15 Chapter 15

Tomo and Grimm watched on confused as Frank resumed his habitual routine of visiting the bar and checking the papers for jobs. Was he working or not, they questioned themselves?It had been over a week since he had returned from Flint. Frank was not looking forward to their meeting Smith on his reappearance. Words would be exchanged. But not at the bar. Some things needed to be said in private.

Away from Tomo‟s prying ears."

"I thought you had a job?" Tomo asked inquisitively.

"I do... Sort of... Part time... If you know what I mean.... Won‟t hurt looking for another."

"Yeah, yeah... I suppose." Trying to reconcile Frank‟s situation.

"So this Smith fella just throws you a bone every so often then?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Pay okay?"

"Well enough to keep me in a life style I‟ve become accustomed to and support a bar tender and an ex-wife."

Responds Frank raising his glass for another."Thankfully so." Said Tomo, "I‟d have to close the doors if you and Grimm stop coming."

"How‟d you get on with the tapes?" Frank asks now remembering.

"Funny you should mention that... But they seemed to have been off at the time he visited... I checked them all... And every time he was here the tapes are blank... It‟s as if he‟s a fucken ghost." Responds Tomo confused as to the mystery.

"Why doesn‟t that surprise me?" Said Frank of the mystery.

"Oh well it was worth a crack." Dismissing the notion to trap Smith.

"Ben‟s had a look at the machines and thinks he‟s got them fixed."

"Thanks mate... Let me know if you ever get a picture... But I very much doubt you will." Frank conceded Smith‟s abilities.Smith was good. Very good. Uncertain how he did it, Frank really did not want to know. If Smith had that much power then in some ways he was in safe hands from anyone who may be after him. On the other hand. Smith had him right where he wanted him. By the balls. And Frank had enough people with their hands on his balls. Without Smith‟s boney fingers on them as well.The door opens but Frank doesn‟t notice. Engrossed in the job section,scanning the scant positions listed. Pickings were few and he made a mental note of a couple he would jump on line later to apply for. Hearing Tomo make a coughing grunt and looks up to see what the matter was with him.

Tomo tilts his head back. Suggesting to look behind him. Frank knew who it was. A depressing feeling came over him. Followed by a dull ache in his gut. And it was not the bourbon. Or the grease from Andy‟s cooking.Staring into his glass to find the answer. But even God had decided to melt quickly and hide from Smith. Frank‟s nostrils flared and felt a tightness in his chest. Anxiety of the impending confrontation. Looking over his shoulder, sees Smith quietly settling himself into the corner booth. Smith looks up to the bar, past Frank, indicating he would like his red wine. Tomo slides the wine glass in front of Frank.

"I think he wants you to take it over." Suggests Tomo slyly looking over to Smith.Smith nods.Frank waited. He was not Smith‟s lackey. But the fifty thousand in his bank account, said he was. Cementing the unspoken master-servant bond. What seemed like an eternity, had only been seconds. Giving a heavy sigh, Frank gave in. Sooner or later he would have to face him. This was the time. Then gestured one for himself.

"Double-double." Instructs Frank wanting something to settle his nerves.

"I‟ll bring it over."Frank pulls himself from the pull and approaches Smith who indicates he should take a seat,

"Thank you Frank... Most kind of you." Saids Smith quietly.

"How you doing?"

"How do you think I‟m doing!?" Retorts Frank beneath his breath,

"I just killed someone..." Suppressing the words hoping Tomo had not heard.

"Now, now Frank... That‟s all in the past..." Said Smith dismissing the death as historical. "And forgotten."

"The past? ... Forgotten? ... It was just last week!"

"A week is a long time in our line of business." Sites Smith.

"Line of Business?... What kind of Business is that?" Growing frustrated by Smith‟s coldness.

"National Security Frank... National Security."

"I want out! ... I can‟t be part of this... This... National Securityas you callit."

"Oh but I‟m afraid that‟s a little impossible Frank... You‟re already in too deep to leave so... Easily." Smith sips on his wine.

Allowing rich Marlborough vino to roll over his tongue. Savoring the characters."Hmm... Very nice... You should try this someday... It‟s from New Zealand of all places."

Frank was about to explode when Tomo arrives with him his bourbon. A glass three-quarter filled. Placing it before Frank, Tomo sensed a tension that suggested he best leave the two bulls to themselves. This was no place for a steer.Frank waited for Tomo to fall from ear shot and continued.

"I don‟t care about the bloody wine, the IRS, or Marilyn‟s for that matter... We‟ll manage without you interfering our lives. We have up until now." Frank locked horns with the old bull.

"I wish it was that easy Frank. But since Flint... The hole you‟re digging for yourself, just got a little deeper... So to speak."

