Dilemma

Lenny looked around and found a big cardboard box and ripped a hole into the side. he put the pillows inside the box, then pulled a small-caliber handgun from the backpack.

He draped the blankets and the comforter around the box and sat Billy up a little., He held the gun in Billy's hand and put it through the hole and into the box.

After the box was covered as best it could be, Lenny used Billy's hand to fire the gun. It wasn't nearly as loud as he thought it would be and he was confident that no one else heard it. Lenny fired the rest of the rounds into the pillows.

Lenny pulled Billy's hand from the box and carefully pulled off the latex gloves from Billy's hands. He put them into a separate zip-lock baggie.

Lenny carried Billy back upstairs and laid him on the couch where he'd fallen asleep. He took off the gloves he was wearing and put them, and the pillows, into a trash bag and put them into his trunk. He would find a dumpster later for them.

He called Alli and told her to leave a message on Billy's phone that she would be stuck at the shelter. By this time it was just before eight o'clock and Lenny figured Billy would be waking up soon. At nine o'clock Billy was groggy, but awake and saw the message from Alli. He pressed the call back feature on his phone and Alli answered.

"Hey Billy, sorry I got stuck here at the shelter, is Lenny there with you?"

"He was, we had some Chinese, but I fell asleep and I guess he left."

"Look, sorry I got stuck here, they're really short-handed here and they got quite a few more strays I need to help with. You should probably just go on home. You could get a goodbye screw from Alice to hold you over."

"It's only got to hold me over till Saturday, Alli."

"Billy, I can't do it. I won't."

"You will, Alli, we will. We have to."

"Goodby, Billy."

"Goodby Alli, see you Saturday."

Billy hung up and got up and stretched. He walked out of the living room and went up the stairs to the master bedroom. He went into Alli's closet and picked out the lingerie he wanted her to wear on Saturday and left the pieces on the bed. He left the house and went home to find that Alice's car was gone. he figured she was out with one of her boy-toys and considered the irony that all his life he was the one fucking around, and he ended up married to a woman who was now doing it to him. He poured himself a beer and sat down to watch tv. At eleven he went upstairs and went to bed.

Wednesday, February 4th ********^********

Billy woke up at eight in the morning on February 4th and took a shower. Alice had never come home. He made a cup of coffee in the Keurig and had a bagel for breakfast. He threw some clothes into a carry-on bag and called an Uber to take him to the airport. He had reserved a car at the Philadelphia airport, so when he landed from the very uneventful flight, he went to the car rental counter and got the keys. He drove the rental to the hotel parking lot and checked into his room.

By this time it was getting pretty late so he decided to grab a bite in the hotel restaurant and call it a night. He would have a busy day tomorrow, hitting a bunch of the many historic sights in the city and then finding a nice bar to hang in, and maybe find a local to hook up with..

February 5th********^********

In the morning, Billy got up and went down to the restaurant and had a light breakfast, then got ready to head into the city. He got onto I95 north and took it to the exit for Broad Street. He drove past Lincoln Financial Field, where the Eagles played, and the Wells Fargo Center, where the Flyers played, then Citizens Bank Park where the Phillies played. He had been an Eagles fan when growing up as a kid, but had stopped watching recently when sports became too political.

Billy found a spot in the center lane of Broad Street near Town Hall and decided he could walk everywhere he needed to go from there. He spent most of the afternoon walking around and taking selfies near the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, The Betsy Ross House on Arch st., and a few other landmarks.

Billy called Alli from in front of the Liberty Bell after he had lunch. "Hey Alli, I really needed to hear your voice."

"You should stay in Philadelphia, Billy."

"No, Alli. I'll be back tomorrow, and we'll get together Saturday, just like we planned."

"Last chance, Billy, please call this off."

"No, Alli, this HAS to happen. You don't understand how much I need this. I'm sorry."

"OK, Billy. When you come back to Cali, don't have any traceable communication with me. Don't call me from your cell phone, and I won't meet with you anywhere that there are cameras. Don't do anything that connects you to me. I will protect Stan at any cost."

"I understand, Alli. I really do. I promise that I will protect Stan, as well as you."

He sent the selfies to Alice and Alli, but never got a response from Alice. Alli responded that she was glad he would be able to spend a week in Philadelphia and hoped he enjoyed himself.

