26(S3E4)-The Rat

26

(Season 3 Episode 4)

The Rat

“What the hell did you guys steal?” Sidney asked when Hank had finally finished telling his story.

“Some kinda diamond necklace.  Other than that, Tobias didn’t tell me.” Hank replied.

This confused Sidney.  She had never heard of a diamond necklace worth billions, maybe some kind of historical artifact.  Sidney had a hard time buying that, though.  Historical artifacts were worth a lot but stealing them and finding a fence to move it was borderline impossible.  One-of-a-kind artifacts were just that; one-of-a-kind.  When they got stolen, everybody knew it, so if it turned up it was easy to trace it back to the source.

“Where is it?” If she could get it, maybe that would help.

“I don’t know,” Hank answered.  “Bias didn’t tell me where he hid it, just said he was putting it in a place for you.”

Sidney felt the ambulance hit a bump as it headed into the parking lot and she knew it was her cue to get gone.  She had no interest in talking to Detective Eugene Sellers.  At least, not yet.  There were still pieces missing, pieces she needed in order to formulate a plan.  Before the plan was formed, the cop would only get in the way.

She felt the pressure.  She was in the shark tank and they were circling.  Her entire life had come to a crashing halt in the span of one hour.  To make matters worse, the man she would go to for help was bleeding out in a helicopter.

She was alone.

She shook her head.  She had to focus.  If she didn’t stay on the move, she would die.

“Okay Hank, this is my stop.” She said standing as the ambulance slowed.

“Be careful, Sid.” Hank said, concerned.

Sidney nodded.  “Call me when you find out about Bias.”

Hank nodded and with that, she unhooked the door and as the ambulance pulled into the E.R. vestibule, she hopped out hitting the wet grass and rolling out of sight.

The next move was clear.  She needed to get some shoes, and maybe some pants.  Then she needed to see The Rat.

She took fifteen minutes and searched the cars in the parking lot, eventually finding one with a gym bag in the back.  She smashed the window with a rock and snatched it, managing to find some sweat pants and a pair of shoes two sizes too big for her.  The bag probably belonged to a nurse or doctor on third shift who planned to work out after work since the clothes were still clean.

Most likely, they kept the bag in the car because they were afraid the locker room was unsafe.  The thought made Sidney crack a smile.  Even in the situation at hand, she couldn’t help it.

The bag also had some small bills and change in it, possibly for a vending machine.  She took it, the pants and the shoes and left the bag behind, not wanting to linger any longer.  Even in the cover of night, it only took one curious security guard or drive by police patrol and she would be locked up.

It would be even easier to have her killed in prison or jail.

From there she used her smart phone to plot a couple of well-timed PARTA Bus rides.  She used the remainder of the money she had lifted to get to the Kenmore area of Akron.

Kenmore was the kind of place that all the street signs were numbers.  It was dirty and lended itself to low rent convenient stores with bars on the windows, intermingled with ancient, dirty, peeled paint, colonials and duplexes.

Either way, it was not the place a lone white woman wanted to walk through at two in the morning.  She didn’t have a choice.  The Rat was the only guy she knew that would have the answers for her.

Still, she cringed.  She had only met Rat twice and neither time had been an enjoyable experience.  She doubted this would be any better.

She finally arrived at the address, a three story house riddled with damage and dirt.  Loud rap music boomed out the window, a mix of Kanye West and Jay-Z.  The place looked like a gang hideout.

Which was, after all, exactly what it was.

She walked up the steps to the door and knocked loudly.  The door swung open and a man the color of midnight answered.  He was an obvious lifter, standing there with his shirt off and abs glistening with sweat.  Inside behind him, ebony men and woman bumped and grinded all over each other.  It was a party with more chance of becoming an orgy than ending.

“I don’t give a fuck if the music is too loud, it ain’t getting turned down and you should know better than to come over here and complain.”  The man said gruffly, before drinking something out of a red plastic cup.

Sidney shook her head, almost having to yell to respond.  “I’m not here for that, I’m here to see Rat.”

Now he was really confused.  “You’re here to see The Rat?”

Sidney frowned, not liking what the man was thinking.  “Business, not pleasure.”

He chuckled, a low rolling sound.  “Yeah, has to be.  He’s upstairs on the top floor.”

The man opened the door, letting her in.  She passed and headed for the stairs.

“Hey, when you’re done with the business, come see me if you want some pleasure.” The man called after her, smiling.

With abs and arms like that, Sidney found herself considering it.  She pushed the thought away. Somehow, it felt disrespectful to think funny thoughts with Tobias and Hank in the hospital.

She climbed the stairs, passing the second floor bedrooms and bathroom to the attic apartment.  She banged on the door and she could hear scuttle and scrambling noises inside.

“Who is it?” Rat’s high squeaky voice pierced the beats that were still rolling up the stairs.

“Sidney Thomas.” She answered.  “Open the door, Rat.  I need your help.”

“Sidney?!” He chirped from inside.  “Sidney? What are you…  I mean, I wasn’t expecting…  Just wait a…  Giimme a second…  Be right there!”  She could tell he was desperately trying to prepare his place for her.

