“Toss all three bags out the door. You stay inside. Time!” he yelled. His two cohorts joined him. “Lock the door when we’re gone,” Charlie said to the manager. “That way, we can’t come back.” He stepped out the door and listened as the lock turned. “We’re done!” he yelled. The duffels were already in the rear of the van. The three men hopped in. “Drive normal,” Charlie said. “Don’t attract attention.” All the men began getting out of their coveralls and tossing them into the back on top of the money. The driver was already wearing his own clothes.

Charlie took a small GPS unit from his pocket and switched it on. Their destination was already programmed in.

“Take your next left,” the recorded voice said. “We change cars in ten minutes,” Charlie said. “A block short, stop, and we’ll take the carpet cleaning signs off the van.”

—

Frank was waiting at the end of the alley when he saw the black Toyota turn in and stop behind the closed restaurant. He waited until the four men were inside before he drove in, parked behind the Toyota, and hammered on the rear door. Charlie opened it. “Come on in,” he said.

The three duffel bags were sitting on a dusty pool table. “How much?” Frank asked quietly.

“A lot,” Charlie replied. “Okay, guys, I promised you twenty-five grand each. You’re going to get fifty.” He opened the bag that contained the hundreds and counted out five piles of five stacks of hundreds each. “There you go,” he said. “Take it, and remember, don’t spend it for three months, even if your mortgage gets foreclosed.”

“Listen,” one of the men said, “there’s a lot more than we counted on. We should get more.”

Charlie put a .45 against the man’s cheek. “You’re getting double what I promised,” he said. “Be happy or be dead.”

“Right,” the man said, and picked up his money. So did the others.

“Now, take the Toyota and scatter,” Charlie said, and the three men went out the back door.

“Give ’em five minutes,” Frank said, “then check and be sure they went. We don’t want to be bushwhacked.”

“There’s at least three million here,” Charlie said. “You want to divvy it now?”

“No, let’s get it into my car.”

They checked the alley carefully, then put the three duffels into the trunk and closed it.

“Where do you want to do this?” Frank asked.

“Drop me off near the beach,” Charlie said. “I’ll trust you to take the money and count it. I’ll come for my share later today, when I’m sure there’s no tail.

—