Mad Men

Lisa had seemed upset when James came home from the bar Monday night with a slight buzz and the news that there was apparently no news at all. He claimed that Brandon Sutter was just a well off guy with no connections. The look on her face when she’d sat next to him for dinner and rubbed his back nearly killed James. It looked to him like some mix of disappointment and pity. In reality, Lisa was upset that James was upset; it was a cycle of sadness in their small apartment.

When they lay in bed that night, James was awake far longer than Lisa, thinking about all of the things Brandon had explained to him in what felt like a rush at the end of their evening. Around 1:30, James crept out from under the comforter and his wife’s arms and grabbed the dress pants he’d worn that day from the laundry basket. Reaching into his left pocket, he pulled out the piece of paper with the name and number scrawled on it and put it on top of the dresser, just in case. James fell back into bed and was overcome by sleep soon after.

When James left work the next day, he half expected to find Brandon waiting at his car in the garage, trying to convince him to do what James didn’t want to admit he even knew about. Still in shock thinking about the fact that he’d been tricked into stealing a car and then nearly talked into joining a gang of criminals, James really didn’t see the suited body leaning against his car until he was only a few feet away.

“Matt?”

Besides the expensive getup and the styled hair, Matt Niskanen looked basically the same as he did the last time James had seen him. There was something else different to him though; he didn’t look worn out or tired. He looked… happy.

“What are you doing here?” James couldn’t help the grin that came to his face. Matt had been one of the only people he’d ever gotten close to at his office. He distinctly remembered the day Matt had walked into their boss’ office, declared he was quitting, and walked out looking like a changed man. When James’ had asked him, Matt claimed he’d gotten a job offer somewhere great, describing it as a once in a lifetime opportunity. He was convinced he’d be rich. James wished him luck, but surprisingly wasn’t jealous at all. He truthfully thought Matt had finally been driven crazy by work and had lost his mind. He was clearly wrong.

“Just thought I’d stop by and see ya,” The men shake hands. “And talk you up to joining Power Play.” Matt’s face pulled slightly serious, aware of the bomb he just dropped. James mouth simply fell open.

“Brandon told me to ease into releasing that little piece of information,” Matt smirked while James finally closed his mouth “But when he told me it was you that needed buttering up, I knew that tactic would be useless.”

When James stood still as a statue, Matt pushed off from the car and motioned forward with his hand.

“Let’s talk, James.” He strolled towards the elevator. James pulled his glasses off and began cleaning them as he turned and followed slowly.

“So that great job you were telling me about when you left…” James swallowed nervously as he caught up with Matt. “That was Power Play?”

Matt nodded his head and hummed an agreement.

“I was out one night, at a bar, just trying to enjoy my weekend.” Matt began explaining himself without provocation. “I ended up getting into a fight with one of the guys in Power Play, who I obviously didn’t know at the time. We both got barred, the cops were called, and I was taken to the station for booking. The guy chatted the entire ride there, kept asking me questions about myself. They didn’t even finish taking my fingerprints before I was released. Sutter was in the lobby, waiting for us. I honestly didn’t take that much convincing. I was at the lowest point of my life, and he had just gotten me out of a night in county. I felt like I owed him, but he had a strange way of making me feel like I owed myself.”

Matt took off his jacket in the hot sunshine as he led James slowly down the sidewalk and around the other pedestrians.

“So what now?” James’ voice was tentative. Seeing someone he used to know quite well talking about being a criminal made it all much more real. He thought it should even make it seem scarier, but the blood pounding in James’ hears was not from fear. It was from excitement.

“I work at Power Play. They needed muscle ‘cause one of their guys left the business, so I took it. I live in my own house now, I have my own nice car, and I get my ego stroked on a weekly basis by beautiful women.” Matt laughed and James managed to strike a smile. “I thought it was gonna be a lot crazier than it is, to be honest. I’ve only actually been in one robbery, and it was a night when the place was closed, so it was nothin’. The best thing I’ve gotten to do is rough up some douchebags from this pussy group over in Philly. They like to come over here and act like big shit.”

James shook his head slowly, trying to take everything in. “Matt, aren’t you afraid of cops? The FBI? Prison? I mean, it’s not like you’re in Fight Club or something. You guys are really in the grit. How can that risk be worth the lifestyle?”

“It’s not all about the money, James. Don’t get me wrong, that’s why I even agreed in the first place, because I was desperate. But the thrill of it, the brotherhood. That’s what has me hooked. And as for the police, you don’t need to worry about that.”

James scoffed. “So I’ve heard. I’m worried though.”

Matt suddenly stopped in front of a fancy restaurant. “So you’re considering it then?”

James’ jaw clenched, his mind on Lisa and his eyes on the ground. She would be humiliated to know that James was seriously thinking about his options. He was about to decline when an Audi revved to a stop at the curve in front of them. Another man in a suit got out and quickly brought the keys to them.

“Your keys, Mr. Niskanen.” Matt took them with a thank you that James barely noticed as he gawked at the beautiful car in front of him. His mouth went dry thinking about him and Lisa in a car like that, her in a thousand dollar red dress with beautiful diamonds jewelry.

“I’m in.”

xxxxxxx

James entered the diner slowly, dressed in the expensive tailored suit Brandon had all but ordered him to get and sweating like a pig. It was mid-morning on a Saturday, and James was on his first assignment. Though he’d refused to quit his job just yet and hadn’t uttered a word to Lisa about anything, James was apparently an official member of Power Play. Brandon and Matt both assured him the transition would be easy, but it felt anything but. He was to meet the man described as the gang’s “insider”; apparently, the best time to do this would be over breakfast.

