Before the Silent Night

12 weeks before the incident.

“Alright, Alright step on up and test your luck. Its easy ladies and gents, Just follow the card and make some cash. Come on who wants to give it a try? How bout you buddy maybe you get your lady something nice?” 

That’s how it all started. No different than any other day. Wake up; make myself look good, and head to work. Well, I guess it really depends on what you call “work”. My line of work is a little different from most people. See, I’m a professional con man. Slow down, don’t be so quick to judge me. The real name for my talent is sleight of hand. Very manipulative, very conniving, very artistic, But its what I’m good at and as an old teacher told me “Abandon the things you fail at in order to strengthen the things you are great at.” That’s why I quit my day job.

Before I started conning people, I like to believe I was a great guy. I was a good student, excellent martial artist, and a pretty good musician. Above all those things though, I was incredible with my words and even better with my hands. Or better said I was incredible with your eyes and even better with your eyes. I wasn’t a terrible person. Honestly I still don’t believe that I’m a terrible person. I am just a guy doing a job. No, I was a guy doing a job. 

“You should try it honey, it looks really easy.” This beautiful woman said to the guy I just pointed out.

“Don’t be silly my love, you think this guy is out here to give money away? Come on its definitely a scam.”

“I am offended at the thought sir. It is simply a test of how well your eyes can keep up with the world around them. You spend tons of money to go see an eye doctor every year, and I can promise you this test will be much more effective then the farmhouse in the distance he used to sell you those glasses.” 

The gentleman pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose and chuckles. Chatter starts to build in the crowd around him as his wife squeezes his hand a little tighter. That’s how I hook them. I call it backwards logic. I quickly take something completely unreliable, tie it to something so engrained in the system of a persons mind, and then promote my concept as better than his, A little pressure from the crowd and bam.

“Fine, I’ll play your game, but no funny business buddy!” adding a flare of intimidation to his voice as he points his finger in my face.

I follow his finger all the way up his arm and into his eyes, “Here we go.”

Immediately I throw 3 cards on the table face up. I give the man a moment to stare at the order of the three cards. The Ace of Diamonds on the left, the Ace of Spades in the Center, and the Ace of Hearts on the right. Black, red, black, that’s really all you have to remember. Well that’s actually a lie.

“Alright my friend soon as your ready I’m going to flip these cards face down. All you have to do is follow the Ace of Spades until I stop and tell me where it lands. My $10 are on the table, place yours down as soon as you’re ready.”

Without hesitation the gentleman throws his money on the table and I begin shuffling the 3 cards. With varying speed I bring the cards, Left, right, up, down, around and every option in between. I glance up to make sure he is still following the right card, don’t want to lose him to early (remember this is my job), and then I stop.

“Before, you pick the card, I never asked you your name sir.”

He stares at me intently, but not a sound comes out.

“Oh don’t be so rude sweetie”, the woman says as she releases his hand and gives him a playful slap, “his name is Robert.”

“My love!”

“No need to worry Robert, I’m not out to steal your identity I just wanted to see how much faith the crowd has in your eye sight. Ladies and gents, at this moment I would like to offer any one in the crowd the opportunity to place a bet, of any denomination, on the odds of our friend Robert selecting the correct card. I will double any winning bet, including yours Robert no worries.”

Exactly as I expected not a single person was willing to put their money on the line. The same crowd of people who just a short while ago pushed this man in to playing this game in the first place all stood silent, some even looking away. Even his “special lady” suddenly had a look of doubt on her face. That’s all right Robert; I am going to make you look great.

“OK Robert, you may now select a card.”

As he points his shaking and nervous fingers at the correct card he frightfully utters the words “that one”. Of course there was no way I was going to let him lose, I made sure to plant every visual, auditory and emotional cue I could to sneakily edge him towards the right card. The hardest part of the whole thing “con man” thing is the acting. I have to “act” like this an amazing opportunity for the person playing. I have to “act” like I am not about to take a ridiculous amount of money from this group of onlooker’s pockets. Worst of all I have to act surprised and excited when I let the bait win, but hey that’s all part of the job.

