6-The Game

6

The Game

The game had been long and tedious.  It had started with eight players and was down to only three after almost four hours of play. Bob, Tobias and Savannah remained.

Bob couldn’t be happier.  He was high stacked on the table, which meant he was the chip leader.  This would allow him to really throw his weight around when the time came to go heads up, one on one, with whomever remained.  Even the cards were dropping his way tonight.  He was on the roll of his life.

He was so close to beating Savannah Burton.

He worked to keep the excitement inside as Tobias and Savannah dueled in epic fashion.  He had folded out early in the hand, not feeling secure with his cards.  This put Bob in an excellent position to watch, and he had been doing so for quite some time.

His focus was on Savannah.

Bob was smart enough to not get sucked in by the obvious beauty angle that Savannah worked.  Instead, he had been learning her tells.  Bob thought he had it down to a science.

“Eight thousand,” Savannah said as she pushed the proper chips forward.

 “Call.” Tobias said without emotion.

That’s when Bob saw it again.  Savannah pulled on her earring.  It was so blatant, Bob could hardly believe it came from such a renowned player.  Every time she had bluffed, she had pulled on her earring.  If Bob was right, she had nothing.

The dealer dealt the flop, a two of hearts, a seven of clubs and a four of spades.

Not a whole lot anyone could do with that unless they were holding two of a kind in their hand.

“Sixteen thousand,” Savannah said and pushed the chips forward and tugged at her earring again.

Tobias shoved forward the chips needed to call.  “Call.”

Bob realized Tobias had seen her tell too, and was going for the kill.  Tobias was good. Bob was not looking forward to playing him at the end, but Savannah would never get there with an obvious tell like that.

“All in.”  Savannah said and Bob had to keep himself from gasping.

Savannah was high stacked.  To call, Tobias would have to go all-in.  She was playing ‘chicken’ with him.

“Call.” Tobias said with confidence.

Tobias’ chips where pushed to the center.  He had to win or go home.  There was no longer any reason for secrecy and both players showed their hands.

Tobias had a four of clubs and a seven of hearts.  He had two pair.

Savannah had a two of clubs and a three of diamonds.  She had a pair.

Tobias smiled because he was the clear favorite.

“My stars, Tobias.  It seems I have met my match.”  Savannah said, frowning.

“It’s all in the cards.”  Tobias responded.

The dealer flipped the fourth card, a three of hearts.

Savannah now had two pair, but they were lower value then Tobias’.  He had the victory almost assured.

The dealer flipped the fifth card… a two of diamonds!  Savannah had pulled out the full house on the river!  Tobias cursed and Savannah smiled.

“The river can be strong, got caught in the under-toe Mr. Snyder.  Until next time.”

Tobias took a sighed deeply.  “That was everything I had… damn, Savannah.”

Savannah scowled.  “I am appalled by your language.  Now give us a hug and go see Marshall.”

Tobias nodded, surrendering and hugging her before walking past Bob.  “See you in the car.”

 Bob scoffed at that.  He had Savannah right where he wanted her.  He was going to win the pot and walk out of here with enough to pay off Simpson in full.  Then, he could reap the profits of the restaurant.

It was Bob’s lucky day.

“Just you and me, Mr. Stanoski.”  Savannah said with a grin.

Bob grinned back.  “Indeed, it is.”

They put in their blinds and the dealer dealt the cards.

Bob had pocket aces!  An ace of hearts and aces of clubs

Bob came out shooting.  “Twenty four thousand.”

Savannah was taken aback.  “Strong bet.”

Bob shrugged.

Savannah thought about it, then called.  The dealer dealt the flop, the four of hearts, the four of clubs, and the seven of hearts.

Bob had two pair!  He had the best hand, unless she had another four.  Bob watched her as she stared at the cards.

She didn’t touch her earring.  He couldn’t be sure, so he checked, placing no bet. Savannah followed suit and the fourth card dropped.

The ace of diamonds!  Bob had a full house.  Bob’s hand improved and so did his chances.  She now needed to have pocket fours in order to win.  Only four of a kind would do.

Bob watched her closely.  Nothing.

Bob checked.

Savannah checked.

The fifth and final card was dealt.  It was a two of hearts.

The river, neither helped nor hurt anyone.

Bob watched.  Savannah’s hand slowly went to her earring and tugged.

I have her!

Bob knew she had nothing.  It was now or never.

“All in.”  Bob said and pushed forward the chips, smiling.

“I call.”  Savannah said immediately, without hesitation.

Bob raised an eyebrow.  Why was she so confident?  She had used her tell.  She shouldn't have squat…

Savannah grinned and flipped her cards…

…The four of diamonds and the four of spades.

She had four of a kind.

Bob went pale and looked from the cards to her.  She was grinning, as if she knew all along that she was going to win the hand.

Savannah suddenly feigned concern.  “Why, Mr. Stanoski, you look like you have seen a ghost.  I know it’s hard to lose when you are positively sure that you are going to win, but, like I said… no one plans to lose.”

Bob gritted his teeth and became enraged.  “You… You set me up!”

Bob stood and raked the chips off the table in anger and they crashed to the floor.  “This is bullshit!  You think you can-”

Bob’s thought was cut off by Marshall, who had moved into the room and swooped in behind him.  Marshall twisted Bob’s arm backwards with one hand, then used his other to slam Bob’s head to the table in front of them.

Bob whimpered as the fight left him, replaced with only desperation and fear.

“I do think I can, Mr. Stanoski.  To answer your accusation, of course I set you up.  Did you really think that I would have a tell as obvious as that?”

Savannah walked around to his side of the table where Marshall had him pinned.  “Now, there is the matter of the money that you owe me.  Twenty thousand dollars?”

Bob was nearly sobbing now.  “Oh God, I’m sorry.  I’m so sorry.  I don’t have it.”

“You don’t have what?”  Savannah asked, inquisitively.

“I don’t have the money!  I don’t have any money.”

Savannah bent down into his face.  “Well then, let’s talk about what you do have.”

Marshall let go of Bob and he seemed to calm down.  He then looked at her.  “I have a restaurant, but I can’t give it to you.”