As promised, there was only one other man in the diner besides the staff, and he was currently chowing down in a booth while reading a newspaper that looked to be in a different language. He was in a suit as well, although his tie was loose and his sleeves were pulled over his forearms. The jacket was thrown next to him. His strawberry blonde hair was cut short, and he didn’t even bat an eyelash as James sat tentatively across from him.

“Uhm, Paul Martin?” James cleared his throat, feeling both incredibly awkward and very nervous. Paul flicked his eyes up.

James kept looking, waiting for an answer, but was received with nothing but narrowed eyes.
“I’m, uh, I’m James Neal. Brandon Sutter told me I needed to-“

Paul quickly shoved the paper down and out of the way, pushing one of the many plates of eggs and bacon towards James on the other side of the table.

“Eat. You’ll need it if you’re going to remember everything.”

James didn’t really have an appetite, but picked up his fork anyway.

“Sutter told me about the Ferrari. That’s pretty impressive, Neal. It’s hard to find someone with a little class who doesn’t mind the dirty work. Guess your old office job is good at breeding guys like you.” Paul started laughing loudly, stopping and leaning in seriously when James only looked on confused.
“You did used to work with Nisky, right?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I did. We worked together.”

“Great! Then you’ve already made a friend. I get completely what you’re feeling right now Neal, I really do. You probably feel like you’re gonna shit yourself! But don’t worry, I’m not sending you to the big dogs just yet.” Paul stopped to shovel the last of his breakfast into his mouth, and James took the opportunity to speak up.

“So, you’re the boss? Er- you’re in charge?”

Paul barked out another laugh.

“I’m not in charge of anyone, and nobody’s in charge of me. I’m just the messenger boy, right?”
A beautiful young waitress strolled up to the table and began clearing plates.

“You want your check, honey?” She balanced the dishes in one hand and squeezed Paul’s bicep with the other. She was smiling at Paul like her life depended on impressing him.

“Yeah, but get James here another round before that.”

“No, really, I’m fi-“

“Don’t listen to him Stacey, get the starving man another plate.” She giggled as she stood up straight and moved away from the table. It turned into a squeal when Paul slapped her butt as she walked away. James pulled at his tie uncomfortably.

“Is that your girlfriend?”

Paul kept his eyes on her backside as she left into the kitchen.

“One of them. Why, you like what you see?” He laughed at James’ blush before looking down at the table.

“Ohh, I see. You’ve already got one at home.”

James felt slightly panicked at the idea that these guys know about Lisa and suddenly wished he’d thought to take his wedding ring off.

“That’s not a problem, is it?”

Paul shrugged. “Nope. Good on you. I almost married a girl once,” His looked on as if thinking back on something before shaking out of it. “Thank God I didn’t.” He smirked as Stacey brought another full plate of breakfast and Paul’s check.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a clipping from a magazine.

“Back to business.” He pointed to the article and James followed his hand to the picture above it.

“Your job today is as basic as it gets. This is the car you’re getting. It looks like a basic Mustang, but the one we want has a custom engine and a solid gold steering wheel. It’s currently parked in the stadium parking lot. You need to get over there, get it, and bring it to this side of the river so we can scrap it for parts. Park it over by 39th across from Arsenal Park, and you’re done. Brandon will get ahold of you afterwards. It’s critical that this happens fast, Neal. We don’t have keys, so it’s going to be sitting unlocked for anyone to get their hands on. We need to do it first.”

James nodded his head along, trying to remember everything Paul just told him while remembering to breathe at the same time. Paul must have noticed his nerves, because a flash of concern crossed his face.

“It’ll be fine. Power Play doesn’t have any real competition in this town. As for you; the boss must have wanted you for a reason, James. Don’t doubt yourself. Just think about the money and the beautiful women!”

James gave a weak smile back. What had he gotten himself into?

xxxxxxx

James took deep breaths to keep himself from passing out as he looked around the parking lot. It was completely empty, and the people walking along the street didn’t seem to be paying any attention to him. Paul’s urges to work fast ran through his mind and James tried to get his shaky hands to steady so he could get to work. He was well equipped this time, having gloves and wire cutters with him, as well as a lock pick. He quickly flipped open the packet and began fidgeting with the small mechanism. After a minute of fumbling, James began to panic. He couldn’t do this. It was crazy! But he thought about the money and the only beautiful woman he cared about.

“Relax, James. This is no big deal! No big deal…” He gave the lock another go as he talked himself down. When it clicked a moment later, James had a sudden rush of calm over himself. It quickly turned to confidence. He was good at this. This was going to make him rich, and therefore happy.

If asked about it later, James could not have described the rush as he drove the stolen, hot-wired Mustang with the gold steering wheel down the streets of Pittsburgh in his brand new expensive suit. Every part of his body tingled with excitement and electricity. His heart raced at the mere thought of doing something that wasn’t 100% safe. He couldn’t hold back the huge smile from his face. This Mustang probably belonged to someone who had 10 other cars, who didn’t need it and wouldn’t have trouble replacing it. James felt like he needed the car. He felt like he deserved it. And when the wind was blowing through his hair and over his skin in the warm summer sun, James felt like he earned it.

The thrill of the Mustang wiped every doubt from James’ mind; he was hooked.