I flipped the selected card and immediately screamed “Oh yea! That’s the one! You nailed it Rob!”

He inhales an incredible sigh of relief, probably the deepest one I’ve ever seen, turns to his “special lady”, who had her eyes closed, and lifts her almost right over his head out of excitement.

“You won! Oh my god honey, you won!”

The crowd suddenly cheers an excitement. I have yet to fully understand this part of the whole process though it is my favorite part. They all cheer and celebrate together as if everyone person in the crowd has just won $10, yet only one man played. Even when I gave them the chance to all play, no one stepped up. Why in the world are they cheering? 

“See, I bet now you’re real glad you played. Who’s Next?”

“You see sweet heart, you did great!”

“Lets go again, I’m feeling lucky.”

“All right, here we go!”

I set the cards down again, asked the same question, and of course received the same response. The crowd was still very cautious, which was perfectly normal. I let him win again. We played two more times and I made sure he won both of those times as well. 

“Oh man, I can’t keep playing with you, you’re going to wipe me clean. I’m done.” I said as I started packing and backing away.

“Whoa whoa buddy, lets play one more game, you can’t just cut my hot streak.”

Bang. That was it, he was now hooked to the feeling of being a winner. Let me give you a little basic knowledge regarding the difference between men and women. Women grow up from cute little girls, most of which dream of a glamorous wedding with a charming prince. They want it all the ballroom dance, the castle, the incredible interior design. Men, on the other hand, we grow from dirty, slimy, sweaty rough tough boys. The only thing we crave is the feeling of being a champion. The feeling of being unrivaled, unmatched, respected and feared. So the moment I showed this guy that he was a champion, the moment that I showed him fear, he had no psychological choice but to challenge me one more time to assert his dominance. That’s where he messed up. 

“All right, we will play one more game.”

Then there was the inevitable voice from the crowd who said “Double it.” 

“Excuse me?”

“I said I want you to double it, but now I want you to triple it.” A man in an incredibly well tailored suit stated as he walked up with two burly men by his side. The man was dressed to the nines, freshly shined shoes, pearl white incredibly made tie, and that suit. It just screamed respect me. Maybe I should have listened to the suit, that’s where I messed up.

“You go it buddy. Anybody else want to take a shot?”

The crowd went wild. Money began piling on the table. I would be lying, something I genuinely try to avoid doing, if I didn’t say that by the time the money was done piling on the table there was absolutely no way I could pay out if I lost. Good thing there was no way I could lose.

See the trick to gambling is simple; you only bet when you know you’re going to win. I knew I was going to win because, unfortunately, it was my job to win. Losing was only part of winning. In this particular business of games you have to lose, strategically of course, a few battles in order to win the war. And win this war is exactly what I did, or at least what I thought I did.

“Alright, alright here we go, eyes on the prize people!” I shouted with just the right hint of nervousness to keep them falling down the rabbit hole. I shuffled the cards left, right, forward, back, then bam I did it. I pulled the winning move to secure my payday.

“Alright Robert… Pick a card.” 

As expected Robert confidently reached over to flip the wrong card and as he did I caught his hand. 

“Suit guy… what’s your name?” I asked as I pushed Robert’s excited hand away from the card.

“He He He…. John…. John Doe” the suited man said with a creepy smile. He then held his hands together in front of his spade shaped belt buckle. In what seemed like a simultaneous unconscious reaction, his bodyguards stepped in front of him on each side. Dressed in solid black suits, these bodyguards looked more like professional linebackers fused with extraterrestrial caveman. Honestly, a very tiny part of me reconsidered for a split second the heist I was about to pull but, just as quickly as a mosquito can leave you with an annoying bump to scratch, that feeling went away.

“Alright mister Doe, which card do you think is going to earn you that mula?”

“Tell ya what, hows bout we let Robert do the picking he’s been doing pretty good so far.” 

