New York City, 2014
"If you don't want me to send these to your wife, I suggest you give me what I want," A young man with his face covered said as menacingly as he could to an old frail-looking man as he held up some photos of the old man embracing what looked to be a college girl.
"I-I didn't do that, I would never betray my wife!" The old man said frantically as he stepped back a little, it was true too, he has never even thought of another woman ever since he married his wife around thirty years ago.
"These pictures don't lie, now pay me ten thousand in cash by the end of this week as hush money or I'll go to your wife," The young man said as his eyes narrowed, staring straight into the old man's soul, who in the meantime was hesitant to give up so much money, but then he thought about his wife and how much he truly loved her. Finally, he agreed to the deal and they both walked their separate ways, promising to meet back up at that location at the end of the week.
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A Small Apartment, NYC 2014
"I knew you could do it! You're the best uncle John!" A teenage girl exclaimed to the young man in an excited voice as she held the photos of the old man and photoshopped college girl in her hands. Despite calling him uncle, she was only around five years younger than him, the teenage girl's mother was his sister who was around ten years older and had sadly passed from an illness not long ago.
The young man- John grabbed the photos from his niece's small hands and stored them in a lockbox before speaking in a parenting tone, "Lia, you're too young to be looking at this kind of stuff," After he spoke he patted her head of long hair and then hid the lockbox away.
Puffing her cheeks, Lia stood up and put her hands on her hips, "I'm fifteen I'll have you know, I know what happens when two people go to bed together."
John merely waved his hand and walked to the kitchen, "If you're fifteen you should be in school right now, and yes, I know you're too smart for school, but you should still go." After a while of bantering between the two, he returned to the living room with a plate of eggs in his hand and handed it to Lia.
"I'm heading out, eat your lunch and don't open the door to strangers," He said as he took his black sweatshirt from the coat rack next to the front door. Lia waved her hand and winked to him, "Don't scam too many people," she said as she grabbed her fork and started gobbling down the eggs like a hungry hippo.
Rolling his eyes John opened the door and exited, but not before locking it. 'Let's see, who would be a good mark, I have a little bit of cash on me and I should make good use of it,' John thought as he walked the busy city street before arriving at the market district.
After walking around a while he finally found his mark, an almost middle-aged looking foreign man in a nice suit currently sitting at a Chinese stall slurping on noodles. Two reasons why the foreign man was chosen, number one was because of his classy suit and handsome face, this probably meant big bucks. Number two was that John saw the man pull out a wallet exact to his own, the same brand, it seemed lady luck was on his side today.
John pulled his hood up and took out his wallet and took the cash out before putting it in his pocket. Walking past the foreign man he pulled an old switcheroo and pocketed the man's wallet while switching it out with his own. Now all he had to do was pass the man again and the accusations could start.
Taking off his hood he took a breath in and yelled from only a few feet away, "Hey! I remember you, you stole my wallet!" Finishing his noodles and wiping his mouth with a napkin the foreign man tidied his suit and smoothed out his poorly made brown hair, "Apologies lad, I don't quite get what you mean?" He asked John, his accent distinctly British.
"You know exactly what I mean, you bastard!" John yelled again as he took a couple of steps forward. Backing off the British man raised his hands in surrender and smiled, "Calm down lad, I've got it, your angry, may I retrieve my wallet?"
Trying to hide his excitement, John kept his angry look and nodded slowly. The British man's right hand slowly moved to his pocket and pulled out a beige wallet, "See lad, mine, not yours."
"Mine was beige! Check the inside!" John yelled as he balled his fists and furrowed his eyebrows deeper. Following the orders of the not so sane looking young man, the British man opened the wallet and saw an ID that did not belong to him, "My mistake lad, apparently this is yours..." The British man waved it a little and continued, "Although, there isn't much to take is there?"
Snatching it from the British man's hand John backed off, he got what he wanted and it was time to back out now. The foreigner had different plans, moving in he hugged John and spoke, "As an apology lad, forgive me if you would?"
"Y-You bastard!" John exclaimed as he turned away and ran off and away from the British man, heading back to his apartment. That foreigner should know that hugging usually isn't something strangers typically do, it's just wrong to hug people you don't know.
"Lia, I'm home," John called out as he walked inside, however, he got no answer so he continued to speak, "And I brought home bacon..." At this, a noise could be heard deep in the apartment and a girl came running barefoot, almost slipping on the way. "I heard bacon! Which is it, real bacon or cash? Because I'll take both."
"Sorry kiddo, no bacon for dinner later, but..." John pulled out the wallet he took from the foreigner and set it on the dining table, immediately after it hit the table Lia swiped it and opened it, "Cash..." She discarded the wallet back onto the table and brought the cash to her cheek and softly rubbed against it like a kitten.
"If it's not food, it's money with you," John said as he sighed, she was addicted to either food or money depending on the day and hardly anything else, he wishes she would just get something else to like, like art or something. Lia was good at most things already and could excel if she just liked it enough.
Alas, she was destined to always be a hopeless romantic to money, despite being so young. Well, John couldn't talk either, he was only twenty after all and loved money, such as the money he stole back from his niece's tough grasp.
