Alvarez breathed a sigh of relief.
“Wait a minute! Are you saying you thought a cop was following you? And you came right to me and threw the incriminating evidence at me, like some punk throwing his gun out the window when the cops start chasing him?”
“Fuck off.”
“Fuck off?! I’ll tell you-” Beckett stopped mid-sentence as the officer rose from his seat. “Shit! Your friend stood up.” Beckett jammed the wallet into his back pocket.
“What’s he doing?”
“He’s talking to the woman behind you.” Beckett folded the paperwork and slipped it into the duffel bag without taking his eyes off the officer. “Now he’s sitting down at her table.”
Alvarez’s shoulders slumped. “I feel sick.”
Corbin looked at the food before him. The meal was planned perfectly to appear on the receipt as if two people were eating. When he first arrived, he sat in the bar and ordered a beer and meal-sized plate of nachos, both of which he abandoned when he moved to a table. After moving to the table, he ordered a Coke, a tuna melt with vegetables instead of fries, and a side order of onion rings. He finished it all off with a coffee and two cookies. To disguise the fact he didn’t eat most of the food, he cut everything into small pieces and piled the dishes on top of each other. He shoved the cookies into his pocket.
Today’s waitress was Alice. Not coincidentally, Alice served Corbin and Beckett the day before as well. Corbin learned months prior how to choose a waitress by asking to be seated in particular sections. Using this method, he chose Alice both as a waitress and an alibi.
“Where’s your friend?” Alice knew both Corbin and Beckett. In fact, they tipped well enough that all the staff knew them.
“He’s back at the office trying to finish some project. Tomorrow is his last day.”
“Aw! We’re going to miss him! Is he coming tomorrow?”
“As far as I know.”
“Remind me, I’ll get him one of the birthday cakes.”
“Chocolate, yellow or other?” Corbin raised an eyebrow.
“It’ll be a surprise!”
“Great, he loves surprises.” Corbin handed her Beckett’s credit card to pay the bill. She never noticed. One well-practiced forgery later, Corbin was on his way to the next restaurant.
The lunch crowd packed the counter. Alvarez and Beckett stepped into one of the lines, though it was more of a cluster or a rabble than a line. Alvarez kept looking over his shoulder at the officer, prompting Beckett to tell him to “stop acting like an asshole” and “face forward.” Eventually, Alvarez found himself with only one customer between himself and the counter, but this customer was having problems ordering.
“I’m not sure what I’d like,” said the customer, as he stared at the menu.
“What the fuck?!” Alvarez said to himself, but loudly enough that everyone nearby heard. “Buddy, can you get a move on? I’ve got to get back to work.”
Beckett tapped Alvarez’s back. “Let it go.”
“Miss, what comes on the Big Mac,” the customer asked, ignoring Alvarez.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Alvarez exclaimed.
“Stop,” Beckett scolded him.
“What?! Why should I?” Alvarez turned to face Beckett. “What kind of fucking moron doesn’t know what they put on Big Macs! It takes a real Goddamn idiot to be confused by the McDonalds menu. Monkeys know this menu! Children can recite it at birth!”
“Calm down,” Beckett hissed under his breath.
Alvarez ignored Beckett and continued his rant. “He had ten frickin’ minutes to figure out what he wanted, but he waited until he got to the counter to look at the menu? That’s disrespect,” he said loudly, though he spoke to no one in particular.
“Shut the hell up,” Beckett grunted through gritted teeth, motioning toward the officer with his eyes.
Alvarez took a deep breath, like a bull snorting as it makes up its mind whether or not to attack. As he looked around, he slowly realized everyone was staring at him. “Bah!” Alvarez tossed his hands into the air and turned to face the counter.
“You’re an idiot,” Beckett whispered to Alvarez.
“Don’t start with me,” Alvarez warned Beckett over his shoulder.
A few miles down the road from Fiddeja’s, Corbin ordered the same meal Alvarez ordered every day: the fish and chips platter with a Coke. It didn’t look appetizing, but then, he didn’t plan to eat it. Corbin dumped the meal into a nearby bus tray and called the waitress over. He handed her Alvarez’s credit card. She promptly returned.
“I’m sorry sir, but this card expired.”
“What?” Corbin stared blankly at the waitress.
“It’s expired.”
Corbin cursed Alvarez under his breath. “I had no idea, I’m sorry.” Corbin pulled out his wallet. Fortunately, he had enough cash that he didn’t need to risk using one of his own credit cards. “So much for your alibi, Vez. . dumbass.”
Alvarez had unwrapped his burger by the time Beckett made it to the table, the same table they sat at before. Owing to the size of the lunch crowd, this was the only available table in the entire restaurant. Unfortunately, the police officer still sat only two seats away, although he was distracted by the woman in the low- cut sweater.
“What the hell was that about,” Beckett whispered across the table.
“You heard me, who does that guy think-”
“Listen very carefully,” Beckett said, cutting him off. “You need to avoid being noticed. Picking a fight in a McDonalds in full view of fifty people is not keeping a low profile.”
“I know that.”
“Then don’t do it.”
“Shut the hell up!”
“Stop drawing attention to yourself,” Beckett ordered. He leaned back and took a deep breath. As he did, the wallet he had so hastily jammed into his back pocket earlier fell out onto the floor behind him. He didn’t notice. He leaned toward Alvarez again. “If you aren’t more careful, you’re going to make a mistake, and that’s going to get us caught.”
Alvarez didn’t respond.
“If you can’t calm down, then we need to stop this ride right now.”
Alvarez rubbed his temples. “Stop talking about it! I just need a break.” Alvarez picked up his burger, but put it down again without taking a bite. “This is really stressful, and you’re not helping. Plus, I’m getting a headache from the glasses.”
“Don’t blame me for your nerves. Corbin said you were solid. He didn’t tell me you were a nut.”
“Yeah well, Corbin warned me you were a pain in the ass, but he didn’t tell me you were King of the Hemorrhoids.”
“You want to quit this right now?!”
“Don’t be an ass. We started this thing, we finish it. . I just need a break for a few minutes.” Alvarez stared out the window. “Talk about something else.”
“Nice weather today. I’m glad it’s not super hot yet.”
Alvarez continued to stare silently out the window.
“You know, Philly’s not a bad city if you don’t mind the endless construction, the dirt, and the crime. Crime! Now that’s ironic!” Beckett laughed.
Alvarez picked up his fries, but set them down again without eating any.
“Now Baltimore, that’s an ugly city. You’re from Baltimore, right?”
Alvarez jolted back to reality. Corbin warned them not to discuss their backgrounds, but Beckett kept prying all day. “Am I supposed to answer that?!” Alvarez demanded.
“Don’t be so touchy. I’m just making conversation.”