Sidney’s visit had obviously taken him completely by surprise.  He kept her waiting for almost five minutes before, finally, the door unlocked and swung open.

“Sidney, what brings you here?” he said, out of breath.

Rat weighed, maybe ninety pounds soaking wet.  He was skin and bones with an extremely long face covered in acne and acne scars.  He wore a pair of heavy glasses and an old, faded Metallica t-shirt.  His super greasy hair was pulled back in a tight pony tail in the back.

“I need your help.”  She repeated and stepped past him and up his stairs into his apartment, or at least what was supposed to be an apartment.

Nest would have been a better word for it

It was one open room with a sloped ceiling and a small bathroom off to one corner.  It consisted of a mattress and box spring next to a huge, three monitor, double tower computer set up that looked like it should belong to a James Bond villain.

The floor was covered in trash and junk.  Everything from electronics to empty Cheetos bags.  She noticed the reason he had kept her waiting; a small path cleared to the computer and bed combo which he had made by pushing the grime and trash to either side.

The place smelled like a locker room.

“I wasn’t expecting anyone today.”  Rat said as he passed her, headed toward the computer.

Sidney raised an eyebrow. “When are you?”

“Let me get you a seat.”  Rat said as he waded into the garbage.  He found and pulled a fold up camping chair, from which he proceeded to brush away old Doritos crumbs and something…sticky.

“I’ll stand.” Sidney said, low and forceful.

Rat looked up and seemed hurt, but shrugged and dropped the chair heading back to the computer.  “So, what can I do for you?”

Sidney was happy to be on to the reason for her visit but she couldn’t help one more question out of curiosity.  “So, what is with the neighbors?”

“Landlords, actually.” Rat corrected.  “I hide their money and make their taxes go away and they don’t charge me rent.  I can’t overstate the importance of a large group of gang bangers answering the door when someone comes here looking for a hacker.”

Sidney shrugged and walked to The Rat’s side, accepting that answer.  “How do you deal with that music all night.”

“I’m on a Dracula schedule, Sid.  I sleep when the sun rises.” He answered simply.

“Fair enough.“  Sidney said, her curiosity curbed.  “I need you to data mine someone for me.  Fenton-”

 

“-Sanoma? You gotta be kidding me.”  Rat finished her sentence.  “I did that one for Toby already, like three weeks ago.”

Sidney took a deep breath.  “I know, and now he’s in a coma.  Took three to the chest tonight.”

The Rat’s face dropped.  “Holy shit, really?  You think it was this Sanoma guy?”

Sidney nodded.  “I know it was.  If he went to that much trouble, he’s not done either.  What was Tobias into?”

“Ever heard of the Cash Key?”  Rat asked.

Sidney shook her head and The Rat continued.  “Okay, well, about four years ago there was this hacker who went by the handle of ‘Cash’.  Cash was an average player until he found some back door into the F.B.I network. Nobody gets into that and this guy couldn’t resist leaving a calling card.  He changed all the screen savers to a Wendy’s add for the ‘Baconator’.  Needless to say, the Feds tracked them down and took him down.”

“What does this have to do with Sanoma?” Sid asked, hoping he got to the point soon.

“I’m getting there,” Rat answered.  “So Cash goes down, but he never gives up the program he designed that got him in the back door.  He puts that on an Micro-SD card, one of the super small ones they use on digital cameras and sends it to his cousin, a jeweler, with instructions to put it in a necklace and sell it to the first person that comes in to buy it.  The Feds work hard to find it, but by the time they get to the jeweler, it’s too late and the card is in the open.”

“I’m guessing this necklace ended up in the hands of Fenton Sanoma?” Sidney asked, making the next leap.

“Couple of weeks ago he starts putting out invites to buy, taking orders for the highest bidder.” Rat answered.

“Wait a minute,” Sidney was confused.  “This program was from four years ago.  Companies and organizations update their programs constantly.”

Rat nodded.  “That’s the genius of the Cash Key.  Supposedly it works off a fundamental flaw in the operating system.  They update constantly but change the O.S.  A government agency.  That’s a lot of money to spend in defense of a program that might not even exist.”

Sidney considered it.  If such an item did exist, it would be worth billions, easily.  Syndicates could use it to find out who the under covers were and take them out.  They could figure out schedules for evidence movements and prisoner transports.  You could play with the F.B.I playbook in your hands.

Fenton was after the necklace.  He probably had buyers who would be getting antsy waiting.  This was the big score for him.  The make or break deal of his career.  Tobias and Hank had stolen his retirement.

She began to form an idea.  The basics of a potential plan that would deal with Sanoma and the necklace.

“Okay, Rat.  I need you to find me the dirtiest thief in the area.  Get me their information.” Sidney said finally.

She now had no choice but to go head to head with her creator.

END EPISODE 26

 

 

Hy

25(S3E3)-The Dirty Mole

25
(Season 3, Episode 3)

The Dirty Mole

Two weeks before the wedding…

Fenton Sanoma was not his real name.

Nor were most of the things people called him.  After years as a grifter and thief he had used so many aliases it had become hard for him to remember what his real name was anymore.  He pondered the question as he sat on the fourth floor balcony of just one of his condo properties in the United States.

