Rantings of an Arranged Mind

It’s funny how little things, innocuous in and of themselves, can prove to be big mistakes. You don’t even realize there’s a problem until it’s blowing up in your face. In hindsight, you can say “Oh, yeah, I shouldn’t have done that, I should have seen that coming,” but what’s obvious on reflection doesn’t jump out at you in those first moments. Otherwise, people wouldn’t make mistakes.

I made a big one, and I wonder how things would have worked out if I’d made a different choice. But how are you supposed to know that a small choice made on one day would have major consequences two months down the road? Or more?

On the Monday before Thanksgiving, I made a big mistake, but its origins had been weeks and weeks prior. I went to the bank with Calla in a cab and told PB and J to meet me with a driver at the office after lunch. I gave them the morning off.

I’d done it before. Frequently, in fact, if I was spending time with Calla. I didn’t like having an audience for our dates, and I didn’t want her to feel like her privacy was being intruded upon. I justified it in two ways. One, I had kept a low profile as an heir and now as the owner of Franklin Investments, I wasn’t someone the paparazzi was likely to follow. I was boring. Second, there had been no real threats against my person in a long time, and I had become complacent. I didn’t really expect more trouble.

So, occasionally letting my bodyguards have a break while I wanted to be alone with my girlfriend made sense, at the time. A habit started in October carried through to November and I didn’t think twice.

But I still wonder what might have happened if I’d been more cautious.

I held the taxi door for Calla as she got out, and then I paid the cabbie. She waited for me at the door to the big stone building, and I turned to catch up to her. My cell phone rang. I held up my hand to Calla and indicated she should go inside, I’d just be a sec.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Diggory. It’s Mr. White. I have good news!”

“Oh?”

“I’ve got all the paperwork back from the gentlemen we’ve invited to the Board, and we’re a go. The CEO is all set as well, all you have to do is come by and sign some papers. The final contracts were delivered this morning.”

“Excellent!” I exclaimed. “I’ll drop by as soon as I’m finished with some errands this morning. Thank you, sir!”

“I look forward to it. See you then, son.” Mr. White hung up and I put my phone back in my coat pocket.

I turned to go back to the bank entrance. It was an older building, with more wall than windows and big heavy doors. I took a step forward when I heard a car approach rather fast for the city, and pull to a stop at the edge of the sidewalk. I looked over my shoulder, wondering who would be in such a hurry.

Four men got out of the car, and the driver pulled away. They were big guys, and I remember thinking how odd that four men would get out of a car together in such a way. They waited for each one to emerge from the car doors, and then walked towards the bank as a group. It looked an awful lot like a defensive line headed for a quarterback. All but one were dressed in trench coats. The fourth had on a security guard’s uniform, and he stepped forward to speak to me.

“Sorry sir, you can’t go in there,” he said with a very authoritative voice.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“The bank. I’m asking you not to go in.”

“And why is that?” I asked.

The guard looked at his three companions and then back at me. “We’re running a security test this morning, and it’s already started. No one is getting in or out until it’s finished. You can resume your business then, or move on to another bank for your business this morning.”

“I can appreciate that you guys are just doing your jobs, but my girlfriend is already inside. I just stopped out here to answer my phone. How about I come in with you, and that way she’s not wondering where I am?” I asked, trying to be reasonable. “I have to wait for her anyway.”

The guard looked a little frustrated, and like he was trying to figure out the best thing to say. One of his buddies handled it for him. This big line-backer type stepped forward and glared at me.

“How about you just get out of the way or I’ll break your face? Will that end the conversation?”

I gritted my teeth and stepped out of the way of the door with my hands spread to the sides a little, to make it clear I wasn’t a threat. Because, when the other man stepped forward, I got a very good look at a rather large looking gun under his coat.