Savannah grinned.  “Oh, a restaurant.  I have always wanted to own one of those.”

Bob shook his head.  “You don’t understand, I seriously can’t give it to you!”

“Now, that’s just silly talk.  I mean, what else do you have that I would want?” Savannah questioned.

Bob took a deep breath.  “I can’t give it to you because I don’t really own it.  Leroy Simpson does.”

Savannah raised her eyebrow, “Now that is confusing, do explain.”

“I owe Leroy Simpson a lot of money.”  Bob began.  “Simpson is an all around terrible criminal who extorts money, loan sharks, and runs illegal gambling games and casinos around the city.”

“I don’t need his biography, dear.”  Savannah directed him to stay on track.  “I need to know why you can’t pay me.”

Bob nodded and continued.  “I’m flat broke.  My bitch ex- wife took me for everything I have and I have been floundering ever since.  I’m up to my ears in debt.  So I had to try and strike some kind of deal with Leroy.  I came up with an idea to launder some of his money.  I look for a good standing restaurant, with an owner, desperate to sell for whatever reason.  Then Leroy gives me the dirty money.  I buy the restaurant in cash, then sell it to a corporation and dump the funds into Leroy’s account.”

“And the money dumped into his account is clean?”  Savannah asked, nodding.  “Not a bad scheme, but the problem is that Leroy Simpson is not here right now.  I, however am, and so is Marshall, and I want my money!”

Savannah yelled the last part and Bob recoiled.  Marshall stood, every inch of his body oozing violence.

“I can’t!”  Bob yelled, almost blubbering. “Simpson isn’t stupid, and he has insurance!”

 “What kind of insurance?” She asked, interested.

“Leroy doesn’t want his name anywhere near this, but he’s not stupid enough to give me the whole she-bang, so he had me deed the restaurant to him.”

Savannah put it together.  “So if he thinks you’re trying to pull one over on him, he takes the deed to the recorder’s office and the restaurant is his.”

Bob nodded.

Savannah seemed to consider this.  “Alright, here’s how we do this, I am going to tell Tobias to go home and my friend Marshall, here, is going to drive you.  Then he is going to stick around and watch you, because you are officially under my protection now.”

“What about the restaurant?  What about Simpson?”  Bob whined.

“Stop trying to sell the store.  Take it off the market.  Call all your potential buyers and tell them the deal is off.  I will deal with the colored gentleman.”  Savannah answered.

Savannah turned and left the room before Bob could ask any more questions.  Marshall bent over and gripped Bob’s shoulder, forcing a small timid yelping noise from him.

“Let’s go, Bob.”

****

Once out of the room and out of Bob’s sight, Sidney grabbed the blonde wig and pulled it off, quickly undoing the tight hair net and pony tail that restricted her brown hair.  It tumbled down over her shoulders.

Sidney took off her shoes with a sigh of relief and went into the kitchen grabbing a scotch.  She turned and jumped slightly when she saw Tobias sitting at the counter, a glass of water in his hand.

“Jesus!” she said.  “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

He shrugged.  “Sorry, it’s kind of a habit.  What’s the next move, boss?”

She frowned.  “Since when, am I the boss?  I thought we were partners.”

His face dipped.  “I don’t think that was ever true.  Not really.”

“I never screwed you over.”  Sidney frowned pointing at him, “You were the one guy I never tired to screw over.  The one person I could trust.  The one person who was always there for me, then you deserted me.”

Tobias’s jaw worked.  “I needed a change.”

Sidney’s eyebrow went up.  “That’s it?  A year gone and that’s the best you can do?”

Tobias couldn’t meet her eyes.  “What’s the next move?”

Sidney sighed and took the scotch like a shot.  “It’s on you.  We need the signed deed that Leroy has.”

Tobias nodded and Sidney knocked back the scotch before pouring herself another.  “You can’t get this with the family life.”

Tobias raised his eyebrow, “And what exactly is ‘this’?”

Sidney smiled and walked towards him, her demeanor going form outrage to seduction, “This!  The intrigue, the adventure, the thrill, the chase.”

Tobias responded, “Who says I want any of that?”

“Because I know you.  I know that this is who you are, not whatever you show Suzie Home Maker, or the people you work with, but this, right here.”

Tobias stood and snatched the scotch out of Sidney’s hand before knocking it back in one go.  He then stared into Sidney’s eyes.  “We’re all bad, Sid.  We’re just not all as okay with it as you are.”

Tobias walked past her and out of the kitchen.

She poured herself another glass in the silence of the kitchen and realized in that moment, she had not recovered her friend.  She realized that when this was over, he would walk again.  The only person she had ever let herself trust had betrayed her.

Maybe it was time to return the favor.

End Episode 6

5-The Setup

5

The Setup

Bob watched through his front window as Tobias’ car pulled up out front.  His stomach was upset with the idea that he would actually have to ride with the overzealous chef, but tonight would be a chance to a make a lot of money.

Bob needed money.

He came out the front door and walked to the car.  Bob opened the door and got in, shutting the door.  Tobias gently pulled away from the curb and they began the journey to the game together.

“We need to get something straight,” Tobias finally spoke after a couple of minutes.  “I’m only bringing you to this game in order to keep you from firing any more of my cooks.  We have a deal right?”

Bob nodded, irritated.  “Of course, no more cooks.  I’ll be selling it soon anyway, so it won’t matter.”

Tobias nodded, frowning, taking one hand off the steering wheel to pull a cigarette out of his pocket and put it to his mouth.

Bob looked over and shook his head as he did.  “I don’t smoke.”

Tobias didn’t even hesitate to light up.  “Good for you.”

Bob sighed, long and hard and rolled the window down.

Tobias’s frown turned into a smile.  “You have the money to play tonight, right?”

Tobias knew for a fact he didn’t have the money to play tonight.

Bob raised his eyebrow and turned toward Tobias.  “Of course.  What do you think I am?”

 “I think you’re an asshole.”  Tobias responded before pulling out his pack of cigarettes and raising them to Bob’s face.  “Would you like a smoke?”

Bob grabbed the pack and hurled them out the window.  “Keep this shit up and you can stuff the poker game and I’ll fire every God damned cook in the restaurant!”

