There was once a time in Brian’s life where he wanted to be nothing more than a successful lawyer. His father was a lawyer and even though he’d never met the man he had heard a lot of stories of his successes and strived to be like him. In the end though, he had ended up like the real version of his father; lying, conniving, slick, and determined. 

It was Brian who had come up with the idea for the four of them to start conning people out of their hard earned money. He was the idea man. He came up with the ideas, planned them out, AJ and Howie made them happen because they were the action men and Nick did the work that the rest of them didn’t have any interest in doing, he was the assistant. He thought Nick was better suited for the fast food industry (since he was very good at being told what to do) but he couldn’t even handle that much to Brian’s dismay. He sometimes wished that he didn’t love the kid so much. Howie and AJ had tried to convince him multiple times to get rid of Nick because he was the ball and chain tied to their ankles sometimes but Brian just couldn’t do it. He and Nick had grown up together; they had a bond that Brian just couldn’t break.

Making bonds was also the key to success in any good scam. They were then left with the conundrum of how to do that. It was, of course, Brian who came up with the brilliant idea. That key was landscaping. They all got jobs at landscaping companies, doing lawns and gardens and most importantly looking at the type of people who lived in prospective ritzy neighbourhoods. In the end they found out it was more brilliant than they’d originally imagined. Wealthy (sometimes even upper middle class) men had lazy wives. They would stay at home and give Brian, Howie and AJ prime opportunity to reel them in. Of course, Nick was excluded from his brilliance. The last thing Brian needed was that bumbling fool blowing it for them. He couldn’t convince a lion to eat him. 

Brian was even starting to question leaving Nick in charge of their hostage. He didn’t think she would get away, it wasn’t that. Physically Nick was very useful. If Brian were in the mafia Nick would be his bodyguard for sure. He was good for physically demanding work. There had been a few times where either Brian or the other guys had to rely on Nick to get them out of a tricky situation by roughing someone up. Although, if the person getting the crap beat out of them had any time to speak, it probably wouldn’t be too hard to get Nick to stop. That’s what was worrying him. Brian had a feeling that the girl was much smarter than Nick, and was going to trick him into doing something stupid. 

There was also something lingering (that Howie had brought up) that given Nick’s lack of success and extreme anxiety with women she might just have a feminine advantage over the young man. Women were good like that, it was something Brian admired. He only wished he could be as cunning as they could be sometimes. They would just have to keep a close eye on what was happening with the girl. 

Picking her had been easy. Brian had been hired to tend to the landscaping on her family’s estate. Every time he went over she would be there, laying poolside tanning or playing tennis in their backyard court. She was spoiled, and she knew it and Brian thought she would be a perfect target. He had some hesitation about the father. Kevin Richardson was a stern, straightforward, go getter who didn’t take bullshit from anyone. Anyone, but his wife; she was the means to success. Kevin wouldn’t want to part with a cent but Brian knew that Dana Richardson would not let her daughter stay kidnapped for very long. 

It had only been a day since Howie had sent them the ransom note, but the activity outside the house as Brian pulled up in his van was a flurry of policemen and FBI agents. Little did they know that the van pulling up the driveway was the same van that carried their daughter off just a few days prior.

Brian adapted a wide eyed, shocked expression as he stepped out of the van and was immediately approached by the police wondering who he was. 

“He’s just the gardener!” Kevin said, waving off all the commotion. 

“Everyone is a suspect right now,” Agent Morris said and Brian just pretended to not know what was happening. 

“I don’t understand... a suspect?” he asked, looking innocent. Nick had suggested that he shouldn’t go to work, but that would only draw attention to them. An employee suddenly absent at the same time as a crime was instantly suspect to the investigators. 

“Mr. Richardson’s daughter was kidnapped late Sunday night,” Morris explained, looking Brian up and down. His coveralls were green and had the insignia of the landscaping company on the chest. He would probably check out through the FBI’s computers. He’d never been arrested so they had no reason not to trust him.

“Oh my god,” Brian gasped, “This is the first time I’ve been here since last week, I had no idea.”

Morris looked to Kevin for some sort of recognition that Brian was telling the truth.

“I told you! He’s just the gardener! Now can we start looking for the real culprit?” Kevin demanded, annoying that they were taking time to question someone as insignificant as Brian. 

Agent Morris nodded then turned his lanky frame back to Brian, “Alright, but I want you to take my card. If you think of anything you might think we’d be interested in just give me a call day or night.”

“Absolutely officer,” Brian smiled inside as the Agent cringed at the incorrect term, “I don’t know what I could possible know, but if I think of anything at all then I’ll call you right away!”

The FBI seemed to buy his innocence and Brian was pleased. Not only was he cleared (for now) by the girl’s father, but he had a perfectly good reason to hang around the house and listen in on everything that was going on. 

He took out his tools, casually watching the officials working around him. There were dogs trying to pick up scents, people from the neighbourhood being interviewed, and cops just chatting amongst themselves. 

Brian picked a spot close to the open French doors where the Richardsons sat talking with Agent Morris and woman who he could only assume was the man’s partner. 

“We have a team working on looking for evidence on the ransom note,” Agent Sampson said, writing notes in her little notebook, “They haven’t sent us anything else, and we don’t have any other way of contacting them other than the drop off point for next week so we’re sort of hoping they make contact with us again.”

“It’s not going to matter because I’m not going to pay,” Kevin said firmly, running a hand through his short hair. 

“Don’t say that!” Dana snapped, “We are too going to pay that’s our daughter!”

“I’m not giving in to these people! They’re not getting my money and they’re returning her unscathed and that’s just the way it is going to be!” he was firm and steadfast and that worried Brian a little. 

He trimmed the rose bushes, the hedges, cut the grass, and did everything on his list of duties before it was time to pack it in. 

Brian had acquired a lot of valuable information from his day at work. The police had no ideas as to who was behind the kidnapping and no leads, which was perfect. They wanted to keep it that way. It seemed as if so far they were getting away with the whole plan. On the downside, Kevin had absolutely no intention of paying the ransom. Dana was trying to talk her husband into it, and maybe Brian assumed that she had more swing that she really did because he wasn’t going for it. Terrorists, he’d called them, and Kevin Richardson did not negotiate with terrorists. He was kind of like the United Nations. 

That would be a problem; Brian was banking on the wife talking her husband into paying the money. He would have to discuss it with his partners but he was thinking that some more serious measures would have to be taken. They would have to prove to Richardson that they meant business and that the ransom note wasn’t just idle threats. It was a setback, but it was a minor one, and nothing they couldn’t overcome with a little thought. 

The entire way back to the house Brian considered what he would be willing to do for the money. If the police had let on while he was there that they had any leads, he might let her go. She didn’t have anything on them, and if Kevin wasn’t going to pay and the police were anywhere close to finding them it would probably be worth it. No one would suspect them afterwards so they could just pretend it never happened. That was always a possibility in case anything changed in the future but for now the only thing they had to contend with was the money. How did he make Kevin give them the money? 

It was Tuesday, the deadline on the ransom note specified Monday. He had six days to make plans.