28(S3E6)-The Thief

28

(Season 3, Episode 6)

The Thief

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

"Sure." Sidney said, cautiously eyeing Lana.

 

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

 

Sid nodded.  "Indeed."

 

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

 

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

 

Lana seemed genuinely shocked.  "No shit?"

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Lana looked suspicious again.  "Seriously?"

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

Sidney frowned at him.  “Tips.”

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

“Oh yeah.”

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

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

END EPISODE 28

 

 

Hy

27(S3E5)-The Father

27
(Season 3, Episode 5)

The Father

It was done.

It had taken all night, which was a lot longer than Sidney had wanted to spend in Rat’s apartment, but she knew she had to work fast.  Now, she had the complete workings of a plan that would bring Fenton Sanoma down, once and for all.

It was, of course, an extremely risky plan; one with more complications than Sidney cared to have in her schemes usually.  The devil was in the details.  No matter how solid it looked on paper, a plan with too many working parts always came crashing down, and this one had a few.

There was no other way though, and Sidney knew it.  Not with the time she had.  This had to work, plain and simple.

Rat had fallen asleep sitting up in his computer chair, and began to snore.  A thin line of drool, colored purple from the toxic sodas he had been drinking to stay awake, stretched from his lip to his shoulder. Sidney took a second to scoff in disgust, then decided it was time to go.  The next part of her plan required her father to make the first move, so with any luck, she could get a few hours of sleep.

She made her way out of the house, down through the levels of post debauchery hangovers.  As she exited the house, she felt the morning sun hit her face and eyes and felt the exhaustion from the night before.  It was a wave of emptiness that left her feeling emotionless.

Her phone buzzed in her hand and she felt the evil emanating from it.  She knew in that instant that it was her dad calling.  She checked the I.D. and it was a blocked number.

She took a deep breath and forced herself back to life.  No rest for the wicked.

She clicked the answer button and put the phone to her ear but waited for the caller to speak.  Never be the first to talk.

There was silence for a second and then the smooth voice from her past began to speak.  “I assume you got the message.”

The intense surreal feeling that this caused overtook Sidney but she pressed on.  “Message?  You will have to be more specific.”

“Interesting,” Her father said.  “Are you trying to play with me?”

“Trying?” Sidney, yet again, answered with a question.

He sighed, showing a hint of frustration.  Points for Sidney.

“I had your friend shot.”  Points for Fenton.

Sidney gritted her teeth as he jabbed the open wound and the night’s terrible memories flooded over her.  She fought to keep her composure, if she lost it now, she lost everything.

“What do you want?”

Sanoma answered quickly.  “A family reunion.  I’m in Akron.  Let’s meet for brunch.  I will text you the location.  Don’t worry, nice and public.”

Sidney didn’t respond she just hung up.  Sleep would have to wait.  She had to work.

****

Another bus ride and a couple more blocks later, she came to the patio of a Starbucks on the main drag in Akron.  He was sitting there, his legs crossed, sipping from an enclosed cup.  He was in a sport coat with no tie.  He was greyer than she remembered and she did not remember him wearing suits around her or her mother.  He never had the confidence that he was now exuding, which was a hard thing to mask.

He looked the same but he was not the father she had grown up with.

He saw her and smiled, motioning to the seat opposite him.  Sidney cautiously took a sat down.

They stared for a long time and Sanoma grinned.  “Not bad.  First rule, never talk first.  You give the other person power.  Although I have to make this clear, you have no power.  The situation is untenable.”

She shook her head.  “Your outfit is ridiculous.  Why don’t you just wear a name tag that says ‘hello, I am a con man’.”

He ignored her comment.  “I will give your hillbilly friend credit.  Clive was one of the better hitters I employed.  I was surprised that he managed to take him.”

“He had help from his sister, if you think he’s bad, she’s worse.” Sidney replied

 “Nevertheless, how long do you think they will fair?”  Fenton pressed, never losing sight of the point he was trying to make.  “Clive was just the first and I doubt the widowed wife and her wounded redneck brother will continue to be a threat.  They will be dead before the end of the week.”

