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Cocktail (Chapter Four)



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Sun Dec 11, 2011 2:04 am
psudiname says...



Chapter Four

Matt

The next day began the usual interim period between jobs. With no real work to do, we had nothing better to do than keep up the illusion that our front business was real. As soon as we got a job, our two employees, Frank and Robert would run the shop, selling antiques, and turning down any potential clients for our real business. This was at my request, because while I'm very good at planning heists, I'm hopeless at multitasking. Backing up jobs was a bad idea, and I knew it, so every client who requested our services while we were still planning another theft was told adamantly to wait another month and ask again.

"Well this is a slow day," I remarked to the others, who were all either performing menial tasks or staring into space, "I'm gonna go on a food run, anybody want anything?"

"Get me a cheese burger. An expensive cheeseburger," Roderick said, looking up from the antique vase he had been polishing for the last twenty minutes.

"Just a vanilla milkshake for me," Raleigh added.

"Lisa you want anything?" I asked.

"No, I'm fine," She said softly, not looking up from the patch of floor she was staring at as she leaned against the checkout counter.

"Alright," I responded. She had seemed oddly without energy all day, and everything she said seemed melancholic. This was a little unusual for her, so I made a mental note to ask her about it later.

Just as I was standing up to leave, A man entered through the front door, making a familiar 'ding' sound as the bell above the door alerted us to his presence. Raleigh perked up. She obviously had a hunch about him, so I hesitated, hoping this was a client hunch, and not an FBI agent hunch. I was standing behind the counter, so he started to talk to me first.

"Hello, do you run this store?" He said in a deep rich voice.

"I do. Are you looking to buy antiques?"

"I'm looking to buy a special kind of antique if you know what I mean."

"I'm not quite sure what you mean sir," I said carefully. We had had a few people mistake us for drug dealers before, and I began to wonder if this man had the same idea. He seemed much more official than your average drug addict, so I dismissed this thought.

"I represent a major corporation, one who's identity I'm not at liberty to disclose for obvious reasons, and I'm wondering if you'd be willing to make a deal."

I looked at Raleigh questioningly. She nodded, and I showed the man to our back room, where we did our planning and our deals. She followed, and the two of us sat down at the table across from him.

"What kind of deal would you be willing to make?" Raleigh asked.

"Your team has quite the reputation on the street. I hear you relieve companies of certain bits of confidential information and sell it to other companies."

"Maybe. Is there a specific company you need information from?" I answered, sitting back in my chair and crossing my arms.

"The company Coca-Cola is releasing a new lemon flavored drink in about six months. I need you to find out the ingredients of that drink, as well as information on any other new product lines the company as planned."

The request hit me like a ton of bricks. "You want us to steal from Coke? The multibillion dollar corporation with high tech security and a legal team that could populate Rhode Island? That Coca-Cola?"

I usually didn't show my hand that quickly, but the proposition was utterly ridiculous.

"Wait till you hear my offer," the man said coolly.

"I'm listening," I said, still skeptical.

"Four million. That's one mil per person on your team."

Raleigh scoffed. "Four mil? That's petty cash, you can do better than that."

"I'll double it. Eight million."

I thought about this for a moment, weighing my choices. Most of our jobs paid under a hundred grand, and we only had a little over a million stored in a Swiss bank account. Eight million could pay all of our bills for a decade or two, but I was hesitant. Coke was powerful. Anyone who steals information for a living pays attention to how well businesses are doing, and Coke was one of the richest. If they wanted to take someone down, they could do it easily. If I took this job, I'd be putting the lives of everyone on my team at risk.

"Make it twenty million and you have a deal," I said finally.

"Fine. Twenty it is."

"And we'll need half of it upfront."

"Done."

We shook hands, and he agreed to bring the money in three days. There were no contracts to sign, simply an unspoken one that implied that if we turned on them, we would all suffer horrible accidents, and the collateral money would mysteriously disappear.

When the man left, I exited the back room to meet the questioning eyes of Roderick and Lisa. I was still breathing quickly, and I could hear my heartbeat in my head when I started to speak.

"Well," I said, not quite sure how to tell them about the deal I had just made, "The good news is I just booked us a twenty million dollar job."

Lisa's jaw dropped open, and Roderick did a double take. Twenty million was more money than they could even fathom. They could barely process what I had just told them, but slowly their expressions changed. Roderick caught on first.

"What's the bad news?"

"We're going to Atlanta," I said.

"How is that bad?"

"That's where the Coke headquarters is," Raleigh cut in, "We're robbing Coke."

The two of them stood there as if shell-shocked by all the information they had just received. Once again Roderick spoke first, while Lisa continued weighing robbing a corporate giant with earning twenty million dollars.

"Is that even possible?"

"Well we're sure as hell about to find out. The collateral comes in three days, and then we leave for Atlanta. I'm thinking we go by van so we can still take Lisa's twenty two. Hopefully we won't need it, but I'm not taking any chances."

