Sunday, February 1, 2009

The Heist

Parker looked down and saw that Frank was calling back. He sat and thought about what he was getting ready to do. He wasn't sure this was the right thing to do or not. He knew he was going to have to decide quick. His phone got to the fourth ring and he picked it up.

"Parker here."

"Parker, Frank. What's going on? I got your message...is there something wrong that we need to discuss? I have a very busy day ahead of me."

"Frank, I don't want to talk about this over the phone. I need to meet with you now, before you go down into the tunnels," Parker explained.

"OK, where are you right now?" Frank asked.

"I am at my apartment downtown. Can you come here?" Parker asked.

"Yes, I am only a few blocks away. I will be there in about ten minutes."

Frank hung up and his mind started to run wild. Why did Parker need to meet with him? And why must it be before he went down in the tunnels? He walked the five blocks to Parker's apartment building in record time.

He stood across the street at the coffee shop an watched for a few minutes. He wanted to make sure that this was not a trap. He didn't see any sign of anyone else at Parker's or staking out his apartment. He also had not caught a glimpse of his tail all morning.

He climbed the 16 flights of stairs just in case he had missed his tail. He glanced down at his watch and realized that it had taken him 15 minutes to get to Parker's apartment. He was still wondering what this was all about when he tapped on the door. He was anxious and wanted to get out of the hallway. Parker answered the door and ushered him inside quickly.

"Hey, Frank. What some coffee?" Parker asked as he stepped in the door.

"Nah, I'm good. What's up? I need to get to the tunnels. I have a lot to do today before we meet this evening."

"Sit down. This will take a few minutes," Parker said as he gestured toward the nearest chair.

Frank sat and began to listen to the story that Parker was telling. Most of it he already knew. Parker told him about how Indigo, Smalls, and Les had been meeting before the job. Then he told him about their plan to eliminate everyone but him before the job was over. This only confirmed what Frank had feared. Then Parker told him that Les was down in the tunnels right now waiting for him. He was going to hide out and confront him down there today.

That last piece of information took Frank by surprise. He knew the big man was irrationally afraid of closed in spaces. He found it difficult that he would be able to wait for him to show up down there. However, he also knew that if Les wanted him gone bad enough he would do anything.

When Parker finished speaking he waited for Frank to speak. He could tell he was taking it all in and deciding on his course of action. He was afraid that maybe Frank did not believe him.

"Well, that is an interesting story," Frank finally said. "I am especially entertained by the part that Les is down there in those tunnels right now waiting for me. I think I will make the big man wait."

Parker looked at Frank and tried to figure out what he thought about his involvement. He had once been very close with Frank, but it had been a long time since they had really spoken about anything but the weather.

"Parker, why are you telling me all this?" Frank asked.

"Well...I started thinking about what was going on and I had a crisis of conscience."

"I don't believe that is it. I think you know that they are not going to let you walk away from this job either. In fact, I think you know that Les is planning to be the only one to walk away from this job. Where do you think Bones stands on all this? Do you think they have spoken to him as well?"

"I am not sure, but I don't really think so. The only reason they pulled me in was because they all needed clean papers to leave the country. What are you planning to do?"

"Well, I need to talk to Carlos and Bones. I am also not going back down into the tunnels today. I walked all of them yesterday anyway so I know the ins and outs. I am not going to give Les his shot today. He is going to have to be a little more creative. We have a meeting with everyone tonight at 7:00pm. I will contact you later about a meeting later tonight. I will caution you that I have had a tail since the job started. Be aware that you probably have one too. Stay here as much as you can. I will see you at seven." Frank said and turned and walked out the door.

Frank descended the stairs at a good clip. He needed to get somewhere that he could think. Parker hadn't ask him about the manila envelope he was carrying. Maybe he was not going to need its contents after all.

2 comments:

  1. O M G!!! GIRL..my heart was racing after reading those....the suspense is thickening...eekkss

    ReplyDelete