Just a Quick Favor

This was the third time this year James invited him to a party somewhere else in the world than his hometown. Frankly, Victor was tired of it. As much as he loved his extroverted friend, going to all these parties with new people in foreign countries was wearing him down. He would have to let Jim know that he needed a break from it.

I guess he couldn't be too upset though, Jim had helped him with his writing career after all. Victor had been a struggling author, never quite got the timing right for his books, and just missed his audiences during low times in his genres popularity. James however, offered to talk with some people about getting published. A few days later he was speaking with professionals about getting his book to market.

All this aside, Jim brought him to another black-tie event with people he had never heard of, in a place where he couldn't pronounce the name. The people looked pretty snobby, all things considered. Definitely not Victor's crowd.

He wandered the large ballroom, weaving his way through the crowd, looking for his friend. Jim was surrounded by the only people Victor had seen him travel with before. Jim never bothered to introduce him to them before though, they all seemed to scatter whenever he approached anyway.

"I need to go powder my nose," or "Gonna grab a smoke."

Those were the usual excuses as Jim grabbed Victor's whole arm and shook it, then embracing him.

"Hey buddy!" Jim wrapped him in a bear-hug, "How ya' been? Find the place alright?"

"How could I miss it," Victor couldn't keep the edge of annoyance out of his voice, "The place is huge."

Jim laughed, "How about a drink?"

He would always ask the same questions, "How's the writing? Was the flight okay? You find a girlfriend yet?"

And Victor would answer the same way every time, "Good, yes, no."

Then, for some reason--without fail--Jim would ask him for a favor. Usually pretty mundane, but not something impossible, like grabbing something from his office or putting something down for him because he forgot to put it away. Odd requests, but Victor would rather get away from the crowds anyways.

Jim also moved around a lot, seeming to find new extravagant houses to throw parties, then pick up and leave not long after.

"So, hey Vic, quick favor," here he goes, "Can you grab me my watch from my study?"

"Your... watch?" Victor raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, a real nice one I forgot to grab before heading here." Jim looked down at his empty wrist.

"I... um... I guess I can do that." Victor hesitated.

"Oh and real quick, I have this," Jim reached into his pocket and pulled out a USB stick, "Could you slot this into my laptop while you're there. Just for a project I got going on."

Victor eyed him, apprehension gripping his throat.

"Sure." He said finally.

"Awesome," Jim clapped his hands together, "Just hop in the elevator toward the back there, and head down to B2," he pointed over the heads of the crowd.

Victor palmed the USB and gave Jim a nod.

"Oh and Vic," Jim grabbed his shoulder, "Don't bother talking with the suits, they are weird about conversation on the job."

Without another word, Victor headed to the bank of elevators.

No one seemed to pay him any mind as he entered the gilded elevator. It looked like there was a key card needed to access other parts of the building, but when he hit the B2 button it worked just fine.

The doors opened to a long hallway, not as fancy as the rest of the building, but still well-made. Nice tiles, a soft beige paint, and soothing yellow lights lined the hall. He stepped out, then realizing he didn't ask for any directions. In the same moment, he could feel the buzz of his phone in his pocket.

"Forgot to tell you how to get to my office, my bad," The text was from Jim, "Head down the hall and make a right at the end."

Convenient.

Victor followed the hall and noticed that paintings lined the walls. They looked very expensive. He felt like if he so much as breathed on them he would tarnish them somehow.

His footsteps were the only sound that echoed off of the walls. This place felt like a weird liminal space. He started to move faster when he heard a mechanical buzzing noise from one wall. A camera. It was following him as he walked the length of the hall.

He reached the end and made a right. At the end of the hall it looked like there was one of the "suits" Jim was talking about. The person was facing away from Victor, peering at a door at the end of the hall.

"One sec," another text buzzed into his phone, "Wait I think I misspoke, the office is the other way."

Victor rolled his eyes and spun around. When he turned around he heard a loud thump and a door slamming. He turned his head and saw the suit was gone.

The phone buzzed again, "So, no, I was right the first time."

Victor huffed.

"Head down the hall, the office door is the last door on the right."

This hall was a little less spacious, and a little more austere. It looked more like an administrative wing of a building. Victor could still hear cameras in the hall following him around. When he reached the end of the hall, he stood in front of the door he had been told to, and turned the knob. It didn't budge.

When he looked down he was met with the sight of a code lock and a swiping mechanism for an ID card. Victor squinted his eyes and raised his eyebrows. The only thought that crossed his mind was, "This is a bit excessive."

