The Box

by Robert Swetz

  Half an hour later, he stopped to rest. He slipped into a small alley between two buildings. He pulled the cellphone from his pocket. He had never used a cellphone before, but he had seen kids at school using them. It couldn’t be that hard. It took almost nothing to get it turned on, but as soon as he did, he was faced with a bunch of numbers. It needed a password. He tried a few number combinations, but they didn’t work. He stopped to think. His mother’s birthday. He tried every combination of numbers for that he could think of, but none of them did anything at all. The only other thing he could think to try was his birthday. He tried the day and the month. Nothing. He tried the year…and the entire phone seemed to change. He had gotten in. His father’s password was the year he was born! That thought meant a lot to him. Now that he was into it, how did he call his uncle?

  He found the phone setting easy enough, but he didn’t know his uncle’s phone number. But one of the buttons inside the phone was for recent calls. There he saw his uncle’s name – Gerald Giordano. He touched the number and the cellphone seemed to change again. He realized that somehow the phone was automatically calling his uncle. He quickly put it to his ear and listened to it ringing…and ringing…and ringing.

  “Hello?” he heard a voice say.

  “Uh…I’m trying to reach my uncle,” Brian said.

  “Brian? Is that you?”

  Brian breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes.”

  “What are you doing with your father’s phone?”

  “Uncle Gerald, they took them. They took both my mother and my father. They were supposed to take me too, but they couldn’t find me.”

  “Took them where?”

  “I don’t know. I heard Michael say to the cleaners, but I don’t know where that is.”

  “Where are you now Brian?”

  “I ran. A long way from the house. All I know is that when Michael and his friends come back, they’ll be looking for me.”

  “I need to know where you are. Look for some street signs. A street corner would be best.”

  He left the alley to look around. He found the corner and read the two names off to his uncle.”

  “Good. What do you have with you? Any money?”

  “I’ve got my father’s wallet that I found in Samuel Scuderi’s desk drawer. There’s a lot of money in it. I’ve also got Dad’s cellphone and a gun, but I don’t know if it belongs to my father or to Samuel.”

  “You don’t know?”

  “No. I found them all in a drawer.”

  “It’s probably Scuderi’s. Don’t lose that gun Brian!”

  “I don’t intend to.”

  “Good. Stay there, but try to stay out of sight somewhere.”

  “Staying out of sight was my plan, except I was going to keep going further away from their house.”

  “No. Stay as close to that corner as you can. I’m going to call a friend of mine who lives in the area to come pick you up. Keep that phone handy so I can call you back.”

  “Got it,” Brian told him.

  “Good. Let me make some calls.”

  Brian felt a lot better. He went back to the small alley to wait. The call came ten minutes later.

  “Brian,” Gerald told him. “Someone is going to stop at that corner in about fifteen minutes. He’ll honk his horn once, but that’s all. You better run to that car and get in fast because he won’t stick around. I’ll talk to you again once he gets you someplace safe.”

  Brian’s eyes roamed back and forth between the time on the cellphone and watching the street. It felt like forever. His uncle had said fifteen minutes, but according to the time on the cellphone it was nearly twenty-five minutes before he saw a car pull up to the curb by the corner and someone honked the horn. He ran straight for the car and got into the front seat.

  “Brian?” the man asked.

  “Yeah,” Brian answered.

  “Buckle up. We’re out of here.”

  In the dark of the night, Brian laid his head back against the seat. He felt somewhat relieved, but now all he could think about was his mother…and his father. Both of them. And he was terrified with worry about them. An accident, his father had said. What kind of accident? And they had taken them in the middle of the night. Nothing about it sounded good to him.

  The man driving didn’t say anything, so he didn’t either. New York was a huge city, and he only knew the area around where they lived…where they used to live. He had no idea where they were or where they were going. Wherever it was, the buildings they were passing didn’t look as nice anymore. He started to notice businesses and factories. Parking lots full of trucks. And then the man pulled off the road into one of those parking lots. Brian saw a number of trucks and an old brick building in front of him.

  “Let’s go,” the man told him once he had parked his car.

  Brian got out and followed the man into the brick building. The man took him into a small office where he turned on the light.

  “Have a seat,” he told Brian as he motioned toward one of the old office chairs. Brian sat. The man leaned up against the desk. “So your name is Brian,” the man said. “Don’t tell me anything else about you, because I don’t want to know. You don’t need to know my name either. I’m only doing this as a favor for someone.”

  Brian almost said his uncle’s name, but he stopped himself.

  “You’ve got a gun,” the man said. “I hear it probably belongs to Scuderi.” He went behind the desk and grabbed a plastic shopping bag. He dumped the stuff in it out onto the desk. He handed the bag to Brian. “Put the gun in there so you don’t get any more of your fingerprints on it than you already have.”

  “Fingerprints? Are you a cop?”

  “Not hardly, kid.”

  “What now?” Brian asked.

  “Now I have to make a phone call, then we’ll see.”

