It's the Little Things

Over the years I’ve learned to be careful. I am good at what I do and I cover my tracks. I pull off my jobs and I take special care to not draw too much attention to myself. 

But eventually, despite all the planning and the caution, there comes a time when you need somebody to do you a favor. The caveat being that you then owe them one in return. Being in somebody’s debt creates an itch under my skin that never goes away until I can look them in the eyes and shake their hand. 

I am not necessarily a woman of my word, but I know the game well enough to know that there are some people you can’t cross. The person I turned to is powerful enough to help me with my job and dangerous enough to come after me if they thought I wouldn’t keep up my end of the deal.

A regular person would not suspect Joseph Gillan Jr. of being a criminal if they walked by him on the street. He hid his indelicate business under his blue jeans and flannel shirts. But he never quite mastered how to smile without it looking like a threat.

I walked into one of the many buildings he owned. A quaint yet expensive brownstone that he undoubtedly claimed on the coattails of someone else’s misfortune. My guess would be a businessman with a gambling problem. There were always plenty of them milling around the city for Joseph to exploit.

Two men in black suits waited for me in the foyer. Nothing but stern faces and meaty hands. I gave them a nod and a smile before letting them escort me up the winding staircase. 

The men stopped at the doorway of a study. On one of the walls was a fully stocked floor to ceiling bookcase. Joseph sat at the desk placed perfectly centered in front of a circular window. The sun cascaded over Joseph’s shoulders, highlighting him as the most important man in the room. 

I flash a smile at him as I lower myself in the upholstered chair in front of the large oak desk.

“It’s good to see you again, Joey.”

His fist makes a sudden clench. 

“I do not like being called Joey.”

“Of course,” I responded, “Joey does not suit you at all. And that’s what everybody called your father. I understand why you do not encourage the comparison.”

“My father was a good man,” Joseph muttered.

“If you say so.”

Joseph leaned forward, folding his hands on the desk. “I rely on people to have a clear understanding of the type of man I am. It helps cut through the pleasantries.”

“Nobody would dare accuse you of being pleasant,” I chime.

Joseph ignores my comment. I see bodies of the men in suits tense out of the corner of my eye.

“Lucy, you came to me asking for my help a few months back, and I do believe I provided adequate assistance.”

“Couldn’t have done it without you, well, I suppose I could have but having you do most of the heavy-lifting sure made it easier.”

“When I arranged this meeting, I had every intention of telling you what the job I had planned for you to do in order to repay the favor,” Joseph explained, “But one of the men in my organization had to remind me that people in your line of work always have an angle. You make a living getting people to trust you and then exploiting that trust.”

“Are you saying you don’t trust me? I am truly shocked.”

Joseph shook his head. “I’ve heard some disturbing rumors about you, Lucy. I’ve heard what happened to your other partners.”

Don’t ask me why but there was something enjoyable in the way he looked at me with such disdain. There was every chance that this meeting was about to go very poorly for me. But I let Joseph see my red lips curve upwards into a grin. If he wanted to get under my skin he would have to try harder. On the other hand, it was a little too easy to get under his.

“I thought you didn’t like to dance around the point. If you have something to ask then do it. I only lie when I think it’s preferable to the truth.”

“What are you planning?”

“That has to be one of the dumbest questions I’ve ever been asked,” I reply, “What am I planning? On any given day I have a dozen potential schemes rattling around in my head. Some as complex as the steps I would take to go about retrieving the Mona Lisa from the Louvre and some as mundane as the best way to flirt with the barista at my favorite cafe so I can get free coffees for the foreseeable future.”

Joseph impatiently tapped his fingers on the desk. He looked behind me to his henchmen. He was undoubtedly going over the risk-reward equation in his head. If he needed me for something then it would be poor form to maim or kill me. I was in his debt. I was useful to him.

Up until the moment I could potentially be more trouble than I’m worth. 

“Fine. Let me specify: Are you planning to betray me? Because that would not work out well for you.”

I laugh. “Why would I betray you? Threats against my safety aside, I would never sacrifice a chance at becoming your ally. I have a great opportunity here to prove how valuable I can be. And maybe you will think of me the next time you require somebody with my set of skills. We could work well together.”

Joseph's eyes move across my body, as if  he is trying to detect a subtle hint that my words are not matching my intentions.

“Okay,” he submits, “But I still don’t trust you.”

“I would consider you an idiot if you did.”

Joseph digs into his pants pocket and retrieves a flashdrive. He slides it across the desk. 

“Everything you need to know about the job is on here. I need it done by the end of the week. Don’t lose this drive. Don’t let anybody else see it. If you do get caught you don’t breathe a word of me or my organization. No deal you can make will keep you safe from my resources.”

I grab the flash drive and get to my feet.

“Relax, Joe, I won't get caught.”

The cops were not part of my plan. And I did have a plan. Well, most of a plan, in my defense Joey did not give me much time to prepare. 

It also happens that the security system was slightly more advanced than I believed it would be.

On the outside it looked like one’s typical shady, abandoned warehouse. How was I supposed to know that it was defended better than Fort Knox? It wasn’t in the drive Joey gave me. This is why I like picking my own targets.

The good news was that I slipped inside without a trace. I retrieved what looked like a small wooden jewelry box that matched the picture on the flashdrive exactly.  The bad news is that my exit plan left a little more than a trace. More like a series of catastrophes that led to the power being blown out for this whole grid. 

I was now in a high speed car chase on the roads by the docks. The sirens wailing behind me were only getting closer. I could now count the lights from four different cop cars. Anybody who’s been around this life as long as I have knows that it is highly unlikely to win in a car chase when it’s just you against the policemen with military grade hardware.

But it was not impossible. You just have to think out of the box. 

