Abbie was standing in front of a large dresser mirror, attempting to flatten his hair that had grown down past his eyes. Oh what his mother would think if she could see him now, about to go assist in the delivery of what amounted to thousands of dollars worth of contraband.

He too came from Jewish heritage, but unlike Lily, he wasn't looking to go around wearing six pointed stars or going on about yarmulke's. He'd hated that he was Jewish, refusing to stick to kosher, and very rarely keeping sabbath holy. Unless laying around and drinking beer counted as keeping it holy, if that was the case he was more holy than the rabbi.

Tucking in his shirt and donning a black jacket, Abbie stepped into the doorway between the two rooms. Why they couldn't just share a bed like when they were kids, he would never understand. In his mind Lily's want for privacy was more inconvenient than anything. Breathing in deeply and smiling as the fresh awesome smelling aroma of his skin met his nose, Abbie felt his lip twitch as Lily reminded him about wearing his yarmulke.

"You're worse than my mother used to be Lily. I'm ready, either way."

"Not going to be that bad?!" Abbie joked, "This is going to be worse than that one time back in grade school that you beat my ass in that spelling bee, where I spelled hippopotamus wrong!" Smiling warmly, he held the door open for her, and after she got in the drivers seat of the car, he walked over to the passengers seat and slid in.

Arriving at the synagogue, Abbie lit a cigarette and smoked it as fast as possible while still in the car. If he didn't, there would be no way he'd be able to sit there the entire time. It may have been easy enough for Lily to sit through it, but how would it look if he had a nicotine fit halfway through.

Looking over to Lily in his normal jovial manner, Abbie chuckled and said with a wink, "Ready to rock this synagogue?!"

"Why are you wearing that thing?" Abbie frowned slightly, looking at Lily's hand fingering the necklace her mother had given her. "I was always under the assumption you wanted nothing to do with it!"

Abbie shook his head, confused. Lily was his best friend, and one of the most interesting girls in the world, but sometimes the things she did confused the hell out of him.

Walking into the synagogue with his head held high, Abbie stopped for a moment, shocked at what he saw in front of him. There was more attractive women in this place than he'd seen gathered in one place in a long time... No, no, he couldn't be thinking that. He was saving himself for someone extremely special. Shaking his head with a slight smirk on his face, he sighed to himself and followed Lily's lead.

"I just...I just want to look the part, okay?"

The words came out more sharply than she had intended. She cleared her throat and began to scan the faces of the congregation, looking for the man in the photo she had been shown: balding salt-and-pepper hair, stout, sort of squinty eyes...she couldn't see him anywhere. As Lily and Abbie slid into a pew, she gave a short sigh and scanned the faces more desperately. She leaned over to Abbie and whispered in his ear.

"Abbot, please help me find this guy...he's short, balding, and has kind of a mean face..."

As Abbie opened his mouth to answer her, a voice suddenly squawed from behind them.

"Oh, what a cute couple! Mortimer, aren't they a cute couple? And going to temple together. How sweet--and it means you've got your priorities in order."

Lily bewilderedly turned her head to see a woman with a bouffant of white hair smiling and shifting her happy gaze between Abbie and Lily. The man next to her was looking bored and staring at the front of the synagogue. As Lily peered closer at him, she gave a slight start--that was the man in the photo!

Abbie chuckled as he heard the women behind him. Looking over to Lily, Abbie smiled and whispered "Aren't we just the cutest couple, pal?" At which Lily rolled her eyes and playfully hit Abbie in the shoulder, "Ha-ha Abbie. I suppose we really have our priorities in line, too."

Abbie looked around intensely, scanning every face carefully for the man they were supposed to be getting the keys from. Craning his neck quite far, he finally found the one. Shockingly, it was the man directly behind them. Good choice in seats, Abbie thought to himself.

"Lily! I've found him. It's the man that old lady is with! You sure know how to pick friendly people to associate with... If looks could kill, that man would be the biggest murderer in the history of the world!"

Abbie fidgeted nervously, which was uncharacteristic for him. Tapping his leg to the beat of one of his favorite tunes, he took a few deep breaths, waiting for Lily to decide what to do. It was odd that this man struck such fear into Abbie, when he'd looked into the barrel of a gun so often.

