that, he hung up and Lana chuckled to herself.  With that kind of cash, she could get out of Ohio all together, hit the big times in New York or L.A., start over with a fresh reputation and even burn Sidney in the process.

It was going to be a good day.

 ****

Another sleepless night should have put Sidney into a state of absolute exhaustion, but it hadn’t. Instead, she felt rejuvenated.  After the night of hard work with the crew she had rounded up it looked as though this con would turn out to be her masterpiece.

One worthy of the big time.

Not to say that she was happy with the situation, she wasn’t, but for the first time since Tobias had been shot, she could feel a wave of confidence rolling over her.

Maybe she didn’t need Tobias as much as she thought she did.  Maybe it was time to let Tobias be the family man he had always wanted to be.

She pulled into her driveway as the sun broke over the horizon.  Lana was already waiting for her, hands on her hips.  She did not look happy with the vehicle.

Sidney opened the door of the truck and stepped out.  “Sorry, I’m running late.”

The fact that she was late didn’t seem to bother Lana.  “What the hell is this?”

She was referring to the large Orkin logo on the side of the doors and the hood.  “It’s our free reign to case the place.”

Sidney was already in one of the terrible Orkin uniforms with red pocket protectors.  She tossed Lana a bag containing a second uniform.  “Put it on and hurry up.”

It took them nearly an hour to reach the backwater bank.  It was a branch of the very small Bank of Magnolia.  Lana complained nearly the whole way there about the uniform and the truck.  “This is just, plain ridiculous.”

Sidney gave her a hard look.  “It’s going to get us full access.”

Lana scoffed.  “No matter how small this chain is, they are going to know that they did not call exterminators.”

Sidney shook her head.  “No, this bank has an annual check.  I had a hacker friend make a call to Orkin and cancel the check-up so that we could take their place.  We are expected.”

Lana reluctantly accepted the idea, finally.  “Okay, so what is the plan?”

“We head in like we own the place.  You stay with the bank manager, who will want to stay with us the whole time.  Keep him away from his office and I will see if I can’t get the vault code.”  Sidney explained before tossing Lana some impression clay.  “You lift the bank key and get an impression with this.”

Lana looked at the small lump of clay.  It was rectangular and about the size of her index finger.  Thieves had been using this for decades.  You would press a key into the gray clay and hold it for a second, then, once the key was removed, she could compare it to known key codes and make a copy for the front door.

Sidney pulled into the empty parking lot.  It was 7:15 A.M. and there were only a few cars which most likely belonged to employees.  “Ready?”

Lana nodded.  “After you, mastermind.”

Sidney frowned at her then got out.  Lana followed.  The front glass doors lead to a lobby where the A.T.M was.  Then, a second set of glass doors opened into the very small branch.  A small main lobby in front of the clerks counter with small sections for each clerk.  There were three at most.  Behind the counter was the vault to the right corner.  It was open for the morning’s business.  Then, to the left corner, were a couple of small offices for a loan manager and the branch manager.

Only one teller was in, a petite twenty something brunette.  The woman noticed them as they came in and called out to the back office.  “Hey Ron, the bug people are here!”

“On my way!” A male voice called from the back.

The teller turned back to Sidney and Lana.  “He’ll be right with you.”

“Thanks.”  Sidney said as the teller went back to counting.

A couple of seconds later, Ron, a short, balding, Latino man in his thirties walked out from the back. “Oh, we got ladies this time.”

Sidney and Lana frowned in unison.  Of course he would be a chauvinistic pig.  “Indeed.  Okay, so we are running late.  We need you to accompany my partner Maude here into the vault and I will scan the rest of the offices.”

Ron looked uncomfortable.  “Um, you can’t go into the offices alone.  It’s against policy.”

Sidney stepped forward to Ron, taking an aggressive stance, playing up a butch dyke angle.  “Look Ron, we don’t have time for this.  We are a nationally recognized, bonded business.  I have better things to do than steal from you, okay?”

Ron shrunk away.  “Yeah, okay.  I guess its fine.”

“Good.” Sidney said and moved toward the offices.

****

Lana had to fight the urge to smack Sidney.  What the hell was a name like Maude?  Lana knew for certain that she was not a Maude.