“Paul?  I think its Paul.” He said to himself after giving it some thought.

The question had come to him because, after his next pay day, he might be able to start using it again. This and other questions about his impending retirement had begun to slip into his mind lately.  He had been doing this for almost forty years now, from his first game of three card monty to the major success of his fake father scam, or as he had affectionately called it the ‘reverse child support’, he had slowly built himself up to be one of the world’s best confidence men.

It was now finally time walk away.

He had stolen something worth billions, and yesterday he found a buyer.  He was going to liquidate his aliases assets and then buy a nice little island.  He had already picked one out.  A nice little place in the South Pacific.

He finished his coffee as the sun rose in the east, filling the sky with orange and red hues.  He walked back inside and dressed.  Fenton was a man in his late fifties, but looked to be more like late forties.  He had a good body for his age and salt and pepper hair that was short and well kept.  He had a tight thin grey beard that he spent a good amount of time grooming.  He preferred the beard but he had to shave it before for a job once or twice.

He put on some loose cotton Dockers and a casual Polo shirt and checked himself out in the mirror.  He was a confident well-dressed older white man who reeked of money.

Everything you wanted to be in this country.

He slipped on a pair of nice, high end sandals.  They did not fit his image but they were the one comfort he allowed himself.  He set his alarm and left for the office.

This office was just one of many well secured safe houses Fenton had acquired over the years to house his acquisitions before selling them.  Today, since he had a buyer for later in the afternoon, he would pick up the item and take it to the deal.

He arrived at the office building by charter cab, Fenton only drove nowadays if he had to.  If you want to be rich you have to act rich, and rich people do not drive.

He proceeded the elevator, hit the button for the third floor and waited patiently to get to the top.  It dinged and he walked down the hallway to his door.  He opened it and stepped in, turning to the alarm pad on the inside wall, having only ten seconds to put in the code before a response team would be dispatched.

He punched in the code 7-3-7-5-2-A-3-D.

The alarm switched off and he let the door shut.  He then moved through the empty main room to the back office.  Another key pad on the outside would unlock the door and deactivate the motion sensors he had in each corner of the room.

4-3-6-2-G-D-R-4-F. The code entered with a click and he could hear the door bolt being electronically thrown by the system.

Fenton had used this particular safe house because it was his most secure.  He smiled, entering the almost blank inner office.  The only thing in the room, mostly for posterity’s sake, was a solid oak desk with an oversized calendar in the center. A pen cup. A Stapler. And a name plate that read, “Carl Hund C.E.O”

Another alias.

Fenton moved around the desk and sat in the chair and then opened the top, right hand drawer.

This precise action was the moment when Fenton’s day took a turn.

 Inside this drawer should have been a large safe box.  After entering another key code, Fenton could access the contents which included a small caliber pistol, some forged documents and the billion dollar object.

What was actually in the drawer was a note that said, very simply, the following;

Collected for debts owed.

Fenton’s hand grabbed the note crushing it.  At this point, he noticed the hole in the bottom of the drawer, about the size of the safe box.  Fenton’s hand shook with rage and he grabbed the front of the desk, his rage assisting him as he rolled the desk over backwards revealing the hole through the floor and into the H & R Block that had been built below him that had not opened yet.

Fenton took a series of breaths, forcing himself to calm.  He had not survived this long on by losing control every time things did not go his way.  He could put off the buyers for another month, maybe less, but he had to find the object and get it back.  He had to figure out who had taken it and act quickly.

His brain retraced the past few days, looking for anything out of the ordinary and it immediately came to a stop on the janitor false alarm a few days ago.

The janitor had been new, and not realized that this office was not to be cleaned while Fenton was not present.  He had stumbled in and set off the alarm.  Fenton had shown up after the police and concurred that it was a misunderstanding.

Now, Fenton did the math.  He had been casing the office, looking for a weakness and in the small amount of time he had somehow found one; a blind spot in the motion detectors.

Now it was Fenton’s turn to find their blind spot.

****

…The Night Before

“I can’t fuckin’ believe you talked me into that shit.” Hank complained against Tobias who continued to stare at the small hotel room table.

It had been arranged with nick-knack’s and disposable soaps to reproduce the basic layout of Fenton Sanoma’s office.  The night before, Tobias had talked Hank into casing the place.  The plan had involved Hank getting purposely up close and personal with the local police.

“I mean, you realize we’re trying not to get caught, right?” Hank persisted.  “I hate being that close to cops.”

Tobias frowned at him. “Alright, alright, you’re not in jail, so can we move on?”

Hank sighed and nodded.  “Fine… so what’s the plan?”

“That is the question, isn’t it?” Tobias answered, focused on the crude diorama.

Honestly, Tobias was having problems with that question himself.

Fenton owned an office on the third floor of a normal building.  Hank had gotten a job at the building as a nighttime janitor and ‘accidently’ entered Sanoma’s office in order to find out exactly what they were up against.

“The response time is really under five minutes?” Tobias asked skeptically.

Hank frowned.  “Yes, from the phone call to the cops showing up.  Under five minutes.”

