Losing Streak

by Jim Wilsky

  Almost like a teacher trying to trip up a student, she thought to herself.

  “The Serpent is outfitted and designed to fire any available rocket that is currently available. The HEDP, HEAA and so forth. And yes, that includes Novel Explosive and Thermobaric rounds.”

  Wilson nodded, but didn’t speak, apparently satisfied.

  “This weapon is the latest and greatest of its class, until something else is developed and field tested. That’s normally about a five-year process. The Russians and Chinese are currently in development of redesigned models of their own similar launchers, but they can’t touch this weapon.” She stopped, waiting for a reply.

  Wilson had his poker face on but when he scooted his chair in even closer, Rachel could feel his excitement and eagerness. “Okay, the last time I bought a few of these they were running about fourteen thousand a piece. What is the agreed to price you settled on with this other buyer?”

  “Eighteen thousand each, for a total of seventy-two thousand…and I did not settle on the price with him. I quoted and he accepted, without hesitation.”

  Wilson didn’t blink at the price. “And he inspected the product?”

  “Of course,” Rachel shrugged. “Thoroughly. He was impressed to say the least.”

  Wilson leaned back, crossed his arms and looked up in the air. “Okay, so let’s see here, with my twenty percent more that would be what here? Uh…eighty-six thousand, four hundred, right?”

  “Correct. Cash only.”

  “I’ll have to think on this, Sarah. Give me an hour or two.”

  “I have a deal in place and earnest money in hand. I have already made arrangements to receive the remainder of the money and for the buyer to take possession.” She folded her hands in front of her and raised her eyebrows. “I don’t have another hour or two and you don’t either. Do I make the call to my father or not?”

  He looked into her eyes, searching and reading. He put a hand to his chin, started to say something and stopped, looking down at the table instead. When he raised his head, he had a thin smile. “Agreed. Make the call. I’m in.”

  “You realize that I only shared information, which is a gift in itself, and that we have no arrangement whatsoever at this point. There is no guarantee yet that I will be allowed to cancel the other deal and accept your offer. You do understand that?”

  “Yes, I do, and I really appreciate you trying to get this done.”

  She got her phone out of her back pocket. “I’ll need a few minutes please.”

  “Sure, sure, I’ll leave you alone.” He got up and pointed toward an empty space of wall. “I’ll be right over there.”

  Chapter 5

  Five minutes after Wilson and Rachel had walked off, Sam used a magic marker and handwritten a Be Right Back sign on a piece of cardboard. He leaned it up on one of the display tables and started off.

  He walked around a little before he found the Coopers’ booth. A large banner above it read Calibers in big red letters. It was a double booth, too, huge compared to Wilson’s. There was room for rifle racks across the back curtain and small tables with high stools. The front tables had skirts with Calibers written across them.

  The booth was two aisles over from the food court area and that wasn’t ideal, but at least they were not within a direct line of sight of each other.

  There were four guys working the booth, including Ty Cooper who had a black cowboy hat on this time. All four guys had black starched shirts with red striping and the company logo on a front pocket. No sign of old man Cooper.

  They were busy as shit too, which Sam was thankful for. His job during Rachel’s meeting was to run interference if Ty were to leave the booth and head for the food court.

  Ty Cooper didn’t even know who Rachel was, but, if he did see Wilson talking to somebody, he might just act like the asshole he was and go blow some shit for the hell of it. If that happened who knew what Wilson might say. So, they weren’t going to run that risk. He was prepared to stop Ty and act like he wanted to talk about a particular gun or talk to him about a side deal he has to offer, anything to stall him.

  He continued to pretend to look busy and fiddled with his phone at the end of the aisle. Due to the layout, Ty would most likely have to pass him if he did leave the booth and head for where Wilson and Rachel were sitting. In a minute he would go check on the cafeteria and Rachel from a distance, then come back here.