Tobias nodded, still smiling.  “Alright, fair enough.”

****

It was a good forty minute drive into Shaker Heights and the nice tree covered houses that sat camped away from the road.  Tobias found the address he had been given earlier that day and pulled into the driveway.

Bob leaned over and looked forward, past the gate they stopped at to see what he could of the massive brick house at the end of the driveway.  “Hell of a house.”

Tobias turned and raised an eyebrow.  “It’s high stakes, remember?  You do have the money for this, right?”

Bob scowled.  “Ask again and the deals off.  Who are these people, anyway?”

“Savannah Burton is hosting.”  Tobias answered as he put the three digit code into the punch pad to open the gate.

Bob twisted toward him in shock.  “Did you say ‘Savannah Burton’?”

The gate lurched into motion, slowly opening.  “So, you’ve heard of her?  She’s in town on family business.  She decided to put a game together while she is here.”

Bob shook his head.  “How in the hell do you know Savannah Burton?”

Bob Stanoski liked to consider himself an underground poker scholar.  Savannah Burton, otherwise known as ‘The Red Queen’, was one of the bigger players.  She was the last surviving member of the Burton family, a kind of hillbilly mafia that originated in Georgia.  Savannah had taken the reigns and dabbled in the business from time to time, but for the most part, stuck to what she was good at, Texas Hold ‘em.  The idea that his lowly sous chef, Tobias Snyder, had an in with her, was beyond him.

Tobias smiled at Bob as he pulled the car through the gate and up the driveway.  “I’m pretty good myself, you know.”

Tobias continued to explain.  “I have been playing for a long time.  I was trying to earn enough to buy the restaurant and then you came along.”

Bob ignored the malice in Tobias’ voice.  “So you have played with Savannah Burton?!”

Tobias shook his head.  “No, but I know her.  She came through town once before and I met her body guard.  We all ended up drinking together and talking poker.  She decided to invite me when she came into town, so don’t fuck this up for me.”

Bob actually nodded as they pulled the car to a halt in front of the massive residence, “I won’t.”

Tobias and Bob got to the front door and Tobias knocked three times. Inside they heard movement and the sound of bolts being thrown before the door swung open to reveal a large heavy featured cowboy.  He wore tight jeans, riding boots, a button up shirt with a leather vest over it and was topped with an old fashion John Wayne Stetson.

Bob was a taken aback at the Spaghetti Western that had come to life in front of him. The cowboy stared at Bob for a long time while he took a canister of chew out of his back pocket and stuffed a wad of it in his front lip.

“What’s up, Marshall?  Long time, no see.”  Tobias said, breaking the ice.

“This is the guy?” Marshall, the cowboy’s, southern drawl infected his speech.

Tobias nodded, “This is him.”

“He trustable?” Marshall asked, the chew now distorting his speech.

Tobias shrugged.  “That’s debatable.”

Bob, who had become increasingly more nervous, turned and gave Tobias a hard look. “What the fuck are you doing?”

Tobias smiled, “Just being honest.”

“Come now Marshall.”  The new voice was female.  It had a sultry, heart-melting quality to it.

Marshall turned, his body moving with him and allowing Bob to see past him into the large welcoming hall.  The stairs to the second level started in the middle of the hall and slowly ascended.  The room had the look of something out of Gone With the Wind.

Adding to that, was the woman standing four steps up.  She was wearing a form fitting red dress that stopped just above the knees.  It was strapless, no doubt to show off her ample cleavage.  Beautiful, long, blonde hair dropped from her center and down either side of her head; a very liberal hair style for the southern belle type that stood in front of them.

“If any of us were trustable, we wouldn’t be here, now would we?”  The woman finished her statement and slowly maneuvered herself down the stairs, seeming to having some trouble with her high heel shoes.

Suddenly, she lost it on the last stair and staggered.  Marshall moved like a phantom and caught her before she hit the marble floors.  “You all right, ma’am?”

Tobias shook his head and Bob stepped into the hall, shocked.  Savannah stood back up straight.  “Oh my stars, I just bought these shoes and they are just giving me the darnedest time of it.”

Bob extended his hand and Savannah took it.  Bob then brought it to his lips and Tobias secretly rolled his eyes behind him.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am, I have heard nothing but the best about The Red Queen.”

Savannah smiled at Bob’s compliments.  “Oh that silly nick name?  I just hope a smart man like you isn’t hung up on my reputation.”

Bob smiled, “Of course not.”

Savannah flirtatiously smiled back.  “I do like your friend here, Mr. Snyder, and what should I call him.”

Tobias shrugged.  “Well, I call him plenty of different names, including but not limited to-”

Bob cut Tobias off before he could finish the insult.  “Bob.  My name is Bob Stanoski.”

Savannah shot Bob a heavy smile.  “Well, Bob Stanoski, are you ready to play some cards?”

Stanoski grinned.  “Of course.”

“Good.”  Savannah began to go into the rules.  “It’s simple no limit hold ‘em poker.  We are trying to be casual here, so the buy in is twenty thousand.  Blinds start at five hundred and one thousand and will increase by the hour.  The last remaining, gets the pot.  None of that second or third place pay out nonsense.  No money required up front but when you are out you will have to speak to Marshall directly about payment.  Did you get all that, sir?”

Bob nodded, “Of course, but I have to admit, I’m not planning on losing.”

Savannah grinned playfully.  “No one ever does.”

Suddenly, the sound of Marshall spitting broke the silence and called the room’s attention to him.  He had just spit in a plant on a table.

“Good God, Marshall.  How tactless can you be?!  Now hurry to the kitchen and get yourself a cup or something!”

Marshall tipped his hat.  “Sorry, ma’am.”

Marshall walked back into the house toward the kitchen and Savannah shot Tobias a look.  Tobias shrugged.

“Sorry about that.  Let’s go to the game room and get underway,” Savannah said and lead Tobias and Bob to the game.

Savannah led Bob to what would have been the dining room.  The long table in the center was surrounded by six other players, two women and four men, all well dressed and well kempt, so much that they put Tobias and Bob to shame.  The only other person was the dealer, classically dressed in a white shirt black vest and a bow tie.