The intensity in his voice instantly gave me that feeling of calling it quits again. I looked him up and down trying to figure exactly how much trouble I was about to get myself into. The way i measured it, he had to behemoth sized bodyguards who could probably crush me between their fingers on a bad day but Mr. Doe himself wasn't to much of a threat to my existence so, why not?

“Big round of applause for our good friend Robert.” I shouted and as expected the crowd erupted in excitement. Again, I glanced a look over at Mr. Doe who stood between his two mongrels evidently unamused.

“Pressure’s on bud, you ready to pick a card?

“Absolutely! It’s that one!” Robert shouted as he reached for the wrong card again. 

Let’s pause for a moment and take a quick look at those rules of gambling I was introducing earlier. Rule number 1: only bet when you know you are going to win. Unfortunately, Robert has already broken rule 1 which means he is destined to lose. The truth is, Robert does not “Know” he is going to win, he confidently “Believes” he is going to win, and those are twi very different things. Allow me to explore this a little further: the things you “know” are indisputable facts that can be supported by incontestable evidence. For example, you know your birthday, you know where you live, you know your phone number. A belief is something you stand by regardless of whether or not you can actually defend your position. For example, you believe someone loves you, you believe your eyes are showing you the real world, or in our situation Robert believes he is going to win.

“OOO Robert that looks like a bad guess bud, I’ll give you a chance to change your mind.”

At this moment panic ensues. Not for me but for Robert and all the people who just put all their faith, and money, in Roberts belief that he was going to win. The crowd starts shouting all the different options on the table, along with some aggressive obscenities and poor Robert, the chosen one, begins to sweat. For a slight second, it takes all the strength in my body and soul to contain my smile of excitement. I take a quick glance throughout the crowd and see good old Mr. Doe, the man who apparently cannot be moved. Him and his guards remain exactly where they stood, unaffected, silent, and glaring intently at my hands on the table. I can feel Mr. Doe’s eyes physically touching my hands in attempt to make sure I am not pulling any dirty tricks in the midst of the madness.

How dare he stoop me to such a low degree of con artist criminal. To even begin to think that I may be attempting to take advantage of these distracted foolish people in order to make all this money is offensive in itself. I wanted to yell at him “Hey stupid I already pulled the magic con, I’m not trying to do it now!” but I made sure to bite tongue and accept the insult. I mean after all, I am about to con all these innocent people out of boatloads of money.

“So Rob my man whats your gut telling you right now?”

“I’m going to stick to my first answer. you’re just trying to psych me out man, I know it’s that card!” he mumbles as he rubs his sweaty hands together. His lady friend put her arms on his shoulder and starts rubbing them gently.

“Ill take it. Here we go Robert, let’s see whats under card number 3!”

I flip the losing card. 

Silence.

Complete and utter silence. 

In this moment I can feel the heartbeats of every person in the crowd as they realize what has just happened. Well not what just happened in the sense that they are fully aware that I just played them all for fools, but in the sense that they just realized how much money they lost. All in an instant. Over 9000. Right here, right now. 

“Wwwhhhaaaaattttttttt!!!!” 

This is my least favorite part. This is the part that reminds me that I'm not a bad person, I’m just a person trying to survive. This is the part where the life of the man I just conned comes crashing down in front of his face. The part when he realizes how bad he screwed up. The part that makes me feel, albeit for a very short amount of time, sorry.

“Oh man Robert, I’m sorry you picked the wrong card bud. I think its actually this one.”

I reveal the actual winning card on the table. In my experience I’ve learned that the least amount of motion possible prevents the crowd from thinking I pulled some sleazy crap. Sure, the con itself is pretty sleazy but, realistically the fault is on the player. We all have eyes, some better than others, and the whole game is really just a sparring match between my hands and the players eyes. There is no luck. It is all skill. 

“It’s not a big deal sweetie, looks like your luck just ran out!”

“Noooo, I was doing so well! He must have cheated!”

