Brian slept in and almost missed the meeting, but the sun shone through a gap caused by a bent slat in his bedroom shades, hitting his closed eyes and waking him up just in time. He wasn’t able to eat breakfast or take a shower, but he put on his best clothes, combed his hair and gelled it into place, then hooked up with Oscar in front of the book shop next door to the bank.

“Okay,” Oscar said. “The guy you need to talk to is named Worthington. He looks like a straight-up, middle-aged banker dude, but he’s actually pretty chill, and he will get you your money.”

“So I should let you do all the talking?”

“No, I’ll just introduce you. After that, you’re on your own. But it’ll go well. I promise.”

“I don’t know…”

“Come on.” Oscar pressed a hand against his back, and suddenly the two of them were no longer in front of the book shop but were walking past the front window of the bank toward the door. Oscar opened it, walked in, and Brian followed. They passed by a line of teller windows on the right, and maneuvered around a couple of desks on the left until they were standing before the desk of a man who looked like a network news anchor and whose nameplate identified him as: Mr. Worthington. Manager.

“Good morning, Mr. Worthington,” Oscar said. “This is my friend Brian. He’s interested in a small business loan.”

A look passed between them, but Brian didn’t have a chance to think about what that might mean because the manager was reaching across the desk to shake his hand, while telling Oscar, “Thank you. Would it be all right if I spoke to your friend in private? You can wait by the water cooler. We also have some complimentary coffee.”

“That’s okay,” Oscar said. “I have some things I have to do. Talk to you later,” he told Brian.

“Sit down,” Mr. Worthington urged.

Brian did so, in a comfortable office chair across the desk from the bank manager. He felt awkward and ill-at-ease in such a formal environment, and he wished Oscar had given him a few tips on what to say. If he’d known his friend was going to bail, he would have practiced his pitch ahead of time. As it was, he had no concrete proposal to present, only a nebulous idea for a blatantly illegal operation, and Oscar’s vague assurances that the bank was willing to loan him money for whatever scheme he devised.

“So you want to apply for a small business loan,” Mr. Worthington said. He favored Brian with a supportive smile. “Tell us what you have in mind.”