Savannah introduced them all and told Bob to take a seat.

What Bob didn’t see was Tobias slip over next to Savannah.  “Nice job on the stairs, dumb ass.”

Savannah, frowned and whispered back to Tobias, “Fuck you.  I’m no good in heels.  What about ‘Marshall’ and his impromptu spittoon?”

“Who are the suits?” Tobias asked.

“Acting students.  Got to love their desperation.  They work for peanuts.  Now are you ready to do this?” She smiled.

 Tobias couldn’t stifle his grin any longer.  “Let’s do this.”

End Episode 5

4-The Family

4

The Family

As Sidney walked into the bar she instantly filed the experience in her own head as one of the top ten, least fun moments of her life.

Sidney was no stranger to drinking in bars, pubs and taverns.  However, when she did, she preferred them to be clean, or at least not smell like dry urine.  The place was a small bar behind a pizza joint in the small town of Streetsboro.  It was ill lit and crowded with very unattractive people.  Two worn down, dirty pool tables sat to one side.  To the other, a dance floor where one women danced alone.

Sid had to stare at the dancing woman for a second.  Her belly had a pouch and Sid had to stop and wonder if the woman was with child.

Sidney shook her head and saw Tobias at the bar.  He saw her and waved her over.  She scowled, storming over.  “How did you find this place?”

Tobias frowned at her tone as he ordered her a drink.  “It’s not that bad.”

Sidney maintained her frown.  “Seriously, did you look up ‘shitholes’ in the yellow pages?  It’s like this place is actually trying to be the worst bar ever.”

Tobias shook his head.  “Does your arrogance have no limits?”

Sidney took a deep breath then pointed to the dancing girl.  “Is that woman pregnant?”

Tobias turned and watched the very drunk thirty-something blonde sway back and forth out of sync with the juke box music.  Her hair was matted with sweat, or water or beer. Tobias wasn’t sure which.  She wore a tube top and cut off jeans that seemed to be eternally trying to crawl into her vagina.  The belly was confusing.

“I’m honestly not sure,” Tobias finally answered.

Sidney nodded.  “And that’s my point.  I never want to have an ‘is she pregnant’ conversation at a bar.”

Tobias sighed in defeat.  “Okay, okay, you made your point, but I didn’t want us to meet at any of our usual joints because I don’t want people to see us together.  Just in case, our little scam goes wrong.”

“True, but what I don’t understand,” Sidney began as her drink came, “is why must we meet in a bar?”

Tobias smiled.  “You’ll see, so we are early.  Why don’t you let me in on the grift?”

Sid smiled.  “I do love it when you use old movie jargon like ‘grift’.”

“You should talk.  Who says ‘jargon’, anymore?”  Tobias punched back.

Sidney began to take Tobias through her plan, step by step.  She could see his nervousness as she explained.  It was a complicated and slightly convoluted set up, and those kinds of cons had a low success rate.  Sidney however, was confident that it was their best course of action given the situation of Bob’s finances.

“That’s pretty… complicated,” Tobias finally said as after Sidney finished.  “It’s also got some holes,”

“No plan is perfect, Bias,” Sidney responded.  “And as far as holes go, we can just fill in the blanks as we go along.”

Bias drew in a breath in order to respond when he noticed his guest entering the front door.  Tobias waved to the man and Sidney turned.  The man standing in the doo way was six-one, maybe six-two and large.  He was wearing a small shirt which showed off his broad shoulders and big arms.  Unfortunately, the shirt also showed off his gut.

The mystery man was not an ‘abs’ sort of guy.

He wore a non-descript, faded t-shirt and jeans.  On his head was a camouflage ball cap that said in bright green colors “John Deer”.  “That’s your boy?”

Tobias picked up on the sarcasm as he waved over the newcomer.  “Give him a chance.”

“His hat is an oxymoron.”  Sidney said un-happily.

“You’re an oxymoron.” Tobias fired back juvenilely.

The man also had a small disposable paper Pepsi cup in his left hand and as he approached he spat chewed tobacco into it.

He was carrying a cup of his own tobacco spit.

“Hello,” he said and extended his free hand to Sidney, who stared at it.

“This is Hank Tomec,” Tobias jumped in.  “Hank, this is Sidney.”

Sidney finally shook his hand.  “Interesting to meet you.”

Hank nodded quietly.  “Yeah, same to you.”

The three of them found a back table to continue their conversation.  They all sat down.  Sidney decided to wait and hear what Hank had to say.  She liked to give new people the floor in order to see what they were all about; give them a chance to impress her.

Hank sat there.  He sat there, awkwardly.

Sidney slowly looked at Tobias, who avoided her gaze then she turned back to Hank. “So… Hank.  Did Tobias tell you what we need.”

Hank nodded.  “You need muscle, for a con job.”

Sidney was shocked at Hank’s lack of tact in the sensitive criminal situation.  “You know what we are doing is against the law, right?”

Hank thought about it then nodded.  “I don’t sweat cops.”

Sidney blinked, unsure whether the man was dense or antisocial or both.  “What makes you think you can help us.”

Hank shrugged.  “I can fight.”

Sidney stood.  “Tobias, can I talk to you?”

Tobias stood and followed her out of ear range from the table.  “What the fuck is this?!”

Tobias looked hurt.  “It’s the muscle!”

“This guy?”  Sidney took a deep breath.  “Where did you find him?  He seems half retarded and completely devoid of any real speaking ability.  Also, he spits in a cup!”

“He’s my future brother in-law.”  Tobias said, knowing Sid wasn’t going to like this.

“Really?” Sidney began to flush red.  “Well, let’s makes this a family business!  Anyone in your brand new family that doesn’t know about me being a criminal?”

“It’s not like that.”  Tobias became defensive.  “He’s the only one who knows.  And let me point out, we need someone with no connection to Leroy Simpson, which is hard to come by, this close to Akron.”

Sidney thought about that for a second.  He was right, on that particular point.

Tobias gave her an irritated look.  “Look, he doesn’t have to be smart or able to speak for that matter.  Just muscle.”