Billy played the game and replied that he intended to have fun and check out the nightlife every night and that he heard that great things always happened on Saturday nights and that he intended to find out. Alli didn't respond to that.

Billy never noticed the young men that had been following him all day. At six o'clock, it was dark out and he was walking around in the area of Chestnut and Broad. While he didn't know the area like the back of his hand, he certainly wasn't lost. He had heard about a pub called Shileens on Drury Street and wanted to check it out. He knew it was at the end of an alley and was kind of hidden. It was cold and blustery so there weren't crowds of people around when Billy entered the alley he thought was Drury.

About halfway down, he could see the sign for the pub when he felt a horrible blow to his kidney. He then felt punches to his ribs from behind. The person hitting him spun him around and hit him in the stomach, then knocked him to the ground. It was all happening so fast that he wasn't able to respond. The assailant, what Billy could see of him, was a twenty-ish Latino. What he couldn't miss was the red and white jacket he was wearing. He kicked Billy in the groin twice, and once in the ribs.

While Billy was laying on the ground, the assailant reached into Billy's pocket and pulled out his wallet, and grabbed his cash. He then pulled Billy's watch off and stuck it in his pocket. "Never seen you around here, Bitch, but come back another time, We'll do this again." The assailant laughed, then walked out of the alley and turned right, laughing as he did.

Billy started to get his wits about him and struggled to his feet. He was sure that he could take the smaller man in a fair fight and intended to make that happen. He exited the alley and saw his attacker a half-block away. He started running to catch up and was yelling at him to stop running like a coward. The attacker turned, gave him the finger, then turned and jogged slowly away. Billy kept up the chase. The attacker always seemed to stay the same distance away. At one point, he saw the attacker turn onto Broad St.

When Billy turned onto Broad, he could see the attacker a half block away and started yelling again for him to stop or for someone to stop him. "Stop running, Pussy! Come on back! Let's go, Bitch! ."

The assailant turned around and held his arms out in a "let's go" gesture, then turned and ran again. "YEAH, YOU BETTER FUCKING RUN! I CATCH YOU I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU, BITCH!!" At this point, the assailant took off at a gait that Billy could never match, and disappeared. A small crowd had gathered around Billy, and he told them what had happened in the alley. He tried to stroke his own ego by saying that he was jumped from behind and he was sure he could've beaten his ass if he had the chance.

Nobody in the crowd recognized the mugger, but they all got a look at him. They at least figured they might be able to ID him if they saw him again. One guy in the crowd had a video of the end of the chase, but not of the mugger, only of Billy and his rant. When he let Billy know, Billy asked him to forward the video to him so his friends at home would believe him. This would certainly be proof that he was in Philadelphia. Billy didn't bother calling the cops, he knew the chances of them catching the guy was practically non-existent.

The only thing the mugger took was his cash and his watch. He left Billy's cell phone, car keys, ID, and credit cards. Billy figured he would just call it a night, since he had a flight out the next day. He walked back to his car, then drove back to his hotel. He went into the hotel bar and had a few beers, then went up to his room. From his room, he called Alli again. "Hey Beautiful, you're not gonna believe what happened. I got mugged down in south Philly. Someone actually got video of the very end of when I was chasing him. After he jumped me from behind, he took off. I chased him but he ran like a pussy. At the very end of me chasing him, there was a crowd of people. I'll send you the video that someone took."

"Wow, that sucks. Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. My ribs still hurt, but I'll be OK. He took the watch, Alli. The one you guys gave me for being Best Man at your wedding."

"It's just a watch, Billy. At least you weren't killed."

"OK, enough of that. I'm really looking forward to Saturday."

"Change of plans, Billy, I'm coming to you."

"I like the sound of that."

"Same rules, Billy. Don't call me. In fact, I won't even have my phone with me. I'll call you sometime on Saturday."

"Ok, Alli, you won't be sorry."

'I'm already sorry', she thought to herself.

Friday, February 6th********^********

At 5pm, Andrea/Alli landed at the Philadelphia international airport and was picked up by Lenny. They went north on 95 and went over the Walt Whitman bridge into South Jersey. They went to a low rated motel in Gloucester where a room had already been rented, and went in.