I saw two cops cars a block away working on blockading the street so they could try to confine me. Since I was next to the water they must have thought it was going to be easy. There was only one way for me to get out of this and they just had to be there to block off all the streets a car could go down. 

I looped around until I made my way to the pier that was mostly unhindered. Just a small wooden fence was all that lay between my car and the water. It was now or never.

I slammed my foot down on the gas pedal, tucking the small jewelry box in my jacket for safe keeping. The car rammed through the wooden railing. It took to the air for a few seconds before it became inevitable that I would get wet on this ride. 

The key to this adventure is that few seconds when gravity hasn’t taken full effect yet.

I had the car door already unlocked. When the car was hanging in the air, I opened the door and flung my body as far from the driver’s seat as I possibly could. 

As a child I only made it to about three swim lessons but it was enough. I knew the basics, move your arms out from your chest and hold your breath. 

The cops were calling in water reinforcements but by the time they realized I was no longer in the car, it would be too late. I may not have been the fastest swimmer but there were a lot of places to crawl back onto the land where I could go unnoticed. 

I switched out my soaking wet clothes for a dry and cute pair of black jeans and sweatshirt from the brownstone of a nice lady that was the same size as me that I bumped into while she was heading out the door. The keys that I got out of her coat pocket not only got me into the house, but also got me into a small safe in her study. I never like to let opportunities pass me by.

When I made my way back to my own place I made sure to call Joseph right away. He probably heard something about what happened a few blocks away from the warehouse he sent me to rob. I set our next meeting. I made sure it was somewhere public, now that I did what he wanted I didn’t think it was a good idea to meet with him on his own terms. He had been in this life awhile so he understood my caution. 

The next day I made my way to the park. Joseph was sitting on the third bench to the right of the fountain, exactly as I specified on the phone. 

“You’re late.” Joseph stated as I approached. 

His two henchmen were sitting on the bench four feet away. Their black suits and grizzled faces sent the message to anybody walking by that they definitely knew what it felt like to slam their fists into the side of someone’s head. It made them stand out a bit.

“I was running some errands…groceries, dry cleaning, etcetera.”

“I don’t care,” Joseph responded, “Where’s the box?”

I take a seat next to him. He noticed that I didn’t have a bag with me. Which meant that unless the box was in my pocket it wasn’t on my person.

“It’s good sense not to keep something you just stole on you. Especially not when you are going to hand it off to a crime boss.” I lean back and cross my legs. “But I will tell you where to find it once I have some assurances.”

Joseph sighed. “This was supposed to be a simple deal. There is no need to drag it on longer than need be.”

“I disagree, Joey,” I reply, “Because I like to cover all my bases. I don’t have big strong babysitters at my beck and call if somebody decides to try and kill me.”

“Fine. I promise that once I get what I want then we both go our separate ways. This was simply a favor you did for me after I did one for you. We can move on knowing we both got what we wanted. We might even be able to work together in the future.”

The words spilled from his lips like fine champagne. A gentle hissing sound with subtle bursts of sincerity that left his voice lingering in my ears. 

I nodded to show that I believed him enough to carry out this transaction. 

“Underneath the second dumpster in Juniper Alley.”

Joseph gestured for one of his men to come over. He whispered in his ear. The man mumbled something I couldn’t make out in return. 

The man walked away, heading in the direction of Juniper Alley.

“And that’s that,” I say, rising from the bench.

The henchman left behind jumps up.

“I think you should stay put until I know my guy retrieves the package.”

I lower my body back down next to Joseph. The henchman sits back down as well.

“If you wanted the joy of my company for a little while longer all you had to do was ask. And maybe take me out for a drink but I don’t want to rush into anything just yet.” I tell Joseph as I try to resume my relaxed position on the bench.

Joseph turns and locks his eyes with mine. I never realized how piercing those bright green eyes could be until they were close enough to do some damage.

“I’m going to be honest with you, Lucy,” Joseph murmurs. 

“Great, I love honesty. In theory, not so much in practice.”

“I don’t trust you or people like you.”

I nod along. “I’m with you so far.”

“The only reason I did that favor for you was because I knew that one day it would be advantageous to have somebody of your skills owe me a favor. I also knew it would be a big risk,” Joseph continued, “Because your kind can’t help themselves. They think they can trick and con everybody. It’s like a game to you.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Because one day you are going to play a game that you can’t win. But you are still going to try with all your might to outthink and outmaneuver your opponent. You will get in so far over your head you won’t remember what the sky looks like. And then you will lose.”

Joseph folds his hands in his lap, satisfied with himself.

“Interesting perspective,” I chime.

“My only concern is that if you came to me today with some kind of game in your head that you wanted to play.” Joseph shakes his head disapprovingly. “Because if that is the case then this will be the game that you cannot win.”

I didn’t have a chance to respond. Joseph got a phone call. I assumed it was the henchmen he sent off to get the box.

Joseph hangs up after only few seconds. 

“He’s got the box.”

With that, Joseph gets up and takes his man with him as they leave the park. I watch them walking down the sidewalk, making sure that they don’t doubleback to take care of their loose end.

I really did find Joseph’s theory interesting. But what I found even more interesting was that he sat next to me and when he got up to leave he did not check to make sure his wallet was still in his pocket. That was poor hindsight on his part. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to partner with him in the future after all.

I unfold the black leather. Ignore the cards and go straight to the cash. Business must be good because Joey kept ten hundred dollar bills on his person.

He was right. We both got what we wanted, he did me a favor and I did one for him. He was also right to assume I was going to do something that he didn’t like. He was just too focused on the big picture while I kept my intentions small. Sometimes the prize isn’t important, it’s just what you know you can get away with.

And if this is one of the rare times I'm being honest, the prize doesn’t even matter. The rush comes from knowing that I came out ahead.