Scott
A. Gese
Everything
about her was a lie.
It
had to be. It was the only way to be sure she wasn't found out. The
assignment was dangerous, but Sarah was absolutely the best person
to pull it off. People were counting on her to do what no one had
dared to attempt. She was to be embedded deep within the Gardino
family crime syndicate.
Sarah
was a total fabrication from her birth certificate to her breast
implants. Louis Gardino and his closest confidants had been
extensively vetted. Nothing was left to chance. Sarah knew their
favorite drink, smoke, food, taste in women, aftershave, toothpaste.
All things above and below the beltline. The list was extensive and
Sarah knew it well enough to play Louis Gardino and the others like a
chess tournament grand master.
Her
assignment was to gather information on the families illegal drug and
gambling activities. An extensive dossier needed to be built before
the family could be brought down. The current information wouldn't
hold up against the high powered lawyers employed by the
organization.
Sarah
was ready. The show was about to begin. She was to be “dropped off”
at the Excelsior. A posh restaurant on the East side. She entered
with a date. They were seated at a table where she faced Louis
Gardino. She paid no attention to him, but he noticed her. Her hair,
her dress, the way she held her cigarette. It all went as planned.
Gardino couldn't help himself. He had to make an introduction. When
he did, he smelled her perfume. It was all too easy.
Before
the evening was over Louis Gardino left the restaurant with Sarah at
his arm. She was his for the night.
For
the next two weeks she divided her time between her luxury apartment
and his penthouse suite. The first morning she was picked up, two men
swept her apartment looking for bugs or anything that might
incriminate her. They found nothing. From then on, it was a spot
check every few days. Sarah was careful. She had to be. They always
found her clean.
Gardino's
lawyers did an extensive background check. Other than a well placed
speeding ticket tying her to a certain place, at a certain time, on a
certain day, there was nothing. The ticket was scrutinized and she
was asked about it. She answered their questions to everyone's
satisfaction...except for one. Louis Gardino himself. Everything was
too perfect, too clean, too...unnatural. “Everyone makes mistakes.”
He had said it many times. Sarah squeaked and he didn't like it. He
summoned his younger brother, Angelo. “Something's not right with
Sarah. I can feel it in my gut. Dig a little deeper into this ticket
thing.”
Within
a week, Angelo had an answer for Louis. They discussed how to best
handle the situation.
Sarah's
people were getting nervous. She had been silent for several days. A
week later Sarah's body was pulled from the East river.
Her
real drivers license was stuffed in her mouth.
©
Copyright 2018 by Scott A. Gese All Rights Reserved.