Sidney grinned.  “Oh yes, I forgot his one usable skill.  ‘I can fight’.”  She mocked Hank’s southern Ohio twang voice when she quoted him.

Tobias smiled, then walked to the bar.  Sidney watched as he purchased three double shots of Jack Daniels.  He then walked back to the table and got Hank to down them one after another in the course of a minute or so.

Alcohol, when chugged or done as a shot, does not take that long to effect the drinker.

Tobias then stood to get another drink and held up his index finger in Sidney’s direction, signaling for her to wait a minute.  She mouthed the words ‘what the fuck are you doing?’ but he ignored her.

Instead, he picked up the drink and sat back down at the table.  He gave the drink to Tomec, then directed his attention to two big hillbillies playing pool while saying something Sidney couldn’t make out.  Tobias then pointed at Sydney and said something.  Sidney watched Hank’s face curl into a scowl.  His face was flushed from the shots.

He stood and stormed over toward the pool table, while Tobias returned to Sidney’s side.

“What did you tell him?” She asked.

Tobias smiled, “I got Hank drunk, then I told him those guys at the table said you looked like a whore, good enough to rape.”

Sidney looked at him with a raised eyebrow.  Tobias turned, smiling.  “Hank didn’t seem to like that very much.”

Sidney hated the look on Tobias’s face.  The shit-eating grin usually meant he was about to be right.

“RAPE THIS!” Hank suddenly screamed and Sidney turned back toward the pool table as Tomec drove his large meaty hand into one of the pool guys faces.

Hank struck with such force the man’s nose seemed to explode.  Blood literally spewed out and down his face.  The man’s back arched backward over the table before the dead weight of his lower half dragged him to the floor in a crumpled heap.

The man’s pool buddy came around the table, his pool cue held high like a club.  He took a swing but Hank caught the long piece of wood out of the air and ripped it out of his hand before tossing it behind him like garbage.  The man looked stunned by the complete destruction of his strategy.  Hank took this opportunity and stepped in with a cannon-like uppercut to the man’s centered mid-section.  The air was hurled out of the man’s lungs as he keeled over.  Hank raised his right hand above his head.  He then dropped the fist with a huge downward cross, driving it through the pool guy’s face and sending him to the floor with a broken jaw and possibly some missing teeth.

“God damn pussies!” Hank yelled as he stood upright and pulled his tin of chew out of his back pocket.

The two men wearing staff uniforms were in motion now.  They were older, but covered in muscle and tattoos.  They probably had some history with the owner, along the lines of prison mates, and that’s how they got the jobs.  They looked tough and they weren’t surprised or flat-footed.

The bigger of the two was bald and stood a foot above Hank.  He stepped up and pointed a finger at Tomec.  “You’re outta here, pal!”

Hank scuffed as he pulled some chew out of his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth, between the lower lip and teeth, “The fuck I am, chief!”

The bald man wound up and took a big swing at Hank.  Hank ducked the wild haymaker and came up with a giant left hand uppercut to the man’s inner arm pit.  The blow caused shockwaves of pain through his upper body.  Hank then came up fluidly grabbing the back of the man’s head and driving it into the pool table with a loud bang. This gave the second bouncer, a slower and fatter man, the chance to land a vicious right cross on Hank’s right cheek.

The blow sent hank staggering and stumbling to one knee.  Sidney yelped, “We need to help him-”

Tobias put up a hand and stopped her.

The fatter bouncer advanced on Hank, who reached onto the pool table to grab a ball before pitching it at close range into fatty’s eye.  The bouncer yelled and screamed in pain as the ball made a cracking noise upon collision.

The whole bar’s attention now on the fight, collectively said ‘OOOO’

The man’s hands went to his face and he bent over, howling in pain.  Hank grabbed the back of his head and lifted his knee, driving it into his face.  Fat man dropped.

The bald man, now bleeding from the cut over his eye where his face had struck the table at high velocity, charged, grabbing Hank around the waist from behind and with a roar lifting him off his feet.  The man charged Hank into the bar, then grabbed the back of his head pinning him to the bar.

“We have got to help him out of this,” Sidney said, starting to get concerned.

Tobias shook his head still smiling.

Hank drove his elbow backward into the man’s sternum.  The blow made the bald man loosen his grip.  Hank spun around, whirling into a huge powerful right hook to the injured eye.  The bald man staggered from the blow and Hank bent down grabbing him around his waist.  With a roar, hank lifted the bald man and back body-dropped him backward over the counter of the bar sending him crashing to the floor behind.

Hank stood there, victorious.  Sidney shook her head in disbelief, while Tobias chuckled.  Hank turned and spit tobacco over the bar and onto the bald man who lay in a heap behind.

“I leave when I want, mother fucker!” Hank yelled.

He whirled around and realized he had the bar’s attention.  “Anyone else want to rape that hotty over there?!”  He questioned the bar and they all shook their heads in unison.

Hank then walked to the bar and pulled out a twenty, throwing it at the bar tender.  “I want another shot.”  The tender dropped a glass on the bar and poured the shot.

Hank took it to the head then slammed the glass back to the counter.  “Keep what’s left, it’s not a tip.  Buy new bouncers.  This place is HORSE SHIT!”

Hank then slid the glass off the counter at the tender.

Tobias looked at Sidney.  “So?”

Sidney grinned.  “I want one.”

End episode 4

3-The Mark

3

The Mark

Sidney’s eyes fluttered as the sound of her cell phone ringing attempted to call her back from the great beyond.  Slowly, she opened her eyes and her brain began the process of becoming self-aware again.

She was in her room, in her house, in Ravenna.  It was a nice house, for which she had worked very hard to acquire and paid quite a good deal of cash.  It was also rather expensive to keep the house afloat and her part time bartending job didn’t quite cover it.

Her right hand lashed out as the phone rang again, eager to silence the infernally noisy construct.  She drew it to her fuzzy field of vision and noticed it was Tobias calling.  It was also 7:00 in the evening, only two hours after she had decided to quit casing the mark.

“You are aware that I was up all night, thanks to you and the all important job you have asked me to do for you?” She said with as much sarcasm as she could muster this close to having woken up.