“This way,” Ron said with a smile heading towards the vault.  “I hope you are nicer than your partner.”

Lana smiled, mischievously.  “Oh, I am.”

Ron stumbled over the short step into the vault when she said it and Lana almost laughed.  They then made their way to the vault.  The walls were covered in different sized boxes, each with a number.  The vault was not big enough for a table in the center so the money sat behind a locked gate on the one section of the remaining wall.

Lana made her move, stumbling on the step as she entered the vault and crashed into Ron.  She made her move and snaked the key out of his pocket.

“Whoa, you have to watch that first step.”  Ron said, his words dripping with intent.

“Thank God you were here to catch me.” Lana fired right back, her own heavy sexuality dripping forth.

Ron sputtered, not quite sure what to do with it.

“Jesus, Maude I can’t leave you anywhere!” Sidney’s voice snapped Ron to attention.

When Ron focused on Sid, Lana pressed the key into the clay.

“Um…  This isn’t what it looks like.”  Ron stuttered like a man who had been sued before.

“It never is, is it?” Sidney eyed him, suspiciously.

Lana slipped the key back into his pocket and pocketed her clay mold.  “Give him a break, Joon.  The vault is good.”

“The offices are good too, let’s get out of here.”  Sidney Replied.

Ron looked confused.  “That’s it?”

Lana turned and grinned.  “I’ll try to make it last longer next time.  I promise.”

END EPISODE 30

 Hy

29(S3E7)-The Wife

 

29

(Season 3 Episode 7)

The Wife

The night Tobias was shot…

Linda did not feel the pain in her hand.  Her nerves were working hard to send her brain the information that it was broken but it would not listen.  She had been married less than twelve hours and had just watched her husband be air lifted into the night sky in a helicopter with three bullet wounds in his chest. Her brother was cut and hurt from the fight with an international hit man after he had put the bullets there.  She was in her wedding dress and covered in her dying husband’s blood.

She had broken the hand on Sidney Thompson’s jaw.

She could feel the hot rush of emotions as she screamed at her husband’s best friend and recent partner in crime.  She could feel the blood flow to her cheeks and forehead.  She felt like she was being pulled under by a rip tide of rage and anger.

She knew very few things for certain, beyond the fact that it was all this woman’s fault.

The conniving, double-talking bitch who, even now, denied having anything to do with it, was responsible.  She was always responsible.

She brought out the worst in Tobias.  She was a poison.  A disease that seemed to touch everything that Linda held dear.

This was the first time in Linda’s life that she actually wanted to kill someone.

The cops broke it up, grabbing her. The detective seemed nice enough, but Linda did not care.  She just wanted someone to pay.

****

The Ride to the Hospital…

Eugene had put the siren on and they were making good time but he was still using it to try and get information from her.  He was trying to be sensitive and roundabout in the questioning but he knew that Linda was not stupid.  Panicked and in shock, maybe, but not stupid.

“So how does your husband-” He began into his seventh question and Linda had enough.

“Know Sidney?  Illegally.” Linda cut him off and he looked surprised.  “She is a two dollar con artist and my husband used to be a thief.  They have done jobs together and this, I’m sure, has something to do with that.”

“Used to be,” Eugene pressed.  “Are you sure he’s not a thief anymore?”

Linda closed her eyes feeling the pain well up again into her gut.  “No.  No, I’m not.”

“Then I have to ask-” Eugene began and again Linda cut him off.

“No, you don’t have to ask.  My husband has done a lot of stupid things.  First and foremost on that list is caring about an immature and irresponsible woman.  I know he is dying on a helicopter and all I want to do is see him because, as stupid as he can be, I love him.”

Tears hit Linda’s eyes and ran down her face and she hated herself for it.  She hated crying and looking weak, especially in front of people she didn’t know and didn’t care for.  “Now, if you don’t mind, could you shut the fuck up and get me to the hospital?!”

She screamed the last part and she could tell it had an effect on the officer.  He took a breath to say something else, then thought better of it and just nodded in response.

****

The Hospital - 15 Minutes Later…

Linda was out of the car before it had stopped, tripping over the torn and ripped dress and hitting the concrete hard.  The pain of her hand was suddenly her whole world as some of the shock was wearing off.