He thought of all the reasons it could be, and came to the conclusion that it was just the atmosphere. Despite going to a synagogue quite often in his childhood, he'd sworn he'd never go back. Lily looked over to see Abbie tapping his leg, and his face gleaming with sweat.

"Yes, I know..."

Lily looked back at the man, trying to catch his eye. Finally, she cleared her throat and spoke to him.

"You know...you look rather familiar. I think I might have seen you somewhere on my visit...but I can't place you. I'm from Detroit, you see..."

At the mention of Detroit, the man's eyebrows rose almost imperceptibly and he nodded.

"Well, I'm not sure, ma'am. We'll have to talk some more after the services."

Lily smiled and nodded.

"Oh, but of course!"

As Lily looked back over to her companion, she cocked her head concernedly to the side. He didn't look good at all. She handed him her handkerchief.

"You're sweating bullets, hon. What's the matter?"

Abbie had a sour look on his face, his heart racing. Feeling his lip twitch and his stomach churn, he leaned over to Lily and whispered quickly, "I swore to myself when I was a kid that I'd never come to one of these places again. It's just going to be a long service. I might have to step out and get some fresh air at the end while you're talking with Mr. Bugupass, I don't think I'd be able to keep myself in check while feeling so physically awful."

Abbie smiled reassuringly, settling comfortable into his seat as the noise level shifted to a low tone, the rabbi had just walked up to the front. Thinking to himself "here we go again," Abbie followed everyone's lead, sitting, standing, matching their every move so well that he could have fooled a strict Jew of his religious beliefs. 

After a long time of standing, Abbie was glad as the people in the synagogue began to sit down. If they hadn't sat soon, he would have had to. He was now sweating so bad that he was sure his cologne would wear off, and he'd begin to emit body odor.

As the services wore on, Lily thought vaguely that this really wasn't so bad. She was surprised to find that she still remembered a good number of the prayers and when to sit and stand. All the same, she noticed that Abbot was hardly managing as well as she was. Lily whispered quietly to him once more.

"You can leave if you feel uncomfortable. Look, there goes someone now."

She nodded her head over to a man in a pew across the aisle from theirs as he rose and began walking out of the temple.

Abbie's head turned slowly to the man walking out, his mind racing. He could leave... but what if something happened and he was needed? He swallowed hard and put on a smile that he hoped would pass for genuine as he said quickly and quietly,

"I'll be fine dear."

Abbie tapped his leg nervously with his pointer finger, wondering how much longer this torture could last. People always said if you wanted to torture someone, find something they hated and make them do it. This was certainly effective on Abbie, who by now looked as if he was going to throw up.

Leaning over to Lily, who seemed to not be minding this at all, Abbie whispered,

"How much longer?"

"We've been here two hours...maybe one more?"

She saw his wan face draw back in a moment of horror before he turned back to stare rigidly at the rabbi. Lily frowned and nudged him.

"Are you sure you're fine, Abbot? You don't look like it at all."

She glanced to the people around them, noticing the dirty looks they were getting for talking during the service. She knitted her eyebrows together and linked her arm through Abbie's.

"Come on, I'll go outside with you."

Abbie tried to protest quietly, but before he could formulate any real words Lily was dragging him outside. He was going to try and act mad about it, but the cool fresh air stopped him in his tracks as he drew deep breathes, taking a seat on the steps.

Lighting a cigarette, receiving a dirty look from Lily, Abbie muttered to himself, "I don't care if this is a sin... I need this cigarette... You're my best friend, but if you ever make me sit through something like that again... I did swear to myself... After all what happened... Long time ago..." continuing to mumble, Abbie looked up.

Lily was pacing nervously, as Abbie let out a deep sigh, sending a cloud of smoke into the sky. Standing up quickly, Abbie got extremely dizzy and stumbled backwards, having to take a seat, hoping Lily didn't see that. For the past few months he'd been randomly getting dizzy spells, but having too much to drink too often, Abbie put it off to the alcohol.

Lily coughed slightly on Abbie's cigarette smoke. She turned away from him and began walking up and down the small stretch of sidewalk before them. Would the man be staying for the whole service? Or would he follow her out now to finish the deal? Or did he think she'd left for good? She chewed her lip and looked up to the doors of the temple. A bell rang for mass somewhere behind her. She sighed and turned to Abbie to talk to him, faltering as she saw his knees buckle before he sat down hard on the curb. Lily hurriedly took a few steps toward him.