“Woah woah woah, let’s be respectful now Rob old buddy. You win some, you lose some but you can’t go assassinating a good mans character!”

“Good man huh? You spend your entire life conning innocent people with your little card game and you call yourself a good man? You give these people false hope by letting them win the little hands and then you pull the power move once they start throwing the money at you thinking they've got you beat.”

Mr. Doe, or whatever his name is, inched closer to me with every word. finally he was standing directly in front of my table. His stature blocking out the sun and his “goons” encroaching on my sides. I knew from the beginning he was bad news this moment was just a final confirmation. 

“Now now Mr. Doe, your well tailored suit doesn't exactly scream that you are also a bitter loser. Maybe you wan-“

“Kill him.”

Those were the final words he uttered before I sprung over the fence behind me and into the fountain. I ran across the fountain with these two bears in suits coming behind at pretty high speed. I mean these guys were pretty damn light on their feet for big and tall suit wearers. 

I ran through the streets and thats when it happened.

Bang!

The first gunshot. It whizzed by me and hit a food cart. In that moment my entire childhood flashed before my eyes. This wasn’t the first time I had been shot at. Unfortunately, that was kind of how I grew up. Gunshots, police sirens, stealing and hustling. That was every day life for me. I guess that might be why I ended up the way I am.

I was always a smart kid. Did great on all the fancy federal and state testing. Way ahead of my class in most coursework that was offered. None of that had any impact on one major thing. I was poor. My family was poor. I needed to do what I had to do to make sure my family was good. So I did. I also hated school and was a crap student anyway so it wasn’t to tough of a decision. I hit the street and started working.

First it was little stuff. Drop a bag off somewhere. Pick a bag up somewhere else. Then it started escalating. The jefe’s started taking note of my intelligence and figured they could unlock a skill I never knew I had. They taught me how to con. 

See conning is simple. Is actually really simple. It requires 3 traits that can be developed over time. In the exact words of Viejito, my direct mentor, “You got to be Smart, Brave, & Fast hijo.” I had already proven I was pretty smart. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain, which inevitably comes with being brave or courageous as a side perk. And fast? Well, he wasn’t necessarily talking about  running a 400m in 60 seconds, although I could. 

No he was talking about something even more impressive. For Viejito “Fast” was about how quickly you could get your entire body in sync with itself to carry out whatever task you were aiming to accomplish. In order to play con card games your hands, eyes, and mouth need to be in unison. You have to be talking just as fast as your moving the cards. You have to be reading the crowd just as fast as your talking.

That has saved my life numerous times. Including today. See, I had already recognized that each of the monstrous looking guys had arrived to the party equipped. And equipped well. Each one brute holding a new Taurus 180. The new curve pistol that’s designed to be similar to the shape of the body making it harder to notice. Come equipped with a Viridian laser light and holds 6 plus 1 in the chamber. The fact that I noticed it is no knock on the gun’s curve design not working, I’ve ben trained to spot these things. And now I’m being shot at by two of them. Go figure.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Acrobatics. That was the first physical skill I was taught that i had absolutely no previous experience with. Of course they trained me on fighting nd how to use a few guns but I had done those things before. These tricks though, these were real life savers. The whole park core concept was so outside of my plans that when we started training I nearly died on multiple occasions. Near misses with buses, tumbling off ledges with bad landings, you name it I probably messed it up. That’s why it always surprised them that I’d gotten so great at it. 

And it’s a good thing I did because dodging these shots is no easy task.

“There’s no use running, we’re going to catch you!”

“I’m sure you will but not today!”

Those were my last words before I leapt off the rooftop building. We’d been running for a few blocks now and I had led them straight to a place I knew would stop them. There’s a little path way that for whatever reason leads up to the top of a building. Maybe it was planned to be a handicap entrance before they decided to install elevators. Doesn’t matter, from here I was able to leap across to the next building. Based on their sizes and speed at which they were running to keep up, I knew they couldn’t make the jump.

What I didn’t know… I wouldn’t make the jump either.