Flytrap

Chapter Four

2004

"What's in it for me," True inquires.

"A cut. Of course"

True nods expectantly and firms her lips, "Mhm. Yeah. Seventy-five percent."

"Bull-fucking-shit!" Thatch exclaims, "This is MY offer!"

Rolling her eyes, True replies, "This is your REVENGE you incompetent idiot! Your illegal revenge, which you're 'offering' to 'include me in'.. when in actuality I am the one doing all of the work. You introduced this opportunity for me. You brought this idea to the table that I am the only one that could possibly partake in for it to be done successfully. You are just on the sidelines, when I don't even need you there. You are a wannabe coach trying to pretend that you are guiding me the way when I can already tell you that you are only gonna be in the way."

She throws her hands in the air, "You clearly must not comprehend the dedication this is going to take. This is a con! And it's not as easy as it is on T.V. .. you realize that, don't you?"

Thatch exhales in frustration and screams out, "What's so hard about it?! You trick him to love you, he marries you, we kill him, and then you can walk away with THIRTY percent of the life insurance!"

True puts two fingers on each temple and rubs them slowly in a circular motion, hoping to relieve the headache that's beginning to settle in. She sighs hopelessly, "Oh, you really think it's that easy."

"Well, isn't it?" he persists.

"Thatch, that is about as ignorant as a robber walking into a bank without a mask on."

He looks at her, waiting for her to continue.

"You think a woman is gonna swoop in and steal a rich guy really fast from his new fiance, marry him within a week, kill him, and attain the riches of his afterlife without raising any amount of suspicion whatsoever?"

Thatch opens his palms as if to appear like she doesn't understand his point before adding his own commentary, "we make it look like a legitimate accident with no evidence that we were there."

True looks at him. Really looks at him. His blue eyes, naive, looking to her as his aid in a mission he couldn't let go of. She knew that he loved this woman. He loved her enough that her refusing him over a man of wealth was something he was not mentally capable of handling on his own without an accomplice of crime to make him feel redeemed. She understood it. She understood the concept of having another woman steal the heart of the same man that took his love away. And she understood the logic that doing so was only rewarding to the degree of revenge. That if you're going to walk the path, you might as well come out on the other side with something to show for it. In this case, money.

She looks around at his house. It was off grid living, something good to work with. Hard to live in, but good to work with. There was a wood burning stove for heat. There was dutch ovens for cooking. Grills, cast irons... the basics. There were rain catchers for water. Purifiers.. a garden out back. And absolutely no neighbors. It was a good pause button.

If a con like this was successful, he could make a better living for himself. But that's the key word, 'if'. She had to help him through it.

"This man. He stole your woman, correct?"

He nods.

"Okay. And they just got engaged a month ago..."

"Mhm," he confirms.

"That's a very fresh scene of infatuation. He isn't going to switch from her to another in no time. He's a rich and successful businessman who is more than likely very aware of gold diggers. We need to come up with a plan to gain his trust and make him fall in love with me slowly enough that it's convincing, but quick enough that he doubts his marriage with your ex."

He nods, understanding enough to not argue with her. True blows out a lung-full of relieved air, "So how much time do we have?"

He bites his bottom lip nervously, "I'm um... I'm not totally sure?"

"Oh my God!" True face=palms, "Okay listen, I'm all in. But my conditions are I get seventy-five percent of the insurance cut, and for the love of all that is holy, come at me with some more useful information please."

He get's angry again, "Thirty percent!"

"Seventy."

"Thirty-five"

"Seventy."

He growls, "Fifty!!"

She leans over the table at him, "Sixty. Any lower, and I'm out of the game and you can watch your money monger ex, Ilene, get the wedding of a lifetime."

He covers his face at that. True feels a ping of regret as she believes she may have made him cry or break. She quickly recovers, remembering that if this was done right, it could take years. Years of her living with this man, fucking him, catering to him, pretending that he means everything to her. She was nervous. She was disgusted. She was not settling for less than sixty percent; that much was final to her.

He sniffles quietly, "Fine. Sixty percent," he wipes a few tears off of his reddened face, "But you stay with me."

Her eyebrows slant upward against each other in an expression of pity. She could make this house work. She was two months behind on her rent as it was. As she made it blatantly obvious, she didn't have anything to live for. She could live for as long as this took, helping this ... 'eccentric' man. But when the time came that she possibly win the heart of the con victim, she may have to move with him. But that could be a predicament at a later date.

"Deal," she accepts.

Thatch smiles, his tears drying, "We gonna be like Bonnie and Clyde?" he asks excitedly. She chuckles slightly.

"Yeah.. just like Bonnie and Clyde."

But not entirely I hope...