  Brian watched as he pulled out a cellphone and pushed some of the buttons. “I got him. I gave him a bag to put the gun in.” Brian watched as the man listened for a few moments, then said. “Yeah. I’ll tell my father. He’s good right here for the time being. When the guys come into work, they won’t say anything. And that’s if they even notice him.” The man listened again for a second, then replied. “Yeah. Later.”

  Brian watched as the man put the cellphone back in his pocket. “It’s late,” the man told him. “I suggest you find yourself a patch of floor and try to sleep. At least one of us will get some sleep tonight. I’m going to catch up on some office work while I’m babysitting.”

  Brian held up the plastic bag with the gun. “You’re not going to take this?”

  “Hell no! It’s not mine, and if it belongs to Scuderi, then I’d just as soon it be nowhere near this place. I don’t know who you are, but I want you, and that gun, gone as soon as possible. I’m just doing you a favor. That’s it. Understand?”

  “Yeah,” Brian replied. “Thanks.”

  “Good. Get some sleep kid.”

  Brian laid on the floor, but sleep? He couldn’t even close his eyes.

  --- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

  New York wasn’t his home, but Vince had been there many times. It didn’t help him now though. He had no idea where he was. He had friends in this city, one of which he had contacted before he left home after Gerald had told him that Scuderi was threatening his family. As far as he could see, that friend wasn’t going to be any help.

  He and his wife were in trouble. Michael had shoved them into the basement of some business and now they were both tied to a couple of chairs. He was expecting a beating. He wouldn’t like it, but he could accept that it was going to happen. The part that he worried more about was what they would do to his wife.

  They had talked yesterday. Briefly. But it had quickly become apparent that they both wanted to be together again, they both loved each other, but after so many years, neither of them knew where to start. They had to get to know each other again. It was going to take time. Time they both accepted. They just had to get out of this s
ituation first. But right now, it didn’t look like they were going to get out of trouble.

  He had no doubt that Michael Scuderi was going to beat the hell out of him, and probably his wife too, all to get at some money that for all intents and purposes didn’t exist anymore. All for nothing. And then there would be some kind of accident where their bodies would be so bruised and burned that the beatings they would get wouldn’t show. He was betting that Michael, or his father, was going to arrange for something to happen to his jet. That’s what he would do.

  The one and only thing he was happy about just then was that they didn’t have Brian. Where was he? He didn’t know. Only that they didn’t have him. Hopefully, his son would live. Hopefully, his son would carry on after him. If Gerald could find him. He didn’t know his son at all. He didn’t know what his son was capable of doing…beyond listening at keyholes. His son was out there somewhere in the city, with nothing. He could only hope that somehow Brian would survive and flourish.

  His thoughts were interrupted when Michael came back down the stairs. He had no doubt it was fun time.

  Michael crossed the cement floor towards Vincent. He never hesitated. The moment he got close enough, his fist lashed out and punched Vincent in the face as hard as he could. Michael wasn’t surprised by the scream that Francesca let out. He waited until Vince slowly brought his head back around to face him, then he lashed out again the same way. Once again, he heard Francesca scream. “Where’s the money, Vince? One hundred and twenty million dollars.”

  “I keep telling you, I don’t have it.”

  “Then where is it?”

  “Gone somewhere. I don’t know. Use your brain for a change Michael. If I had that money, don’t you think I would have carried on with that business deal?”

  “Then where is it?”

  “If I knew that, I would have already gotten it!”

  Michael looked at him for a moment and knew that Vince was telling the truth. But a hundred and twenty million dollars was too much money to just ignore. Vincent didn’t know where the money was. Which meant…. His body twisted and his left arm lashed out and his fist caught Francesca in the side of her face.

  “Fran!” Vince yelled as his wife screamed. He watched as she slowly brought her head back around. She was sobbing hysterically. “Fran,” he said again, but she didn’t answer.

  “You’re sick, Michael Scuderi,” Fran told him angrily, trying her best now to be brave.

  “And if I don’t get that money, you’re dead!” Michael replied.

  “Huh!” she grunted. “You’re going to kill us anyway.”

  “But the difference is, how much pain are you willing to put up with before I kill you?”

  “I guess we’ll see,” she told him.

  His right fist lashed out this time and caught her on the other side of her head. She screamed and started sobbing again.

  “The money, Fran. Where is it?”

  “You bastard!” she sobbed.

  His right fist swung again and caught her the same way.

  “Ooww!” Francesca cried.

  “Tell me!” Michael threatened.

  She was sobbing. Her face was on fire and hurting. “Hitting me isn’t going to do you any good. I don’t have that money,” she sobbed. “I never did.”

  “Then where is it?”

  “As far as I know, right where it’s always been. In the bank.”

  “And I don’t believe you.”

  “I was destitute, you moron!” she yelled. “I was flat broke and trying to raise my son in a place that was nothing but pure hell. Don’t you think I would have been glad to get my hands on that money?”

  “Then why didn’t you?”

  “Because I couldn’t!” She said as she tried to force a smile to her aching face. “And now it’s gone forever.”

  “What do you mean, gone forever?”

