Deception

by Dan Lawton

  “You and me, we could start over some place.”

  “Where would we go?”

  I shrug. “We could go anywhere you want. We could go somewhere out of the country even.”

  Frank pauses for a moment, thinks about it, then smiles like he did when dad said we were going to Disney World when we were kids. “We could go to Mexico,” he says. “I’ve always wanted to go there. That would be a fun vacation.”

  “I’m not talking about a vacation.”

  The smile falls from his face and he looks blankly at me, unsure of what I mean. “What you talkin’ about then?”

  “I’m talking about moving somewhere. Leaving Kansas and moving somewhere new, somewhere fresh, somewhere away from here.”

  “But why?”

  “There’s nothing here for us anymore. Dad’s gone and mom’s gone. What’s left for us?”

  Frank thinks about this and a look of sadness comes over his face. “I really miss dad,” he says. He looks like he might cry.

  “I know, me too.”

  I take a moment and think back to all the things we used to do together growing up, as a threesome, and I have to fight my lip from quivering. We were all so close back then and continued to be as we got older, but one night changed it all. It’s all Snake’s fault.

  “But if we move away, what about your job and your house?” Frank says.

  “I can find a new job and I can buy a new house.”

  “Sounds like that will cost a lot of money.”

  I pause and smile slowly. “I wouldn’t worry about that. Money may not be an issue for too much longer.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  GEORGE

  Billy opens the back doors of the van and ushers me inside. Frank is sulking, sitting on his hands on one of the benches. Billy motions in Frank’s direction.

  “Frank, grab that bag under your seat, will you?”

  Frank pulls his legs in tight and looks to the left, then to the right, but he can’t find the bag. He stands up and turns around to face the bench. He leans down for a closer look and bangs his head on the leather, groaning a bit. He rubs his forehead and looks for blood. Obviously there is nothing there. Billy sighs behind me.

  “Found it,” Frank says as he grabs the bag and carries it to Billy. “Here you go, boss.”

  Billy takes the bag from Frank and drops it among the trash on the floor of the van. He unzips the top and separates the fabric. “Here.” Billy hands me a nicely folded collared shirt and a baseball hat while still digging through the bag. I don’t take it right away, so he looks up to me in frustration. “Take it.” I raise my hands, showing him they’re still tied together, and he nods. “Frank, take care of this.”

  Frank fishes a pocket knife from his jeans and saws me free. Blisters are forming just below my palms where the rope had been awkwardly rubbing. I reach for the shirt, now on the floor in front of me, and stretch it out, revealing an AT&T logo on the breast. The hat has the same familiar blue and white sphere.

  “What’s this for?” I ask.

  “That’s our in,” Billy says.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “That cell tower is new. They just finished construction like a month ago.”

  “Okay.”

  “Network testing.”

  “Huh?”

  “Put the shirt on, and the hat. Then you’re going to walk down to that house, knock on the door, and invite yourself in.” Billy hands me an iPhone from the bag, AT&T of course.

  “And you expect it to be that easy? If this guy’s the leader of some gang, why would he just let me in?”

  There is a brief pause.

  “You’ll figure it out. Suck his dick or something.”

  Frank giggles in the background.

  “And what if I don’t?”

  “I could kill you, but that’d be too easy. I do know of a pregnant lady that we can sacrifice in your place.”

  I can feel my throat beginning to tighten. He wins again. “Fine. Why me?”

  “Because Snake would never suspect someone like you, and because he’s probably armed. I mean, he’s the leader of the fucking Zved’s for Christ sakes.” Billy forces himself to laugh, and Frank joins him. “Better you than me.”

  ---

  Dressed in my new attire and with instructions on what to look for once inside, I make my way toward the small house in the distance. The dry blood in my nose from the earlier incident at the warehouse is crusted to the hair, but I don’t think it’s broken. The bleeding stopped quite a while ago, and the pain has just about gone away completely. I may have dodged a bullet there. I need to be more careful around these guys, that’s a lesson learned the hard way.

  The day is getting late and the sun is going down, but it’s still bright. The flatlands are mostly sand and gravel, and it’s exactly as its name describes: Flat. I could use this opportunity to make a run for it, but they have the van and, well, I do not. Looking around, there is nowhere for me to run and nowhere for me to hide anyway. Plus, Billy flashed me his gun before I left, just to keep me in check.

  I can feel the sweat beading on the back of my neck as I approach the front door. The house is ordinary, just a little beat up, and it’s literally in the middle of nowhere. I can’t see anything else in the distance in any direction besides this house, the cell tower, and Billy’s van. Maybe this makes the perfect hiding spot for someone like Snake.

  There is no specific entrance, no walkway, nothing. Just dirt and gravel that leads up to the front door. My hands are trembling as I knock. I peek back toward the van, although I’m not sure why. I guess I was hoping it would be gone. The front door cracks open enough for the barrel of a shotgun to slide through and point in my face.

  “Who the fuck are you and what do you want? You have five seconds,” says the deep male voice from behind the door.

  My mouth is suddenly dry and I can’t breathe.

  “Five…four…three…”

  I’m completely frozen as the final seconds of my life are drowning down the barrel of a gun. I try to speak, but can’t.