Hank was referring to the phone call that all security agencies made when an alarm was tripped.  They would call to make sure it was not a false alarm, the owner would then have to give a security word, something only he and the company would know, in order to stop the trigger.

A five minute response time was unheard of among law enforcement.  Usually the thief had at least ten minutes after the alarm was tripped.  Tobias could only guess that this was why Fenton had chosen to set up shop in this particular town.

“And the office?” Tobias asked.

Hank sighed, pulling his chew tin from his pocket slapping it a few times before heaping a wad into his lip.  “For the hundredth time, the inner office and a key lock and big heavy steel hinges.  I got a glimpse after he showed up with the cops.  Inside that room is nothing but a desk in the middle of the room.”

“It must be in the desk.” Tobias surmised.

Hank raised an eyebrow.  “And how the fuck could you know that?”

Tobias shrugged.  “The walls are detached from the structure so you can’t put in a wall safe.  Putting in a floor safe would be hard without alerting the floor below him or getting permission.  So, if I were him and I had the money, I would put a nice normal desk in the center of the room with a lockbox inside. Then, I would put a motion sensor in all four corners of the room.  The second key pad on the outside door probably deactivates them as well as unlocks the door.”

“Sounds foolproof,” Hank said after considering it.

Tobias shook his head.  “Not quite.  There is a dead spot in the motion sensors.  Anything under the desk would not be picked up.”

Hank was confused.  “You can get under the desk, it’s too low, and even if you could we would have to get past the sensors you want to trick, in order to trick them.”

“What is the office below Fenton’s?” Tobias asked as a grin crept across his face.

Hank smiled now, putting it together in his head.  “An H & R Block, I think.”

“You know how they secure an H & R Block, Hank?” Tobias asked rhetorically then answered himself, “Locks… just plain old locks.”

****

Fenton, Again…

Fenton had made good use of the two hours before the tax company below opened.  First, he had called his buyers.  They were less than receptive to the schedule change, but they were in no position to argue, not with what was on the line.

Still, Fenton knew they had only so much patience.

The minute he hung up the phone, he had returned to the security tapes, his own.  He knew he would find nothing when it came to the robbery, they were out of range of the motion sensors so the cameras certainly would not pick them up.

What he searched for was the instance with the janitor.

He reached it after only a couple of minutes of searching.  Shortly after that, he had a screen shot uploaded to a data mining contact on the web.  A couple of hours later he had a name;

Hank Tomec.

Brother of Linda Tomec who was engaged to Tobias Synder, a restaurant owner.  He continued his search until he had everything…  Including the most likely candidate…

…Sidney.

It was time to head back to Ohio.

End Episode 24.

Hy

24(S3E2)-The Hurt

 

24

(Season 3, Episode 2)

The Hurt

Sidney was in the kitchen, half out of her dress having just gotten home from the wedding, when she got the call from Tobias.

“Spaghetti.”  It was their secret code word for danger.  When they had worked together in the past, it meant the job was blown and they had to drop everything and run.

That was exactly what Sidney did.

Panic filled her as she heard the background commotion, from what could only be a life and death struggle.  She did not bother with shoes, pulling the top half of the dress back up over her bra and sprinting out the front door, keys in hand.

This was the day she had feared.  The day Tobias would be gone, really gone, and she would be on her own.  He had always been her conscience, her life line to the good part of her soul that she so often ignored.  She started the car and squealed backward out of her driveway before slamming it into drive, and peeled away.   

Tobias and Linda’s condo was in Stow, her house was in Ravenna, thirty minutes in traffic going the speed limit.  She would make it in fifteen, as long as she did get pulled over.  She took a hard right off Route 59 onto Brady Lake Road.  The back road was winding but she would have less chance of meeting a police officer this way.  She hit a straight away and opened up the throttle, pushing her little car to its limits.

It was in this moment of peace that she had a moment of levity.  What was she going to do when she got there?  Sidney couldn’t fight, not really, and she didn’t have a gun or a weapon of any sort.  Even if she did, she wouldn’t know what to do with it.

What am I going to do, talk the problem to death?

 She pushed the thought out of her head, she couldn’t just do nothing.  Just sitting at home and hoping everything worked out wasn’t an option.

She finally hit the condo’s parking lot after what seemed like an eternity.  The parking lot was crawling with cops, at least four cruisers and two unmarked.  The dark half screamed at her to put the car in reverse and get out, a natural instinct for a con artist.

The Life Flight helicopter changed her mind.

She brought the car to a stop as the helicopter lifted off into the air.  She was seven feet past the police line before the blue and whites realized it.  She saw Linda standing there in her white dress, covered in blood, watching the helicopter fly away in some kind of trance.

She looked like the ghost of a dead wife, haunting the place where she died.

“Hey, get back here!”  One of the cops yelled, realizing she had crossed the line.

The cop’s shout somehow snapped Linda out of her trance and her wide eyes shifted into that direction, catching Sidney running toward her.

“Linda, what happ-” Sidney was cut off as Linda took two steps to meet her and hit her with a right cross.

Maybe it was the surprise, or just Linda’s pure rage-driven madness, but Sidney had never been hit harder in in her life.  The blow turned her half around and put her on the asphalt.  She saw stares and it took a second to get her barring’s.

