Lucca Marino—Four Years Ago

Lucca Marino—Four Years Ago

The Tate job in Fort Worth, Texas, was the first job where I knew for sure I was not the only person doing jobs for Mr. Smith. Since Devon had been watching the security feed for days before I showed up, he was able to get images of the other people sent there for the same purpose. When I asked Devon to track down everyone who tried to retrieve the painting from the Tate home, he did what he could.

And it’s why I’m standing on a sandy street in a small Florida town, staring at the cutest pink beach house. I can’t see the ocean from here but I can hear it.

The front path is just a collection of oddly shaped stones in a loose line leading to the porch. If she’s anything like me, she already knows I’m out here.

When I’m a few feet from the door, it opens.

“Hi,” I say, with a big smile on my face.

“Can I help you?”

“Amy Holder? Can we talk a minute?”

She’s on guard, as she should be. Same as I would be in her place. Your safe haven is one you protect at all costs and rarely suffer strangers showing up unannounced.

“You can say what you want from there.”

I nod and think about the best way to proceed. “I need to talk to you about the Tate job in Fort Worth.”

Raised eyebrows are the only reaction I get from her.

“We have the same employer,” I add.

Her arms cross in front of her chest. “You should leave.”

Damn. I can see it in her eyes. She’s about to take off.

I hold up my hand as if I’m going to stop her from fleeing. “I would feel the same way you do right now if someone showed up at my place like this. We really need to talk, but I’m going to put the when and where in your hands.” Digging in my bag, I pull out a pen and a receipt from the gas station where I just filled up, then scribble my info on the back. Looking right at her so my sincerity is clear, I say, “My number. And my real name. The one only a few people have. It’s important that we speak. I’ll be in Panama City Beach until I hear from you.”

I walk back to the street, put the paper in her mailbox, and leave without her saying another word. I’m taking a huge risk by doing this, but I don’t have another choice.

It’s five days before she makes contact.

She gives me only fifteen minutes’ notice to meet her at a farmer’s market near the beach. It’s crowded and loud and exactly the place I would have suggested if I were her.

“The only Lucca Marino matching your age and ethnicity was the one mentioned in an obituary for Angelina Marino of Eden, North Carolina.”

I nod. “And that’s all anyone will find until I decide otherwise.”

We walk through the stalls, dodging little kids, until we get to a small area full of picnic tables. There’s an empty one in the back corner, and she sits down on one side while I sit down on the other.

“So, talk.”

I jump right in. “I have a friend who helps me on jobs. He piggybacked on the security system prior to me going in on the Tate job. You were there right after me. You lifted the forgery I left behind.”

She’s quiet for a moment then finally says, “I got my ass chewed out that I handed over a fake and didn’t know it.”

“That was probably the ugliest painting I’ve ever seen. I can see why you wouldn’t think anyone would re-create it,” I say to break the tension.

She laughs. It’s quiet and short lived but I’ll take it.

Then my smile fades when I think about what I’ll have to tell her. “Did you know we weren’t the only ones there trying to recover it?”

She nods. “Yeah, I was told it was some sort of bullshit test. Winner got a bonus.”

“I think it was more than a test,” I say quietly. “My friend was able to identify everyone else, and I went looking for them, just like I did you.”

“And?”

I clear my throat. “And it’s just us. We’re the only ones left.”

Amy sits up a little straighter. “What do you mean?”

“Mr. Smith was cleaning house, and this was his way of determining who he was keeping and who he wasn’t. And it’s not like he can just fire us after the things we’ve seen and done.”

I list the names of the others and causes of death while she stares at me, unblinking.

“I think you were spared since you actually figured out the puzzle by going to the laundry room even though you walked away with the fake.”

When I asked Devon to locate everyone he had on video, it was for selfish reasons. This is such a solitary way of life, constantly moving and lying about who you really are. I didn’t see the others only as competition. I saw them as potential friends. Others who would understand the challenges of living and working like this. A group where we could be our true selves and possibly even help one another, even if just as sounding boards when tasked with a difficult job. Devon was a bit more hesitant to track down the others, but I won him over. Neither of us were prepared to learn that everyone but Amy was a victim of some grave accident or sudden fatal illness shortly after that job.

Amy still hasn’t said anything.

“It’s only a matter of time before we’re on the wrong side of one of his tests. If it wasn’t for my friend, I wouldn’t have known to go to the laundry room. He literally saved my life.”

She looks away from me and stares out into the crowd.

“I’m not waiting around for him to take me out,” I say.

Finally, I get a reaction. She frowns as she considers my words and what they mean. “So you’re what, quitting? I tried that . . . there’s no quitting.” Her voice cracks, and it’s clear there is so much she’s not saying.

“Mr. Smith has got to go,” I say.

She’s shaking her head. And looking like she’s about to get up. I’ve spooked her.

All I can do is push forward. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while. But I can’t do it alone. If you’re in, we are going to have to take our time. Gather everything we can on him. Something to use against him. As dirty as he is, you know there is someone he’s screwed over. We get the details then we turn him over to them. Let them take him out.”

Amy stares off to the side, her jaw clenched tight.

I keep talking. “And we’ve got to find out who he really is. It doesn’t do any good to tell someone he’s double-crossed them unless we are also handing over his identity.”

She’s shaking her head. I’ve thrown a lot at her and she’s not processing it as fast as I’m saying it.

“We’ll protect ourselves at all costs,” I add. “When it comes time to turn the table on him, we need to control everything down to the last little detail.”

She stands up and takes the first step to walk away, and I ask, “Do you have any family that he can use to get to you? Someone you’d do anything to protect?”

She contemplates whether or not she wants to answer me for a long time.

“Yeah, there’s someone.” It’s all she says and I don’t push for details.

“Then we’ll have to make sure they are protected.”

She finally turns to look at me. “What about you?”

“No. I don’t have anyone.”

I watch her as she debates what she wants to say.

“Have you ever told him no on a job? Ever refused to do something he asked you to do?”

I shake my head. “No. I haven’t.”

She looks off, giving me a frustrated laugh. “You have no idea what he will do if he finds out what you’re planning.”

I’m a little worried she didn’t say what we’re planning, but she hasn’t walked away. Yet.

“He’ll try to wreck us but if we get in front of it, it could be like one of those controlled explosions,” I finally say. “Like when the only way to get rid of a bomb is to detonate it. We’ll control as much as we can, so when things explode, like we know they will, the fallout won’t be as bad.”

She laughs again as if I’m naive. And maybe I am.

“So you’re really doing this,” Amy says a bit later.

“I don’t think we have any other option,” I answer.