She pushed the pain away and pulled herself to her feet and ran through the sliding doors of the E.R.  It was late and there were only a couple of people in the waiting room but they all saw her as she walked in like a vision out of some horror movie.  A bride in a blood soaked wedding gown.

She tried not to think of how ridiculous she looked and moved directly to the desk.  The security guard, a buff, middle aged, black man was already moving to intercept her as well as the front desk woman.

“Ma’am can I help you?”  The woman said in a friendly but stern voice.

“Where is my husband?” Linda asked, trying to keep the hysterics out of her voice.  “Tobias Snyder… where is he?”

Eugene had caught up, his badge out.  The receptionist turned to him, as if Linda was some crazy person.  Linda felt the rage boil up inside of her but Eugene spoke before she could.  “The gunshot victim brought in by life flight.  This is his wife.  We need an update.”

The nurse’s eyes filled with pity now and Linda tried to figure out what she hated more; the pity or being ignored.  She decided pity would get her more information so she accepted it.

“Oh my God,” The nurse moaned and shook her head.  “I’m so sorry.  I will find someone to get an update.”

The nurse motioned to another nurse and the other one ran off the get the update.  “Just sit down right here for a second.”

Linda couldn’t hold it anymore.  “I don’t want to fucking sit down!”  She screamed at the top of her lungs.  “I want to know if my husband is alive or dead!  I want to know why someone shot him!  I want to know why I’m not on my God damned honeymoon right now?!”

The plump, strawberry blonde nurse just stared for a second, waiting for Linda to run out of steam. When she was sure she had, she said, “Well, yelling about it is not going to help, honey.  I’ll tell you what I can do.  I can get you some clean clothes and take a look at that hand of yours, and then Meg will be back with some information as soon as she can, okay?”

Linda stared at her, then felt the sobs roll over her as the adrenaline drained out of her.  She could no longer fight it.  She sobbed uncontrollably and nodded.

The motherly, strawberry blonde said her name was Pam and she walked Linda into the back.

****

Two Hours After Arriving at the Hospital…

Linda sat in the uncomfortable waiting room chair, sipping her coffee with her good hand.  Her right had a compound fracture and had been bandaged and splinted.  She was wearing hospital scrubs, it was all the attendants could find for her before Pam had cut her out of her wedding dress.

Something so beautiful and she never wanted to see it again.

They had told her it did not look good, they already had him in surgery by the time she had made it to the hospital and they did not want her to be optimistic but, they were doing everything they could.

She was done crying.  She was now filled with a white, hot rage.

“How you doin’ Sis?”  Linda had been so out of it, she had completely failed to notice Hank coming down the hall with his arm in a sling and bandages where he had been stabbed.

She stared at him for a long minute.  “Is that a joke?”

Hank took a step back, pain in his eyes and shame.  “Look, this was supposed to be-”

“Let me guess,” Linda cut in.  “The last job?  It’s always the last, fucking job with you people, isn’t it?  Like a drunk who just can’t seem to put his bottle down and go home to his wife and kids.”

Linda could not remember the last time she had used the F-word so much, but she couldn’t help it.  It felt right.

“Linda, it’s not like that.  We just had to do this one, for Sidney.” Hank said.

Linda’s face contorted into a look that would frighten the devil himself.  “For Sidney?  For fucking Sidney?”

She couldn’t help herself, she hurled the lukewarm cup of coffee onto Hank.  The cup hit his chest and covered him with brown liquid.  “God damn it!” he cursed and stumbled.

“I’m done with you, Hank.  And I’m sure-as-shit done with Sidney.  You two can pound salt together but you stay away from Tobias and me.”

“Excuse me.”  The doctor broke in meekly and the two turned, snapping out of it.  “Your husband is out of surgery.”

Linda’s rage escaped her.  All she could do in that seemingly endless moment was pray.

“He’s survived the operation, but only barley.  We got the bullets out but he lost a lot of blood and this deprived his brain of oxygen causing him to slip into a coma.”  The doctor was reserved as he spoke.  “We moved him to the I.C.U and will continue to monitor him closely.  The next twelve hours are critical.”

****

Two Hours After the Surgery…

Linda sat in the room alone.  The sky through the window was now becoming the dark purple that heralded the sun rise hues of fall.

