The Box

She touched the little box in her pocket and smiled, she quickened her pace. She wanted to be there before he arrived.  She knew that he was going to be thrilled with her; they had been working on this for a long time. It was going to make them both rich. She reached the door of the hotel, and flung it open. As she stepped in out of the cold, she realized that she was freezing. Her fingers were barely able to grasp the door because of the cold. She hadn’t felt it because she was so excited.

She took a seat in the hotel lobby and ordered a martini. She wouldn’t usually drink on the job, but this was a time for celebration. She folded her mink stole around the back of the chair and stole a glance at her watch. She crossed her legs and wiggled her leg, impatiently. She could not wait to tell Mike that she had it. She was startled out of her thoughts by the man taking a seat across from her.

She looked up, smiling, expecting to see Mike.  The man before her was not Mike, but she knew him. Her smile faded and she grabbed for her purse. Before she could reach inside and grab her gun, the man spoke.

“You’ll be dead before you can get to it, Marishka.”

“Well it was worth a try, wasn’t it,” she said, coolly.

“Why don’t you make this easy and give me the box,” he said.

“Not going to happen,” she said, without flinching.

“I’ll make you a good deal, you won’t regret it,” he said with a smug smile.

“Seamus, it is never going to happen. You can try and take it from me, but you know you won’t be able to. I suggest you leave before Mike gets here, he won’t be as patient as I have been.”

He got up and walked away without further incident. She watched as he went because she knew how badly it hurt him to see her working for the man who had killed his father. She knew that he had loved her and he had been shocked when she had gone with Mike. She had faith in Mike like she had never had faith in anyone else. He had stood up for her that day and she had felt that she owed it to him.

He sat down in front of her and she smiled and said,

“Seamus Grady was here before you. Tried to threaten me with a gun and then bribe me.”

“Well, since you are still sitting here and you don’t seem to be wounded I take it he was unsuccessful,” said Mike.

“Yeah, well, the news that I have learned to take care of myself must be spreading,” she said with a grin.

“I couldn’t have you mugged again, I didn’t want to have to shoot you,” Mike laughed.

She reached into her pocket and slowly slid the box across the table to him. He didn’t even open it; he quickly transferred it to his own pocket.

“Now comes the tricky part,” he said.

“We sell it without getting killed or arrested?” she said.

“That would be it, “ he said.

He ordered a beer; clearly he was in a celebratory mood as well.

“Any ideas on how you want to move it?” she said.

“Yeah, a few. None that I care to discuss at the moment,” he said.

He looked up and noticed her expression. He quickly said,

“Marishka, you know that you would be the first person I told if it were time.”

“I’m not used to you holding out on me,” she said.

“I know,” was the reply.

They finished their drinks and he put her in a cab.  She watched him as her cab drove off and she worried about him. He was too important now to be as solitary as he was. Mr. Grady hadn’t made as much or been involved with as much as Mike was and he had at least two body guards on him at all times. Mike had lots of people working for him, many of whom would have been happy to guard him. She had offered many times and he always declined. He would say that he preferred to be alone and that he could take care of himself.

She disagreed. He was getting older and he wasn’t used to running things. She didn’t think he knew or truly appreciated the dangers that came along with being the boss. It had only been a few years and he had just really started to make a name for himself. She made a quick decision and asked the cab driver to turn around. She knew which way he would walk home, and she intended to accompany him.

The cab pulled around the corner and she saw him walking. He normally walked with his head up, alert. She noticed that his head was down and he looked like he was thinking. She paid the cab driver quickly and jumped out of the cab. Just as she reached him, she noticed the two Asian men coming toward them. She jumped in front of him just as they drew their guns. Before either of them could get off a shot, she kicked the gun from one of them. It flew across the street and was quickly obscured by the traffic. She took advantage of their confusion to jump on the other and knock him unconscious. A crowd was beginning to gather and she could no longer see the man that she had kicked. She grabbed Mike’s arm and they ran until they got to his place.

They were both out of breath.

