The Impossible Prize

by Cass Tell

  She was glad for the maze of buildings, although they did not know the layout. Out on the main street they would be in the open. Here they might find a place to hide.

  Jack tripped on weeds and went down. Amy pulled him up and she felt fingers grab her shirt so she spun and the fingers lost their hold. Then Jack was up and running and she was just behind him.

  They turned into another alley, wider with fewer weeds and after thirty steps, they turned into an old building. They exited the opposite side and went through another building and then another. The three men were now farther behind them.

  In a large room, there was the smell of oil and Amy noticed several large fifty-gallon drums of oil, a foul smell like oil drained from cars.

  Jack ran to one of the drums, stopped and said, “Turn it over.”

  Amy understood.

  They stood together on one side of the drum and pushed until it fell on its side and oil flooded out across the floor. Being careful not to step in the oil, they backed away, entered another room and then went up a flight of stairs.

  Seconds later they heard a noise of something hitting the ground and then someone yelling, “Ahhhhhhhhh.”

  From their upper position, they looked through an open space. Below, Nalf was on his back in the middle of the oil puddle flopping away like a fish out of water.

  Larry and Mannie charged into the room and their feet hit the oil and then flew up into the air. Both went down on their backs and they slid into Nalf.

  It took some work but eventually the three men were able to sit up.

  “I hate those kids,” Larry said. “What are they doing here?”

  “They’re like a disease that doesn’t go away,” Nalf exclaimed. “If I get them I’m going to bend them in two.”

  “Not until we find out about the reward money and what happened to it,” Larry said.

  “Okay, but still I’m going to end their existence. First the swamp and now this.”

  “What swamp?” Mannie asked. “You guys need to fill me in.”

  “Those two little urchins are an absolute nightmare,” Larry said. He tried to stand up but slipped back to the floor.

  The three men scooted on their behinds until they got to the wall and then they managed to stand up.

  Nalf said, “We’re going to get them.”

  Chapter 17

  Amy and Jack left the building and then found their way back to the main street walking past the four-story office building, then the shopping center and back to Sumita’s restaurant. They took the side stairs on the building and went to their small apartment.

  Jack sat on a chair and laughed while taking off his shoes. “Wasn’t that super funny to see those jerks swimming in oil?”

  Amy smiled. “I guess so. That was quick thinking and it saved us, but let’s not get over confident.”

  “I’m going to bed,” he said.

  “Me too,” she responded, wiping the sweat from her forehead knowing they both needed sleep. “First I want to take a quick look at these.”

  She pulled the bank account statements from her back pocket and spread them out on the table. They went back many months and showed credits and debits. She remembered from her father that credits was for money that came into your account, and debits was for money spent.

  Her father said that bank account statements told a lot about a person, but it was not so clear from what she saw.

  “I wish dad was here.” She was surprised when she said it, for they rarely talked about their parents.

  Jack became still. “I know. I miss them.”

  “I’m sorry I mentioned him, but he was just so smart when it came to looking at numbers.”

  “He was smart in a lot of things. He knew all about cars and camping and history and fishing and church and God and cooking and sports and . . .”

  “Jack stop,” she said. “I just wish he was here to help understand these numbers.”

  Jack was quiet and then whispered, “And I wish mom was here too. She was the best mom ever.”

  “I know,” Amy murmured, “But neither one is here.”

  “Why did it happen?” Jack asked.

  “You know why. We heard them talking about the danger they were in. Then it came true and we lost them.”

  Jack had gone to the upper bunk. Amy turned off the light, then she got undressed and went into the lower bed.

  She thought about her parents. Everything Jack said was true. Their father was good in everything and he had taught them so much.

  Their mother was the best mother in the world and Amy recalled how she made cakes for their birthdays, how she cared for them when they fell and scratched themselves, how she read stories in the evening and how she kissed them good night.

  Tears came to Amy’s eyes as she missed her mother’s tender presence. She sniffled, wanting to cry but not wanting to because Jack was there.

  “Don’t cry Amy,” Jack said.

  “I’ll try not to,” she said, knowing Jack had heard her whimper.

  “You are the best sister ever,” he said.

  “And you’re the best brother.”

  “Good night Amy.”

  “Good night Jack.”

  Chapter 18

  Light came through a crack in the curtains and Amy opened her eyes. She heard Jack breathing softly in the bed above her head.

  Sadness still lingered in her, a hurt that would not end. She didn’t want to think of her parents. They were gone. Now, the task before them was to solve the problem of Mannie the protection-guy. They had to stop his intimidation of Sumita and to the other storeowners.

  To make things worse, Larry and Nalf were back in the picture so it was not only a matter of helping Sumita. She and Jack could not get on with their new lives if those two mobsters were still after them.

  They needed a solution and they needed to find it quickly. One thing was certain. They would need to carry the Taser-sticks everywhere they went. That was the only thing that could neutralize Larry and Nalf. She had seen what the Tasers had done to Frankie who was even bigger than Nalf.