Sidney stared.  Her anger was at a boiling point and she knew now any words would be a mistake.

Fenton pressed on.  “You are wondering how.  How I knew about you and you band of misfit toys?”

Sidney, again, held her tongue.  Fenton continued.  “I have kept tabs on all eight of you.  My human kickstarters.  Each has, in one way or another, become more or less a failure.  One actually died of a meth overdose because of his sad little daddy issues.  Not you.  You, instead, decided to make something of yourself; to follow in dad’s footsteps.”

Sidney couldn’t let that go.  “I don’t do this for you!”

She immediately regretted the outburst.  Fenton gave her a look of frustration.  “Don’t be stupid.  Of course you do.  After eighteen years of a healthy relationship with your father, you find out he’s a con man, has used you for the money and has walked out on you for good.  You could have decided to be anything, maybe something involving the law and with cliché aspirations of putting your evil dad behind bars.  Instead, you decide to become a con artist.”

Fenton leaned back and took another swig of his coffee, waiting now for Sidney to slip up again.  When she did not make the same mistake a second time, he proceeded.  “Consciously or sub-consciously, your entire career has been about this moment right here and now.  It’s been about making me notice. Congratulations, mission accomplished.  Was it everything you hoped it would be?”

What hurt the most for Sidney, in that moment, was the fact that she knew in her heart that he was right.  That in some fashion, she had brought all this down on everyone’s head.  For possibly the first time in her life since her eighteenth birthday, Sidney felt guilt.  Sidney had never contended with the emotion before and wasn’t quite sure what to do now.

“What do you want?” Sidney finally asked, deciding to move things along.

“You three stole a necklace from me.  Where is it?”

Sidney knew these next few moments would decide the success of her plan and the fate of her and all of her friends.  “A bank.  Tobias has it stashed in a safe deposit box.”

Fenton was interested.  “What bank?”

Sidney shook her head.  “Not a chance.  I will get a team together and get it back.”

“Of course you will.  I’m not robbing a bank.  That kind of work is beneath me.” Fenton answered quickly, then buttoned his coat and stood.

“That’s it?” Sidney asked, indignantly.

Fenton let a mocking chuckle escape his lips.  “What did you expect?  We would sit down and I would give you a big hug and tell you how proud I am of you?  That you haven’t wasted your life?  That you weren’t just a cashed paycheck for me?”

It was Sidney’s turn to stand.  “You are going to pay it back.”

Fenton became confused.  “Excuse me?”

“I’m going to get your stupid necklace, and I’m going to deliver it to your hands, but you are going to pay for everything you have done.”

Fenton shook his head.  “I expect more from you than this heroic posturing.  You’re no avenging angel.  You are just a twisted demon like me, who’s not quite as good at playing the game.”

Sidney smiled.  “This is not heroism, Fenton.  Its business.  You owe me and I will collect.  Plain and simple.”

Fenton thought about that and smiled.  “Just get my necklace.  Think before you act and you might not get everyone you love killed.”

Fenton walked away down the street.  Sidney watched him disappear and soon felt the adrenaline wearing off.  She had done everything she could do until she got some sleep.

Her phone buzzed and it was Hank.  She steeled herself for the bad news and answered.  “Hank, how is he?”

“It’s fifty-fifty.  He’s out of surgery and he’s still alive, but in critical condition.  His brain was oxygen deprived for a long time so now it’s a waiting game.  He’s in a coma Sid.” Hank’s voice was broken.  A mixture of pain, frustration, and exhaustion.

Sidney had never heard him sound like this.

“Keep me posted, Hank.”  Sidney said and hung up before he could respond.

Tobias’s life hung in the balance and Sidney was about to undergo the con of her life without him.  She had never, in all her life, felt so alone.

Sidney found the bus bench and sat.  She put her head into her hands, and wept.  She had not cried in nearly twelve years, not for real, anyway.

End Episode 27Hy

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