“You just don’t get it, do you?!” Linda was screaming down at Sidney and all the cops had stopped moving, confused by the scene they were watching.  “He listens to you!  For some reason, you have some terrible effect on him, and you don’t even see the damage you do!”

Sidney shook her head desperately.  “No, no Linda, this has nothing to do with me!”

Linda shook her head.  “It’s you.  It’s always you!  This only happens when it has something to do with you.  Why can’t you just let him be a good man?!  Why do you keep dragging him down with you?!  Why, God damn it, tell me why?!”

Linda had broken, her face had become a ball of uncontrollable rage and sadness and desperation and Sidney had no answers for her.  A detective stepped in, tall and lean with a tan complexion and short curly hair that made him look younger then he was.

“Come on now Mrs. Snyder.” His voice was low and soothing, made for the task at hand.  “I will take you to see your husband.”

The detective turned to a uniform.  “Put her in my car, Harry.”

The uniform came over and helped lead Linda to the detective’s car.  The smooth detective turned back toward Sidney who had pulled herself to her feet.  “How did you know the victim?”

Sidney decided to take it slow with the cop.  “What happened here?”

“A professional hit man broke in and put two in Mr. Snyder.  He would have killed Mrs. Snyder and her brother if he hadn’t charged in to the rescue.” The cop gave a quick summary.

Sidney turned.  “Oh, God.  Hank.  Is he okay?”

The detective eyed him and Sidney cursed herself.  The emotion of the situation had clouded her judgment.  This police officer would never have just given her the story if he didn’t think she had some kind of information.  He had baited the trap and she had taken it.

“The brother-in-law is in the ambulance.  He’s banged up, but stable.”  The cop said, then stepped in.  “I’m Detective Eugene Sellers of the Kent P.D.  I have to go right now, but if you think of anything that might help, gimme a call.”

Eugene handed Sidney his card.  “Also, you might want to not go anywhere for a couple of days.  I’m going to want to interview you.”

Sidney took the card and gave him another look and decided the best way to go was silence.  She nodded and began to walk toward the ambulance.  She had to figure out what was going on.  She couldn’t shake the feeling that this had something to do with her.  They had made a lot of enemies.  Could it be one of them?

Savannah?

Tyrone Johnson?

“They don’t let anyone on the ambulance other than family and police!” Eugene called to her, then turned to walk away.

Sidney turned to make sure he wasn’t looking at her anymore, then changed direction, slipping over to one of the cruisers and grabbing a hanging police jacket then a police cap she found on a dash.  She turned back and watched as one of the two paramedics got in the driver’s side.  The other, a small, unthreatening, white guy, finished talking to another couple about something and began over to the ambulance.

Sidney knew the jacket would only hold over for a second, the dress and bare feet would be dead give a ways, so timing was everything on the next play.  She kept five or so steps from the paramedic as he approached the back of the truck.  When he was about to get in, Sidney pushed forward and leapt up in front of him.

“Police business, you stay here for the coroner, I’ll ride with him!”  She slammed the back door shut, the entire exchange was a second long, giving the paramedic only time to notice the coat and hat.  She banged on the front cabin quickly being sure to keep herself only visible in the rear view in a way that would only show the coat and hat.

“Let’s go!  He’s going to stay for the coroner!”  Sidney yelled to the front and they were on their way.

Sidney watched the frustrated face of the other paramedic fade away in the window.  Hank saw her and a grin creased his weary face.  Banged up wasn’t the word.  His arm had a blood soaked bandage around it and so did his chin.  His face was swollen.  He looked worse than Sidney had ever seen him.

“Let’s go, siren all the way!”  She shouted to the driver.

“You got it!” He keyed the sirens and they started to wale.

The loud things would mask her and Hank’s conversation from the driver.  “Hank, what the hell is going on?”

Hank shook his head.  “You are gonna be pissed, but we stole something a couple of weeks ago.”

Sidney looked confused.  “Without me?  Why would you do that?”

“You wouldn’t have gone for it,” Hank explained.  “Anyway, it was supposed to be a present, a little revenge job for you.  We had no idea he would come back this hard.”

Sidney suddenly realized what Hank was talking about.  “Tell me you didn’t rob who I think you robbed?”

“It was your dad Sid.  We robbed your dad.” Hank said.

Sidney’s eyes narrowed.  “Tell me everything.”

****

Eugene walked to his car and opened the door, looking back as the ambulance passed, then over to the paramedic standing in the parking lot looking upset and that was all he needed to see to know what happened.

He turned to Harry.  “Hey, make sure he gets a ride back to the hospital, will you Harry.”

Harry followed Eugene’s look to the paramedic and frowned.  “Why the hell did they leave him here? They’re supposed to stay with the ambulance, aren’t they?”

Eugene shrugged. “He got conned out of it.”

Harry looked confused then shrugged and went to gather up the medic.  Eugene knew he was in for some action know.  He knew this because he knew Sidney Thomas, at least by reputation.

Eugene had to admit, he was looking forward to what came next.