The monitor beeped continuously with Tobias’s heartbeat.  Each space between move nerve wracking for Linda than the last.

Each one could be the last. 

“I’m mad at you.”  Linda could not help herself.  Maybe it was the stress or the shock but she needed to say something even if Tobias couldn’t hear her.

“I think it’s the worst part about all this.”  She continued.  “You did what you said you wouldn’t do and picked her over me.  As mad as I am at Sidney and Hank, I can’t really blame them for this.”

She took a deep breath as more tears came.  “You made the decision to do this.  You put yourself in this position.  I can’t help but think this is what you really want.”

Linda stood up and moved to the edge of the bed, placing her hand over his.  “That’s fine.  You got what you wanted.  You got to die for her.  Now it’s time to live for me.”

She kissed his forehead softly and a tear rolled from her cheek onto his brow.  She whispered softly one more time.  “Live for me.  You owe me at least that much.”

Linda could feel her hope loosen.

Then she felt his finger move.  His eyes fluttered and came open.

The night gave way into the day.

End Episode 29

28(S3E6)-The Thief

28

(Season 3, Episode 6)

The Thief

She was able to get two dreamless, unrestful hours of sleep.  She awoke confused, then became frustrated as she saw Lana Simon watching her from the foot of the bed.

“What the fuck?!” Sidney responded, angrily.

“I’ve always wondered if you slept in the nude.”  Lana purred out the words.  She was tall for a woman; almost six feet with short, boy-cut, black hair.  She was lean and thin.

She also had a thing for people who were of her same sex.  This didn’t bother Sidney, normally.  Lana was not normal.

"Get the fuck out of my room."  Sidney ordered.  She was angry and sleep deprived and did not much care if she needed Lana or not.

 

Lana ignored the order and sat down on the foot of Sidney's bed.  "Oh, I’m sorry I didn't mean to scare you.  I knocked but you didn't answer so I tried the door and it was open."

 

"It was not open." Sidney said, aggravated.

 

Lana's grin widened then she shrugged.  "Okay you got me.  I let myself in."

 

"Now you can let yourself out of my room." Sidney said sternly.

 

Lana put up her hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay.  I’ll meet you downstairs."

 

She stood and swaggered out.  Sidney dropped her head back to the pillow, almost falling back to sleep.  She forced herself out of bed and pulled on some pants.  After the night in a skirt, she welcomed the secure feeling that they brought.  She then went to the bathroom and freshened up before heading downstairs to meet with Lana.

 

Lana was pouring herself and Sidney a cup of coffee from Sidney's coffeemaker.  Sidney had only been upstairs for five minutes so there was no way the coffee brewed in that amount of time, which gave Sidney the eerie feeling that Lana had been skulking around in her apartment for who knows how long.

 

"Coffee?" Lana asked, seeing the realization on Sidney's face and deciding to rub it in.

 

"Sure." Sidney said, cautiously eyeing Lana.

 

Lana poured the cups and then sat at the kitchen table putting one cup in front of Sid.  "So, you have a job for me?"

 

Sid nodded.  "Indeed."

 

Lana looked at her questioningly.  "So, I’m inclined to ask where your favorite boy toy is.  I thought you two were joined at the hip."

 

The mention of Tobias stung Sidney a little.  Lana's snide tone didn't do much to help matters.  "He was shot."

 

Lana seemed genuinely shocked.  "No shit?"

 

Sidney shook her head.  "He's in the hospital in critical care, but this job is not going to wait so we have to move on it."

 

Lana put her hand on top of Sidney's.  "I'm sorry Sid. I know how much-"

 

Sidney snatched her hand away and frowned at Lana.  "Nice try."

 

Lana's sultry smile returned.  "Can’t blame a girl for trying.  I'm still a bit confused.  Even with him laid up, I would think I would be the last one you would come to.  After the last time, anyway."

 

Lana was referring to a job they had tried to pull a couple of years back.  It was after Tobias had done his vanishing act and Sidney had need of a rogue’s touch.  She had gotten Lana's name through the normal channels and with the exception of the constant attempts to get Sidney into the sack, she seemed good.

 

That had changed on the night of the job when Lana decided to be a solo artist and made off with the take from the job, leaving Sidney high and dry and almost getting her killed.  From that point on, Lana always worked alone.

