“Mr Belizo?”, the stewardess said to Percy for the 2nd time, getting his attention at last and handing him his martini. Percy Willis was on his way to Rio and would have to start getting used to people calling him Umberto Belizo. That’s the name that was on his brand new passport.
Percy had been reflecting on a month of firsts as he gazed out the window on the clouds far below. This was the first time he had ever flown first class to anywhere. This was the first time he had ever left North America. This was the first time he had ever used a fake passport. This was the first time he had ever transferred $45,000,000 of his boss’s money to Umberto’s numbered account in Lichtenstein, a country still renowned for its banking secrecy.
And being a man who recognizes patterns, he also reflected that this was a month of lasts for him. It was the last time he would be known as Percy Willis. It was the last time he would meekly take the abuse and insults from his boss. It was the last time his wife would cheat on him.
He knew right from the beginning that marrying Marie was a big mistake. He was lead programmer at Penshurst Securities and prided himself on his impeccable logic. Where was his brain when he proposed to her? It was overdosing on testosterone obviously and incapable of computing that Marie was a body and face only. Of course Marie loved him. There never was a man she met she didn’t love. Marriage didn’t change that.
He stopped counting her affairs when he got to 7. He became indifferent to her cheating but when he saw her leaving his office with the boss, he changed. He might have ignored it as just another fling, but his boss had always regarded him as a bit of a door mat and took a sadistic pleasure in insulting Percy whenever the opportunity came up. Percy should have stood up for himself but he wasn’t very good at confrontation. He loved the money and the work and used that as his justification for taking the abuse. But somehow, thinking about Marie with that moron was like the final straw.
It’s amazing the skills Percy had picked up over the years. If it could be done on a computer, Percy could do it. And getting an entire new identity, citizenship, bank account and life were there for the creating. And he was very, very good at his work. It would be a few days before the money would be missed and it wouldn’t be traced to Umberto Belizo, Percy Willis or anyone else connect to him.
And even though he knew he would never be found, he added his final bit of security to his adventure. It was still impossible to extradite someone from Brazil on any crime involving theft or embezzlement.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Rick, this is a beautifully constructed story told from the POV of the central character, Percy, or should I say, Umberto. Nice twist on the theme. I am assuming that Rio is the place that also calls you, however I trust not to abandon your old life and identity.
I like the way you used the device of 'firsts' and 'lasts' to set the scene.
The last couple of paragraphs are a little looser than the rest. A few too many sentences begin with 'and' for instance.
Thanks for such an imaginative story.
good story Rick. And very different fromm the other pieces that focused on the destination. I loved the 2 paras that reflected on the firsts and then the lasts it was a great way to get across the character Percy.
From POV I got that Percy was the main character early on and that its thru his eyes that the story is written.
theres a lot of detail about the marriage and the failure and although some info is needed to justify the embezzlement I feel that some of this is irrelevant.
Great ending re checking that he couldn't get done for embezzlement in Brazil.
Heather says:
An entertaining story, told clearly and consistently from Percy's point of view.
Because the whole story happens through Percy's reflections while on the airplane, I think it would give the story more immediacy if you kept reminding the reader he's on the plane and this is dead serious - e.g. the hostess could remind him of something about Marie; he could get startled when he sees the Suez Canal or the mountains or something; he could count out some pesos (?) in his pocket just for the fun of it. That way we stay in the present while grokking the past.
He becomes a very sympathetic good guy/bad guy character.
Nice work!
Heather says:
An entertaining story, told clearly and consistently from Percy's point of view.
Because the whole story happens through Percy's reflections while on the airplane, I think it would give the story more immediacy if you kept reminding the reader he's on the plane and this is dead serious - e.g. the hostess could remind him of something about Marie; he could get startled when he sees the Suez Canal or the mountains or something; he could count out some pesos (?) in his pocket just for the fun of it. That way we stay in the present while grokking the past.
He becomes a very sympathetic good guy/bad guy character.
Nice work!
Post a Comment