“Didn’t you see them?” she asked, worried.

“Yeah, Marishka, I saw them. Unlike you, I don’t just leap into action. We have more than one type of dealing with the Chinese, we don’t even know what they wanted,” he said.

“They drew their guns, Mike,” she said.

“Yeah, Marishka, you have a reputation and you came rushing up. I think their guns were a fairly reasonable reaction. I just hope that their boss reaches out to me instead of overreacting to your overreaction,” he said.

“Oh…” she said, looking a little bit sheepish.

They entered his home and went immediately to his office. Sure enough, there was a message from the head of the Chinese Mafia. He returned the call promptly and glossed over the situation. The men had merely been approaching him about buying the box from him. The Chinese would definitely want it; it suited their ends very well. They had made him an excellent offer. He told them that he wasn’t sure and they gave him forty-eight hours to get back to them.

“I can’t believe you already have an offer,” she said.

“I can. It was a hard to procure item, Marishka, a lot of people are bound to want it,” he said.

“Seamus Grady wanted it, but he didn’t want to pay for it,” she said.

‘Yes but Grady is broke. Ever since I left and killed his father, he has lost a lot of business. If he gets it, he won’t get it by buying it,” said Mike.

“You know that you will make a lot of enemies by selling it, right?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s why I want to be careful who I sell it to,” he replied.

They sat in silence for a few moments.

“Boss? I have an idea,” she said, “I don’t think you’re going to like it. “

“Well now I am interested,” he said.

“Well, you know that that chip contains the plans and prints to counterfeit virtually any type of currency in the world. You and I both know that you don’t want to get into counterfeiting; you’re most a procurer and a supplier. The Chinese and the Russians already have their hands in counterfeiting, and Grady probably wants it because if he got into it he could shove them out. He needs a new edge,” she said.

“You aren’t telling me anything I don’t already know, Marishka,” he said, calmly.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in, Miles,” called Mike.

Miles was an errand-runner and an enforcer in Mike’s organization. She didn’t know him well, but he she knew that he was ruthless. He had been one of Mr. Grady’s bodyguards and top enforcers.

“Mike,’ said Miles, “I have something important to tell you. You aren’t going to like it.”

“Go on,” Mike said.

“Rodney Gill, the guy you had looking for the Russians’ missing prostitute? Well, we are pretty sure he’s a snitch. Saw him leaving FBI headquarters, tucking a card into his jacket. No one had seen him for days before and there is no arrest record. Russians find out there is a snitch? They won’t do business with us anymore. They’re our best customers,” Miles said quickly.

“Invite him to dinner, take him out, make it clean. If he has a family, send them ten thousand dollars and pay for the funeral. Pay for the funeral either way,” said Mike.

“Got it, boss,” replied Miles. He quickly left the room.

“Go ahead, Marishka,” said Mike.

‘Well, what would you think if we didn’t sell it to any of them? I think we should keep it. I think we should hold onto it for a rainy day. The CIA and the FBI would love to have it. It could come in really handy someday, Boss,” she finished hurriedly.

“You spent two years looking for that chip, Kid. Two years and I know that some of what you had to do to get it wasn’t pleasant. Why would you want to sit on it? You know that your share of the pay out will be huge. You could retire,” he said.

“I’m not just thinking of myself, Boss. You saved my life. You brought me in. You have trusted me. I just want to help you out as much as possible,” she said.

His expression softened and he smiled at her. She smiled back.

“You are the closest thing I have to a daughter, Kid,” he said warmly, “I’ll think about it.”

“I’m going to get one of your drivers to take me home, Mike,” she said, “It’s cold and I have had enough action for one day.”

“See ya tomorrow, Kid,” he said.

She left his office and walked toward his garage. She spotted Frankie, the driver she liked best and asked him for a ride. He said he would meet her in front in ten minutes.

She turned to walk toward the front door and she came to a stop. Miles was standing in front of her, holding a gun.

“Sorry, Kid. Seamus Grady doesn’t want Mike holding onto that chip,” he said.

Then everything went black.