"You can‟t pin that on me..." Frank began, but then faltered. What did Smith have up his sleeve?Opening his brief case, Smith pulls out a large yellow envelope. Sliding it in front of Frank. Frank looks at the envelope and then at Smith. Smith glared quietly back at Frank. It could well have been a high stake card game. A poker face gave nothing away. But Frank‟s face had more tells than a child‟s story book.

blinks first. And hesitantly opens the envelope. Looking inside to see photographs. Large black and white security camera photographs. Neatly stamped with date and time of capture. One shows him entering the lobby of Thomas‟ apartment. Another shows him leaving but an hour before explosion. The final series of photographs were more crushing. Intimate images of Julie and him, kissing and hugging in public.Smith did not like it as much as Frank. This was the nasty side of his line of business. But a necessity nonetheless. Sliding the incriminating photos back into the envelope. Frank had seen enough. Then pushed them back to Smith. Sitting quiet. Waiting for Frank to come to terms with his predicament. His entrapment. Investigating authorities would be interested in Frank‟s presence at the building. Just before the explosion. Marilyn would be devastated to see Frank in the arms of another woman.Either way, he was totally fucked.

"I thought you said the cameras were out?" Franks asks as if Smith had lied to him.

"They were... But not to me." Grinned Smith. Pulling strings others could not.

"What do you want Smith?" Knowing he was cornered.

"Just your loyalty Frank... Just you loyalty." Smith savors his wine unruffled by Frank‟s anger. Sniffing its boutique.He had seen it all before. Many times before in fact. Thomas was not different. But they all fell into line. Eventually.

"You will leave when I allow you to leave Frank..." Informed Smith, reminiscing Thomas‟ parting.

"But until then... You belong to me. When I tell you to jump... You jump... All you need to know is, how high... And when to come down... Understood?"Frank did not answer. He understood completely Smith had his balls in a vice. Smith took Frank‟s silence as acceptance.

"I‟ll be in touch in a few weeks. Enjoy the break. I will have another assignment for you. Don‟t try leaving town. Don‟t make me have to find you."

"Is that all?" Frank asked with an annoyed tone.

"That is all... I will be in contact. Have a nice day Frank." Smith grinned and opened his paper. A signal that Frank should return to the bar.Sliding sideways from the booth to leave. More frustrated than when he had first sat down. Smith held all the aces. And knew exactly what cards Frank was holding. Knowing he could not bluff his way out if he tried.Going back to the bar to reclaim his stool. Now stone cold from his absence. The bourbon was not as appealing as it could have been. A change was as good as a holiday he thought.

Tomo approaches to get the low-down on what had gone down between the two.

"You got any Glenfiddich-15?" Asked Frank recalling whiskey he had on the flight to Flint.

"On the good stuff now eh?" Tomo eyes Frank‟s face. It was no time for questions,

"Yeah... I have a bottle lying about somewhere... Not cheap you know."

"Thanks mate... I can afford it."Watching Tomo reach for the top shelf. And wiping it the dust off the bottle, pours the fine Scottish whiskey over ice. Immediately smelling the smooth aromas.

"Unlike you Frank?"

"One of those days." Remarks Frank.

"Bad day in the office eh?" Tomo looks over to Smith‟s booth.

"Yeah... Something like that." Replied Frank despondently.Telling Tomo anything else would mean doing forty years to life. Tomo was hopeless at keeping secrets. His lips may have been sealed, but so was the Titanic. And that didn‟t work out too well for the large ice cube it hit.

Frank sniffs glass. Taking in the silky aromas of the single malt whiskey. Less brutal than the harsh southern bourbon he had been faithful to for years. If he was going to do hard time, he may as well enjoy the good times while he still had them. The taste was worth the price. Shame he had not discovered it earlier.

"You all good Frank?" Tomo asks checking on his patient.

"All good mate... Can‟t talk much... Business, you know."

"Yeah I understand... Hush hush...You know I‟m here if you need to talk." Offers Tomo.

"I‟ll keep that in mind."Though Frank could hardly imagine discussing it with Tomo. And Smith‟s capability of killing people. At will, or so it seemed. He did not want Tomo getting caught in the cross fire. The least Tomo knew the better.Smith‟s mobile vibrates. There only be one caller.

"Smith." He answers

."Well done Smith... Drake came through." Black spoke words that reverberated in Smith ears and mind.

"Thank you Sir." Smith accepts the praise.

"Will he be ready for the Banker?" Black asks with concern.

"I think so... I have a few preliminary preparations to be make, but I am confident he will step up when it matters."

"Very well. Make the arrangements. I‟ll be contact."Black hangs up leaving Smith with silence.

