 
 REWARDSJohn Chambers
 

    It was getting very late as I finally finished my last withdrawal.
    The evening was cool and cloudy, and the dark wet streets seemed to
    eat up any available light.  I turned up my collar to guard against
    the damp chill of the evening and turned down 42nd Street.  The
    thought of the recent robberies passed through my mind, but were
    quickly replaced by my own plans.
    
    The streets were almost vacant this time of night, but I was happily
    engrossed in my final reward.  I had just made the last of a large
    number of cash withdrawals.  My thoughts turned to the future, and
    the sailboat I was going to buy for myself.  Ah - a life of leisure
    at last.  $315,000 isn't much, but it was a pretty good sum to begin
    with.  Combined with the checks from the retirement fund I would be
    O.K.  My house and car were paid for, I was retiring early (after
    only 25 years), and things looked good.  I smiled to myself as I
    thought over the last twenty five years, and strengthened my grip on
    the bulky paper bag hidden under my overcoat.
    
    Here I was, only 45 years old, and almost retired!  Life is good, I
    surmised.  I began working for Schwartz Drugs twenty five years ago.
    Only had two years of college accounting, but back then Al only had
    the one store.  I worked the front counter, stocked the shelves, and
    did the books.  What a pain those days were!
    
    Al had inherited the store from his father when he was only 19 years
    old.  It wasn't quite planned that way, but his dad passed away too
    early in life.  Al had run the place for the last forty years.  Come
    to think of it, Al had worked in that damned store since he was
    fourteen years old.  What a life.  Until I came along he ran it with
    the occasional help of a summer-job stock boy, I was his first
    full-time employee.
    
    We did pretty good I thought.  After a couple of years we hired two
    full time girls to work the cosmetics counter and the front counter,
    and I moved into the accounting business full time.  I set up a
    retirement fund, started some investments, and generally helped the
    business grow.  When the city put in the new parks in the downtown
    area, our business started to grow even more.  I continually asked
    Al for a small piece of the business, but he had always remained
    pig-headed about the "family business" crap.
    
    That's when I decided that I would do all I could to make the little
    corner drugstore grow into a multi-store chain, and take as much as
    I could get away with along the way.  For the next fifteen long
    years I socked away bits of cash from the accounts - and stupid Al
    Schwartz never suspected a thing.  I managed his accounts well, made
    the proper investments, and built his little "family empire" into 3
    successful stores.  Along the way I tucked aside a few dollars here
    and there, and ended up with a total of $313,000 bucks.  Not bad, I
    thought.
    
    The money was placed in accounts all over town, under a variety of
    names.  Everything was just waiting for that final day to arrive.  I
    had talked with the retirement fund folks today and made my final
    preparations.  Retiring early would cause me to receive a lower
    monthly amount, but my cash reserves would make up for that.
    Besides, if I waited until I was fifty five it wouldn't be nearly as
    much fun sailing around the caribbean.
    
    Al was aware of my retirement, but he was more concerned with his
    damned business.  "Things just aren't going well at all" He'd say.
    Then he'd head off to one of his stupid handball or tennis games.
    Gotta give Al credit - he was certainly in great physical shape for
    a 59 year old.
    
    Business was going downhill.  Sales were down due to a big chain
    store moving into town.  Matters were probably worsened by all the
    cash I was hiding away also, but I really didn't care.  Screw Al
    Schwartz and his drugstores.  Al was seriously considering closing
    one of the three stores, and I found out that he had made a couple
    of personal loans to keep things going over the rough periods.  He
    was constantly muttering about how he could come up with enough
    money to stay in business "till times got better".
    
    If he had given me part of the share like I'd asked for it wouldn't
    be that way.  It was his own fault.
    
    I gripped the paper bag closely as the street narrowed.  Been a
    string of robberies here recently, and this was not the time nor the
    place to be carrying over a quarter million dollars in cash.  I was
    only two blocks from the bus stop I wanted, and I was getting
    chilled.  The fake beard I was wearing did little to warm my face.
    Gotta admit - with my disguises even my own mother wouldn't
    recognize me.  The plan had been perfect.
    
    I felt it crush into my skull, and almost went under.  My knees
    turned to rubber and I saw myself falling to the pavement in very
    slow motion.  I was dazed but not out as I dropped, and the paper
    bag fell from beneath my coat to the cold pavement below.  I felt
    hands roughly turning me over and feeling my pockets.  I heard a
    short gasp as the bag was opened and its contents revealed.  The
    entire event was similar to a very slow motion dream.  In the back
    of my mind I was thinking - here's some young punk blowing fifteen
    years of hard work.
    
    I rolled to my side just as my attacker was running into the
    alleyway.  Through my dazed eyes I caught the sight of his back has
    he was escaping with his newly found loot.
    
    Al?  I whispered.
    
    Damn.
    
                                  -end-
                       Copyright (c)1993 John Chambers