"And you don't classify stealing from Coca Cola as a chance?" Lisa asked. I grimaced. She raised a good point.

"I'm not forcing anyone into this. I made a deal and I'm sticking by it, but if anyone else isn't willing to take this kind of risk, I'm not going to make you. You're all free to leave if you want."

Everyone looked in different directions. No one met my eyes. My heart sank. Everyone was going to bail, and I knew it. I didn't have to be as good as Raleigh to see it in their eyes. Finally, after about ten seconds of tense silence, Lisa spoke up.

"Count me in."

I smiled. I should have known Lisa would be game. Raleigh and Roderick joined in as well. I was immensely relieved to be proven wrong. I scolded myself for doubting even for a minute the fidelity of my team. They had had my back for the past six heists, and there was no reason for them to leave now. If they ever had a propensity for cowardice, they would have shown their true colors long ago.

This job, as exciting as it was, would not be easy or fun and I knew it. This would be a full court press, or we would all end up in jail. I started planning immediately. There was a lot to get ready.

~~~

The red mat smelled of sweat and rubber. I wiped by brow and climbed hastily to my feat. Lisa smiled and switched guards. She seemed calm, but her body moved like a deranged jack rabbit. Her black belt flopped about erratically as she bounced back and forth, testing my striking range. I calmed my breathing and moved just in range of her jab. She fired a few off, clipping my forearms. I tightened my boxing guard and leaned back on my back leg. When she pressed her advantage, moving forward, I blitzed, launching myself off of my back leg with a barrage of punches. Most struck her guard, but a few connected on her headgear, and I was happy with any small victory. Moments later however, not at all phased by our clash, she sidestepped and swept my leg. I hit the floor before I could process what was going on. In a split second she was on top of me, pinning me to the floor in an arm bar. I tapped out and rolled over. She stood up and offered me a hand. I took it, gripping her delicate hand through my glove.

"Damn you're fast," I said as Lisa caught her breath, "You're like a jaguar."

She giggled, taking off her headgear for some air. "Why jaguar? That's kind of a random analogy."

"Well you know," I responded, "Jaguars are sleek, powerful and beautiful. Like you."

She blushed and smiled. I wished silently that I more eloquent in my compliments, but she seemed to enjoy it. "Don't say stuff you don't mean."

"I do mean it Lisa, you're beautiful."

She looked confused for a moment, before her expression abruptly changed. She took on a stoic countenance and looked me in the eyes. "how would you describe our relationship?"

I was unprepared for this. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I think we're friends, but I like you a lot Matt, and I'm wondering if you like me in the same way." There was no joking in her tone, and for a moment she looked quite scared. I was flattered. I had always known it, but it felt great to hear her say it out loud.

"Like romantically?" I asked.

"Yeah."

The question was bittersweet. She had chosen the worst time possible to question our relationship. As much as I would have loved to get more serious with her, I knew that would be problematic for the month ahead of us. I would have to have all my focus for this job, and a relationship on the side, with a team member no less, would be taxing. I tried to think of a way to say this without hurting her feelings or giving her the wrong idea.

"Lisa, you're the sweetest, most beautiful girl I know, and I care about you a lot, but I think we should take it slow for a while."

"Why?" she said, looking disappointed.

"We just booked the biggest job we've ever had. To say this one is risky is an understatement. I just think we shouldn't rush this. Let's wait until the job is done, and then come back to this conversation."

She bit her lip and glared at patch of the gym's floor. "Right, cause you sure took it slow with Raleigh."

"What?"

"Don't play dumb, I saw you the other night kissing Raleigh. You sure didn't seem too keen on not rushing that."

My blood turned to ice. "Lisa I was drunk!"

She scoffed. "You weren't that drunk."

"I promise you, I'm not interested in Raleigh, I'm interested in you!" I said, realizing how deep of a hole I was in.

"Was everything else you did that night because you were drunk? Was our dance because you were drunk?" she was livid. I had never seen her this infuriated, and half expected her to knock me out. Part of me felt like I would deserve that.

"Please, Lisa, don't be this way."

She started to cry. "You know what, I just- I- I can't be around your right now." She picked up her equipment and walked away, storming from the empty gym and hailing a taxi. I wondered if this would be the last time she would teach me fighting; If this would be the last time I saw her at all. I gripped my head in my hands and sat back on the padded floor, cursing bitterly. I felt tricked. Conspired against. I wasn't the first person who had been taken prisoner by Raleigh's gentle charm. How was I supposed to know Lisa was watching? How was I supposed to know that she would react this way? It wasn't fair.

After a few minutes of trying to decide between anger and self pity, I stood up, feeling sick to my stomach. We would be getting the collateral money and leaving for Atlanta the next day, and I had no idea if Lisa was coming with us.
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