She could muster quite a bit.

Tobias was skilled at ignoring such tones and did just that.  “What did you find out?  Did you see an angle?”

Sidney sighed and took the phone away from her ear before pulling herself up to sit on the edge of the bed.  She could see herself in the mirror.  She had passed out, sprawled over the top of the bed covers, still in the jogging outfit.  Her hair was down and gnarled around her shoulders.

She could hear Tobias’s eager voice asking if she was still there, and she groaned before putting the phone back to her ear.  “Yes, I’m still here.  Would you please take it down seven notches?  You sound like a cracked out four-year-old.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” Tobias responded.  “So, do we have a play or not?”

Sidney smiled for the first time since her rude awakening.  “Oh we have an angle alright. Hell, we have a cliff.”

****

Before…

Sidney sat in her car waiting for something else to happen with the house.  While she waited, she went through Robert (Bob) Stanoski’s mail.

It was a train wreck.

One bill after another.  The man had to have at least five or six maxed out credit cards.  Sidney had never actually seen someone in this kind of debt.  He had to be at least $50,000.00 in the hole, with just the bills she had in front of her.  This was something.

She couldn’t really use the credit card debt itself, it was too regulated, but she could use the desperation.  A man with this much debt had problems, problems he would probably being willing to compromise himself to get rid of.

She needed a vice.

A weakness to exploit and use.

It was at this point when she watched an old Cadillac pull up to the corner and two men get out.  The first from the passenger side, was a large, oval-shaped, white man with a bald head.  He adjusted the large pair of glasses on his nose and his face had a tight, trim goatee that gave him a menacing look.  Sidney was reminded of every serial killer she had seen, and could totally picture this man showing up on the news after eating a whole mess of babies, or something equally heinous.

The other man was black and large.  He had a broad chest and big arms and looked like he pumped iron constantly, a fact he was obviously proud of given his wife beater tee shirt, which must have been purposely bought two sizes too small.

As they approached the house, Sidney smiled.

Ask and ye shall receive.

****

The Muscle.

“I thought it sucked,” Burt said as he stepped out of the car and adjusted his glasses.

Ernie had never been a fan or Burt’s low and mostly emotionless voice, but he had gotten used to it in the three years he had worked with the strange man.  “How can you not like it?  It was perfect comic book Thor.”

Ernie argued his point as Burt walked around the car.  His walk also bothered Ernie.  It was like Burt never moved his arms and just quickly dragged his upper body with his legs.  It gave Ernie the feeling he was walking around with a horror movie freak.

“It was boring,” Burt presented his arguments on the subject.  “And how could you possibly think that the movie was comic book Thor?  They were all aliens.”

Ernie scowled and looked surprised at the same time.  “The hell they was, how do you figure it?”

Burt scowled and pushed the glasses up his nose as the two began to walk to the door, “How did you miss that?  The stupid little girl actually says it.”

Their debate about the enjoyment of the movie Thor had begun this morning and had been non-stop ever since.

“I don’t think that’s what they meant.” Ernie responded trying to think back to the movie.

“It was boring,” Burt said quietly.

“No you’re just being childish,” Ernie said as they stepped up to the front door.

Ernie knocked loudly three times, “Alright, game face.”

Burt nodded and they heard Bob inside, shuffling toward the door.

“The destroyer armor was awesome.”  Ernie decided to make a final point.

Burt did one quick nod, “Agreed.”

The door opened.

Burt’s hand went to Bob’s throat.  Bob dropped the carton of milk that he was drinking. Burt shoved him backwards into the house as the milk fell to the floor.  Bob sputtered and choked on the milk in his mouth as Burt slammed him against the wall, putting pressure on his wind pipe.

Ernie walked in behind him and gave Bob a hard eye.  “You late, dawg.”

Ernie’s speech patterns suddenly adopted that of a gangster rapper.  This was intentional.  It had a tendency to make small white men pee themselves.

“I’m… Sorry… I’m working on it….” Bob sputtered through the lack of air.

“You sorry?  You sorry?!  Sorry don’t pay your dues, man!”  Ernie yelled and got in Bob’s flustered face.

“One… Month.”  Bob managed to speak through the choking.

Ernie raised an eyebrow and feigned surprise.  “Did this motha fucka just tell me when he’s going to pay?  Sounds like he was telling me my business?”

Burt’s hand applied pressure.

Bob gasped for air and his eyes started to roll back into his head before Ernie tapped Burt’s shoulder and Burt dropped the man.  Bob crumpled to the floor, gasping for air in the fetal position.

Ernie leaned down, getting really close and personal.  “You close the deal in two weeks. Mr. Simpson doesn’t wait any longer.  Got it?”

Bob nodded desperately, doing anything not to get choked again.

Burt and Ernie turned and walked out, shutting the door behind them.  As they walked to the car, Ernie asked Burt, “Who’s next?”

“Mrs. Kowalski,” Burt said.

Ernie frowned, “That old Polish lady?”

Burt smiled and nodded as he circled to the passenger side.  “We break a finger this time.”

Ernie stared at him and his smile.  He was disgusted by the enjoyment that Burt took from his job.  “Burt, you are one sick mother fucker.”

****

Now…

“…Long story short, I followed the two meat heads until they took me back to Akron and the Corner Pocket pool-hall.” Sidney said, finishing her big reveal.

Tobias instantly put two and two together.  “Leroy Simpson?  Bob Stanoski is in with Leroy Simpson?”

“It’s much worse than that, Tobias.”  Sidney continued as she walked into the bathroom and began to pee.  “Simpson funded Bob’s buyout of your restaurant.”

Tobias’ voice seemed stressed.  “I don’t know about this, Sid.  Simpson is bad news.”

Tobias seemed to trail off, then his voice turned to frustration.  “Are you peeing?!”

The jig was up.  He had heard the echo.  “You are the one that woke me up.  That’s what I do when I wake up.  It’s all natural.”

Tobias took a deep breath.  “That doesn’t mean you do it while I’m on the phone!”

“Our friendship is bigger than pee, Bias.”  She said sarcastically, secretly taking enjoyment from his unease.

