Corbin handed him the wallet. “We got a bunch of these at dollar stores. They’re all a little different, but they all have what we need. Before Nobody goes into a bank, give him the lease and the utility bill from the packet. He’ll put those into his pocket. Then open the wallet and re-confirm the contents: license, social and $220.” Corbin waited for Beckett to open the wallet and confirm the contents. “Hand him the wallet. Grab the cell phone with the same colored sticker as the plastic bag. Hand him that as well.”
“Ok.”
“When he returns, take the bank paperwork, the lease, the utility bill, and the wallet and return them to the same plastic bag. Seal the plastic bag and return it to the duffel bag. Put the phone back into the phone bag. Then move on to the next bank and repeat.”
“I can see why you didn’t want Nobody worrying about this at the same time he’s going into the banks.”
“Don’t worry, it’s a lot easier than it sounds. Just follow the color coding and you can’t go wrong. We did a practice run last week and it turned out to be really simple. The key to everything is to make sure you only work with one bag at a time. Never open a bag until all the other bags are closed.”
“Got it.”
“That’s all there is,” Corbin said.
“One more thing. How do I recognize Nobody when I see him?”
“How about a password?”
Beckett looked stunned. “I am not walking around a train station asking people if they use polar bear shit to fertilize their lawns.”
“Darn, there goes plan A.”
Beckett stared at Corbin, trying to determine if he was serious.
Suddenly, Corbin burst into laughter. “I’m just kidding. I bought train tickets for both of you. You’ll be sitting directly across from each other.”
That night Corbin sat in the middle of his floor surrounded by wallets, colored stickers, plastic bags, and stacks of twenty dollar bills. His phone rang. He knew it was Alvarez because Alvarez called every night this week.
“Vez.”
“How’s it going?”
“Almost done with the packets.” Corbin counted out another eleven twenties.
“How’s Beckett?”
“He’s nervous, but seems ok. What about you?”
“Good enough, but I want to get this going. I hate waiting.”
“One more day,” Corbin said, as he stuffed the twenties into a brown leather wallet.
“You figured out yet what you’re going to do with your share?”
Corbin set the wallet down and scratched his chin. “No, not really. I figure something will come to me.”
Alvarez laughed. “If you decide you don’t want it, your old friend Alvarez will be more than happy to take it off your hands.”
“I’m sure.”
“Hey, that’s what friends are for, right?”
“Is that how Websters defines friendship?”
“I think I read that, yeah. Are you still planning to stay at the lousy job?”
“That’s part of the plan. I need to stick around at least one year so I can keep an eye on the people in the office. They’re our coal-mine canaries; they’ll be the first to know if the cops start investigating.”
“Better you than me.”
“I knew I could count on you for sympathy,” Corbin chuckled.
“If you want sympathy, you know where to find it.”
“Yeah, between shit and syphilis in the dictionary.”
“You know what you should do to pass the time?”
“What?” Corbin asked dubiously.
“You should hook up with that Mary girl you told me about.”
“You mean Molly?”
“Sure, Molly, the younger one. She sounds like a wild ride.”
Corbin rolled his eyes. “Let’s move on shall we.”
“It’s just a suggestion.”
“It’s a disastrous suggestion. Do you know who Tantalus is?”
“Didn’t he fight Godzilla?”
“No. Greek mythology. He was punished for stealing ambrosia from the gods and bringing it back to his people. His punishment was to stand in a pool of water below a fruit tree. Whenever he reached for the fruit, the branches raised beyond his reach. When he bent to drink, the water receded away before him. Thus, his fate was to be tempted without ever achieving satisfaction. Hence, the word ‘tantalize.’ That’s Molly. She wants you to chase, but she’ll always be out of reach.”
“Do you categorize all women according to Greek mythological punishments?”
“Doesn’t everybody?”
Alvarez laughed.
“Don’t get me wrong. She’s a fun girl, but she’s only interested in being pursued. She has no desire to be caught.”
“What about the other one, the older one?”
“Listen, I gotta go. I need to finish these packets,” Corbin said, dodging the question.
Alvarez laughed again. “All right. Let’s meet tomorrow and go over the maps one more time.”
“No problem.”
When Corbin hung up the phone, he heard his doorbell ring. Looking through the viewer, he saw Mrs. Tuttle’s white hair. “Mrs. Tuttle, how are you?”
“I’m fine, Alex, just fine.” As Corbin opened the door, Mrs. Tuttle pushed passed him into the apartment. She was carrying a large silver pot. “I made soup and I wanted to bring you some. It’s chicken noodle. I know how much you like my chicken noodle.”
“That I do, Mrs. Tuttle.”
“Besides, you’re all by yourself over here.” Mrs. Tuttle set the pot on Corbin’s countertop. As she did, she noticed the assortment of wallets, bags, papers and twenties spread across the floor. “Work keeping you busy?”
“You know the way things are, Mrs. Tuttle, their time is their time and your time is their time too.”
“It’s always been that way, Alex. Mr. Tuttle used to say the same thing when he worked for NASA. Did I ever tell you that we lived in Florida when they sent Mr. Aldrin to the moon?”
For the next ten minutes, Mrs. Tuttle regaled Corbin with stories of the places she and Mr. Tuttle had lived and the things they had done. Finally, Mrs. Tuttle returned to her own apartment, leaving Corbin to return to his packets.
It was obvious the moment Beckett stepped through the office doorthat his nerves had suffered a relapse. Corbin set down his book and prepared for the fight he knew was coming. He suspected for several days that Beckett would need to be shored up one last time because Beckett seemed increasingly more nervous lately. To Corbin’s surprise however, Beckett didn’t launch into a tirade. Instead, he sat at his desk, tapping his thumb against a notebook as he stared at the wall.
“You nervous about something?” Corbin finally asked.
Beckett let out a disgusted laugh.
“Let’s try this again. Are you nervous about something?” Corbin repeated.
“I’m fine.”
“Doesn’t look that way from here.”
“You must be mistaken.” Beckett chuckled ominously.
“Oh, I doubt that. What’s the problem?” Corbin was becoming annoyed.
“There’s no problem,” Beckett countered, still without turning to face Corbin. They sat in silence for nearly a minute. Beckett stared at his computer, tapping his pen against his desk. Corbin stared at the back of Beckett’s head.
“So there’s nothing I need to know.” This was a statement, not a question.
“Nothing comes to mind.”
“You’re ready for tomorrow.”
“Yes,” snapped Beckett.
“You’re not going to back out on us in the morning?”
“I’m not backing out on anything. I don’t have a choice at this point,” Beckett said snidely.
Corbin’s lips took on an angry curl. “Why don’t you just drop the theater and say what’s on your mind?”
“You know what’s on my mind? This whole thing is immoral. It’s wrong.”
Corbin let out a single, derisive laugh. “There’s no denying that. So what?”
“So I don’t like doing things I think are wrong.”
“Then back out,” Corbin said calmly, even with a hint of enthusiasm.
Beckett was shocked. “What?!”
“Hey, if you’re gonna back out, there’s nothing I can do about it, and frankly, I’d rather we just get it over with now, so Nobody and I can move on without you.”