Lenny left Alli in the room and went to a nearby Wawa and bought a couple hoagies and some soft drinks and went back to the room.

"Alli, tomorrow night, you're gonna take Billy's car to a hotel far from here and slip him some of this in his drink. he'll get groggy and act like he's drunk and stoned. A hooker's gonna show up. She's gonna kinda look like you, so Billy won't know the difference. Go get another room and stay there. Sometime in the middle of the night, go back into the first room and sleep on the other bed. In the morning, stop somewhere and have breakfast, then go back into the city. Have Billy drop you off at your car, then come back here. I'll meet you here." Lenny gave Alli two little tiny zip-lock baggies, with a measured amount of white powder in each one. "Give him one of these. If he's still sober after 30 minutes, give him the other one. They're not gonna knock him out completely, but he won't really know what's happening."

"You're not gonna hurt him, right?"

"Not gonna touch him. I will need you to send me a pic of his jacket when you first see him. Alli, as far as he's gonna know, all that's happening is he's meeting up with you for the night. If he thinks you were together but you weren't, that's better. Trust me."

"You have this all figured out?"

"Got some new friends helping me."

Saturday, February 7th********^********

Alli woke up at nine local time and Lenny was already sitting up at the small hotel table looking at his phone. "Good morning, Lenny, let me take a shower, then we'll go find a diner for breakfast."

"Sounds good, Alli."

The two sat at a small roadside diner that seemed to be all chrome and red vinyl and discussed what was going to happen. "The one thing I want you to do, Alli, is talk about his mugging. Get him to be specific about where it happened. Maybe drive by the area and let him point it out, but don't get out of the car, remember there are cameras all over the place. Get him pissed off about it and work his ego. Ask him about the bar he was going to go to and that he should try to find it again since he didn't get to go there the other night."

"Lenny..."

"Alli, trust me."

"Yeah, that's what Billy said."

"You gotta trust one of us, take your pick."

"Always you, Lenny, always you."

At noon, Alli called Billy from a different burner phone that had been bought locally by one of Lenny''s new friends. The phone could never be traced back to any of them. She told him to meet her in a small city south of the airport called Lester. She told him of a small diner on RT291 and said she would meet him there at 2pm.

When she saw Billy in the parking lot she took a picture with her new burner phone and sent it to Lenny via his new burner phone. She then drove up the street and parked near a Wawa and asked Billy to go in and get her a Diet Pepsi. She reminded him that she wanted to avoid cameras. Billy thought she was a little paranoid, but was willing to placate her. He got the drinks and got back into the driver's side of the car.

"OK' Allie, where to first?"

"How about you show me where you got mugged?"

"Sure, maybe I'll see the little bitch and get my watch back."

"The watch isn't that important, Billy."

"It is too me, Honey, It is too me. It's the one thing that I have from you and Stan that really means anything to me."

"I'll buy you another one. OK, where are we headed?"

"OK, gonna head north on 95 up to 676, then head into the city. Gonna see lots of little side streets."

"OK, remember, I'm not getting out of the car in the city."

Billy typed 'Drury Street' into his phone's GPS and headed north. Ten minutes later he was driving past the alley where the mugging happened. "Right there. Right there is where that chicken-shit mother-fucker jumped me."

There were people walking around and people walking out of the pub that Billy had been headed to. "Is that the place you were headed to?"

"Yep, didn't even get to go inside."

"So come back tomorrow night. Maybe your buddy will come back here and you can get our...your watch back. Wait, forget it. It's not worth it. It's just a watch. Why don't you take a walk up there and see if there's anything that got left behind?"

"Good Idea, I'll be right back." Billy walked up the alley and looked around the spot where everything happened, but apparently didn't see anything of interest. Several people walked by, including a couple waitresses about to go on shift at Shileen's pub. Billy talked to them for a minute, then the women shook their heads and walked into the pub. Billy then walked back to the car and got in.

"No luck, huh? Maybe he'll come around after dark. If you come back, promise me you'll be careful."

"We'll see. Maybe I could just ID him and call the cops."

"That's not a bad idea, just don't do anything stupid. I don't want to lose you over a stupid watch."

Billy looked over at Alli and smiled. "This is nice, Alli. Ok, after he ran like a bitch, we went this way." They followed the route, by car, then left the area.