The phone buzzed, "Sorry, the suit should have left an ID hanging on one of the doors in the hallway for you."

In the same moment he heard a click of a door opening, and then closing again. When he looked back, an ID card was hanging from a door handle behind him.

Victor stepped back and unhooked it from the door and walked back over to the office. He swiped the card, then the code lock lit up.

Great.

"The code should be, one, five, three..." The message stopped midway, "sorry, one sec."

Victor stood there uncomforably. He glanced back down the way he came and saw a few more suits turn the corner to his hallway. They were facing the opposite direction though.

The phone buzzed, "nine, seven, then hit the pound key."

Victor entered the digits and confirmed with the pound key. The keypad flashed green and a sliding click sounded. He grabbed the door knob and turned it, the door clicked open and he stepped in.

The office was decorated with elaborate rugs and fancy looking furniture. There were bookshelves lining the walls behind a large wooden desk. The books were large and leatherbound. Victor could almost smell the faint odor of cigar smoke and whisky. He crossed the room and to the desk.

There was a laptop on the desk, already open, no watch though. Victor looked around for a moment, opening and closing drawers, nothing interesting. He pulled the USB out of his pocket and slotted it into the laptop. A series of numbers populated the screen. Lines of code scrolled down for a few seconds until the screen blacked out.

Another text, "All good?"

Victor keyed in, "Laptop is good, but there is no watch here."

"Wait, really?" A text back, "Alright, hang on."

There was a pause. Victor just stood there staring at his phone. He tapped the side.

There was a sudden thudding on the door. A faint, muffled voice on the other side, "Who's in there?" An authoritative voice yelled.

Victor suddenly felt out of place, a weird sense of intruding came over him.

The voice sounded again, but it wasn't directed to the door anymore, "Hey! You shouldn't-" it cut off.

Another thud on the door.

The phone buzzed, "Check the safe. It's on the wall behind the painting. Code is: thirty-four, sixty-two, and fourty-two."

Victor paced to the far wall behind the desk. A old looking painting covered the wall. He reached his fingers behind it and noticed it was hinged onto the wall. It swung outward and a small wall safe was behind it. He slowly entered the combination and the lock clicked. The small door swung open and Victor saw a few items in the safe. A few stacks of bills, some folders, there was even a pistol in there. What he came for though was directly in the center.

A small wristwatch sat in the middle of the safe. The face of it was plain, white and had no numbers. Just silver blocks denoting where the numbers would be to tell time. A gold trim lined the edges, and very delicate filigree designs were around the edges. On the back was a name he couldn't read or pronounce on the back. Jim had very interesting taste.

He pocketed the watch and texted Jim back, "Got it."

"Wonderful. Meet me outside, we're going to head somewhere a little quieter and grab a drink. You're welcome to join," the text ended with an emoticon smiley face.

Victor didn't reply. He just headed back out the way he came. The cameras didn't follow him this time. The hall was quiet and only his footsteps echoed off the walls as he reached the elevator once again.

He arrived back into the ballroom and headed for the exit. Squeezing by people and in between chairs. He noticed there were more suits around. Seemed like they were looking for something.

When he got to the exit he was looking for Jim. He spotted him on the far end of the courtyard with his entourage once again. Jim waved Victor down. It was a quiet night outside, the stars were out and the air was cool.

Victor crossed to the group, Jim met him before he could get closer, "Heya Vic, how'd it go?"

"Went fine," Victor shrugged, "Pretty tight security, eh?"

"Yeah, you never know when someone'll break in and get up to no good." Jim smiled, "and the watch?"

"Right," Victor reached into his pocket and produced the device, "here it is."

"Cool cool. How about you keep it?" Jim raised his eyebrows and nodded to him.

Victors own eyebrows raised, "Huh?"

"Seriously, you keep it," Jim motioned toward the delicate timepiece, "call it a gift for your friendship."

"Well, I don't know Jim..." Victor turned the watch around in his hand, "it looks really expensive."

"It is," Jim nodded, "but I think you're worth it."

Victor didn't know what to say, so he just nodded and slid the watch back into his pocket.

"Now," Jim walked over to Victor and draped an arm over him, "how about we grab a drink. Then you can tell me all about your books. Then I thought I could pitch you an idea for one," Jim dragged Victor forward.

"Oh, and what did you have in mind?" Victor smiled back at him for the first time.

"Hmm, something exciting," Jim's smile got wider, "maybe something about a master thief, or cat burglar who never gets caught."

"That sounds incredibly cheesy," Victor laughed, "I can't wait to hear more."