I. The Phone

The phone had seen better days. But not many. The person who saw it on her morning walk didn’t know that though. At first, she figured it was an old phone that a lazy person just tossed out the car window instead of disposing of properly. “The laziness,” she muttered.

The cracked screen looked like an intricate spider web.  The black case was scratched.  Even though it looked like the phone was at least a couple years old it wasn’t.  In fact, it was the opposite.  It had lived a very full but short life since it came out of the box last week.

The walker had second thoughts and wondered if she ought to pick it up but where would she take it?  Even though this was a small town it was the busiest street.  A missing phone is something noticeable if it was still wanted. Someone could back track and come looking for it.  Even if it looked like it probably would never turn on again someone may want to know its location.  Plus, she really didn’t want to get involved.  There might be questions and it could be time consuming.  She needed to get home to watch her favorite game show.  Picking up the phone now sounded like a hassle.

She decided to leave it for the time being.  If the phone was still in the same location on her walk tomorrow then she would figure out where to take it.  For now, she let it be.

That was probably the wisest choice because it was not a phone she would want in her possession.  Even if it was innocent enough. The owner was not someone a morning fitness walker whose schedule included daily game shows should cross paths with. 

As predicted, the phone was not in the gutter when she went for her next daily walk.  Lucky for her.

A week earlier, Tony Birello purchased the phone in New York for his next job. Any time he received a new assignment, one of his first purchases was a new phone to receive instructions and specifics. The phone in the gutter had all the information regarding Tony’s mission. The intel was sensitive and was intended to only be seen by Tony. When the task was complete, he would dispose of the phone properly so that it could not be discovered. Or, at least, if it was found it would not be traced back to him. He definitely would not have been careless enough to leave the phone in a gutter.

So, how did his phone end up in a gutter in a small Wyoming town?

The reason is simple enough. Tony did the unthinkable for someone in his line of work. Despite all the misgivings and warnings he received, he had chosen to get married. He knew deep down inside this would probably mean the end of his career. But he couldn’t help himself. For the first time in his life he felt something he had never felt before. He assumed it was love and acted on it.

He really wanted to succeed as a husband so he decided it was time to retire. But there is no pension for his line of work. He was young enough to keep working but what else could he do? It’s not like he could send out resumes with previous work experience listed. No, he needed to end on a high note. He needed one last job to set him and his bride up until he could find a different line of work.

When he received a call about a job out west, he felt it was serendipitous. He and his wife could go on a honeymoon, enjoy a little vacation, he could complete one last mission as a gun for hire, they could find a place to live out west, and he could find other employment. It was a perfect plan. Especially when he was so good at planning down to the last detail. What could possibly go wrong?

Chapter II