"Abbot? Abbot, you're not all right. Do you..."

She sighed and looked back up at the synagogue. She couldn't leave now. She had to get the keys for the truck or she'd have wasted a trip...and she didn't want to think what Marietta would do if she returned empty-handed. She looked back at Abbie with a strained smile.

"Do you want to wait out in the car until I'm done?"

Abbie nodded slightly before trying to get up again, straining to do so. Flicking his cigarette to the ground and stepping on it, Abbie smiled towards Lily,

"You're the best."

Sitting in the car, Abbie rested his head against the cool window. He wasn't feeling all that well, and he'd hoped Lily wouldn't be too much longer. As long as everything went smoothly for the next hour, they could get out of this wretched city as soon as possible and get on with the real task.

Watching Lily walk slowly back through the doors of the synagogue, Abbie mumbled to himself as he nodded into unconsciousness,

"Really...should...tell... Lily...."

As she carefully slid back into the pew, Lily gave a small sigh and found it impossible to concentrate for the rest of the services. She began to mechanically follow the gestures and mouth the prayers, her mind occupied on Abbot. She had noticed him doing strange things lately--complaining of headaches, suddenly holding his head, even some slight irritability. She'd been gently hinting to him to cut back on the alcohol, but now she knew she'd have to have a talk with him. He could have fainted and gotten a head injury. Suddenly, she noticed that the congregation was all standing and gathering their things. She shook her head slightly and picked up her own purse. She caught the eye of the man behind her and smiled.

"Sir, can we talk for a bit outside?"

He nodded and told his wife to go wait in the car. She knitted her eyebrows together under her mounds of white hair and began to protest, but he simply raised his eyebrows in a dangerous sort of way. His wife closed her mouth and slunk off toward the doors. As soon as she was out of sight, Lily followed the man to a spot on the sidewalk in front of the building adjacent to it.

"I guess you work for Miss Rossi?" She nodded, prompting him to glance about before grabbing her hand and pressing a key into it. He jerked Lily close to him by her wrist and whispered in her ear. "The truck's in the street next to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. License plate number A957S. You'll probably know it when you see it."

He released her and began walking in the direction of her car. She called out a "Thank you" that was acknowledged by a vague wave of his hand. Lily made her way across the street to Abbie's car, sliding quickly into the passenger seat. She looked over to her friend, her mouth open to tell him about the truck. She stopped. He was slumped against the window, taking shallow breaths.

"Abbot! Abbie, get up!" She reached over and shook him desperately, feeling panic pumping through her body from her heart.

"I... I am up..." Abbie whispered, drawing a deep breath, coughing a considerable amount before trying to sit up. His brain pounded with pain as Lily shook him. Wondering vaguely if she'd gotten the key or not, Abbie attempted a brave smile, insistent to Lily "I'm fine, really."

Slowly sitting up and wiping the sweat from his face, trying to keep his face straight, Abbie turned the key in the ignition and shut his eyes. Maybe now was the time to tell her, he thought. After all they were best friends, and had been for many years. She should know...

"Lily?" Abbie started out, trying to breath evenly. She looked over at him, her face full of worry, her eyes darting back and forth in their sockets, trying to find an apparent reason for his behavior, "Yes, Abbot?"

Abbie's heart raced as he debated internally what to say next, knowing full and well that telling her would have serious repercussions...

"Did you get the key?" Abbie sighed, deciding that now was not the time.

Lily sighed and showed him the key.

"Yeah. The truck's by John the Baptist's cathedral."

She felt her former panic becoming tinged with annoyance.

"What's wrong with you? You're not all right. You haven't been sneaking drinks, have you? You really need to cut back...it's starting to take a toll on you."

Lily watched his face as he began to pull away silently. She reached a hand over to rest gently on Abbot's shoulder.

"What's the matter, Abbot? You know there's nothing you can't tell me."

"I know Lily... I know" Abbie said with a small smile. "Don't worry, I have been cutting back. I'm not sure why I keep passing out, getting dizzy, I just don't know. I think it's a psychological thing, really."

Abbie shrugged and looked into Lily's eyes, feeling his heart skip a beat. Why was she so understanding? He never did understand why throughout the years she stuck by his side like glue. Running her words through his head, Abbie headed off in the direction of the truck.

"So, you excited to get this done?"