  “Two…”

  I can hear the gun being cocked from behind the door.

  “One…”

  “Network maintenance!” I scream, just in time. “I’m here for network maintenance! I work for AT&T. We just put that new tower up right over there.” I point behind me.

  The gun has not moved and the gunman hasn’t said another word. I’m expecting my brains to be blown out all over the dirt at any second.

  “It will just take a minute, Sir. I just need to come inside real quick and see how many bars I have, just to make sure the tower was installed properly.”

  “Get out of here. Go somewhere else,” the man says, then he pulls the gun inside and closes the door.

  “But there is no one else, Sir. You are the only house around here for miles.” It’s a final desperate attempt, and I hope I’m not pushing my luck.

  Suddenly, the door swings open and a tall black man stares me in the face, his shotgun pointed under my chin. “I’m not fucking around. Get out of here or I’ll blow your teeth into your stupid little brain.” His perfect teeth shine through his well-maintained beard. He has short curly hair and he matches Billy’s description perfectly. It must be Snake. He’s thin too, real thin, like you have to wonder how someone like him became the leader of a gang thin.

  It must be that gun that people fear.

  I’m pushed back on my heels a bit, stretching my pants on my thighs. I feel a bulge in my pocket and it gives me an idea. “For your troubles, Sir, we are offering you a brand new iPhone.” I pull the phone from my pocket and show it to him, my hands still trembling. He’s not impressed. “And we’ll cover your entire bill for your lifetime.” I pause, still nothing. “And we’ll do the same for up to ten of your closest friends. Plus, $10,000. For your troubles, Sir.” I offer a cheap smile.

  He presses the barrel of the gun deeper under my chin and puts his face next to mine, o
ur noses nearly touching. “You have thirty seconds.” He releases the pressure on the gun and pulls it away from me. He pushes me through the door.

  Billy had told me to look for something or somewhere to store a lot of cash, somewhere hidden. I scan the room quickly while Snake closes the door behind us. The room is small and has a couch and a tube TV on a stand. There is a short hallway that leads to the kitchen at the end, and there is a single bedroom and bathroom off the wings. The walls are bare and are covered by some old wallpaper.

  “Whose van is that?” Snake asks.

  “That’s mine, supplied by the company.”

  “What’s your name?”

  The question catches me off guard. I should have prepared something, but I didn’t. “Bill Franks.” As soon as I say it I regret it.

  Snake doesn’t say anything, and he just stares at me for a few seconds. “You have fifteen seconds.”

  I look down at the iPhone which is still in my hand, pretending to look at the bars of reception. I point down the hall. “Do you mind?”

  He nods once.

  The kitchen is practically empty. One folding chair lay on its side near the sink and it looks like the power cord to the refrigerator has been cut. The room smells of rotten garbage.

  I quickly turn back down the hall and stick my arm in the bathroom, not bothering to turn on the light. A roll of toilet paper rests on the edge of the sink, and an old plunger is in the shower. I think I can see shit on it.

  Back in the hallway, I head for the bedroom, but get cut off before I can enter.

  “Not in there. Time’s up,” Snake says.

  I glance in the room and catch a glimpse of a large painting hanging on the wall near a mattress that lay on the floor with no frame. It seems out of place.

  Snake grabs my collar and pulls me toward him. “Not in there I said, motherfucker!” He rips the phone from my hand and pushes me toward the now open front door, my hat falling off in the process. “Now where’s my money?”

  “Call customer service and give them my name, they’ll work out the payment details with you.” I don’t know if he believes me or not, but he doesn’t raise the shotgun.

  “Don’t ever come back here again.” Snake slams the door in my face. It’s only a matter of time before he’ll realize that the phone doesn’t work, so I quickly turn and head back to the van, unsure if I should run or not.

  I do make it back to the van, honestly surprised not to have a bullet in my back. I refuse to look behind me. I slide into the driver’s side and start the van. Billy ducks in the passenger’s seat next to me while Frank is still in the back. I move the van behind the tower, out of site of the house, and stop. Billy sits up in his seat and looks at me.

  “I see you’re still alive, that’s a good start,” he says. “What did you find?”

  Frank slides down to the end of the bench near us so he can hear.

  “I don’t know, I wasn’t in there for very long. There is a painting hanging on the wall in the bedroom, that’s the only place it could be. Maybe there’s a safe behind there or something.”

  Billy nods. “Okay, good. That’s good. That’s perfect,” he says. Relieved at his satisfaction with my effort, I slide in the back and sit across from Frank, close to the front. Billy slides over to the driver’s side and turns to me. “Did you lose your hat while you were sucking Snake’s dick?”

  Frank laughs, loud and hysterically, with his mouth wide open. His voice cracks when it reaches its climax, and it makes my ears pop. Billy smirks and jams the van into gear. He waits for me to respond to his jab, but I don’t find him humorous.

  “Okay,” he continues, “now for step two.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  BILLY

  It’s 5:03 P.M. and I’m sitting in my van outside City Hall. I spent most of the day compiling my thoughts and creating what I think is a solid path forward. Frank didn’t find any flaws, but his opinion needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I need someone else with an opinion that matters to take a look.

