Day 166 - Upside Down- Chapter 14 - (1378 words)

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UPSIDE DOWN, BACK TO FRONT

By Wayne Webb

CHAPTER 14

Before

One

"So how would this work then?"
Ivan was fiddling with some wires and a small box on his work bench. James was standing by the door, somehow neither in nor out of the room.
"You leave that to me."
"Yeah can't do that." James bit his index finger. He barely knew this guy and here he was planning another stupid, stupid thing.
Ivan held in his response, look instead for that reasonable place where he could be what he needed to be to assure, calm and engage.
"What's on your mind James? What's the problem?" Fatherly.
"I made a mistake like this when I was young, I got diversion and it was a huge thing to get this job. I mean Greg was good to me, he was also a dick to me, but he stood by me. We shouldn't steal from him."
Ivan listened appearing to weigh the answers in his mind before his considered response.
"What's interesting to me is that you think we shouldn't steal from him, not that we shouldn't steal at all."
"Uh, I didn't say that?"
"Yes, actually that's what you said, and then what you didn't say. Look, you are not stealing from him anyway, you're not stealing really from anyone."
"It's nobody's money now is it?" James could smell the sales job.
"Well it's no one, no one person I mean. He's insured, the wholesaler is insured and this money is not being stolen remember. As far as they're concerned, as far as anyone's concerned it's gone. Burned away remember. Don't think of it as stealing. It's saving the money from the fire."
"A fire we start."
Ivan smiles, all reason and confidence.
"Not we, me. I'll take care of that. You just drive. You need to do your job, that's all you have to do. The job he pays you to do. No one gets hurt here, no one loses out. It's a win-win. The Insurance company won't even blink at the loss."
"It still feels wrong." James looks at Sam who is characteristically quiet.
Sam says nothing.
Ivan rubs his temples with his fingers and pulls the wires out of the box.
"I don't want the money." James has folded his arms and stood facing out the door.
Sam finally looks at Ivan directly and gets a look indicating that he should fix this.
"James?"
"What?"
Sam stands, rubs his head and thinks. He knows what he wants to say but even as it rattles about in his head it sounds hollow and self serving. How altruistic is it, he'd like to think it's nothing to do with him but with other people. Yes he'll get his share, but it'd be something he'd happily forgo to get the life for his sister and her baby, for his friend, for his family. He was not sure he trusted Ivan, whether his sister loved him or not he seemed to eager and too knowledgeable about the whole thing to be trusted.
But that cliff was still there. There was no fence at the top, they were on a slippery slope.
Maybe they could steal an ambulance for the fall.
"It's not about the money, or the right or wrong. It's about family. It's about protecting your own. When you can."
"Greg ..." James could not stop thinking about how he had given him a job when it seemed no one else ever would. He realised years ago that this was not true in the strictest sense, but when you are at the bottom of a hole and someone hands you a ladder it's like someone saving you from drowning. Someone else would have taken a chance, lowered a rope so to speak, at a future point. But it's the first one that changes your life right? Do you owe him anything?
"You don't owe Greg Nixon anything."
Jesus? Can he read my mind? Or am I just that obvious?
"But I owe Manisha."
James stared at him.
"And I owe you, I can't let you get fired and not have anything to fall back on. You know it's only a matter of weeks before he lets us go right? And Ivan is in trouble, I'm amazed he hasn't gone under already.
Ivan blinked away the pride that wanted to tell him to go fuck himself. He'd been in this position more than once, there are always options.
It just depends on what you want to do about it. What you're willing to do.
We need to convince James, he's the weakest link here. But I'll remember that comment.
It didn't matter that it was true, just that it had been said.
"Come on, you can't lay that on me." James already knew it was over, he was just drowning not waving.
"No, I really can't. It's your call if you're out then I'm out."
"Hey, wait a second here..." Ivan saw opportunity slipping away. Would he have to intervene? How hard would he have to push.
"No, I mean it. James? If you're out then I'm out. I want to do this, for Manisha, my niece or nephew or whatever and for you. It's a onetime deal, if it doesn't happen then it doesn't happen and we walk away from the money and we... find something else. That's what your friendship means."
"James? Come on man, it's not like any one will get hurt."
Unless you say no that is. Ivan's pulse was already building and he could feel the heat of his cheeks increase and his fists ball up in the middle of his back.
"Ok then. I'm just, I just... I don't ... as long as no one is hurt and if it goes south?"
"We pull out, absolutely, right Ivan?"
Ivan says nothing, eyeballs James who is looking at him desperate for reassurance. He smiled.
"Sure thing. But you know what? You don't need to worry. I've done this before."
"You have?"
"Sure, mates who need the insurance money from their cars. It's not hard to do and make it look like an accident. The older and the less maintained a vehicle is, the easier it is. No one ever gets hurt, no one ever gets caught. The worst thing that can happen is when someone gets drunk and brags about it later." Now he hardened his look at James.
"Or gets a guilty conscience."
He holds out his hand to James to shake.
"Are we in?" He knew that they were, but a cementing on top of and understanding was a good thing.
All three shook hands, one by one in silence.
Wordless still Sam and James left together thinking ahead about reconciling what they needed to do.
As Ivan was left alone in the garage now his father came back from the kitchenette. The visitors were unaware of his presence.
"How much did you hear?"
"Enough to know you have a problem in the white boy. Your Indian fella seems solid, you'll have no problems with him. That kid though, James is it?"
"He's not really a kid."
"It's not his age Ivan, it's who he is."
"Yeah, that's going to be a problem"
"You want some advice?"
"Do I have a choice dad?"
"Do what you need to do. At the end of the day, family is all you have and you can't let yours slip through your fingers like I did. I cut corners on the family, on your mother like I did with the law. I didn't respect that enough, I provided money and a home, but I was not the husband and provider for the family I should have been. I let things slide between us, and look where we ended up."
"So what you're saying is?"
"What I'm saying is that you are the man here. Step up and make the hard calls, that's what a man does. Manisha and your baby first. Your family second. Friends? That's your call down the line."
"And James is not family is he."
"No he is not."
Sam though, he thought differently. So this was not a problem you could tackle head on, but then again was it one that would resolve itself? Ivan could not wait for time to tell.