Sam straightened himself in his seat and loosened his jacket. Slowly, he eased his hand over to the grip of his pistol. The man who had just walked in the door was making his way towards them. The look on his face didn't seem too pleasant. Vivian noticed how Sam had tensed up and peaked out of the corner of her eye. "Aaron?" her voice almost broke in surprise. "I didn't expect you to come. Seth said..."
Aaron put his hand up, and Vivian went quiet. "This is business for me. Business. I don't care about your own need for revenge. If the pay is right and the business is good, I'm here. If things go sour, I pack up and head for greener pastures. Understood?"
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. I haven't committed. I need you to prove to me that you've got a professional crew."
"Hey!" Sam said finally taking his hand away from his gun. "We're pure, USDA, Grade A bandits. All the way."
"Really?"
"Without question."
Stuffing his hands into his pants pockets, Aaron shook his head with a half-assed smile on his face. "Then why is it that you haven't even been in town for a full twenty-four hours, and you've already been made?"
Vivian stopped sipping on her daiquiri. Chris almost dropped his drink. Rum and Sprite splashed around the side of the glass and down over his hand. He looked over at Vivian and Sam. "I'm sorry," Aaron said in a sarcastic tone. "Did I just ruin this happy little reunion?"
"I don't know who this asshole is, Vivian; but he's obviously trying to screw with our heads." Sam hadn't changed his demeanor at all. "There's no way that we've been made yet. No way."
"Right after Seth left, I got another call. It's known that you're out of prison and that you're here in New York."
"Leigh," Sam muttered.
"She know we're here, huh?" Vivian was running her finger across the rim of her glass.
"Yes," Aaron said, still holding a bit of a smile. "I guess you didn't learn everything I had to teach you, huh?"
"How did she sound?"
"Paranoid."
"Bad fuckin' news," Sam said as he pushed away his beer. "Had I punched her in the jaw, it wouldn't have been my Jag leaking fluid afterwards."
"So, tell me, Viv. What was it that you did to tip her off? Don't tell me that you reserved the rooms in your name! I mean, that would be such an amateur mistake."
"Stop it, Aaron."
"But you have spent two years in prison. You are out of practice. A simple oversight."
"Stop it, Aaron!" Vivian was getting very upset now. "I didn't know she was here."
"It's not just about her, Viv. It's not just about you. It's about your crew and keeping them safe. Where's Seth?"
"He's out."
"Of course he is." Aaron pulled back his sleeve to check his watch. "Two hours. Central Park Zoo. I'll be near the gorilla cages. I want Seth to feel at home. Meet me and have your shit together this time." He spun around and exited the bar. He crossed the lobby and let the crowd swallow him up. Instead of walking out the front of the hotel, he went the other direction, towards the elevators. As he passed a bellhop, he passed a hundred dollar bill to the man's hand, taking a card discreetly from the other. As the elevator doors close, he was just able to catch a glimpse of Leigh walking in off the street.
The card opened the door to the bridal suite. He'd paid for a key for the service elevator so that he could sneak out without chancing running into Vivian, Seth, or their crew. Leigh's arrival bought him another five minutes, at least. It wasn't much, but it'd also give him less opportunity to slip up.
