SECRETS OF THE PAST
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Rated NC-17 for Content
Franklin got dressed and had breakfast
with Erica. They laughed together and talked. It was like they were meant to
be, but he still loved Leah. He felt guilty for cheating on her. He knew that
in the future he was going to pay big. He thought about their contact, Manuel
Ortega. After they got his confidence, they would steal the plates right out
from under him.
"Frank?" Erica looked
at him. He was preoccupied.
"What?" He looked at
her, clueless.
"Did you want your last
piece of bacon?" she asked.
"Nah. You can have it."
He tossed it to her plate.
"Thanks." She smiled at
him. He had told her everything, and from now on, he told her to call him Frank
instead of Franklin.
After she ate the bacon, she got
closer to him. He looked at her, and she started to travel her hand up his
thigh. He looked at her and kissed her neck. He was interrupted by a waiter.
"Sir, a car is waiting for
you," the waiter told him.
"Okay. Thank you."
Franklin nodded.
Franklin looked at Jack and his
uncle across the way and hailed them, signaling that it was time to leave. They
all got up, and the women left and went to their room. Frank wore a suit with a
black overcoat. He walked with his father and his uncle. He was proud to have
them by his side.
Franklin walked to the car, and a
man greeted him. "Mr. Abagnale. Pleased to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too.
Uh…these are my men. They will be coming with me," Franklin said.
"Uh…I thought you would be
coming alone," the man said.
"I never leave without my
men. This is Jack, my pilot, and this is my accountant, Robbie." Franklin
smiled.
The man ushered them into the
car, and he got in, too. They took off and went to the place where Manuel
Ortega was. It was a concealed place, out in the middle of nowhere.
Jack, Franklin, and Robert
glanced around at their surroundings. If anything happened, they were prepared.
They had secretly concealed weapons in their jackets for protection. The women
had prepared to get extra help from the army to help save them.
Franklin spoke up. "Excuse
me, sir. Manuel Ortega--why is it that he didn't meet me in person?"
"He had a lot to do, son.
Our company stretches out in many regions of the world. But this is our home
base," the man told him.
"Ah…I see. You can call me
Frank. I hate being called son. My father calls me that when he is angry at me,"
Franklin said as he spoke, looking at Jack, who grinned at him.
"Sure, Mr. Abagnale."
The man nodded and the car stopped.
They got out, and Franklin smiled
and walked with the men. Jack and Robert walked behind him. When they got to
the office, only Franklin was allowed. The other two had to stay behind.
Franklin met up with a man. It was Manuel Ortega.
"Ah…at last. Nice to meet
you, Frank Abagnale." He shook Frank's hand.
"Nice to meet you. Glad you
got in contact with me," Frank said.
"I was doing a little
research on your father," he said as he poured himself a drink.
"Why?" Frank asked.
"He was a very interesting
man. I know you are not the original Abagnale who was in France and got
arrested. So, who are you?" He looked at Franklin.
"I told you my name is Frank
Abagnale. What else do you need to know?" Franklin asked, playing his
part.
"You know, lying to me is
not wise," Manuel told him.
"I am not lying. I am Frank
Abagnale. Son to Frank Abagnale II." Franklin let him know the partial
truth.
"So a line of Franks are in
your family. Who was the closest to your grandfather?" Manuel asked.
"That would be my uncle. He
taught him everything there is to know about check-making," Franklin
explained.
"Do you know where he
is?" he asked.
"He's outside that
door," Franklin said.
Franklin walked outside and
called Robert in. Jack wondered what was going on. Frank called him in and told
him the gig was up. He whispered it to him.
"Robert, is it? Son to the
original Frank Abagnale?" Manuel looked at Robert, eyeing him.
"Yes." Robert nodded.
"Is it true your father told
you everything?" Manuel looked at him.
"Absolutely." He nodded
his head again.
"Tell me if this hundred is
original or fake." He handed him a hundred dollar bill.
He took the hundred and took out
his magnifying glass. He checked it, and then said, "I can do way better
than this fake. All the cross sections are smudged. God, who did this? It
sucks."
"You’re the absolute best. I
told my men this was useless," Manuel said. "I need your help to
reproduce these, and checks, as well."
"Look, my father taught me
checks, but never to reproduce money. That's something I never learned. I know
the colors they use and all the imprints, but I can never make money."
Robert told him the truth.
"With your help and my men,
we can make a fortune, and with your pilot, we can produce these like
gold." Manuel patted him on the back.
"All right. Do you have the
plates?" Robert asked.
"Plates? I never said
anything about plates." Manuel wondered how they knew about the plates for
the money.
"Come on. What do you take
me for? I need plates to make these. Surely you have them," Robert said.
"Of course. Would you like
to see them? Tell us what we are doing wrong," Manuel said.
"Yes, please. Can I have a
drink? I am thirsty." Robert touched his throat.
"Sure. Why don't we all have
drinks?" He took the plates out of the safe and then got the drinks.
Robert knew he had to cause a
distraction so Franklin could slip a drug into Manuel’s drink so they could
steal the plates from under him.
Robert got the plates, and the
drinks lay on the desk. Robert called Manuel to look at the plates. Slowly,
Franklin slipped the drug into Manuel’s drink while Robert distracted him.
Robert saw Frank, and he nodded
from afar. Robert went to the desk to pick up his drink and said cheers,
consuming his drink. Manuel saw them and drank his, too. Almost immediately,
the drug began to take effect. Manuel almost fell to the floor before Franklin
caught him.
"Robert, the plates,"
Franklin said as he held the unconscious man.
"Yeah, I know, Franklin.
I’ve got them." Robert showed Franklin.
"Let's put him at his desk
so he looks like he's awake," Robert said as he helped Franklin with
Manuel Ortega.
"Yeah." Franklin
nodded.
After they set him at his desk,
Robert and Frank came out. Jack looked at them. He knew what they had done and
they had to get out of there fast.
Before they left, Franklin told
the men that were guarding his door that he was not to be disturbed by anyone.
They nodded their heads.
Franklin, Jack, and Robert had a
car waiting for them to take them back to the hotel. The car took them to the
hotel, and when it left, they had another car waiting to take them to the
airport. They had done their job. The military would take care of the rest.
They were to return the plates to the US Treasury.
Their plane was a private plane,
and everything was waiting for them, their supplies and the women. Erica saw
Franklin and hugged him tightly. Jack saw Rose and kissed her, and Robert had
seen Mina and Abbey aboard as well.
Erica kissed Franklin and led him
to the back of the plane, groping him and kissing him tightly. She led him to a
private section of the plane, into one of the bathroom stalls. Franklin put
himself inside her and looked into her eyes. She started moaning and kissing
him frantically.
They couldn't get enough of each
other. Frank never even thought of Leah. He couldn't believe he was having sex
with Erica and not with Leah. He cleared out his mind and focused on her,
because when he got home, he would not be with Erica. He would be with Leah.