Dave Zeltserman - Outsourced

Petrenko stood up and collected the diamonds. Walking back to Abbas, he extended a hand. The Arab looked sourly down at it before reluctantly offering a weak grip in return.

“If you need to sell more diamonds you know how to reach me,” Petrenko offered.

Abbas nodded sharply and somewhat angrily.

When they were alone in their Mercedes, Yuri mentioned to Petrenko that he didn’t believe the Arabs were happy with their price.

“No, I don’t believe so either,” Petrenko agreed. “We have had a very good day. First, let us store these stones in a safe place, then we will have a small celebration.”

Yuri pulled away from the curb and drove towards the Lynn Capital Bank.

Dan spent the four days leading up to the robbery taking his family on day trips. Nothing that cost more than a few bucks; a couple of trips to the beach and once to an amusement park, but everyone seemed to have fun. One night he splurged and took Carol and the kids to a minor league ball game. He was amazed at how fast the time flew by. The past year he had felt a growing estrangement from his wife and daughter, but during those four days it was as if they were a family again. As if all past sins had been forgotten. Susie most of the time seemed happy, letting her guard down and laughing the way she used to. She even sat on Dan’s lap a few times with her arms wrapped around his neck – something she hadn’t done in ages. Carol surprised Dan even more. He didn’t know how she would be after losing her job, but she acted the way she used to – relaxed, affectionate with the kids and playful with him. Gary was Gary. He was always a good-natured kid, and had seemed oblivious to the tension and financial strain that had been pulling the family apart. Now, though, he had picked up on the general good mood of the rest of them and acted more rambunctious and good-natured than ever.

At first Dan was confused about Carol’s behavior. He thought maybe she was putting on an act, trying to be positive for the kids, but eventually he realized that she was in denial. Maybe she had convinced herself that he was going to be offered the position that she thought he was interviewing for, or maybe she simply couldn’t deal with worrying any more. Whatever the reason for her change, he was grateful for it. A few times he caught her staring off into the distance while a brittle look formed on her face, but she seemed to snap out of it quickly.

When Wednesday morning came he felt the way he always felt whenever he had an unpleasant task to do, like a trip to the dentist or filling out tax forms. Something you just had to suck up and get over with. Mostly, though, he felt okay. Maybe some nervous energy and a little tightness in the stomach, but not too bad. Probably more anxious than anything else.

He squinted at the clock radio and saw it was eight minutes to eleven. At first he refused to believe it was that late, and then with kind of a knee-jerk reaction he reached for Carol and realized that he was alone in bed. He had set the alarm for seven thirty. Somehow he must’ve slept through it. There was no way he would be able to meet Gordon at eleven as planned. Everything had been timed out to the minute and he couldn’t afford to be late, not even ten minutes.

Stumbling out of bed, he dressed quickly. As he headed down the stairs Carol yelled to him from the kitchen.

“You’re up finally,” she said. “You looked so dead to the world that I thought I’d let you sleep. Why don’t you join me in the kitchen. I’ll make you a late breakfast.”

So she had turned the alarm off. Great. He checked his watch and felt the tightness in his stomach intensify as he saw it was three minutes to eleven. He went into the kitchen and told Carol he was supposed to meet Shrini in a few minutes. Shrini was a safer choice. He knew he wouldn’t be able to explain needing to meet Gordon.

“I was hoping we could spend the day together,” she said. “After all, if things go well we might not have another chance to spend time like this during a weekday.”

He looked at her dumbly before realizing she was referring to the interview she thought he was going to be having the next day. He told her that he’d like to spend the day with her, but he had promised Shrini that he would meet him. Carol had brewed a fresh pot of coffee and he poured a cup into a travel mug. “We want to talk over some possible business ideas,” he continued. “I should keep my options open in case things don’t work out tomorrow.”

“I thought you said the first interview went well?”

“It did, but you never know with these things.”

“Do you think there’s a chance you won’t get an offer?” The same brittle look that he had caught glimpses of over the last few days had resurfaced. He felt a pull on his heart as he forced a reassuring smile. “I know you hate it when I say this, but I’m sure everything’s going to work out fine. I really have to get going. I’ll try to be home by five.”

He gave her a quick kiss. On his way out the door, she told him that she was going to miss him. “Be careful, please, darling.” There was a heartfelt concern in her voice that almost stopped him and made him turn back to her. Instead, he took a deep breath and kept walking.

While he drove to meet Gordon, he couldn’t help feeling bad about leading Carol on. He didn’t have any choice, though. She’d be freaking out otherwise. Also, while his plan was to use Shrini’s future company in India as a way to funnel his cut of the robbery back to him, that could take six months or longer. He was going to need access to some of the money before then and he was playing around with the idea of using a bogus software contract as a way to explain the money he would be bringing into the house.

He thought about her plea for him to be careful. She had always been very intuitive and must have sensed that something was up. What exactly she thought he should be careful about he had no idea. She probably didn’t either.

When Dan arrived at Gordon’s complex, he found Gordon waiting for him in the parking lot, pacing furiously. He pulled the car up to him.

“Jeez, Dan,” Gordon said, worry lines creasing his forehead. “You’re late.”

Dan glanced at the cell phone Gordon had in his hand. “You didn’t try calling me, did you?” he asked. “We agreed no phone calls.”

“No, but I almost did. You’re twenty minutes late. I told you I need a full hour.”

“I know you did. I’m sorry. Let’s go upstairs and get started, okay?”

While they walked to Gordon’s apartment, Gordon complained how he needed at least an hour to do the makeup. Dan just murmured along agreeably. He had heard this same type of complaining countless times from Gordon over the years. Gordon was okay with deadlines as long as he could set them and make sure there was enough fat in his schedule to provide a comfort zone, but if you tried pushing him he would go to pieces.

When they got to his apartment, Gordon had Dan sit next to the computer while a set of photos of Raymond Lombardo were displayed on the monitor. His hands shook as he started to apply a compound to Dan’s jaw.

“Relax,” Dan told him. “Take a deep breath, okay? You have the full hour. I’m not going to rush you.”

“What about your schedule?”

“I padded it,” Dan lied. “We’re fine. Don’t worry about the schedule.”

Gordon slowly relaxed into his old goofy self. His hands moved faster and steadier as he made a thicker jaw and nose for Dan. As he worked, he talked incessantly about the twenty-eight-year-old dental hygienist from Sao Paulo that he was thinking about contacting. After finishing the jaw and nose, he attached a wig to Dan’s hair using pins and then glued on sideburns and a mustache. He finished the job by adding acne scarring along Dan’s cheeks. When he was done, Dan popped in his cosmetic lenses and studied himself with a hand mirror. The resemblance was good. If he looked hard enough he could tell the nose and jaw were fake, but when videotaped from a distance the disguise would work fine.