“He looks worried,” Ober said, peering through the telescopic lens of Nathan’s camera.

“Of course he’s worried,” Nathan said. “Rick’s fifteen minutes late.”

“Do you think he’ll show?”

“How should I know?” Nathan asked. “I don’t know this guy.”

Five minutes later, the waiter approached Ben. “Are you Mr. Addison?”

“Yes,” Ben said. Without saying a word, the waiter handed Ben a folded piece of paper. Opening it, he read the handwritten note that said: “Ben, how about moving this party elsewhere? Those tourists across the street are starting to make me nervous. Follow your waiter to the back of the restaurant, and I’ll take care of the rest. Naturally, I’ll understand if you don’t want to come, but if you don’t, this will be the end of our dialogue. Rick.”

When Ben looked up, the waiter said, “You can follow me, sir.”

“Where do you think he’s going?” Ober asked as Ben left the table.

“I have no idea,” Nathan said. “He hasn’t said a word. Maybe he’s just going to the bathroom.”

As he moved toward the back of the restaurant, Ben said to the waiter, “Y’know, here I thought I was going to have a nice relaxing dinner. Then, all of a sudden, bingo, I get a note that says to step outside. Can you imagine my surprise?”

“Holy shit, he’s in trouble,” Nathan said, picking up his camera and racing to put on his coat.

“What’d he say?” Ober asked as he followed Nathan’s lead.

“Just grab your camera,” Nathan said. Dashing out the front door, the two friends ran across the street and into Two Quail. As they entered the restaurant, they were stopped by the maître d’. “Can I help you?”

“Where’s the guy who was sitting at this table?” Nathan pointed.

“I think he went to the bathroom,” he said.

Rushing past him, Nathan ran through the restaurant. “Where’s the bathroom?” he yelled as he bumped into a busboy.

“Over there,” the busboy said, pointing Nathan to the back of the restaurant.

Nathan charged into the bathroom and pulled open each of the stalls. “Shit,” he said, seeing that both were empty. Leaving the bathroom, he ran into Ober. “He’s not in there,” Nathan said, standing in a small corridor in the back of the restaurant. Looking around, he saw an emergency exit at the end of the corridor. Nathan and Ober ran toward the door, pushed it open, and found themselves in the back alley behind the restaurant. Down the block, they saw a departing black limousine. “Quick, gimme my camera,” Nathan said. Ober handed it over. Nathan snapped four quick pictures as the car raced out of sight. “Damn!” he yelled as it disappeared around a corner.

“Could you make out the license plate?” Ober asked.

“I couldn’t see it, but the camera should’ve gotten it. Hopefully, we can enlarge the picture.” Nathan pulled the receiver from his duffel bag, put the earplug back in his ear, and turned on the receiver.

“I don’t think it’s going to help,” Ober said.

Surprised to hear Ober’s statement in both ears, Nathan looked up and saw Ober lifting Ben’s microphone from the pavement. “Damn!” Nathan said, pulling the plug from his ear.

“Do you think he’ll be okay?” Ober asked.

“He’ll be fine.” Nathan said without much conviction. “I’m sure he’s fine.” When he was positive that the car was out of sight, Nathan turned and yelled, “Lisa, did you get it?”

“I got’em!” Lisa yelled, standing up as she pushed open the cover of the dark green dumpster next to the back exit. As Nathan and Ober approached, she handed them her own camera and hopped out of the dumpster. “I got everything! The limo driver, Rick, the license plate-you name it.”

“I just wish we had the audio,” Nathan said, rewinding Lisa’s camera.

“Don’t worry about it,” Lisa said. “At least we’ll be able to get an I.D. now.”

“Thank God you were hiding in the dumpster,” Ober added.

“It was Ben’s idea,” Lisa said. “He knew Rick would spot you guys in a heartbeat.” Wiping bits of random filth from her jeans, she added, “I just wish I didn’t have to be the one sitting in that smelly rathole.”

“Rick wouldn’t have made a move if he couldn’t account for me and Ober,” Nathan said as the three friends walked down the alleyway. “Now, are you sure you got clear shots of Rick?” he asked, holding both cameras.

“Absolutely,” Lisa said. “The windows were tinted, but Ben made Rick roll them down before he got into the car.”

“Speaking of which,” Nathan said, “are we sure he’s safe? Because if he’s not, I’d be happy calling the police.”

“Don’t call the police just yet,” Lisa said as they reached the street. “As far as we know, Rick’s just after information.”

“Long time no speak,” Ben said to Rick as they sat in the back of the limousine. “I guess you’ve been pretty busy lately.”

“You could say that,” Rick said, smoothing his beige cashmere coat against his expensive brown tweed pants.

“And I guess you’ve moved up in the world since then. I’m impressed. A whole limo just for me.”

“Well, we thought you deserved the best.”

“Y’know, I should also say thank you to your driver.” Ben tapped on the glass partition that separated him from their chauffeur. “He really gave me a great pat-down before I got in the car.”

“It was my idea to frisk you,” Rick confessed. “To be honest, he said you didn’t have the resourcefulness to get a wireless mike.”

“He said that about me?” Ben said, tapping the glass a bit harder. When the driver looked over his shoulder, Ben put up his middle finger. Turning back to Rick, he said, “I’m sorry. Where were we?”

“You’re a bit more tense than I remember,” Rick said. He ran his hand over his perfectly combed blond hair.

“Well, you know what working in the Supreme Court does to you,” Ben said. “Oh, I forgot, you didn’t work there. My mistake.”

“Ben, I know you’re upset. And I understand-”

“No. You don’t. That is, unless you were ever dicked over for some quick cash by someone you trusted.”

“Don’t be so judgmental. You know nothing about my life,” Rick snapped. “I’m sorry I had to do that to you, but at that point I wasn’t sure whether I could trust you.”

“So that’s why we’re riding around right now? Now you can trust me?”

“I didn’t say that. I simply thought you deserved an explanation.”

“So what’s your explanation? You went to Maxwell with the information you stole from me and made yourself a few million dollars. What else is there to say?”

“Are you really that sure of my actions?”

“I’m pretty sure,” Ben said. “Last time we met, you spent four ninety-nine at an all-you-can-eat pizza place. Now, we’re cruising around in a limo, and you’re decked out for a movie premiere. Add that to the fact that Maxwell made one of the riskiest wagers in telecommunications history, and I’d say we’ve got the full picture. Am I wrong?”

“Why are you so obsessed with right and wrong?” Rick asked. “That’s your problem, y’know. You always want the black-and-white answer. But life is all grays, my friend-”

“Rick, why did you want to meet with me?” Ben interrupted.

“I’m just chatting with an old friend. I know you’ve been through some hardships lately, and I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“And what hardships are those?” Ben asked, wondering exactly what Rick knew.

“First, your roommate uses you to advance his journalism career, then you get interrogated by the Marshals Office, and your plan to get me on tape falls apart. All in all, I’d say you’ve been having a pretty terrible week. Am I wrong?”

“It’s been hectic, but manageable.”

“Now that’s an optimistic way to look at it,” Rick said with a smirk. “Let me ask you something, Ben. Have your investigations into my background turned up anything yet? As I said in my letter, the phone bill trick was clever, but that attempt at my old apartment was embarrassing. I mean, from a man of your intellect, I expect real thinking.”