 

"To be quite honest," Sidney said.  "You are the only person for this job."

 

Lana looked at her, curiously.  "What's the job?"

 

"It's a bank, night time job." Sidney answered.

 

Lana shook her head.  "You want to sneak into a bank after hours?  I'm not a miracle worker."

 

"We case the place tomorrow and do the job that night."  Sidney pushed forward, taking a drink of coffee.

 

Lana looked angry.  "Okay, now I know you are crazy.  Maybe after a month of prep, but eight hours? You are nuts."

 

"Tobias could do it."  Sidney said, jabbing at Lana's pride.

 

Lana frowned at the shot.  "Well, Tobias has always been a little stupid with women.  I am not."

 

"What if I said I had the bank codes for the vault?" Sidney said, ignoring the return fire, not wanting this to turn into name calling.

 

Lana looked suspicious again.  "Seriously?"

 

Sidney nodded.  "All I need you to do is bypass the security.  Do we have a deal?"

 

"Alright, we can case the place.  Anything smells funky and I’m out."  Lana said, shaking Sidney's hand.

 

"Wouldn't expect anything less."  Sidney answered.

 

Lana's grin widened.  "Want to go upstairs and seal the deal?"

 

Sidney frowned and pulled her hand free.  "Not a chance.  Tomorrow morning, be here at six and I’ll run through the plan."

 

Lana shook her head.  "Your loss, sweetheart.  Too bad, too.  I could really show you something."

 

Lana finished her coffee and left out the back door.  No doubt the one she had ‘let herself in’ through.

 

Sidney couldn’t stand Lana.  She was a snake in the grass wrapped up and decorated as sexual candy.  It did not matter.  Sidney needed her to pull this off, plain and simple.

 

Sidney finished her coffee and grabbed a light coat to protect her from the crisp September air.  She had things to do today and as much as she would like to hit the hay, she had to recruit a slew of extras before tomorrow morning and she only knew one place to do it.

 

She grabbed her keys and headed out the front door stopping dead in her tracks as she opened it. Standing in the doorway, a second from knocking, was Detective Eugene Sellers.

 

“Oh, well I guess this means you are home, then.”  Eugene said, trying to ease the tension.

 

He failed.  “It’s not what it looks like.”

 

As soon as the phrase left Sidney’s mouth she hated herself.  Had she really just said that?  The lack of sleep and stress must be getting to her.

 

Sellers took it in stride and made a wry grin.  “What does it look like?”

 

Sid regained her composure.  “A woman running to the store to buy milk.”

 

Eugene considered this.  “Oh… well if it’s not that, then what is it?”

 

“A woman with questionable morals trying to get out of her house before having to talk to a cop.” Sidney shot back with a smile.

 

Sellers laughed at that, though his suspicion was far from gone.  “Would you like to come in?  I have fresh coffee?”

 

Sellers shrugged.  “How could I refuse?  As long as I’m not keeping you from anything.”

His question was meant to be rhetorical as he brushed past Sidney into the home as he said it.

 

Sidney took a deep breath.  Eugene sellers was, after all, part of the plan.  Sidney had not expected to deal with him so soon, but it was always better sooner than later.

 

“You have a lovely home,” Eugene began.  “How do you pay for it on a part time waitress’ salary?”

 

Sidney frowned at him.  “Tips.”

She then walked into the kitchen and poured his coffee.  “How do you take your coffee?”

 

“Black is fine, thanks.  “Sellers answered before continuing his not-so-subtle interrogation.  “You must get good tips.”

 

Sidney did not answer.  Instead she finished pouring the cup and put it on the table.  “Let’s save time.  You think I’m dirty - that my actions have something to do with Tobias getting attacked.  Why wouldn’t you, after Linda’s temper tantrum?”

 

He shrugged and sipped at his coffee.  “Is this the part where you confess and tell me what’s going on?”

“That would be your best questioning ever, wouldn’t it?” Sidney mocked.

“Oh yeah.”

“No, that’s not what I’m willing to give you.” Sidney said, continuing.  “I can give you Fenton Sanoma, and a Local thief named Lana James.”

Eugene eyed her curiously, trying to decide what to do.  What he did next would decide the fate of the job itself.

END EPISODE 28

 

 

Hy