Tobias sighed and pushed through.  “So, why would Simpson have anything to do with scum like Stanoski?”

Sidney smiled, “Stanoski is a gambler.  Poker is his game of choice.”

“Shit.”  Tobias said over the other end as he did the same math Sidney had done.

“You got it, Bias.”  Sidney began.  “Bob Stanoski lost big, and he lost big with Simpson. Knowing he can’t pay it off, he offered a way to launder some of Simpson’s dirtier money.  Simpson handed him enough drug money to buy the restaurant.  Stanoski bought the restaurant for cheaper than it’s worth with the blood money, then he’s going to sell it off for the same price or more, a couple of months later.  Bob will then hand all the clean money over to Leroy Simpson.  Then Leroy will cut him loose.”

“This is dangerous, Sid.  Maybe we should walk.  I didn’t realize it was so-” Tobias was cut off by Sidney.

“Fuck that,” Sidney said abruptly.  She was eager to try to pull a job with this kind of risk.  “Don’t puss out on me now, Bias.  I have an idea and I plan of pulling this off.”

Tobias took a long moment on the other end.  “Okay.   Okay, I’m in.”

“Alright, we are going to need one more on this.  He’s got to be trustworthy and no ties to Simpson.  He’s also got to be big and good with his fists.”  Sidney spoke, all business now.

Tobias took a second then responded confidently.  “I know just the guy.”

End Episode 3

2-The Straight

2

The Straight

Tobias, just before making the call…

There was a certain euphoria that Tobias Snyder got from cooking, that was very hard to describe.

Almost one year ago, Tobias had dragged himself out of a life of crime and addiction, only to find that he had been doing it for so long he didn’t really know how to do anything else.  He had become a cliché and this fact disheartened him greatly.

Determined not to go back, he had searched for an old childhood friend, Matt.  Matt Ross turned out to still be the kind and generous friend he used to be.  After hearing Tobias’ story, he had not only hired him as a cook in his restaurant, but even put him up a couple of days; just until Tobias was able to find a place.

Tobias found that he loved cooking much more than he had expected, and he threw himself into all aspects of the job, learning everything he could from Matt and the business, and in the course of the last year he had moved quickly to the position of Kitchen Manager.

Tobias would have silently reflected on this while he expertly sliced Zucchini in preparation for the night’s dinner rush, but instead, his perfect little meditation was being ripped to shreds by an invader.

Robert ‘Bob’ Stanoski was his name.

One month prior, Matt had had a personal crisis and was forced to sell the restaurant in order to help his daughter out of some trouble.  He had received a very pretty penny on the sale, since Matt had rigorously kept his restaurant, his baby, in good condition.

The buyer’s name was Bob Stanoski; a positively unbearable, little, bald man who wanted to resell the prized, independent restaurant to a larger chain.  Of course, not before running the store into the ground, at least according to Tobias.

In the last month, the man had fired five cooks, three of whom were damn fine cooks.  All of them, more or less, were on time and good at their jobs.  The restaurant had gone from perfectly staffed to under employed in a month’s time.  The quality and speed of the food service had suffered drastically, and regulars were beginning to walk away.

In the current market, it was nearly impossible for an independent restaurant to survive, let alone be profitable.  When Tobias had confronted Bob, he was met with disinterest, if anything.

So now, instead of being in his cooking happy-place, Tobias was staring at the closed door to the manager’s office where Bob had just taken Tom, one of the better cooks on staff.  They had been back there for ten minutes and Tobias was almost positive of what was happening.

Suddenly, the door opened and Tobias watched Tom walk out of the office, crestfallen. Tom’s eyes met Tobias’s and he shook his head.  Tom then removed his chef’s hat and headed for the back door.

Tobias felt his teeth grind and his anger build.  He stormed into the office where Bob sat doing paper work and he slammed the door and locked it behind him.  The loud bang made Bob jump in his seat, then stand.  His fish-like face curled in anger.  “What the hell do you want?”

“You just fired Tom?!”  Tobias questioned, although it sounded more like a statement.

Bob relaxed and sighed with frustration.  “Yes, I did.  We just don’t have the revenue.”

The way Bob made it sound, like he was talking to a child, angered Tobias even more.  “Are you kidding right now?  How do you expect me to run a kitchen with four cooks?!”

Bob smiled.  “I don’t.”

Tobias had become literally confused.  “What?”

“I’ll make this clear once, Mr. Snyder,” Bob began.  “I do not care if this kitchen runs at all.  I care about money.  Money, right now.  I already have three corporate offers on the table and I will close the deal within the next sixty days.  Then you and everything in this place will become property of an Applebee’s or something.  Then you and the rest of the staff will be their problem.  Until then, however, I want to make as much money off this place as I can.  With that said, it’s a simple formula; less workers equals more money.”

“You’re firing these cooks and pocketing their pay?”  Tobias wasn’t surprised, he had seen too much to be surprised.  He just wanted confirmation that Bob Stanoski was an evil fuck.

Bob smiled, as if the slow kid of the class had just gotten the answer.  “Well that isn’t hard to understand is it?  Now get the fuck out of my office or your money will be mine next.

****

Back to the present…

“I’m jealous.”  Sid said, as Tobias finished telling the story.

Tobias turned and gave her a dirty look and Sidney responded with a shrug.   “Look, the guy has a good scam going.  I mean, sure it’s a dick move, but he’s going to fire everyone off and pocket the revenue for two months.  Then he’ll sell the place before anyone brings a wrongful termination suit against him.  Just saying, it’s a good play.”

The two of them were standing outside the car.  They had found a spot to the back side of a Wal-mart parking lot and were, for the most part, alone.  Tobias took another drag on his cigarette as Sidney counted the border run money on the hood of the car.  The sun was slowly breaking on the horizon.  It was about six or six-thirty in the morning.

“What the fuck is this?”  Sidney suddenly said out of rage, as she hoisted a large sandwich bag of change into Tobias’s face angrily.

“Its $10.00 in change, give or take,” Tobias responded.

“We accept change now?  Seriously?” Sid questioned.

Tobias shrugged.  “What was I supposed to do?  If I didn’t take it I might have blown it.”

