November Chill

The two men stood on the overpass on a bright November day. The wind howled around them as they watched police block off the road below.

“So,” the first man said with a slight drawl. “Hell, of a morning for a job like this?”

The second man tilted his hat up, his brown crew cut peeking out and looked at the craggy face of the first man. “What’d you say?”

“I said it’s a hell of a morning to be out here working. You think they could have set this up in the summer or something.”

The second man paused for a moment his blue eyes watching the excitement below. “Yeah, but this was the best opportunity for the boss to have us do this.”

The overpass was built for railroad use and was empty right now save for the two men who stood waiting for the event to start. As the two men watched the crowd below, they also kept their eyes open for spectators who may want to enjoy the show from the overpass. So far no one had decided to join them, preferring the streets below.

The first man took off his hat and scratched his balding head of black hair as he took in the scene. A young couple on a grassy area in front of large buildings caught his eye. The couple laid down a blanket and proceeded to snuggle on it as they waited. Soon more people showed up and crowded around the couple.

Their view was blocked as more people showed up and stood on the sidewalk waiting for the event to start. The couple took their blanket and climbed further on the incline until they were able to see a little better.

Police were cautioning people to stay on the sidewalk and not get too close as people were walking out of the surrounding buildings and took their positions on the sidewalk.

The second man kept staring straight down from the overpass.

The first man replaced his hat and turned to look at his partner. “Something the matter?”

“Yeah, I don’t like heights.”

The first man chuckled at that. “Boy are you in the wrong business!”

“Yeah, well it pays the bills.”

The first man was busy watching two police officers talking to three other men in dark suits.

“Let’s take our minds off that. What’s your name?”

The second man eyed him suspiciously. “Why do you want to know?”

“Look, we’re gonna be up here for a while until it’s time,” the first man said. “since we are working together, I figured we might as well get to know each other a bit.”

The second man thought about it for a moment. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“So, what should I call you?”

“Call me Cliff.”

“Cliff, alright. My name is Frank.”

Cliff nodded his head.

The two men turned their attention to the sidewalk in front of the small grassy area. More people showed. Pretty soon the street was lined with a wall of people. The couple on the blanket finally gave up and decided to stand next to the Romanesque style building on top of the slope. A man with a movie camera stood on a concrete pedestal aiming his camera at the blocked off road.  

“So, have you ever been out this way before?” Frank asked.

A gust of wind blew by the men and Cliff put his hand on his hat preventing it from flying away. “Once,” he said struggling to retain his hat. “I had a job here about three years ago.”

Frank grabbed his hat to do the same. “I was out here five years ago. I had the honor of handling the Moretti matter.”

The gust finally died down, and the men lowered their hands. They turned back to look at the scene below. One of the dark-suited men spoke into a walkie talkie then went over to speak to the officers. The officers, noticing the large crowd, began moving people down the sidewalk to a less crowded portion so they wouldn’t get too close to the road. A man seemed to complain to one of the officers about having to move. The officer shrugged and moved him along.

Cliff whistled. “That job was a mess.”

Frank nodded. “Boy was it.”

“I heard about what happened, but I never understood what went wrong.”

Frank put his elbows on the guardrail of the overpass and watched the buildings for a moment as he thought back to that June day. “The biggest problem was the last-minute change.”

Cliff focused on Frank.

“Moretti was supposed to be at his club downtown. I was in position when the feds raided the club.”

“How about that,” Cliff said.

“So, Moretti never showed up and the job fell apart. That is what makes me nervous about this job. This is a much larger fish than Moretti.”

Cliff pointed to the grassy area. “There’s a guy behind the fence of the park.” Then he pointed to the row of buildings. “We have someone else in one of those buildings by the field. So, there is no way this job will go wrong.”

Frank turned his large brown eyes to Cliff. “With all of these people involved, how do I know I’ll get paid?”

Cliff looked back at Frank. “Don’t worry. Everyone who showed up will get paid.”

Frank narrowed his eyes. “Everyone?”

“Well, the guy in the building is not technically a part of this job. His role is to ensure we get away.”

“What happens to him?”

“Don’t know, don’t care. The guy’s a nut job anyway. Keeps talking about having a revolution here like they did in Cuba,” Cliff said.

Frank snapped his fingers. “You know, I think I heard of him. Isn’t his name Osgood or Oswald?”

Cliff thought for a moment. “I guess. We’d better get ready. I see Kennedy’s motorcade coming.”

The two men reached into separate duffle bags, pulled out their rifles and took aim.