by Jerry Guarino
martini shaken not stirred
Alex was suave and polished, the
type of man women long for. Prepped and
pampered since he was a child, he grew up in a fine New England home to parents
of distinction. He attended the finest
private schools and vacationed in Europe.
His hobbies were magic and tennis; in fact he was professionally
acclaimed at both of them. Alex was just
about perfect for any refined woman looking for a mate, except for one
fact. Alex was a thief.
You may remember the David Niven
character from The Pink Panther
movies. Alex was a cross between him and
James Bond. Not only did he steal from
the rich, but he bedded beautiful women along the way, all while avoiding
capture by various law enforcement groups.
He traveled the world stealing from the elite and super rich, in Europe,
Asia and the U.S. He became a minor
celebrity, playing as an amateur in tennis tournaments and entertaining the
wealthy with magic shows at posh parties.
Alex seemed to have everything.
Often, he would sneak out of these
parties to look for fine jewelry and other expensive items, only to return
innocently to the festivities. He used
his skills as a magician to appear and disappear at will and his sleight of
hand to palm valuables from unsuspecting men and women. He never got caught. He was never even suspected, proven by the
fact that he was invited back to the rich and famous parties everywhere.
Alex had a criminal rival, about the
only person who knew what Alex was doing.
Her name was Sorana, a dark-haired beauty of Italian descent. Alex and Sorana seemed to run into each other
at these wealthy homes. One night, Alex
and Sorana slipped away from the party to make love in an upstairs bedroom. Alex tried to take a necklace as they were
getting dressed when Sorana caught him.
It was either confess or be turned in to the owners. Sorana told Alex that she was also a thief,
that she stole from the wealthy around the world too. They made a mutual pact, not to turn the
other one in. Whenever their paths
crossed in Paris or Belgium or Palm Beach, they would always make time for some
romance during the party.
It was at one of those parties that
Alex asked for a volunteer from the gathering for a trick, the familiar make
someone disappear act. Naturally, he
chose Sorana and while the crowd applauded with laughter and admiration, Sorana
was upstairs stealing jewelry. When she
returned, after discreetly hiding her stolen loot, Alex slipped away to break
into one of the owner’s computers and take financial credit information.
Alex and Sorana seemed like a pair that
movies are made about. The beautiful jet
set couple traveled the world, making love and stealing from the wealthy. If they weren’t criminals, you would even
admire them.
Little did Alex know, but Sorana was
a secret agent for Interpol, splitting her time on both sides of the law. She gathered evidence against Alex, all while
stealing at the same time.
One night in an upper Manhattan
soiree, Alex seduced the wife of a billionaire banker, even slipping out to
make love with her during the party.
Feeling scorned by her partner in bed and crime, Sorana decided to end
this arrangement. A week later, police
planned to raid his home in Greenwich.
The police surrounded his home
around midnight. Officers with machine guns,
dressed in protective gear, announced their presence and then opened the heavy
front door with a battering ram. They
threw a flash-bang grenade inside, then rushed through the rooms, laser sighted
red lights pointing the way. They found
Alex in bed, cowering with fear.
“I give up” he said. “Don’t shoot me.”
“Where’s the loot, Alex? We know you have everything stashed here
because none of it has been recovered.”
“In the room in the back of the
house.” Alex was crestfallen, his reign
of crime now over. They led him out in
handcuffs and put him in the police van.
The detectives went to the back of
the house, and prepared to see a room full of treasure. They opened the door, flipped on the lights
and were immediately attacked by a dozen cats.
About the author
Jerry
Guarino’s short stories have been published by dozens of magazines
in the United States, Canada, Australia and Great Britain. His latest
book, "The Best of Café Stories", is available on Amazon.com and as a
Kindle eBook. Please visit his website at http://cafestories.net
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