  She’ll be surprised to see me, I imagine, but this cannot wait until the weekend. I roll down my window by hand and wave at her as she exits from the building. She looks at me with uncertainty, but comes toward me anyway. She leans into the window. As she arrives and her blouse separates from her chest, I can’t stop myself from peeking at her exposed cleavage. Just seeing the clasp of her pushup jamming her breasts toward me makes my heart race.

  I need to stay focused.

  “What are you doing here?” she asks. “I thought we weren’t going to meet up until Saturday.”

  “Things have changed. I came up with a full plan today. I have it all laid out at my place. I need to discuss it with you.”

  Alicia looks behind her and whispers back to me, “You can’t come here anymore, Billy.”

  I just stare back at her, showing her my dissatisfaction with her telling me what’s right and wrong. “Are you coming or not?”

  She sighs before quickly tiptoeing around the side of the van and sliding in the passenger’s side. She jams her designer purse between her legs before she engages the safety belt. The sun shines on her legs, and I want nothing more than to reach over and feel them. They look like smooth butter, and I’m sure they feel the same way. Instead, I back out of the spot and glide into traffic, keeping my hands to myself. For now.

  Thirty-two minutes later, we arrive at my house. I stop the engine and remove the keys from the ignition before turning to Alicia. “Frank’s inside, you’ve been warned,” I say.

  She looks at me with concern. “Why do you say it like that? Is he dangerous? Last night you told me he was stable now.”

  “He is. He’s just a little…different. Slow I guess.”

  “Is he dangerous?”

  I pause. “No.”

  “You’re doing a shitty job of convincing me.”

  “No, he’s okay. Just be cautious. You never know for sure how people with his disorder will react to meeting new people. He may go off the rails a bit, or he might be fine. I don’t really know for sure.”

  “Well if he tries anything with me or if I feel uncomfortable, I’m out.”

  I roll my eyes at her.

  “I’m not kidding. I’ll turn right around and walk out the front door and you’ll never see me again. You need me more than I need you.”

  I glare at her. “Are you sure about that?”

  She says nothing and looks away.

  I quickly change my tone. “Okay, let’s go.” I open my door and hop onto the paved driveway beneath. Alicia repeats as I do and follows me toward the front door.

  Frank is sitting in his usual spot on the sofa with his feet on the table as we enter the house. He’s oblivious to the sound of the door as the high decibel level from the speakers on the TV fills the room.

  “Get your feet off the table,” I holler, which startles him. He immediately drops his feet to the floor and jumps up.

  “My feet weren’t on the table,” he says to me.

  “I saw them, don’t lie to-”

  “I didn’t see them on the table,” Alicia jumps in. Frank and I both turn to her. She approaches Frank and holds her hand out. “Hi, you must be Frank. Your brother has told me all about you. My name is Alicia.”

  Frank smiles widely and takes her hand. He turns to me. “See,” he says, before turning his attention back to Alicia. “Hi. You’re really pretty.”

  “Aww, thank you, Frank. You’re really handsome too.”

  Frank blushes at her compliment. I study her as they release interlocked hands. The fact that she blatantly lied and completely discredited my authority pisses me off, but it was a nice gesture to win Frank over. I would never say it out loud, but it was a slick move by her. She smiles at me and I just shake my head with a small grin on my face. Her confidence helps me to justify my decision to even bring her here. I’ve always had the ability to judge people and their sincerity, and I still have it. This is going to be too easy.

&
nbsp; I walk into the kitchen and retrieve the notepad from one of the drawers. I bring it to the table and open it up before sitting. Alicia notices and follows me to the table. She sits down across from me and tries to read my scribbles. Frank makes his way to the table as well and sits at the end, the three of us now in a triangle.

  “Can I get you anything?” I direct the question to Alicia.

  She shakes her head without looking up.

  “Okay then, make yourself comfortable. We might be here for a while”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  GEORGE

  Back in the same empty warehouse, the two-way mirror stares back at me as I sit in the same bolted down wooden chair. I’m not strapped to the chair this time, which is nice, although my hands are still loosely tied in front of me. The light has been left on for me, so I’m able to get up and pace. I walk the perimeter of the room, counting my steps as I go. One of the cracked pipes has a slow drip and a damp spot is forming below it on the cement.

  Across the room, the bulky door squeaks open. To my surprise, Alicia is pushed in and the door closes behind her. I immediately run in her direction.

  “Alicia, I’m relived you’re okay! Are you okay?”

  She offers me an exhausted smile and nods.

  “Where have you been?”

  She points to the two-way mirror behind me. “There, in that room. They locked me in and left for a while. I’m not sure how long it’s been.”

  “It’s been a couple hours at least.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I saw the time when I was in the van.”

  “Huh?”

  “They took me with them, in the van.”

  Alicia’s face drops, and she turns a bit pale. “Oh no! What happened?”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  There is a pause. “I’m so sorry, George. I didn’t mean to get you involved.” She puts her right hand on her waist and grimaces. Her hands aren’t tied and I don’t see any blisters on her wrists, like I have.