END EPISODE 24

23(S3E1)-The Hit

23

(Season 3, Episode 1)

The Hit

Tobias opened the door to his and Linda’s condo, still laughing from the night’s festivities. Linda was right behind him. Tobias was in a pin striped tux, which was disheveled and undone from the reception.  A fedora pushed back on his head made him look like a drunk lounge singer.  Linda was still in her flowing wedding dress. It was elegant but conservative, and somehow she seemed to shine.

She was his wife as of two hours ago.

“Hank should be here any minute, and then our flight leaves in two hours.  I’m going to change and check our bags one more time.” Linda said with a smile but as she moved, Tobias grabbed her arm and swung her back to him.

“One more look of how beautiful you are in this.” He said with a grin and the two kissed deeply.

When they broke, Linda smiled.  “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Tobias responded instantly and truthfully.  His life was finally coming together.  It had been two months since they had helped Sidney with Savannah, his restaurant was taking off, and now he had married his dream woman.

He had only one more phone call to make.

“You should change too.  Get some comfy clothes on for the flight.”  Linda said, playfully hitting his chest then breaking the embrace to head upstairs.

“I will, I have one call to make.  I still can’t believe you got me to agree to fly!” Tobias called to her as she climbed the stairs.  He pulled out his cell phone, trying not to think of his fear of flying.

“Don’t worry, you’re more likely to get shot!” She called back from their room upstairs.

Tobias shook his head and smiled, dialing the number for Sidney Thompson.  It rang once then her smooth voice picked up the phone playful as always.  “Shouldn’t you be getting on a plane right now, or doing your wife?”

“We’re getting our stuff together now.  Hank is taking us to the airport.”  Tobias answered.

“You sure that’s a good idea?  Hank had quite a few himself.”  Sidney joked.

Tobias snorted.  “He’ll be fine, hell of a party.”

Tobias could hear Sidney nod.  “Easily the best wedding I have ever been to.”

“Your speech it surprised me.  I figured you’d hang me out to dry like a normal best man, but that was…” Tobias struggled to find the word.

“Don’t get weepy on me Bias.” Sidney answered.

Tobias switched gears.  “Look, I got you a present.  You can do what you will with it.”

Sidney’s voice became confused.  “A present?  Aren’t we supposed to give you something on your wedding day, not the other way around?”

Tobias shrugged even though she couldn’t see him.  “This is different.  It’s-”

The front door was suddenly kicked in with one hard decisive blow, loud like thunder.  “What the fuck?”

Tobias took a couple of steps to look down the hall and that’s when he saw him.  The hitter was dressed all in black, was bald and wore black driving gloves.  As he raised the mean-looking, silenced pistol, Tobias couldn’t help but think he looked exactly like the hit man in that stupid video game.

“Spaghetti.” He managed to speak the one word into the phone before he saw a muzzle flash and a wisp of air.

He was then falling backwards now, over a cliff and into a seemly endless void…

****

Linda heard the crash and thought something had fallen, she hurried out of their room and down the stairs and watched as the third bullet hit her new husband’s chest.  Three small holes, blood poured into his blue undershirt at an alarming rate.  He was covered with the stuff before he hit the floor.

She had never thought she was one of those woman that would scream when something like this happened, but now in the moment she felt it rise and escape her throat, almost on instinct.  The hit man now noticed her and turned the gun toward her.

What could she expect?  This is what happens when you marry a man who was a professional thief.  They never really get away and you just end up being collateral damage.

That’s when Hank hit the man.  Having seen the carnage from the doorway, he had sprinted the few steps and hit the man high like some kind of mad linebacker.  The two men went down.

The hitter tucked in and rolled low, his training kicking in, sending Hank toppling over his head.  The hitter popped up to his feet, and Hank scrambled to get up, but the trained killer was faster.  He stepped in with an elbow strike to Hank’s face.  Hank stumbled and the hitter moved in, stepping up and driving a knee into Hank’s stomach.  The blows were fast and side-by-side and they sent Hank crashing through the coffee table to his back, gasping for air.

Linda watched and worried.  The situation was hopeless.  No one brawled like her brother but this man was a killer.  He was trained, balanced, and prepared.  Hank was tough and strong, but it wasn’t going to be enough.

The hitter turned and started to walk back toward her and she wondered why, for a second.  With that thought, her brain began to break the hold that shock had over it and she realized that the hitter had dropped the gun at the foot of the stairs when Hank hit him.

The gun…

The gun…

The gun!

Her brain kicked on and the man saw the understanding in her eyes and rushed for the weapon.  Linda leapt down the flight of stairs, catching the man’s arms as He pulled the gun from the floor.

Two more shots were sent into the wall with a mechanical hiss and the man cursed her under his breath. She didn’t have the strength to pull the gun away but she had to hold on to keep it from being pointed at her or her brother and hope for a miracle.

The hitter fought at her, desperately punching at her face with his free arm and elbowing with her other, doing anything and everything to get her to let go.  One blow caught her on the nose and her eyes watered but she held on.

Hank suddenly wrapped the man around the waist and yanked him backward.  Linda held on for dear life, not knowing what else to do.  Hank dragged the hitter back through the threshold to the kitchen. Linda slammed, head first, into the door arch and fell to the floor, stunned.