  So far so good, but he wondered how Rachel was doing, in fact that’s all he could think about. She was carrying the load on this one, no doubt about it, but he never really worried about her or how she could handle virtually anything thrown at her.

  Then again, as they both knew all too well, the simple nature of the games they played and lives they lived, anything could happen. A con is like walking through a minefield. One wrong step and it all blows up in your face.

  They had rehearsed everything once again this morning. He had quizzed her about the weaponry, features, capabilities, the stats and anything else he could think of. They had gone through several different scenarios and unexpected turns that could occur, then reviewed the logistics of how everything needed to flow after the meeting.

  He looked up from the dark phone and spotted the black cowboy hat immediately. Looking away, he thought that this was the worst time of any con. The wait, and there was nothing else for him to do right now but exactly that. Wait. Keep watching and do what he was supposed to do.

  Wilson came back and sat back down after Rachel signaled him over. He had two bottles of water and handed her one. Rachel had purposely taken a while on the phone, talking to herself and listening to dead air. He probably didn’t know if that was a good thing, or a bad one. Wilson didn’t say anything, just waited for her to speak.

  She let a few seconds go by for a little added suspense and drama. The idea was to highlight what a favor she was about to offer and also start taking more control.

  “Okay, Mr. Wilson, I must tell you that my father was dead set against pulling away from a deal already made. As I’ve said, we have earnest money in hand.” She placed on hand on the small aluminum briefcase and patted it once. “And we have the assurance of the balance being paid before the show ends at seven…by six o’clock, to be exact.”

  Wilson cut in. “Yeah, but you said he was dead set against it. What is he now?”

  “Let me finish, please.” She let her voice raise up a notch. “The longer this meeting goes the less of a chance you, and I, have to get this done. I’m on a flight out of Little Rock tonight and I have a meeting in L.A. at noon tomorrow. A very important meeting that I will not miss.”

  “Hey, okay, okay. I’m sorry. Go ahead, Sarah.”

  Rachel took it all the way now. Time to really take charge. She continued as if she didn’t hear the apology. “And frankly, I know this means a lot to you, but this is just a cleanup deal for me. A deal I already have done. I simply want to go home with zero inventory left to sell. That’s it. That’s all this is to me. Now, once again, time is of the essence here. Do we understand each other?”

  “Yes. Please, go ahead. I talk too much sometimes.”

  She nodded. “Okay, after some back and forth, I was able to persuade my father to agree to cancel the current deal and accept your offer. Provided that you meet the conditions he gave me.”

  “Great, oh, man, that’s…” Wilson held up his hands and stopped himself.

  “There are three conditions that you must accept before I cancel the deal and refund the earnest money to the other buyer.” She held her index finger up. “One, you must match the earnest money that we were paid by the other buyer. Thirty-five thousand dollars, in cash, by four o’clock today.” She looked at her watch. “It’s almost two o’clock right now. Only after I receive this earnest money from you, will I approach the other buyer and cancel his deal.”

  Wilson nodded his understanding but didn’t speak.

  “Two. You will not have any
communications with this buyer, or make any attempt to, regarding this new arrangement as my reason given for cancellation will not be because he was outbid, but instead, a law enforcement surveillance concern. This is crucial to our industry reputation as well as any future business dealings with one or both of you. Any deviation from this condition, even after our deal is completed, will result in some very serious retribution.”

  “Got it.”

  “Three. After canceling the deal with the other buyer, we will meet at a self-storage facility where the merchandise is located, by no later than five-thirty this afternoon. I’ll let you inspect the product, you will pay me the remainder of the balance and I will leave for the airport. You’ll be responsible for removal of the product and locking it back up. We will close the storage account later.”

  Rachel took a sip from the water bottle and set it back down. “So, that’s good news, I hope. And as long as you understand those three conditions and agree, that’s it, Mr. Wilson. Do we have a deal?” Her expression and voice were slightly bored now and her body language suggested she just wanted to get this done and out of the way.