"Lets drive past the landmarks," said Alli. "First the Liberty Bell, then Independence Hall, then the Rocky statue at the art museum."

"Sure thing, sweetheart, you got it."

As this was happening, G was in the King of Prussia mall looking for a jacket like the one in the picture. She finally found one in one of the more upscale department stores. While she was there she bought a gold necklace for a man she met as 'White Boy' but now called 'White Knight'. She hoped it would fit around his massive neck.

"OK beautiful, we've driven past every landmark in the city, where do you want to eat?"

"Let's head over to Jersey. Go over the Ben Franklin bridge, and head south on 676. We're gonna head south towards Atlantic City and find something along the way."

"OK, you know where we're headed?"

"I did a little research, There's a few places we can stop at that aren't likely to have cameras."

"Whatever you say. Beautiful." Billy's only concern was his burning need to rekindle their love.

They found a nice restaurant about 30 minutes outside Philly and had a light dinner. They left and stopped at a liquor store and Billy went in and bought a couple of bottles of wine. While he was in the store, Allie was texting Lenny and keeping him updated on where she was. A few more minutes down the road and Allie had Billy pull into the parking lot of an older motel that looked like it had been very well taken care of.

Billy went in and rented a room in the back on the bottom floor. The room was actually a suite, with a common area and two bedrooms. The common area had a kitchenette and a table with four chairs and a small living room area.

"How about you turn on the tv, Billy? I'm gonna pour us a little wine. Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm gonna need the alcohol."

"OK, Beautiful, Don't worry, this is only the beginning. You'll see that this was meant to be."

"I'll do what I have to to protect Stan, but this is wrong. I'm not like you. Please, Billy, I don't want to do this."

"Everything happens for a reason. You don't understand, I'm just doing what I have to do, and you're going to do what you have to do. I love you, Alli, And you're gonna love me again."

"I already do, Billy, and you're right, I'm gonna do what I have to do. Hang tight, let me get us some wine." Alli went into the kitchenette and got a couple glasses from the cabinet. She put one of the packets worth of the white powder into a glass and filled it three-quarters of the way with wine. She filled another glass half-full and walked into the living room area and handed Billy the doctored glass and sipped the one still in her hand.

Billy took a long pull on the wine he held and put the glass on the table next to the couch he was sitting on. Alli sat in a chair that was facing the couch and stared at him. "I can't believe I'm here. You're making me break promises I've made to Stan."

"We made promises to each other too, Alli," Billy whispered.

"We were 14."

"Doesn't matter," Billy said as he picked up and took another long pull on his glass of wine."

Alli stood up and paced back and forth in front of the couch. Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. She took another sip of her wine and looked down at Billy. We're gonna have to be drunk, Billy. I'm gonna need some kind of deniability."

Billy gave her a tight smile and downed the rest of his wine."

Alli took the glass from him and went back to the kitchenette and got the opened bottle of wine from the refrigerator. "Try to find some soft music or something, nothing loud or crazy."

Without speaking, Billy picked up the remote and started scanning through channels for music channels. Alli put the other packet of powder in his glass and filled it almost to the top. She was past caring about Billy.

She took the glass to him and paced back and forth again. "It's gonna work out, Allie, It will."

"I know, I'm just trying to work up my nerve. You're gonna have to give me a little time here."

"I've been waiting for years, I can wait a few more minutes."

Alli sat on the chair and looked at Billy. She could see his eyes starting to droop. He laid his head back and his eyes were almost closed. "Alli, come sit with me."

"I will, just give me a few more minutes."

OK, Alli, I love you."

"I know, Billy," she whispered.

Alli went back into the kitchenette and heard a soft tapping on the door. She walked to the door and looked through the peephole and saw a young woman, who resembled her, standing with Lenny. She opened the door and grabbed Lenny in a big hug and cried softly. "I gave him both packets, I don't care anymore. Whatever happens, happens."

The woman walked past Alli and into the room, She walked up behind Billy and started rubbing his shoulders. "OK, Billy," she whispered, "in order for me to do this, I'm gonna need you to keep your eyes closed. I'm not gonna tie your hands, but I'm gonna blindfold you. I can't have you watching me this first time. Maybe over time, but not tonight, OK?" She barely whispered everything she said.