  She quietly got out of bed, got dressed, and went to the table to see Mannie’s bank account statements.

  After a quick look, they still did not make sense and she wondered why she had gone through the trouble of taking them. One page showed a list of credit card expenses. Mannie used the credit card often.

  He used it at a super market, at a drug store, a gas station and a large discount store. It was a pity it did not show exactly what he was buying.

  One name appeared quite often, that of company called Mega-Bets that Amy assumed was an online gambling website. In fact, most of Mannie’s credit card payments went to Mega-Bets.

  Then she looked at the bank account statements. All the money going into the account was in cash. That explained something. Mannie was taking cash from Sumita and the other stores, but he needed to pay for online betting on his credit card. Therefore, he was putting cash into his bank account to do so.

  And, from the large amounts paid to Mega-Bets it explained why Mannie was living in such a dump. From his criminal activities, he was making more than enough to live in a nicer place, but his gambling made him poor.

  Amy’s father said you could learn a lot by looking at someone’s bank account statements. He was right. Mannie was a compulsive gambler. Was he only betting online, or was he also spending his cash with bookies? If so, Mannie might owe them money. The next thought was whether she could use this as a way to stop Mannie. It was not clear and she did not have an answer.

  She heard Jack take a deep breath and then he moaned, rubbed his eyes and sat up in his bed.

  “Did I toss and turn last night?” He asked.

  “You were out like a rock.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’ve been looking at these bank account statements.” She wanted to say that their father was the best at doing this sort of thing, but she stopped herself. It only made her sad when she
thought of her parents.

  “Did you discover anything?” Jack asked.

  “Mannie’s a gambler.”

  “No kidding. What does he gamble on?”

  “That’s hard to say, but he spends a lot of money on it.”

  “You mean Sumita’s money?”

  “Yes, and we have to stop him and also to stop Larry and Nalf from chasing us.”

  “Yeah. I’d like to zap them with the Tasers when they’re wallowing in the oil slick.”

  Amy laughed. “That’d be amazing but still, we need to be careful because those guys want to harm us and take away our reward money.”

  “One million dollars is a lot,” he stated.

  “It certainly is. I can’t believe we have so much.”

  “Then let’s not let them get it,” he said, pausing for a second. “And, let’s stop them for good.”

  “I agree.”

  Chapter 19

  An uneasy anxiety filled Amy when she thought about not letting the mobsters take their money and even stopping them for good, whatever that meant.

  It was one thing to say it and an entirely different thing to do it. She still did not have a plan. Then, she remembered the piece of paper with the list of restaurants and shops extorted by Mannie. That showed which ones he visited each day.

  She took the list and saw which shops he went to on Saturdays.

  That gave her an idea, maybe not yet a plan, but at least something that might lead to one.

  As they had not bought any food to put in their tiny kitchen, they went downstairs to the restaurant. Amy knew they needed to be careful whenever they went down there. Mannie had visited on Friday, but now that Larry and Nalf were in the picture, the routine might be changed and they could show up at the restaurant at any time.

  She went with Jack to the kitchen where they worked with Sumita to make scrambled eggs, which they put on top of chapati bread. Rajiv joined them and Amy explained what she had discovered. She showed them the list of restaurants and shops.

  “Do you want to take this information to the police?” Amy asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Sumita replied. Oditi came bouncing into the room and went to her uncle who lifted her into the air. “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not? Amy asked.

  “Because of what could happen.”

  “What if we went to the other shop owners? Surely there is one that would go to the police.”

  “If you could find one brave enough, and what would that prove? That man just walks into the shop and doesn’t say a word. If he was recorded there is nothing to prove he is guilty.”

  “It sounds like they have figured out how to be careful,” Amy said. Then she thought of Rajiv and turned to him.”

  “Those two mobsters, Larry and Nalf are working with Mannie the protection-guy. They know your taxi with North Carolina license plates. Can you move your taxi far from here?”

  Rajiv stayed silent and then put his hand next to his black and blue eyes. “I had not thought of that. I will go immediately.”

  As he walked toward the front door of the restaurant Amy spoke with a loud voice. “And, they know you, so you better not let them see you.”

  “Oh, this is terrible trouble,” he said.

  After Rajiv left, Amy and Jack went back to their apartment and Amy said, “I have an idea. It may not lead to anything, but maybe it will lead to something.”

  “What’s that?” Jack asked.

  “From the list we think we know which shops Mannie will visit. Why don’t we follow him and maybe try to talk with some of the shop owners?”

  “Who’s going to talk with a couple of kids?

  “Maybe you’re right,” she said, “But maybe we can discover something.”

  Jack smiled. “Bring the Tasers.

  She picked up the canvas bag and hung it over her shoulder. It was a good feeling to know they had a defense, if needed, provided by the two Tasers in the bag.