  Wilson smiled. “Well, the only thing I would say is that I’ll need to get moving here. Got some banking to do. I guess I’ll also have to have my booth helper pack everything up and load it into my U-Haul after the show ’cause I sure as hell won’t be available. But, hey, that’s my problem, not yours.”

  Rachel saw the opening and took it. She stood and reached out her hand. “Very well, deal?”

  “Well, I have a condition myself before I start hurrying to the bank.” Wilson stood up too, but he didn’t extend his hand.

  “No.” Rachel withdrew her hand and picked up the briefcase. “You might have a question but let me be clear, you have no condition. If you insist on having a condition then I will simply proceed with my current deal. Now, do you have a question?”

  “Well yeah, okay, I’ll call it a damn need. How’s that?” he said firmly.

  So, here it was, Rachel thought. What she had expected to happen earlier in the conversation had finally showed up. It was a nervous pushback or suspicion, or both. A challenge of some degree that happens more times than not. Wilson had changed in the blink of an eye. He had bowed up, his tone of voice had changed and he was definitely making a hard play.

  “What is it, Mr. Wilson? What’s this about?” She glared at him, her voice edging toward anger.

  “I’m agreeing to your three conditions—if you grant me the one thing I need to see.”

  Rachel’s mind ran with that, with what he needed to see. Several possibilities could blow everything up. See the weapons first? See the earnest money? She sighed and looked at her watch. “And what would that be?”

  He took a step around the table, “I want to see you give that money back to him. From a distance only, I’ll have no contact or nothin’.” His hands went up sarcastically.

  “I’m impressed with your sense of fairness and caring for this other buyer.” She was relieved but also raised one eyebrow in a show of confusion.

  “What I’m caring about is making sure his money and my money don’t get kept and then him and I are killing each other over a storage unit. A storage unit that might not even exist.”

  Perfect, Rachel thought, her face a mask of disgust. She had thought of it after Sam had left this morning. Just in case. She’d looked a company up, found the invoice template, populated it and printed it downstairs using the hotel business center. The rest of how this would work, she’d figure out.

  She stared hard at him and shook her head slow.

  “Is that a no?” Wilson asked. “I mean, you don’t really want to call your dad again, do you? Reverse this thing again? Tell him the extra twenty percent is off the table? Hey, I’m not asking you that much here. What’s the problem?”

  She started digging around in her purse. “I’m not saying no. I’m simply disappointed in you. Remember earlier when you told me that even though we’d just met, you liked me? Well, despite my best instincts and the warning bells going off, I like you, too. Even trust you a little. Sorry you don’t share that trust. Even though I told you we would keep the other buyer’s identity confidential, I’ll agree to letting you see me return the earnest money to them.” She knew the real reason, but it wasn’t smart or worth it, to bring it up.

  He had won so he switched back good old boy and his voice softened. “Sarah, c’mon now. It’s not personal, just business. Also, if it’s any consolation, I know exactly who this other buyer is. But even so, I’ll keep my end of the bargain. They’ll never know it was me.”

  Rachel handed him a twice folded piece of paper, “Just so you know.”

  Wilson looked down and scanned the invoice from Ur-Stuff Storage. “Yeah, I know this place. Even used it once.” He handed it back and looked at her again. “Like I said, just business.”

  “Are we done here?” Rachel asked briskly. “Because time is a real factor here, so I need to know how I’m proceeding. I’ll move forward no matter what, but you’ll decide which direction that is. I need to know your answer. Right now. Deal?”

  “Deal.” He did reach his hand out this time and smiled. “But like I said a minute ago, I’ve got some banking to do. Pull out my cash withdrawal limit, then I need to drop by my farm and get the rest out of my safe. Good thing I always have cash around. I’ll be back by four.”

  She shook it. “Good. To ease my travel, I will need as many banded large bills as possible, fifties and hundreds. Twenties if you must. Meet me next door, in the Lex lobby, no later than four. Please be quick. When you get back with what I need. We’ll count it somewhere private over there, and then we’ll come here to cancel the other deal.” She gave him a small grin. “So, get going…Rand.”

