Andrew Price - Without A Hitch

Alvarez slipped the wallet into his pocket and glanced up the street. “I see it.”

Beckett handed Alvarez a new cell phone.

Alvarez turned the phone over several times. “Wait a minute, this is wrong. This phone has the same color sticker as the last one.”

“What?!” Beckett seized the phone and examined it. He compared it to the prior phone and then the other phones in the bag. “I must have put the wrong dot on there. There were a couple extras in the bag in case we needed them.”

“What does that mean?!” Alvarez demanded accusingly.

“It means it has the wrong color dot, that’s all. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

“‘ Shouldn’t ’? What do I do if it is?!”

“Run, I guess,” Beckett responded, mocking Alvarez’s concerns.

“Fuck you!” Alvarez got right into Beckett’s face. “You had one fucking job, keeping this shit straight! Now you tell me you fucked that up?!”

“Step off, man! It just means the phone has the wrong dot, that’s all. Stop making a federal case out of it!”

“How do I know this whole thing isn’t messed up now?!”

“See this chart?” Beckett held up a playing-card-sized chart. On the chart, were a series of phone numbers, each with a colored dot located next to the number. “Every one of these dots can be accounted for except this second yellow. This brown should have been yellow. For some reason, it ended up with a brown sticker on the phone. All we have to do is replace the brown sticker with the yellow sticker and it’ll be like nothing ever happened.”

“It better be!”

Beckett placed a yellow sticker on the phone.

“If this blows up on me. .”

Molly got bored after a few minutes and left Corbin’s office without complaint. But no sooner had she left than Kak appeared. The mustard stain from yesterday could still be seen on his dingy white dress shirt, the only color he ever wore.

“Tell Beckett, I want to see him.”

“I will. He was by your office about five minutes ago, dropping off files.” In reality, Corbin dropped off Beckett’s files himself when he saw Kak’s secretary go downstairs for coffee. First, he sent her an e-mail from his own computer telling her Beckett was back. Then he dropped the files off at her desk. Finally, he sent an e-mail from Beckett’s computer telling her that he, Beckett, heard she was looking for him, that he came to see her, but that she was not there, and that he left her some files.

“He. . he’s a. . a good man,” Kak said unexpectedly.

“I’m sure,” Corbin agreed, though he doubted Kak’s sincerity.

“We’ll miss him.”

“Maybe he’ll get sick of his new job and come back to us,” Corbin suggested.

Kak seemed unsure whether Corbin was playing with him, so he ignored the comment. “Tell him to, uh, come see me.”

“Will do.”

Alvarez’s heart raced. Not only had Beckett screwed up the colored-dot system, casting doubt over all of the paperwork, but now a security guard decided, for reasons unknown, to stand right behind Alvarez as he filled out the account paperwork. Moreover, the account manager was far too talkative, and her words bore traces of suspicion.

“How do you like your apartment?”

“It’s ok.”

“A friend of mine lives down there. Are you near the Murphy building?”

Alvarez had never heard of the Murphy building. “Uh, I’m not sure, I don’t pay attention to building names.”

“What grocery store do you use? My friend had a hard time finding a grocery store in the neighborhood.”

“Uh, I eat on campus. I shop at the university store.” Alvarez began sweating, and he struggled to maintain eye contact with the woman.

“That’s really expensive.”

“I guess. I never thought about it.” Alvarez pulled out the mismarked cell phone and read the number off the sticker on the back. As he did, he snuck a peek over his shoulder at the security guard.

“Oh, what an interesting phone,” the woman said.

“Uh, yeah, they’re pretty nice.”

“Where did you buy it?”

“It was a gift.” Alvarez handed her the completed form.

She took the form and scanned it carefully. “Do you have a landline where we can reach you? At home?”

“No, I use my cell.” Alvarez fidgeted with his pen.

“What about an office number?”

“No, no desk.” A drop of sweat ran down his forehead. “It certainly is hot in here today, isn’t it?”

“Can I see your social security card again?”

“Why?!” Alvarez nearly yelped the word, before recovering his composure. “I’m sorry, here it is.” He handed her the card. “I’m running late for a lunch date.”

The woman nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

Alvarez watched the woman walk to a back office. Moments later, the security guard drifted in that direction as well. He soon followed her into the office. Alvarez’s mouth went dry. Sweat soaked through his shirt. His nerves were fraying. He shifted in the chair and looked toward the door. Suddenly, laughter erupted from the office. Alvarez froze. He looked at the exit again. His hands gripped the chair. More laughter. He squeezed the chair even harder and snuck another look at the exit, just as the woman emerged from the office. Beside her, the security guard emerged as well. Alvarez held his breath. The security guard looked at him, but turned and walked away, toward the back of the bank. Only the woman returned to the desk. Alvarez took a deep breath and let go of the chair.

“Here’s your paperwork.”

Alvarez took the documents.

“Thank you for banking with us.”

Corbin returned to the office to find Theresa sitting in his chair. He carried two coffee cups, one for himself and one for Beckett’s desk. “Theresa, what a pleasant surprise.” He set one cup down on Beckett’s desk and took the other to his own desk. As he approached, Theresa moved from his chair to her usual spot on the edge of his desk. She wore a new perfume. This one smelled sweeter than the one she normally wore, which always reminded Corbin of a flower shop.

Theresa’s eyes went to the coffee cup on Beckett’s desk. “Where’s Evan?”

“We were talking to Stuart when the front office grabbed him. Did you know Stuart’s TiVo is watching porn during the day and he’s getting stuck paying for it?”

“I don’t want to know.”

“Neither did we.” The conversation actually took place between Corbin and Stuart alone, but Corbin knew no one would verify any story involving Stuart and pornography, so he felt safe adding Beckett to the list of participants. “By the way, have you met the new guy yet? Molly met him earlier today.”

“Oh please, what a loser!” Theresa spat out.

Corbin furrowed his brow. “You know, it’s asinine that Kak introduces him to everyone except me. After all, I’m going to be the guy’s roommate.”

“That’s Kak for you. Speaking of losers, have you heard the latest about our little office whore?”

Corbin rolled his eyes.

“You didn’t get my e-mail?” she asked.

“I got it, but I’m not opening an e-mail titled ‘Our Office Whore.’ I’d rather that one not end up in the government archives.”

Without hesitation, Theresa launched into her tirade, mockingly imitating Molly’s voice. “I’m sorry, but I can’t believe her. ‘Oh, you like my shoes? How disgusting. Oh, you’re gross. What a weirdo. Want to go back to my place?’”

Corbin’s eyebrows shot upwards. “‘Back to my place’? I thought the date ended in disappointment?”

“I’m sure it did, but the goodbyes didn’t happen until after the evening’s less-clothed festivities concluded. At least, that’s what the grapevine says. I take it she left that part out of the version she told you?”