Setting it on the table he started counting the money but noticed something, a discrepancy in the bills. They were forged.
"What's wrong Uncle J?" Lia asked as she peaked slightly over his shoulder. John, however, sat there frozen staring at the money, contemplating what had just happened, that's when the loud slam of a car door reverberated from outside, getting up quickly and looking out the window John saw scary-looking men in suits and aviators.
"We need to leave, now," John said hurriedly as he turned away from the window and went for the forged cash. Grabbing his lockbox he quickly put the cash in and hid it away, "What! Why?" Lia asked, her voice laced with fear.
"I know you are scared but there is no time to explain," John grabbed Lia's hand and brought her to the kitchen window, opposite the window facing the road. This window would lead them to a back alley where they could avoid the notice of those men, who by now are probably about to break the door down.
Opening the window John hopped out and then helped Lia out, breaking down the alley they reached the road and John saw someone he never expected to. The British man.
"Alright, Lia I want you to go to a friend's place for a while, I need to go do something." Lia knew it was best not to question her uncle when he spoke with that tone so she nodded her head slowly. He knew Lia would be fine, she knew her way around and besides, she loved to sneak out.
After parting ways, John turned back towards the foreigner who in the meantime was getting in a taxi with a smile that looked all too smug for some reason. Quickly bolting to the cab John got in and told the driver he was going to the same place as the foreigner. "What do I owe the kind and delightful pleasure of seeing you again?" Asked the British man as he gave a warm smile and wiped his hair back with his hand, "You know why, you bastard, you stole my money!"
The British man put his hands up in defence and his smile turned from warm to amusement, "I believe I returned your wallet, besides, there wasn't a lick of money to be had in the first place." At this John grabbed the foreigners suit and yelled at him, the taxi driver doing his best to ignore this ordeal in the meantime, "You're having fun with this aren't you! When you hugged me you stole your wallet back from me and switched it with fraudulent cash!"
"My... wallet, you say?" The British man asked with his eyebrows raised and a smug smile plastered all over his face. Noticing his mistake John quickly covered his mouth while the foreigner laughed, "Well anyways, mind telling me your name lad, after all, you are following me."
Uncovering his mouth only a little to make sure another mistake didn't slip out John spoke, "Only if you tell me yours first, so I at least know the name of my rival."
"Fair enough lad, the name of this handsome devil before you is Jackson Carew," The foreigner stared right into John's eyes after the introduction, waiting for the other's name. Uncovering his mouth fully John said his name, "John... John Carrey." Jackson raised his eyebrows and smiled again, "Would you look at that, we have the same initials, similar names no less."
Jackson put his hands down and continued, "Now, why follow me?"
"I'm following you until I get my money back," John said angrily as he stared into the British man's eyes. He wanted that money back, even if that was the least of his troubles he had earned it fair and square.
"Alright, but I must tell you," Jackson continued, "The plane to Monaco will more than likely be full, and the ticket will cost more than the money you want." John turned his head and lifted his chin, "It won't matter, just watch and learn, I am the greatest scam artist on the East Coast!"
"If you say so, lad."
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John F. Kennedy International Airport,
"Honey, let's go, we're going to miss the flight!" A skinny young man with shoulder-length brown hair called over to his wife who in the meantime was putting a lid on her coffee near the airport's café. "Coming, just wait a minute!" She responded as she finally got the pesky lid on her cup.
"Finally, off to Fran-" The young man was abruptly cut off when he was accidentally pushed by John who was running by. "My God, I'm sorry!" John sputtered out half-heartedly as he ran off, "Yeah, just watch it next time buddy," The young man said as he put up a fist.
"Next flight to Nice please," John asked the attendant at the desk politely as he leaned on it a little. She smiled and asked for a moment as she checked the flight list, "I'm sorry sir, but it seems that flight is bookedto the max," The attendant said with an apologetic smile. In response, John merely smiled and waved his hand, "Ah, don't worry about it, I assumed this would happen. A spot will probably clear up soon though."
As soon as he said that a beeping sound came from a metal detector nearby, the same young man with the shoulder-length hair from before had triggered it. "What's this?" Asked the security guard as he picked up the satchel that fell from the young man's waist.
Inside was a silver kitchen knife, "T-That's not mine, I swear!" The young man spouted excuse after excuse but it was all in vain, he was escorted to interrogation by the guards as his wife interrogated him herself, all the while Jackson looked on with an amused smile and raised eyebrows.
"Next stop, Nice. I told you I was great!" John said as he walked over to Jackson with a ticket in his hand.
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Nice Côte d'Azur Airport, France
"Well lad, I suppose this is where we part ways, have fun in Nice," Jackson said to John as he got into a small car he had appropriated for himself. "Oh no you don't!" John exclaimed as he opened the passenger door and hopped in before continuing, "I'm going with you until I get that money back and besides, I need to show that I'm better at scamming than you!"
Jackson smiled and nodded his head slowly, "Fair enough, then sit back and enjoy this thirty minute drive to Monaco lad."