Sidney scowled, “Really?  You would have blown it?  Because you refused to take this guy’s high school lunch money?”

Tobias returned the scowl.  “Last time I checked, it’s still U.S. currency.”

Sidney tossed the bag to him and he barley caught it by surprise. “Fair enough.  That can be your take.  Buy yourself some gum balls.”

“Screw that,” Tobias smiled.  “I want one of those rub-on butterfly tattoos.”

“You would,” Sidney said, turning back to the money.  “Well, minus the Salvation Army Santa’s bag-o-change, we took about $300.00.”

“Keep it,” Tobias said suddenly.  “Consider it a retainer.  I want to hire you.”

Sidney looked at him and narrowed her eyes, “After a year of nothing, you drop out of the sky and now you expect me to help you out?”

Tobias shook his head. “No, I want to hire you.  Take Stanoski down before he sells the restaurant and get the deed put in my name.”

“Not so easy, how are you planning on paying me?” Sidney asked, her eyebrow in the air.

Tobias shook his head.  “I’m not.  100% of the take goes to you and whoever you hire.  Except the restaurant, that’s mine.”

It was Sidney’s turn to shake her head.  “Fat chance.  There might not be anything in it for me, what if the restaurant is the only take?”

Tobias looked at her.  “I know better than that.  You’ll find something.”

Sidney shrugged.  “Well, I do have the ability to sniff out extra cash, but I need insurance.”

Tobias looked at her, confused.  “What more could you possibly want?”

Sidney smiled.  “You.”

Tobias became very confused. “Me?”

Sidney nodded.  “You.  You work it with me.  Side by side.  The whole time.”

Tobias was already shaking his head.  “No way.  I made a promise.  I’m not going-”

Sidney finished his sentence. “-Break it?  Oh come on, you already broke it with the border run tonight.  You want me to do this?  Fine, we do this together or not at all.”

Tobias took a deep breath, then tossed his cigarette away and blew a long puff out into the night.  Sidney had to keep herself from laughing.

He was so dramatic.

“Okay, I’m in.” He resigned, and Sidney celebrated with a hop and a smile, clapping her hands.

“Alright, drive me home and give me his address.  I have some following to do.” Sidney said, scraping up the money and slipping it into her purse.  “Anything else you haven’t told me about that year?”

Sidney said this as she moved to the passenger side.  Tobias’ face seemed to drop and Sidney knew he was keeping something more from her.  “Seriously?  What else.”

Tobias cracked a half smile.  “I’m engaged.”

****

It was eight-something in the morning by the time Sidney had gotten home and into a different set of clothes and over to the mark’s house.  Sidney could only hope that Bob Stanoski was not a morning person.  She was thankful to see his car still in the driveway.

On the drive to her house, Tobias had given her all the information that he had on the guy, which wasn’t much.  The only thing Tobias knew outright was that the guy had a wife and a kid, who he had lost a couple of years back.  She could have figured this out from the state of his house.

It was a small one-story thing that would have been off-white if the paint hadn’t been chipped and falling off.  The flower beds, which had probably flourished with the wife around, had become overgrown with weeds and the yard had not been mowed in some time.

If it weren’t for the car in the driveway, Sidney would have doubted that she had the right house.  Hell, she would have doubted if anyone lived there.

All of this, however, didn’t tell her anything other than that he didn’t have a whole lot of respect for himself and that he was probably somewhat unstable.  She needed more.  Much more.

Tobias’ area of expertise was breaking and entering.  Back in the day, they would have waited until he left and Tobias would have worked his magic, entering and exiting the house without leaving a trace.  While inside, he would go through records and statements, old photo’s anything that could be used to formulate a scam.

Tobias had been gone for a long time.

She had to figure out other ways to get the information she needed.

So she waited.

The mark turned out to be a late sleeper, which usually meant extracurricular activity in the night.  That could be a way in.  Suddenly she saw what she was waiting for; the mail man.

She grinned, then prepared.  It was time to work.

The clothes she had switched into were put on for this purpose.  A pair of capri running sweat pants and a tank top.  She wrapped her hair into a pony tail, then picked up her arm am/fm joggers radio.  She put in the head phones, leaving the radio off.  Sidney then grabbed a washcloth and bottled water.

Pouring the water into the clothe she then padded it on her face, neck, arms, and breasts.  The water gave her a reflective shine as if she had worked up a sweat.  She then got out low and quiet, as not to be seen by the mail man up the street.

Sidney found a place down the block and started jogging.  She jogged down the sidewalk towards the mail man, making sure her course took her past Bob’s house.  As she approached the mail man’s little car, she slowed and waved, making sure the mail man saw her wave.

The mail man looked confused by the wave, but smiled and waved back.  Sidney came to a stop, as if she had been running for miles, feigning the panting and extra hard breathing. “Hi there.”

The mail man looked at her over the box he was currently at.  “Hello, and nice day for a run.”

The mail man seemed friendly and Sidney continued smiling.  “It is, isn’t it?  Hey you aren’t by chance delivering to 4352, are you?”

Sidney pointed to Bob’s house when she said it.

The mail man raised his eyebrow, becoming suspicious.  “I am.  Can I help you with something?”

Sidney smiled and wiped her hand on her sweats before extending it to the mail man, “My names Kate Stanoski.”

The mail man shook the hand, “Pleasure to meet you, but what is it that you-”

“I’m Bob’s cousin.  I am watching the house for a couple of weeks.” Sidney said, his smile fading.

“Oh, well, what happened?”  The mail man asked.

“His son, he suddenly got very sick and he had to fly out there to see him, so I said I would come down and watch the place while he was away.  Collect his mail, that sort of thing.”  She was telling the story while expertly hinting at what she wanted.

The mail man seemed to buy it. “That is so sad.  Well, give him my regards.”

 “I will, and oh, one more thing,” Sidney said on the fly.  “If you want to just give me the mail for today since I’m here already.”

The mail man shrugged and handed over a stack of envelopes addressed to Bob.  “Have a good one.”

The mail man puttered off and Sidney smiled, pocketing the mail before finishing her fake run.

End episode 2