Sam and Chris both turned to Vivian. Sam looked thoughtful, but Chris looked downright mad. "You didn't do a very good job of covering you're own tracks, did you?"
Her hands went up admission. "Okay, okay, I screwed up. No one's dead yet. Or in jail." She brushed her hair back, like she always did when she was nervous. "So I'm still ahead of the game."
Sam had been tapping the table as he thought. He stopped and looked at Vivian. "Wait a minute, how does everyone know?"
*** *** ***
The lights were dim in the office. He liked it that way. A glass of port was on his desk, but he did not touch it. His full attention was devoted to a plasma screen TV on the other side of the room.
The screen showed a reported outside a jail. "And we just heard from a Dallas PD spokesperson -- "
The man was interrupted by someone opening the door. A tall, gangly man with dark hair and a metrosexual goatee entered the room. "Mr. Ramos, do you want to -- "
"Quiet, Harris. Turn up the volume."
The Dallas PD spokeswoman was up on the podium, blinking at all the cameras. "Vivian Jaspers, daughter of Dallas banking tycoon Grant Jaspers, has been missing since Thursday. As many of you are aware of, Jaspers was found almost three years ago outside of Dallas, beaten and carrying narcotics. She was arrested afterwards for drug trafficing -- "
Ramos sighed. "At least you idiots managed to put her in jail, even if you failed to kill her."
Harris just gulped. "She wasn't breathing when we -- "
"Just shut up. I don't want to hear your excuses again. It was boring enough the first time."
The spokeswoman continued. "Her parole officer showed up at her brother's house the next day, only to find Jaspers missing. The judge had decided not to put a tracking device on her ankle, as her conduct in prison was considered 'above average'. Jaspers earned her bachelors -- "
The port glass was thrown into the fireplace, where the dying embers lit up once again. Ramos folded his fingers together and rested them under his chin. "That stupid numbers girl is out and running about."
Harris turned the TV off. His boss had seen enough. "Numbers was all she was good at, Mr. Ramos. She's just a pencil pusher. So she's out of jail. She probably had a Swiss bank account from her days with us. Knowing her, she's off hiding in Paris, hoping we don't find her." Ramos's face did not change in expression. "Uh...do you want us to try and kill her again? Because I think drowning would work better."
"Not now, but keep that option open." Ramos adjusted in his seat, his fingers still under his chin. "Vivian might just be a numbers sort of girl, but she was always very proud. Very vain. And she is the sort of girl that likes to be vindicated."
"So?" asked Harris. "Even if she does decided to get back at you, what is she going to do? Do you want me to make sure the Bentley and the Ferrari are safe in the garage?"
Despite the possible threat, Ramos allowed himself a chuckle. "She's not capable of getting even. But she knows a few people that can."
*** *** ***
"So, you mailed yourself supplies for when you got out of jail," said Sam. "That makes sense. Quite smart, Viv."
Vivian smiled and leaned back. "Trust me. I've spent two whole years thinking of this entire plan. I've covered all of my bases, down to the last detail."
"Oh really?" asked Chris. "Then...what was your plan about the parole officer? You do have a parole officer, right?"
The color in Vivian's face drained. "Wait. A. Minute. You had two years in a jail cell to come up with all this. And you forgot to cover your own tracks so as not to alert the entire criminal underground." Sam put his head in his hands. "My God. We are all fucked."
"Wait, it's not that bad!"
"Not that bad!" shouted Sam. Looks from Vivian and Chris reminded him to lower his voice. "Vivian, you might be a genius, but you're an idiot too. Seth taught you carjacking. Leigh taught you how to shoot. I taught you identity theft. And here you, same old Viv. You still can't cover your tracks, you still can't shoot worth shit and -- "
"You still can't drive stick."
Vivian, Sam, and Chris looked up. Seth was leaning next to the table. Leigh was with him, though she didn't seem too overjoyed at the idea. "So, sugar, where and when are we all meeting up?"
