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The shady figure sat hunched in the corner
of the room, oblivious to the cheery atmosphere around him. Sometimes it seemed
he thought too much and neglected his social life. None of the people in the
bar took any notice of him, and he sat there completely isolated with his own
mind. At a table nearby, a man had begun to raise his voice as the man
opposite. Startled the figure looked up and gazed at the man. Twitching his lip
in dismissal, he stood up ruffling his collar making it conceal as much of his
face as possible while walking towards the door still in deep thought.
He shuffled along the street carelessly still
concealed from the world around him, his eyes scanning the paved path below. As
he turned the corner he felt a hand on his shoulder. For some reason he felt
peaceful sense in this contact as he turned to the figure and smiled. The men
said no words to each other and made no attempt to speak. The art that both men
possessed was one, which required no speech. Both men knew why they had met and
knew what they had to do. The man handed a small case to the concealed figure
and offered his hand to him. The figure returned the act of gratitude and the
men walked off in separate directions.
The figure arrived at the door of his keep and
entered with a little hesitation he felt something was not right but ignored it
as he loosely placed his hand on the handle and entered. Listening carefully he
heard nothing but silence until the click of the door closing behind him. He
flicked the light switch, which flickered and burst into life revealing the
room around him. The house was small and compact with very few possessions to
gather dust. The man was wealthy, however this wealth carried a high
responsibility. He could have easily have bought his dream house and filled it
with all of the things that made him happy but his life would not allow it, it
was demanding and he enjoyed it like that. His lifestyle was one only
experienced by select people who are the only ones who can understand his
perspective, the cons.
The man walked over to the table in the centre of
the room and placed the case down. Flicking the catches he opened it and
studied the contents carefully. The case was full of notes stacked the brim of
the case. Reaching in he ruffles the notes and then closes the case. Leaving it
on the table he walks over to his bed to lye down. The man begins to dose off
and the day's events start to run though his mind.
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The man had woke up with the birds and done his
daily routine calls. Checking for mail and writing a few letters him self.
While reading a newspaper he had gotten a phone call. He walked over to the
side desk and picked up the bell. His eyes light up at what he was hearing and
he made no hesitation to smile. After putting down the phone he went and got
changed into his best suit ready to meet the man on the phone.
The man arrived at a bar and waited for the
arrival of his informer. The man arrived and had a seat. He had information
about a hotshot businessman who was willing to invest his money into a horse.
This would not be so surprising unless you knew the amount he was investing. A
million dollars was to be placed on a horse and another quarter million was to
go to any person who could ensure he won. Seizing an opportunity the man had
contacted the swindler for a helping hand. On the journey he had managed to
work out a plan and now needed to meet the informant to confirm the
information.
The swindler left the building around 20 minutes
after he had entered and was now running over the plan on his head. Yelling
onto the road a cab drove up over to the pavement and he got in. looking in the
cabs window on the journey he roughed up his hair and removed his blazer. When
he arrived at the destination he dropped the jacket onto the driver lap before
leaving the cab. The driver was stunned and looked up thanking him for the
present. He then drove away forgetting that the man had not paid. While walking
along the road he undone the button on the cuffs on his shirt and rolled them
over a few times. He then pulled the shirt out of his trousers and crunched it
up with his hands making it look scruffy. He had also deliberately not shaven
that morning to add to the effect. When ready he walked into the building in
front of him and headed though a few corridors.
Knocking on the door of the office he heard a
voice mumble and the man walked in. the businessman looked up from his desk and
his eyebrows rose as he stared at the man.
Slightly altering his accent he began to talk.
"I understand you are looking for some help
with horses?"
"Yes, Yes I am, but what business is that of
yours?"
"Well if you need help the first person to
talk to would be me."
"Hey! Who says I want your help?"
"I understand you need a bit of tweaking
done. I can find you the winner in every race from north to south, east to
west"
"Oh really, I doubt this, if what your saying
is true you should be able to demonstrate this talent?"
"Oh yea sure, where and when I'll be
ready"
The two men agreed to meet at a local bookmaker
where he would demonstrate his 'talents'.
The next day the man walked into the door of the
bookmakers and looked at the counter. The informant was stood talking to the
owner and after a few minutes the informant walked around the other side of the
counter. The owner walked into the back room and came back out handing over a
pile of clothes to him. The informant then walked into the back room. The owner
walked over towards the man and passed him to the door giving him a wink on the
way passed. After a few minutes the informant arrived at the door now changed
to the clothes and stood over beside the desk. The man smiled and then looked
down at his watch. The businessman would be there in a few minutes and so he
walked out of the door and into position.
