"Good morning, Mark. Would you like a pastrami sandwich for lunch?" asked a tall, lithe woman. Smiling, she didn't wait for a response before she began to wrap a thick sandwich in wax paper.
"I wish, Colleen. They're my favorite! But I have a lunch meeting with a client today - and she's a devout vegan. If I show up with that, I won't have a prayer of landing the account," he mourned.
"Hide it. You can eat it after the meeting," suggested Colleen.
"That's a great idea, Honey," Mark replied, grinning. Quickly the burly man put the sandwich in a small paper sack, and in the same instant, kissed his wife goodbye.
Before leaving W.W. Enterprises for his meeting, Mark tucked the sandwich bag into an outer compartment of his laptop bag. "That should do it," he thought with satisfaction.
After what had turned out to be a very productive meeting, he strolled away from the Vegetarian Delights cafe, towards the nearby fountain.
"I'm glad Colleen packed a sandwich for me. I doubt even Rover would have eaten that tofu!" thought Mark, grimacing at the memory of the foul dish.
The fountain area was deserted, except for a middle aged man. Dressed in a sleek Armani suit, the man's appearance was immaculate. He was at least fifty yards away, standing next to a small drinking fountain. He seemed to be waiting for someone.
Mark sat on a bench, and removed the sandwich from his laptop bag. He set it and his to go cup of orange soda on the pavement.
"Can't be too careful... there are thieves everywhere," he murmured, putting the laptop bag over his shoulder again.
"Colleen's sandwiches rule," Mark said with a smile. After he finished, he reached down for the soda. "Oh no," he thought as his foot bumped the cup, and contents flowed everywhere.
"There's nowhere to buy another one, but I can fill the cup with water from the drinking fountain," he thought to himself.
Mark left the paper bag on the bench, walked around the fountain, and over to the little drinking fountain. As soon as he began to approach, the man in the expensive suit walked away, passing without making eye contact.
Mark went back to the bench, and sipped his water. Then he watched the few white, puffy clouds which drifted overhead.
"Time to go! Nothing like taking a minute to stop and smell the roses, so to speak," he thought happily, as he stuffed the paper bag back into its pocket, and picked up his half full cup of water.
About five minutes later, in a limousine parked a block away:
"Wax paper?!?! I've been double crossed!" stormed a middle aged man, his appearance immaculate despite his rage.
"Driver, I want you to drive slowly around this block. Alert me if you see a big guy in a suit, carrying a computer bag and a soda cup," he ordered.
"Is that him, Sir?" asked the driver, pointing towards a figure about half a block away.
"Yes, step on it!" he snapped. Almost instantly he was rewarded with the screeching of tires.
After a ride which may very well have given him whiplash, the stranger found himself in front of a high-rise. The sign, engraved in exquisite gold plating, announced that it was the headquarters of W.W. Enterprises.
"May I ask what we are doing here?" he asked, in an icy tone.
"The man you wanted to follow went through that door, Sir," the driver replied.
"Then let's wait here. He has to come out eventually," growled the man, as he withdrew a smartphone.
After a few taps on the screen, he said "This is Walters. Get over to W.W. Enterprises now! Have all exits covered. You're looking for a large man with black hair, carrying a soft laptop case."
"Yes, Sir. Should we eliminate him on sight?" asked the man on the other end.
"No. Just follow him. I want at least three men on each exit. If someone matching my description is sighted, send me a picture immediately. Only one will follow until I can confirm the identity of the target. Two will stay behind to man the doors, in case of mistaken ID," Walters ordered.
Around six P.M., Walters received a call. "A man matching your description just stepped out of the building for a moment, but he went back in, Sir."
"Did he see you? Did he seem nervous?" asked Walters.
"He did seem nervous, Sir. But he didn't see me. He went out, looked around, then bent over and left a small brown paper bag beside the door," replied the man.
"Get that bag!" Walters yelled, startling his driver.
There was silence for almost a full minute, then "Got it, Sir."
"Good. Bring it to the front of the building, right now," he ordered.
Minutes later a man in his twenties, wearing jogging clothes, appeared in front of the limousine. "Good work, Landers," the man in the Armani suit said, as he took the bag.
As soon as he climbed back into the limo, he opened the bag. "I don't believe it, he gave them all back," Walters whispered in wonder.
He withdrew several large diamonds, rubies, and emeralds from the bag, and held them to the light. Satisfied, he told the driver "Take me home."
Forty-five minutes later, he rolled into the driveway of a multimillion dollar mansion.
"What the - " he exclaimed, cut off by the sound of a low flying helicopter.
It landed between the limousine and the house. Several armed policemen shouted, with weapons drawn.
Swearing, Walters followed their instructions, lying down upon the pavement in his Armani suit. Seconds later, four patrol cars approached, sirens blaring.
Two hours later:
"Hi, Honey! How did your meeting go?" greeted Colleen.
"The meeting went great! The real excitement happened when I went to eat my sandwich," Mark replied, still a little shaken.
"What happened?" she asked, concerned.
Mark quickly recounted what had happened, then held his wife closely.
"So you took the bag with you, because there wasn't any trash bin. And when you started to throw it in your wastepaper basket, you heard the jewels rattling around. You took a look, and realized that it wasn't your bag?"
"Yes, then I called the police. They sent over undercover detectives. One of them planted a tiny tracking device in the folds of the bag, then glued it back together. They also confirmed that all doors were being monitored."
"I'm just glad you are alright," Colleen said, giving him a hug.
"I'm fine, Honey. I'm glad that I saw what was in the bag in time, and that Officer Dillon suggested that I leave it outside of the building. I shudder to think what might have happened if I led those thugs back here, to you and the kids," he replied, becoming visibly pale.
"Well you didn't, and all's well that ends well. Just don't leave your sandwich bags lying around any more," she replied, trying to imitate the tone she used when scolding him about being untidy.
Mark smiled. "Trust me, I won't be bringing back any more bags of jewels."
"Well... jewels aren't exactly a bad thing. Just make sure they don't belong to any criminals," suggested Colleen, laughing heartily.
Cover image made in Canva Pro using their gallery