"Thank you Sir." Replies Smith to the dead line.Smith‟s mind switches to Metcalfe. The Merchant banker rarely left New York. Preferring to stay in his penthouse apartment. Surrounding himself by body guards. And his weakness, young beautiful women. Simply killing Metcalfe, would be too easy. He wanted to make a statement to other merchant bankers waiting in the wings to take his place. It needed to be a very public statement. Smith‟s dark mind had formulated a macabre death worthy of Caesar himself. But would Frank be up to the task? With Smith pulling the strings behind the dark curtains, anything was possible.Frank‟s nerves settled with the new sedative streaming through his veins. With each glass his worries lifted from his shoulders. Thoughts of Smith abated and for a brief moment he felt at peace with himself. Without a care in the world.

Then his mobile rings. Pulling him from the enchanted wonderland. Who was calling? An agency? But see‟s Julie‟s number appearing on the screen.

"Oh shit!" Frank says to himself. Should answer it? But knowing it couldn‟t

avoid it forever.

"Hey babe!" Frank tries to sound excited about the call.

"Hi... Thought I‟d call since I hadn‟t heard from you... You okay over there?" Hoping she had not interrupted him. Or should have called at all.

"I‟m good... You?"

"I‟m okay... Missing you."

"I miss you too." Frank ricochets back the response.

"What time is it there?"

"Nearly ten... Must be late-afternoon there now?" Julie speculates.

"Yeah coming up four." Searching for a reason for the call.

"What‟s happening there?"

"Not a lot. Just thinking about you...Wondering if you were returning sometime soon.

"But he didn‟t have the answers. Julie had barely been on his mind since he had returned home. Marilyn had distracted his sexual attention

."Might have something coming up in the few weeks..." He begins, then catches himself.„What am I saying?‟ Frank thinks to himself.

„Jesus Frank!‟

"I could come there?" Julie offers.

"I move around a lot babe... Not sure if I can pin down my schedule..." Frank lied. Tomo looks up and wonders who Frank was talking to. Covering the mouth piece and shaking his head,

"Don‟t ask."

"Oh." Julie‟s hopes deflated."Best I stop by on my way through... I keep you posted once I know my itinerary... Okay?"

"Drop me a text okay... I‟m getting lonely over here all by myself... I need you."

"I need you too...I‟ll send you a text... How‟s your place after the explosion?" Hoping to steer the conversation in another direction.

"Smoke damage... Even the new clothes smell of smoke."

"Oh that‟s terrible... Any cause found yet?" Frank probed.

"Just a loose gas fitting... A tragic accident waiting to happen... Poor Thomas."

"Yeah... Poor Thomas." Frank parrots, trying to empathize with her.

"Okay lover... It‟s getting late... I better let you go. Love you..." Letting Frank go.

"Love you too sweetie." And for a moment he could imagine her in his arms.And the lines went dead with dial tone.

"Love you sweetie?" Said Tomo approaching mouthing the words to Frank.

"What was that all about big boy?"

"Don‟t ask." Frank responds, reluctant to go into details with the one person who would tell everyone at the first chance he got.

"Really?"„If it was not Marilyn, then who the hell was it?‟ Thought Tomo.

"I don‟t know what happened to you in Flint Frank... But it sounds like a whole lot of trouble if Marilyn ever finds out." Piecing together the snippets of conversation he had overheard.

"The least you know the better mate." Warns Frank.

"One day I‟ll tell you... But until then... Your lips are sealed okay?" Frank looks sternly at Tomo suggesting there‟d be consequences.

"My lips are sealed." Tomo parrots the commitment.Looking up he sees Smith had left the bar without paying.

"The bastard‟s done a runner!" Tomo exclaims in surprise.

"I‟ll fix his tab." Saids Frank.

"You suddenly made of money?" Asked Tomo surprisingly.

"Nah... Said I‟d fix the tab for him." Frank lied.

"Did you see him leave?"

"He‟s bloody ghost... Bet you a hundred bucks your security cameras won‟t have him on it." Wagered Frank. Already knowing the outcome.

"Rubbish... I just had them fixed... I‟ll take that wager."

"A wise man wouldn‟t." Advised Frank."Just have your money ready." Suggested Tomo confidently.

"Don‟t say I did not warn you."

"Tomorrow... We‟ll see who‟s right."

"You know where to find me."Frank‟s mobile rings again from his pocket.

"Not again?" Saids Frank.

"How many girl-friends you got?" Asks Tomo jokingly.Frank sees the caller ID and answers the call,

"Hello sweetie... How are you?" Loudly and proudly. Stunning Tomo.

"Jesus!" Exclaims Tomo walking away in disgust."It‟s just Jack you sick bastard!" Frank calls out to Tomo walking away.

"Say hi for me!" Tomo calls back."Uncle Tomo says hi... Where are you?" Frank begins to ask his son.

"Just in town... Spring break... Wondering if I could crash at your place?" Asks Jack.

"Sounds great. Plenty of room, Marilyn would love to see you."

"Sweet as...I‟ll swing by this evening."

"If you‟re passing the bar before then, stop on in... Tomo here would be keen to catch up."

"Sweet as. See you soon."

"You too... Love you."

"Love you too Dad."