  “She laughed. “I didn’t take the money, Michael. All I did was to make sure nobody else could take it either. I changed the password on the account so Vince couldn’t get into it, then I left. I took my son, and I left.”

  “All you did was change the password? What did you do with it? What password did you use?”

  “She laughed. “I made up a bunch of random numbers and wrote them on the back of one of Vince’s business cards. Then I just changed the password and put the card in my wallet. And now it’s gone. Forever.”

  “You wouldn’t throw something like that away.”

  “You’re right. I didn’t. I didn’t have to. The local street gang did that for me. Ask them. They’ve got the password now.”

  “The street gang?”

  “The Scorpions,” she told him. “They mugged me and took my purse…where my wallet was. It’s gone now Michael. Forever. I can’t get it, and you can’t get it. But good luck with the Scorpions if you decide to talk to them. They’re a real bunch of bastards.”

  “I’ve played with the Scorpions before. They’re nothing.”

  “Then talk to them.”

  “If you had that password all these years, then why didn’t you ever use it?”

  “Because, you idiot, all I did was reset the password. I don’t know what the account number was. I don’t even know what bank it was. I couldn’t get in if I tried. That password is only one small part of the puzzle. I didn’t have any of it, no matter how much I wished I did later on.”

  The realization of it all was finally dawning on Michael. “You literally couldn’t get that money without knowing the account number.”

  “I didn’t have it. I didn’t know what bank either.”

  “But you still kept it.”

  “I don’t know why. I guess I was hoping that someday I could get that account number and have access to the money. I thought Vince had killed my father, so I sabotaged his big deal and left home. I was upset about my father. I wasn’t thinking straight. I made the mistake of listening to the stupid ramblings of one of my maids instead of using my head. I messed up, Michael. I messed up and made the biggest mistake of my life. And now look where it got me. Eight years of pure hell, and now here. And thanks to the damn Scorpions, even this may be an improvement. If you want that damn password, then ask the Scorpions!”

  “Oh, I will. Believe me, I will.”

  “Then while you’re at it, do me a favor and kill every last one of them. If I had any money, I’d pay you to do it.”

  Michael laughed. “You don’t have to pay me. And getting that password back will be payment enough. But I will most likely kill as many of them as I can. If for no other reason than I used to like you…a lot!”

  “Bastard!” she spat.

  Michael smiled and backed away. He went back to Vince. “What bank was that money in?”

  “I don’t remember. One of the ones in the Caymans. We had to open a new account just for that money so both Dominic and I could pool our money together.”

  “You don’t remember?”

  “No. Michael, I haven’t even tried to access that account in years, not since I found out that I couldn’t get into it anymore. Why would I? As far as I could tell, the money was gone. It didn’t exist anymore. I can’t tell you what bank or what account number either. It’s old business Michael. It’s gone and done. Forever!”

  “Like hell!” Michael breathed. Not knowing what to do, he walked out, leaving them tied to the chairs in the basement. “Stay here and watch them,” he told one of the men who had come with them. Without another word, he left.

  Vince looked over at Fran. She was looking at him. He had noticed the one small difference in the story that she had told Michael. She had told him she had used her old driver’s license number. But she told Michael that she had written the number on the back of one of his business cards. The funny thing about that was, he didn’t use business cards. He never had. Michael could spend the rest of his life looking for a business card that didn’t exist.

  “I love you Fran,” he said to her.

  “I love you
too, Vince,” she replied. “I always have. And I meant every word when I said that leaving you was the biggest mistake of my life. I just thought…”

  “I know,” he said. “You thought I had something to do with your father’s death.”

  She nodded. “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “Me too,” he replied.

  It was a few moments before she stated the obvious. “We’re not going to get out of this, are we.”

  “No. Not this time.”

  She nodded. “At least Brian isn’t here.”

  “That’s what I keep thinking. I just hope he managed to get away.”

  She chuckled. “If I know Brian, they’ll never find him. I have no idea what he does with himself while I’m at work, but I do know he’s getting himself into and out of places where nobody should go.”

  “Listening at keyholes?” he suggested.

  She nodded. “Most likely.”

  “Then let’s hope he keeps doing it.”

  Chapter 13

  Talking. Brian kept his eyes closed and listened. They were talking about picking up a load in New Jersey and delivering it to Queens. And then whoever had been talking was gone. He opened his eyes. The guy who had picked him up last night was still sitting at his desk. This time though, he was drinking coffee. He sat up, and the guy looked over at him.

  “Coffee?” the man asked as he held up a thermos.

  “No thanks,” Brian replied. “What’s happening?”

  “Business,” the man told him. “Just business. It’s early. Go back to sleep.”

  Brian got the impression the man didn’t want to tell him any more about what kind of business it was. He laid back down and closed his eyes. As he pretended to sleep, he heard a few other men come in. They talked about loads going to different places, and then they walked out. One man came in complaining about the air conditioning being broken on his truck again, for the third time. The man who had picked him up didn’t sound very sympathetic.

  He finally opened his eyes and sat up. Everything was still the same. “What’s happening with me?” he chanced asking.