12(S2E1)-The Nab

12

(Season 2 Episode 1)

The Nab

Tobias

Tobias looked at his watch again as he waited.

“Chill out.” His fiancé Linda said, as she dipped a complimentary tortilla chip into the complimentary salsa.

Today was the day Sidney and Linda were going to meet.  There had been some problems at first when Tobias told her he was going to have a female be is best man, and one that she had never met before.

Tobias had decided it was time they finally met.

The situation itself had already made him nervous enough, the two sides of his life and personality meeting for the first time and possibly becoming one.  They had decided to go to Sidney and Bias’s favorite meeting stop, the same Mexican restaurant they had reunited at.

However, Sidney was late.

“She’s only five minutes late.”  Hank chimed in from the right side of the table having tagged along out of boredom.

Tobias gave him an irritated look.  “Late is still late, she’s doing this on purpose.”

Linda raised her eyebrow as she swallowed the chewed up bite of chip.  “For a guy trying to convince me I should like this woman, you’re not exactly making a case for her.”

Tobias nodded then smiled.  “I’m just going to call her really quick, okay?”

“Would you just leave her alone?”  Hank said, rolling his eyes.

Tobias was already standing.  “It’ll just take a second, alright?”

He didn’t wait for an answer.  He stood pulled out his cell phone and dialed as he stepped away from the table.

Hank shook his head.  “Can’t believe you are marrying that guy.”

Linda took a deep sigh.

****

Sidney

The phone rang as Sidney began to put her coat on.

She didn’t have to check the Caller I.D., it would be Bias calling to scold her for being late, which was the exact reason that she made a point of always being late to anything Tobias set up.

It had been almost six months since they pulled the scam on Bob.  Everything seemed to be going perfectly.  Tobias had pulled the business out of the nose dive Bob had put it in, and with her percentage of the profits, it meant she was getting a nice little supplemental income.  She had done a few jobs in the time but only to keep her skills honed.

Although lately she was wondering why she would need them honed.  Retirement was starting to look pretty good.

Hell, maybe she’d even find herself a steady man.

She answered the call.  “Yes dear.”

Sidney purposely mocked him and she could almost hear the frown on the other end.  “You’re late.”

“Water is wet, sky is blue.  You’re wife doesn’t turn into a pumpkin at midnight or something, does she?” Sidney said sarcastically.

“You live two blocks down the street!  I didn’t even think it was possible for you to be late to this.  She’s not my wife yet.” Tobias retorted angrily.

“Walking out the door right-” Sidney was cut off by the sound of her front door being kicked in.

“Sidney, what the hell was that?” Tobias’ frustration melted into concern.

Sidney poked her head into the hallway and saw two large, burley men, both of them in suits and sunglasses, making a bee line for her.

“Spaghetti.”  Sidney said into the phone as she tried to come up with a plan in the next ten seconds.

“What?” Tobias’ voice was concerned now.  He needed confirmation because they had only needed that word once before.

“Spaghetti.  Stay on the line.”  Sidney left the phone open and dropped her hand to her side.

The men entered the kitchen, marching toward her.  “Don’t move.”

Sidney’s brain centered on a course of action and she was in motion.

Sidney tried to sprint around them but the lead one grabbed her hair and dragged her backward.  She stumbled back and turned, running face first into the big man’s chest.

“Stupid bitch,” the man said and slapped her hard, across the face.

The blow sent Sidney to the floor.  She frowned and began to wonder if she was secretly a masochist, since all her plans seemed to involve her getting hit by an idiot.

She came back to her knees but the two big men had her shoulders and arms.  She could struggle all she wanted, but Sidney did not have the strength to break free.  The two men dragged her out of the front door and across her lawn to a large limo parked In front of her house.  One of the men let go of her and opened the door.  The other man threw her in before following and sitting next to her.

Sidney didn’t make any other attempt to resist through this process.  Sadly, this had not been the first time she had been kidnapped and she knew that too much resistance would make them decide you are not worth it leading them to decide to kill her on the spot to avoid exposure…

…Instead of killing her later to avoid exposure.

The man outside the car shut the door and walked around to the driver’s side, got in and quickly pulled out.

Sidney found herself in the back of a lavish stretch limo.  Sitting across from her with her back to the wall was to the driver and she was looking at Sidney with a sort of morbid curiosity.

She was a beautiful, well dressed, long haired blonde.  She had pale white skin and deep blue eyes.  She was wearing a grey skirt business suit.

“Sidney Thompson?” The woman asked with a heavy southern drawl.

“Who’s asking?” Sidney raised an eyebrow and responded with frustration.

“Answer the question.” Said the large man in the suit.

The woman raised her hand to silence the large man, her eyes never leaving Sidney. “Let’s just assume you are Sidney Thompson, alright?”  The southern accent had a soothing, almost uplifting, quality to it.

Sidney knew better.  “Okay, let’s assume”

“Good,” The woman smiled.  “Then I have to ask what’s so bad about being yourself?”

Sidney was confused.  “Weird question.  Have I been kidnapped by a shrink?”

The woman gave another soothing smile.  “I like your sense of humor, and no, I am not a shrink.  I ask this question for a very specific reason.”

Sidney waited to hear this and the woman continued.  “You see, very recently you pretended to be me and I believe I am owed for the transgression.  My name is Savannah Burton.”

****

Tobias

Spaghetti was never something Tobias wanted to hear out of Sidney’s mouth.

Most people recognize spaghetti as an Italian style pasta covered in red sauce, but back when Tobias and Sidney had just started in the game and barley made it out of a certain con, they decided they needed a code word.  A word that meant the whole thing was compromised or that one of them was in trouble.  It had to be a normal word so as to draw less suspicion, but if said out of context, it would be clear.

Spaghetti had been the word they decided on.

Tobias turned to Linda and Hank with a hard look on his face and they knew something was up.  He mouthed the word sorry and sprinted out of the restaurant and down the sidewalk towards Sidney’s house.

He kept the phone on and listened intently but all he heard was rustling movement like the sound you hear when the phone is in a pocket.

Tobias knew then what she had done.

In the past, as far as the schemes went, they had tended to keep things separate.  Tobias worried about the theft and Sidney worried about the con and everything went smoothly for the most part.  Of course, being friends and being curious, they had shared some of their trade secrets with each other.

For instance, Tobias knew how to act a little better than before, as well as know that you always show up late to appointments to put yourself in the position of power.

Sidney had learned a small amount of sleight of hand.

She dipped one of the bodyguards and dropped the open cell phone in his pocket without his knowing.  To do this, she probably had to fake an escape attempt and maybe take a blow to the face.

He was in a dead sprint and begging his legs to get him there in time.  He continued listening to the phone intently looking for any clue to what was going on but all he heard was rustling and movement noises.

He turned the corner onto Sidney’s block.  At the end, in front of Sidney’s house was a stretch limo.  It pulled out into the street while Tobias raced after it but he was just too slow and too late.  He watched it disappear around a corner.

He stopped, hands on his knees, gasping for air.  He felt all the cigarettes he had ever smoked right then.  He continued to listen to the phone.  He could hear voices now.

“What the hell happened?” Tobias spun to see Hank come to a stop.  Hank had followed.

Tobias put his hand up to silence him and continued to listen to the phone on the other end.

He heard the conversation between Sidney and some southern woman, trying to make out what they were saying over his own ragged breathing.

“My name is Savannah Burton”.  He heard the southern woman say over the phone and he looked at Hank.  “Sidney has been kidnapped.  She’s in trouble, Hank.”

End Episode 1