The sudden shift of weight threw Hank off balance and he fell, both men crashing into the dishwasher with such force the door broke off the hinges and the machine showered the kitchen with water.  Hank scrambled to get the upper hand on the hitter, getting to his knees first and began to rain down right hands.

“You like that?!  Huh?!  That’s my brother, my sister!  I’m gonna beat your fucking-”  He was cut off as the killer managed to get to a small combat knife and bring it up into Hank’s left shoulder.

Hank yowled in shock and pain.  The momentary opening was all the hitter needed.  He planted his feet and stood at the same time he pulled the dagger from Hank’s arm and took another swing, this time for Hank’s neck.

It was all Hank could do to step back enough to avoid the kill blow.  The blade still caught his lower lip and sliced it open.  Hank was dripping wet, blood poured out of his right arm and from his chin, staining the button up shirt he had worn to the wedding.  The fight was draining out of him with the precious life fluid.  The hitter stood in front of him, blood trickled from his nose.  He was also soaked, but other than that, he was alright.

He also still had the knife.

Hank baited him anyway.  “Come on…  Dick…  I’m not done yet…”

In the distance, sirens could be heard.  Someone had called the cops.  The hitter heard the sirens, then cracked his neck.  “Not bad for some back woods hick.  Too bad the cops are coming and I have to make this quick.  We could have had fun.”

“I’m a lot of things, but quick ain’t one of ‘em.” Hank said, his breathing ragged.

Linda watched through stunned and pained eyes, at first only half understanding.  The blow to her head had done some damage.  It had stunned her so much, in fact, that only now did she feel the cold heavy weight of the pistol.  It was in her hand, she had held on and come away with the weapon in the struggle.  Her fingers closed around it and rage flowed through her.

She hated guns, never fired them, never used them and had no interest in changing that, until of course, that very moment.  She raised the gun and began pulling the trigger, the air popping sound happened again and again and the hitter yelped in pain.  She kept firing until the gun’s slide locked back.  Bullets had pelted the kitchen and she had managed to put only one into the hitter’s leg.  A passing thought that it was harder to shoot these things then people thought entered her pain addled mind.  This was quickly replaced by the desperation that the man was still standing, and still prepared to kill them all.

Hank saw the opening, called forth all his remaining power and lounged forward, throwing himself into the hitter.  The man’s now wounded leg buckled and he fell backward.  As he did, Hank grabbed the knife and turned it, falling with his weight onto the hilt sending the blade into the hitter as Hank came down on top of him.

The knife went deep into the hitter’s right lung and he began to gasp for air like a fish out of water. Hank’s face was two inches away from the hitter’s.  He smiled and whispered.  “We having fun now?”

Hank rolled off the hitter who continued to gag and gasp and laid in the water.  Linda had pulled herself up, throwing the gun away and crawling to her husband.  Her white dress now covered with blood, she tore at it and put a wad over her husband’s wounds before lying on top of him.  His eyes looked lost and lifeless as they stared at the ceiling, but she refused to give up on him.  She depressed herself onto of him harder, trying to hold the blood in.  She had seen it on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy and hoped, more than anything, that it was an actual lifesaving fact, and not just show flare.

“Stay with me…” She whispered it as she ran her hand through his hair.  “Stay with me…”

End Episode 23

21(S2E11)-The Last Hand

Episode 22

(Season 2 Episode 11)

The Last Hand

Markov was done.

He stared as Savannah dragged the chips across the table to her pool.  Sidney had opened the door with her all-in play and, since then, Markov had slowly been pulled apart by the two women.

Markov stared for a long time as the audience clapped and cheered for the final two.  He seemed to quietly boil for some time when he finally pulled himself together.  He ran his hand through his hair and with a heavy accent, said three words.

“Good game, ladies.” He then stood and quietly walked out.

Sidney’s eyes then went to the casino owner, Harrison Foote stood in a hot blooded rage and walked away.

Just like that it was all about Sidney and Savannah again.  For the most part, Savannah’s goals had been realized.  Markov had been broken, and with him Foote’s hype scam.  The only thing left was to preserve her good name and finish the job by losing it all to Sidney while she pretended to be Savannah.

They shuffled through a couple of hands trying to find the right hand, reading each other and looking for the signs that it was time to make the final play.

Then it came.  The last hand.

Savannah gave no real hint, not that anyone in the crowd would have seen, but Sidney picked up on it and fed the vibe back to her like an unconscious bond to finish the con.

Sidney called Savannah’s first bluff and turned her attention to Tobias who watched from the crowd intently.  Their eyes met and Tobias nodded once, slowly and subtly to let her know she could play this any way she wanted.

Sidney grinned.

“Funny thing about poker,” Sidney began in the high chirpy southern accent twang as she called Savannah’s sizable bet.  “It’s all about information.”

A hush fell over the crowd as they were on the edge of their seats.  None of them had seen such an eventful game of poker and weren’t likely to see it ever again.  Sidney continued to monologue and with the room as quiet as it was, the words seemed to echo.

The flop was a two of clubs, a four of clubs, and a five of clubs.