The businessman arrived the men said there
greetings and headed over to the door of the bookmakers. The room now full with
a few other individuals who were watching the screens around them. The two men
took a seat beside a larger screen and began to watch it with undivided
attention. The businessman's face was filled with doubt but he had decided he
would see what the man could do and so he continued to watch the screen.
The informant went into the back room and around
the corner where as he suspected he could get behind the wall where the screens
were on. The man then looked over to the corner of the room and could see a
video tape player. He walked over and took it in his hands taking to the back
of the screen the men were watching. He placed the machine on the ground and
walked back into the back room to get his bag. He reached in and pulled out
videotape from it. Making his way back to the corridor he looked at the tape
and confirmed it was the right one. He then arrived at the back of the screen.
And flicked the switch beside him. He now had to act fast. He quickly plugged
in the player to the back of the screen and placed the tape in. he then placed
the tape into the player and allowed it to start up. After a few seconds he
flicked the switch to the power of the screen back on and headed back to the
door waiting for the complaint from the men. He arrived at the door just as the
businessman arrived at the desk. The man then shouted over at the businessman
and he turned to sit back down. As he sat back down he noticed that a race was
just about to a start.
"Ok then mister hot shot, what horse is going to
win?"
The man gave his prediction and the businessman
walked over to the desk to make his wager. The businessman reached into his
pocket and pulled out a handful of notes. He placed a few on the table and told
the informant the horse he wanted to bet on. The businessman arrived over at
the table with his receipt and sat down. After a few minutes the race began and
his horse shot off ahead with a few others leaving the rest trailing behind.
One by one the horse fells behind and the businessman's horse won. This continued
a few more times and off coarse every time the businessman won. After the third
or forth win the businessman was satisfied that he knew what we was doing and
so they arranged to met a few days later with the big money. When the
bookmaker's owner came back the informant gave him a large bundle of cash from
his bag and he thanked the men before they left to go home.
The day arrived and the businessman was standing
waiting for the man. He arrived and looked at the businessman standing
clutching a briefcase. He smiled as he approached him and the pair headed in
the building in front. They made there way through the building and out the
other side to the field where they could see hundreds of people all around and
horses trotting around the track to warm up. The men turned and went back into
the building after checking out the view. The men walked into a bar area in the
building where they took a seat. After a few minutes the businessman headed off
to the bathroom with the case in his hand. After he was out of sight the man
stood up and began to walk very quickly out of the building. He got outside and
walked over to a car. He knocked on the roof of the car and the informant got
out and headed round to the trunk. He popped it open and in front of them were
a huge selection of briefcases all different colours and styles. The man
reached in and pointed out the one most resembling the businessman's one and
quickly left to get back to the bar.
When the businessman arrived back at the table the
men headed out of the bar and back towards the track. The room was busier now
with people try and move quickly in both directions. The two men were getting
crushed to a certain extent. The men headed for a less crowded area but still
had to move slowly. The man caught eye of one of his accomplices and suddenly
dived forward into the businessman faking himself being pushed. The man
regained balance but the businessman fell to the floor. The man bent down and
immediately apologized pointing behind himself to the invisible man who pushed
him. The businessman got back on his feet and was handed his case by another
man who smiled before heading off in the other direction. The men then headed
outside.
The next race was about to start and so the wagers
would be stopped soon. The businessman looked at the swindler asking him for
the winner of the race. He regurgitated the name of the horse and told the man
that he needed to go to the toilet himself. The businessman was slightly
suspicious but could hear the race being announced and so quickly made his way
to a stall.
The businessman arrived at the stall and waited
for the man in front to be served. After he left the businessman stepped
forward and handed the woman the case. He told her to place the money in the
case on the horse he was told to. The woman picked up a sheet of paper and
wrote down the information of the horse and then opened the case to check how
much money was there. Her face turned to shock as she turns the case to show
the man the contents. It was full of chopped up newspaper.
The man had left the building as quickly as he had
left the businessman and headed off home. A few hours later the swindler went
to a bar, He sat in the corner in the room and seemed to be deep in thought
covered by his hat and the collar of his jacket. A man was sat at a table
seemingly waiting for someone. After a few minutes a man arrived and sat down
at his table. Out of the corner of his eye the swindler looked at him and
smiled. As he planned, it was the businessman. He was going to meet a man for a
business deal, but he had lost the money to the swindlers scheme. After the
businessman explained the man started to shout at him. Happy with the damage he
had done the swindler left the pub still keeping hidden and headed home. On the
way home the informant stopped him and handed him the case with his share in
it. The swindler continued home and went to bed. |