  Chapter 20

  They found the address of the first shop on the list and, went to a fast food restaurant across the street from it. After ordering drinks, they took seats where they had a good view of the shops on the opposite side of the street.

  The shop across the street was a hardware store and people were entering and leaving it.

  “How long do we have to wait?” Jack asked.

  “I really don’t know.”

  “Maybe he starts his rounds in the afternoon. We could be here for a long time.”

  “There are twelve shops for today on the list. I don’t think he can visit all of them in an afternoon.”

  They sat at their table for one hour and the two people working in the restaurant began to look at them, staring impatiently.

  Amy felt feel uncomfortable. “I think we should go,” she said.

  Jack whispered, “No, wait. Look over there.”

  Manni was walking along the sidewalk with Larry beside him.

  “Why is Larry there?” Jack asked.

  “Mannie probably needs to introduce Larry to the shop owners.”

  “Introduce? That sounds polite,” Jack stated.

  “You know what I mean.”

  They waited and two minutes later Mannie and Larry came out of the store. Mannie carried an envelope. They went into the next shop, which was a clothing cleaner.

  Jack ordered two more drinks and brought them to their table where they watched Mannie and Larry work their way down the street.

  “I didn’t realize the shops on the list are all on the same street,” Amy said.

  “That makes it easy for us,” Jack stated.

  Mannie and Larry came out onto the sidewalk and walked across the street and then in the direction of Amy and Jack.

  “What’s the name of this restaurant?” Jack asked.

  Amy looked above the cashier where there were pictures of hamburgers, fries and drinks and she saw the name. “Chuck’s Burgers and Fine Food,” she said.

  “Is it on the list?”

  It was number nine. “Yes.”

  “They are coming here,” Jack said.

  “Move,” she exclaimed.

  They quickly walked up to the counter and Amy asked one of the workers if there was another way out of the restaurant?

  “The back door, but you aren’t allowed back there.”

  Jack darted around the counter and ran past the stove and food preparation area.

  The worker yelled out, “Hey, stay out of there.”

  Jack got to the door, turned the handle and charged out into an alley, with Amy just behind him.

  Chapter 21

  The alley came out onto the main street with all the shops, so they stopped before they got to the sidewalk. Amy peered around the corner of the building.

  “They aren’t there so they must be inside,” she said. “Hurry.”

  They sprinted down the street and then crossed to the other side where there was a broken wooden fence in front of an empty lot full of weeds and trash. They went through a hole in the fence and looked through cracks between boards.

  Amy cringed. The risks they were taking were becoming too many.

  Mannie and Larry came out of Chuck’s Burgers and Fine Food and went into the next shop.

  She glanced at the list and the remaining two shops were across the street. “It seems they are taking money from every shop on this street.”

  “Why don't the owners go to the police?”

  “Fear,” Amy replied. “If family and all your possessions are threatened, you might just pay the price and keep your mouth shut.”

  “But, if Mannie and Larry and Nalf were in jail, they couldn't do anything to these people.”

  “It doesn't matter. They tell the shop owners that they will send their mob friends to do something horrible.”

  “Even so, they belong in prison.”

  “I agree. Maybe we can figure out another way to get them there.”

  They waited behind the wooden fence until Man
nie and Larry came out of the last shop. The smug smiles on their faces made Amy feel disgusted. She wanted to see Larry and Nalf behind bars for what they had done to her and her brother. While Mannie had not directly harmed her, she knew what he was doing to others.

  “Let's follow them,” she said.

  The two men walked several blocks, past the shopping center. Amy and Jack stayed far behind, darting from parked car to parked car, crouching down to hide.

  When they got to the old four-floor building Amy thought they would be going inside, to their Universal Equipment Supplies office on the fourth floor. Instead, they passed the building and went around it. Amy guessed they were going to their house near the derelict buildings across the street, if you could even call it a house.

  As soon as Mannie and Larry were out of sight, Amy and Jack sprinted to the corner of the building and peered around it. Then they made their way to the back of the building.

  Mannie was in the parking area talking with someone and Larry was far down the street walking in the direction of their home.

  Amy and Jack crouched behind a car and listened to the conversation of Mannie and the other man.

  The man standing with Mannie wore a fedora hat, a Hawaiian shirt and beige pants. He said, “Mannie, you owe us a lot of money.”

  “I know, Rafa. I'll pay you back,” Mannie said.

  “That's what you said before. Now it's time.”

  “I can pay you some now, twelve hundred dollars.” Mannie reached into his front pockets and pulled out the envelopes taken from the storeowners and handed them to Rafa. It was the money taken from the storeowners. “There's one hundred dollars in each envelope.”

  Rafa took the envelopes and said, “That's not nearly enough. We need all of it.”

  “Look Rafa, I got myself into a bind. You've got to give me more time.”

  Rafa stood with his legs apart and stared at Mannie with a frozen face. “You don't get more time. We need the money by tomorrow otherwise you’ll have broken bones.”