Mistake had recently opened up a restaurant in New York, since he was spending a lot of time there making sure the place got off to a good start, he moved over some 'stock' and stored it in the back. He never liked to mix good business with bad, however he didn't have much choice. There was no where else in New York he could keep it.  It only had to stay there for 3 days, then it was due to be shifted and everything would be fine. 

It was 4:30pm on a friday, everyone was getting ready to open for the busy evening rush. Mistake was in the office ordering stock, business was going extremely well and they was running out of stock much quicker than expected. As he was on the phone with the supplier he heard the front door of the restaurant fly open, then some indistinct chatter, growing louder and louder. Mistake decided to head to the front and see what was going on, as he walks through the kitchen he can see a bunch of police officers in the main dining room.

"Is there a problem, officer?" He says to the man that seems to be in charge. 

"We have suspicion this establishment is being used to store prohibited items. We are going to need to search the premises."

"You must have the wrong place, officer. Maybe you should call your boss, I'm sure he will tell you that you have made a slight error."

Mistake knew he had plumped the right pockets, there is no way this should be happening.  He could do nothing but wait for the inevitable as the police began searching everywhere. It wasn't long until they found it, it was barely even hidden in the first place. Two of the men returned with the box containing two kilos of cocaine. Mistake just stood there, looking at the box. All the noise and movement around him just became a blur, the officers cuffed him as he still remained staring at the box.

They lead him into the car, a small crowd had gathered outside. They gasped and whispered to each other in shock and disbelief. Mistake refused to say a word the entire car ride. Once at the station, he requested to speak to the Major. They took mistake into a room and the Major entered, sitting down as the two officers left and closed the door.

"What the fuck is going on? What am I fucking paying you for? This is a fuck up beyond fuck ups, I could go down for a long fucking time for this."

"Mistake, there was nothing I could do! The tip-off spread too quick, if I tried to pass it off it would have raised too much suspicion. I can try make a deal, see if you can get a lesser sentence."

Mistake scoffed at the offer of a deal, a lesser sentence would still be in the region of ten years. There was no way he wanted to sit rotting for that long.

"I need you to get me a meeting with the lead prosecutor, no recordings or other officials around. Just me and them, okay?"

The Major nodded and got up to leave, telling the officers to take Mistake back to his cell. 

Mistake spent 4 hours alone with his thoughts, stuck in the cell. His brain was working overtime, figuring out how he is going to get out of this one... Plus, trying to work out how much its going to cost him. He knew he had to pay off the lead prosecutor, but that wouldn't be an easy task. There was no way he was going to accept going down for 10 or more years though.

Pacing his cell up and down, the boredom and tension was slowly getting to him. Then he hears the lock of his cell open, stood at the doorway were two police officers and the Major. They walked in and cuffed him, then lead him back to the room he was in earlier. The lead prosecutor walked in after the other three left. The man was in his late 30s, dressed in a dark grey three-piece suit. He had a smug smile on his face and a stride in his step as he made his way to the seat across from Mistake. 

"We got you this time, Mistake! I assume you're here to make a deal, to try lessen your sentence? I do love when people start to talk."

Mistake nodded at the pack of cigarettes the man had with him. Understanding what he wanted, the prosecutor took one of the cigarettes out and gave it to Mistake. With his hands still cuffed, he put the cigarette to his mouth and grabbed the lighter, fumbling it a bit before managing to light the cigarette. Taking a long deep puff before speaking.

"I suppose you could call it a deal... I'll cut to the chase. You're going to have someone visit you and hand you a bag of money and some plane tickets so you can have a nice family vacation for 10 days. In turn, I'm sure some paper work or evidence may get lost..."

Whilst Mistake was talking an even more smug smile grew across the mans face, eventually he began chuckling. Mistake started to give a slight chuckle too.

"I appreciate the offer, Mistake. However I'm not one of those no-good easy to buy suckers. I've been wanting to get scum like you off the street all my life, you're going down for this one."

Mistake continued to chuckle and smile at the man, then in an instant, the mood changed rapidly. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. Mistake leaned forward on the table, looking the man dead in his eyes.

"You won't think its so fucking funny when you are attending the funeral of your wife and kids. Its clear to me, you don't understand how this works. You seem to have this misconception that this works both ways, that you even have a say in the matter? You will take my fucking money whether you like it or not. You got yourself in the deep end now, take the money and do the smart thing."

The mans facial expression and attitude changed instantly, it was a painful mixture of fear and anger. With a big gulp and a softer tone of voice he replied.

"I'll see what can be done. I will get you one day, though. Fuck you Mistake."

Mistake just smiled, he wasn't at all phased by what the man had to say. He knew he had cracked and would do whatever he wanted. Mistake knew he would never harm the mans family, the man didn't know that, though. 

"Make sure the matter doesn't reach a courtroom, I don't need that kind of spotlight on me. You know where to find me if you ever want to talk, there is plenty more money and family vacations to be had."

The man got up and left angrily, the two officers came into the room and escorted Mistake back to his cell. Once there, he laid down with a smile on his face and finally got some sleep. 

Mistake slept for 6 hours before he was woken up to the sight of the Major and another officer in his cell. He looks at them both with his eyes squinted, trying to adjust to the light. This was going one of two ways, he was either headed to court or being released. His heart began to race a little, the next 10 to 15 years on his life hung on the next few words out of the Majors mouth. Slowly sitting up, he leaned forward resting his arms on his thighs, looking at the floor. 

"Well Mistake, you are free to go. It seems there was a... Misunderstanding. We will escort you to collect your things at the front desk."

The news instantly perked Mistake up, no longer feeling tired or groggy. He stood up in a flash, ready to get out of this place.

"Good news, Major. Lets get going!"

<font color="#000000">They took mistake to go get his belongings, all he had was his wallet and a few loose</font> receipts<font color="#000000"> from his</font> restaurant. He gave them a smug smile and a wink before heading outside. It was a beautiful day out, Mistake breathed a big sigh of relief whilst looking up at the clear blue sky. He made his way to a phone box a few streets down and called up Jack. He told him he needed a bag of money delivered and a ride back to the restaurant. 

Lightning up a smoke, he embraced the breeze on a hot summers day whilst waiting for Jack to come and get him. He had really dodged a bullet this time, he knew he had to be more careful. Never before had he come this close to getting sent away for a long time, it shook him up a little. Jack arrived 30 minutes later, Mistake hopped in the car and they headed back to the restaurant.

"The bag is being delivered, everything work out alright?"

"Things could be worse, Jack. From now on, no more keeping any thing like that at the businesses. They are going to be watching closely for a while, so we need to be extra vigilant."