  His laughter was real.

  Chapter 6

  Sam heard the phone ding and looked down at the text. Done here, Good shape, small twist but okay, he’s on his way to booth, I’ll be at Lex.

  A small twist. Sam wasn’t crazy about that phrase. He put the phone back in his pocket and turned to hurry back. The man was standing right there and he almost walked into him.

  Sam held a hand up, “Oh, man, sorry, I didn’t see you.”

  The guy had a dark windbreaker on that said Security in yellow letters. He was wearing jeans and clearly just a rent a cop for the show. He smiled. “Hey, no problem.” He looked down at Sam’s exhibitor tag. “So, you guys having a good show?”

  “Yeah, not bad, todays definitely better than yesterday. I gotta—”

  “Good, good.” The guy put his hands in his pockets. He was bored, just looking for conversation.

  “Alright, well…” Sam pointed. “I gotta get back to the booth. So, take care.”

  “Sure, okay. Hey, you guys carry any older guns? I collect world war two stuff.”

  Sam talked as he backed away, “No, my boss only carries new stuff.”

  “Oh, okay. Well…”

  “Take care, man. Gotta get back.” Sam laughed and said, “I’m the only one there right now.” He waved and didn’t let the guy answer.

  He walked quickly, dodging people and was almost there but when he turned down their aisle, he saw Wilson just walking into the booth. He stopped hurrying then and walked at a normal pace.

  Wilson saw him coming now and he held out the be back sign as Sam walked behind the tables to join him. “Hey, what the hell is this all about and where were you?”

  Sam shook his head, “Man, I’m sorry, I had a bathroom emergency and I’m not talking about standing at the urinal either. Sorry again, I just had to go pretty bad.”

  “Well, it’s all right, I guess, but…well anyway, my meeting is over and despite you almost fucking it all up yesterday, I was able to reel everything back in.”

  “What do you mean, what did I do?”

  “Remember me saying anybody comes up and wants to sell me something, they go to the front of the line? Well,
when that girl came over here yesterday—” he pointed the sign at Sam again, “—you should have broken into my conversation with that lame-ass guy that wanted the Glock. You damn near ruined a very good deal…I mean, the money of that stupid sale is about as important as selling a pack of gum compared to the deal I just swung.” He crumpled up the sign and threw it in a wastebasket.

  “I’m sorry, Rand. Honestly, really sorry. You want me to just leave? Serious, you don’t owe me anything for today, okay? But, I appreciate what you did trying to help me out and I’m awful glad the meeting turned out okay.”

  “You know what? I’m just nervous and stoked, all fired up. Forget it, Cullen. You’ve done the best you can and I ought to be thankful for you helping out. Plus, I’m gonna need you buddy, so don’t go quitting on me, ’kay? Need a favor right now and then later on too. So, forget what I just said. I was just blowing off some steam. Pretty touch and go meeting. It could have gone either way.”

  “No, you’re right, though. It was a stupid thing for me to do. I should have never walked away like that…but it went good, huh?”

  Wilson walked up closer and then slapped him on the shoulder. “Yessir…took everything I had to get it done, but yeah, done deal.”

  “Well, man, that’s great!”

  “Here’s the thing though, I gotta leave right now.” He looked down at his phone, checking the time. “Like right now.”

  “Okay. Don’t worry, I got it, and believe me, I’m not leaving the booth.” He gave Wilson an embarrassed grin. “Be right here the whole time. Promise.”

  Wilson waved that off. “Hey, I know. But when I get back, I’ll be running around here a little too…and then, after that I’ll be leaving the show around five or so—for the rest of the damn night. I need to count on you, Cullen, and I’ll make it worth your while. I’ll pay you twice the two hundred.”

  Sam held up his hands. “Wait, the two hundred a day you offered is great. I don’t need four. What would that be for?”