The Rooster Bar

17

They waited until late Monday morning, when the building was empty and the neighbors were in class, and they moved Zola’s boxes to her new third-floor suite above The Rooster Bar. If she was unimpressed with her new digs, she kept it to herself. In fact, she unpacked her clothes and belongings with a smile and seemed pleased with her new hiding place. It was only temporary. As a child in Newark she had lived in far tighter quarters with almost no privacy. Mark and Todd had no idea how poor her family had been in those days.

The contractor, with his crew of hardworking and undoubtedly illegal Slovakians, was busy transforming the utility closet into a bathroom, so the partners walked down the street for a late lunch. Over salads and iced tea, Todd covered some of the basic rules of engagement. They would live in a world of cash, no credit. Credit cards leave trails. They had convinced Maynard to swap labor for rent. Todd and Mark would each work twenty-five hours a week tending bar and no records would be kept. Maynard would accept this for rent and also cover the utility bills, Internet, and cable, and allow them to use the address for what little mail they anticipated. He seemed to like the idea of having three budding lawyers practically hiding in his building and appeared to miss the distinction between a legal clinic and a law firm. Maynard asked few questions.

It was ironic that their zeal to avoid credit was predicated on the fact that they collectively owed more than $600,000, but the irony was lost at the moment.

They would revisit their shady security contact and buy a fake driver’s license for Zola as her only form of ID. Once she became Zola Parker, they would get her a cell phone, but they would keep their old ones to monitor the people who might be looking for them. They all would be sued by their landlords but the lawsuits would be worthless because Mark Frazier, Todd Lucero, and Zola Maal no longer existed and evidently had left town. Eventually, they would be placed in default by their student loan servicers, but that was several months down the road. You can’t effectively sue someone if you can’t find the person. They would try to avoid all of their old friends but continue to update their Facebook pages, though with less activity. They would have no contact with Foggy Bottom and felt sure their absence would not be noticed by anyone in administration.

At times, Zola seemed overwhelmed by the plot. It was insane and destined for a bad ending, but she felt safer, and safety was her primary concern. And, her partners were either overly confident or putting up a good front. Deep down, she knew they had no idea what they were doing, but their enthusiasm was hard to ignore. As reluctant as she was, she was comforted by their loyalty.

Mark grew serious and talked about their personal lives. It was important that they avoid new friendships and serious dating. No one else could know about their scheme. The partnership needed a wall around it that could not be penetrated.

She interrupted with “Are you kidding me? We just buried my boyfriend and you think I want to start dating again?”

“Of course not,” Mark said. “Todd and I are unattached at the moment, and it’s best if we all stay that way.”

Todd said, “Right, and if you want sex Mark and I are always available, just to keep things in the firm, you know?”

“That’s not going to happen,” she said with a laugh. “Our lives are complicated enough right now.”

“Sure, but just file it away,” Todd said.

“Is that your best pickup line: ‘Let’s keep it in the firm’?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never used it before.”

“Well, don’t use it again. It’s not working.”

“I’m kidding, Zola.”

“No, you’re not. What happened to that Sharon babe you were seeing last semester?”

“She’s history.”

Mark said, “Let’s agree that all hookups will be off premises, okay?”

“Whatever,” she said. “What’s next on the list?”

“We don’t have a list,” Mark said. “You got questions?”

“More doubts than questions.”

“We’re listening,” Todd said. “This is our big moment, our finest hour. Let’s put it all on the table.”

“Okay, I seriously doubt I’ll be able to hustle injury cases in hospital emergency rooms. And I doubt if either of you knows how to do it either.”

Todd said, “You’re right, but we can learn. We have to learn. It’s a matter of survival.”

Mark said, “Oh, I think you’ll be a natural, Zola. A beautiful young black woman in a killer dress, short skirt maybe, with stylish heels. I’d hire you in a heartbeat if my wife got banged up in a car wreck.”

“My only nice dress is the one I wore to the funeral.”

“We’re upgrading your wardrobe, Zola,” Todd said. “We’re no longer law students but real professionals. New clothes for all of us. It’s in the firm’s budget.”

“That’s the only promising thing I’ve heard yet,” she said. “And let’s say we get some clients and we need to meet them at the office. What then?”

It was obvious they had thought of everything. Without hesitating, Mark said, “We tell them our offices are being renovated and we meet them downstairs in the bar.”

“The Rooster Bar?”

“Sure. The drinks are on the firm as we go through the paperwork,” Todd said. “They’ll love it.”

Mark said, “Keep in mind, Zola, most of our clients will be small-time criminals who pay in cash. We’ll meet them in court or in jail, and the last place they’ll want to go is a law office.”

Todd said, “And we will not be having conferences with other lawyers. Nothing like that.”

“Of course not.”

Mark said, “If we get backed into a corner, we can always rent a room at a business center for a few hours. There’s one around the corner.”

“I guess you guys have thought of everything.”

“No, we don’t have a clue, Zola,” Todd said. “But we’ll figure it out, make it work, and have some fun along the way.”

“What else is bugging you?” Mark said.

“Okay, I doubt I can keep this from Ronda. She’s a close friend and she’s worried about me.”

“She also has the biggest mouth in our class,” Todd said. “You have to keep her in the dark.”

“That won’t be easy. I doubt if I can drop out of law school without her knowing it.”

“Does she know about you and Gordy?” Mark asked.

“Of course she does. He hit on her during our first year.”

“What have you told her?” Todd asked.

“She wanted to talk so I met her for a sandwich last night. I said I was really struggling and skipping classes for the time being, that I might take off a semester and pull things together. She didn’t pry too much, just wanted to talk about Gordy and his final days. I didn’t say much. She thinks I might need to see a therapist, someone for grief counseling. I said I’d think about it. She was really sweet, and I needed that.”

“You gotta cut the cord, Zola,” Mark said. “Stiff-arm her, but do it gently. We have to pull away from the law school gang. If word gets out that the three of us are skipping our last semester, the school might start asking questions. That’s no big deal, unless of course it decides to notify DOE.”

“I thought we weren’t worried about the loans.”

“True, but we need to delay default as long as possible. If the loan servicers find out that we’ve withdrawn, they’ll start barking about repayment. When they can’t find us, they’ll turn the files over to lawyers who’ll hire investigators to sniff around. I’d rather deal with that down the road.”

“I’d like to avoid it altogether,” Todd said.

“Oh, I think we will.”

“But you have no idea, do you?” she asked.

Mark and Todd exchanged looks and nothing was said for a moment. Todd’s cell phone vibrated and he pulled it out of a pocket. “Wrong one,” he said, and pulled another phone out of another pocket. Two phones, the old and the new. One for the past, one for the present. He read a message and said, “It’s Wilson, says, ‘Hey, man, you skipping classes again today. What’s up?’ ”

“This might be harder than we thought,” Mark said.