That’s some deeply rooted behavior.
It’s surreal, driving sedately down a busy street in downtown George Town, when I know I’m about to give these women the blood money that Schmidt had amassed.
It’s too pretty a place for such an ugly deed, we’re surrounded by beautiful stone and wood buildings with porches running the length of the houses, even the second and third stories. The bank stands out, just a blank granite edifice as the Mercedes pulls up to it.
Hilda turns to me. “Do I need to call and have your parents give you a reminder of why you will behave?”
“No.” If the positions were reversed, they’d let me die, I have no doubt. But…there’s no other choice than to hope that this evil bitch will let us all go. “I’ll do as you say.”
“Good girl,” she says tenderly, running the back of her fingers over my cheek. I want to flinch back, but the view of Lina’s furious expression makes me lean into Hilda’s hand slightly. Definitely not a deep mother-daughter bond here. There’s got to be a way to play them off against each other. I put on a hat that’s shoved at me and Hilda shrugs into a jacket and straightens her tie. With her short hair and slim build, she could pass for a man from a distance in her suit and sunglasses.
There’s a little group of men heading into the bank and Hilda steps between them, gripping my hand as we enter. Walking into the chilly AC from the balmy weather outside makes me shiver. Hilda shakes hands with a well-dressed banker who leads us to the office of an even more expensively dressed banker.
“Ah, Frau Schmidt, how are you today?” He stands up, a broad smile stretching his face. “My condolences of course, on the loss of your son.”
What was the public story of that bastard’s demise?
Hilda sniffles gently, raising a handkerchief to her dry eyes. “Thank you, Mr. Anderson. I will feel better when his affairs are finally settled.”
“Of course,” he sympathizes and turns to me with another broad grin that never quite makes it to his eyes. “You must be his fiancée, again my condolences.”
Hilda’s nails are digging into my arm and I nod rapidly. “Yes. A true tragedy.”
It’s not a masterpiece of grief but he skims over it and pulls a black device out of his desk drawer. “Let’s get started, shall we? I will need to scan the, ah, the tattoo.” He turns off his office light and looks at me expectantly.
“Wow, I’m glad Gerhart didn’t have this put on my butt.” A feeble joke and one they ignore as I pull up my shirt and hook a thumb in the waistband of the skirt, just enough so they can see that shitty ink.
“Very good,” he says after a moment, “and now the retinal scan?”
They pull me over to a device that looks a lot like the one my ophthalmologist used. Sixty seconds later, my usefulness at this bank is at an end. Somehow, I thought she’d be leaving with briefcases full of money, but in the end, it’s a simple wire transfer.
“I do hope we can regain your business soon,” Anderson’s laying it on thick with Hilda, escorting us down to the entrance again. “It would be our honor.”
“Thank you,” she purrs sweetly, hustling me out of the bank.
Back in the Mercedes, they put me between them in the back seat.
“How did it go?” Lina asked eagerly.
“As smooth as silk,” her mother replies triumphantly. “One down, two to go.”
As the driver starts the car, all four doors rip open and there are guns pointed everywhere. “Get out!”
It’s Dario.
Dario…
Ten minutes earlier…
“Check again for shooters on the roofs across the street.” Speaking into my headset, I hear the team count off.
“East side roofs are clear Boss, nothing to report. I have a clear view of the bank entrance.”
“We’ve circled the block three times on foot, sir, there are no cars here that look suspicious.”
“Monitoring the alley behind the bank, just in case,”Carlo said into his headset,“but there’s a well-constructed wall around the building, it would be hard to scale.”
“Good work,” I said. “I need teams stationed on both ends of the block. Carlo, who did you get into the building across the street?”