The crowd gasped at the obvious hand on the board.  None of them were privy to the information that Sidney and Savannah shared.

 Sidney, still doing her best impression of Savannah, continued un-phased by the cards on the table.  “You try to gather as much information on what the other person has in their hand.  You look at their motivations, their actions, and if you’re truly perceptive, their intentions.”

Savannah, doing her best impression of Sidney, bet high again making the crowd think she had the straight, telling Sidney that she had nothing.  “Well, you have a lot to say, don’t you?”

Savannah’s question was rhetorical and snide while still maintaining a fake air of mannerly.  Sidney just smiled back.  “Most southerners do, dear.”

Sidney called the bet and continued.  “Once you have all the information you can gather, you make a decision and hope that you have made the right call.”

The turn was an eight of diamonds.

Savannah bet high again and Sidney called without batting an eye.

Sidney smiled and dropped the accent for just a second.  “So did you?”

Savannah looked up, frustrated while maintaining her own accent.  “Did I, what?”

The river was a nine of hearts.

“Make the right call?” Sidney asked with a grin.

Savannah Burton as Sidney Thomas went all in.

Sidney Thomas as Savannah Burton called.

Savannah flipped her cards.  “Well, damn it all.  I was bluffing.”

Savannah’s cards were a two of spades, and a jack of diamonds.

“Pair of twos.”  The dealer called out her hand.

Sidney had to just flip a hand better then a pair of twos and the game was over.  Savannah would beat the hype scam and look like a poker God.

Sidney grinned and flipped her cards.  A six and seven of diamonds.

The crowd was speechless.

“Nine of spades, high card.”  The dealer said, “Winner is Sidney Thomas with a pair of twos.”

Savannah’s eyes went to the cards, then to the dealer, then to Sidney.

Sidney was smiling, the crowd had yet to react, confused as to what had just happened.

“Well, that’s just too bad,” Sidney broke the silence.  “I guess today, Sidney Thomas is just too good for Savannah Burton.”

The crowd began to react.  Claps and hollers went up as they cheered the no-named winner.

Savannah knew better.

Instead of helping Savannah beat the hype scam, Sidney had hijacked it.  Savannah Burton had just won the game as Sidney Thomas.

Sidney stood and Savannah stood grabbing Sidney’s collar and dragging her close, her voice disguised by the noise.  “You fuckin’ bitch!”

Savannah’s voice had reverted back to homicidal redneck.  “You will never have the information about your father now!”

Sidney slapped her hand away.  “Fenton Sanoma is dead to me and I want to keep him that way.”

Sidney then pointed to the crowd and Savannah followed her finger to see Tobias, Linda and Hank standing in the crowd.  Tobias waved.  “If you really did your research, then you know what they do.  Particularly, the man with the slicked back hair in the middle.”

Savannah’s nostrils flared.  “They followed you, but what does the thief have to do with it?”

“I want you do think of all the sensitive materials you have hidden in your life, because at least one of them, a big one, is now missing.  I die and the wrong people will get the sensitive items.  Understand?”  Sidney finished her explanation.  She and Tobias had worked together too long for her to not know what he had been up to the last couple of days.

“You fucking bitch!” Savannah yelled, realizing that Sidney had beaten her.

Sidney had beaten her by losing.

“Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go celebrate.  I just beat Savannah Burton at poker.” Sidney turned and walked through the crowd toward her friends…

…toward her family.

****

The Tease

One week later.

Hank entered the bar and found Tobias sitting at a table.  He already had a beer waiting for him.  Hank smiled and walked over before sitting at the table and taking the beer.

“Thanks for coming.” Tobias said as he raised his own half-empty glass to his mouth.

“No problem.”  Hank said, “How’s Sidney?”

Tobias shrugged.  “Trouble as usual, but she’s alright.  No backlash from Savannah so it looks like our blackmail is working.”

“That’s good.” Hank replied without emotion.

“That’s not why I called you out here, brother.”  Tobias said, fixing his eyes on him.

Hank raised an eyebrow and took a swig of the cold beer.  “You’re retired now, so this better not be about a job.”

Tobias shook his head.  “One more, I know the wedding is coming but this has to happen.”

Hank shook his head.  “No, I’m putting a stop to this.  Linda loves you.  You are tempting fate with this and I can’t be part of anything that ends in her being alone.”

Tobias frowned hard at the potential betrayal of his future wife.  He seemed to take a long time to think about it long and hard.  “We have to.”

“What’s worth that?!”  Hank asked, starting to get angry.

Tobias pulled a packet of papers out of his inner coat pocket and tossed it on the table.

Hank looked at it confused.  “What’s this?”

“Fenton Sanoma, “Tobias answered without looking at him.

“Sid’s dad?” Hank asked.

Tobias nodded and Hank looked at the top sheet then back to Tobias.  “Sidney wants to go after him?”

Tobias shook his head.  “She wants nothing to do with him.  She wants to forget about him.”

“After what he did, I don’t get it?” Hank asked.

“She doesn’t want to lose to him again, that’s why we have to.”  Tobias said and looked hard at Hank.

“We have to bring him down.  For Sidney.”

END SEASON 2