Chapter 2: You may have already won

Zane stood patiently in line at the local branch of the LHCU, the lawyers and hitmen credit union. With the check he had got from Ethan and a deposit slip in hand, he tapped his foot to the beat of the lobby music.

One of the tellers announced "I can help the next person in line. How can I help you today sir?"

"I'm here to make a deposit" Zane answered handing the teller the check and deposit slip.

The teller took the paperwork and started processing it. After a few moments, she looked up and frowned. "I'm sorry sir, we can't cash this check for a negative bajillion dollars. It's an out of state check."

Zane asks "Really? How can you tell?"

The teller points up in the corner of the check where it reads in big letters 'Out of State Check'.

"What? why that little...." Zane groaned to himself as he stomped out the door. Once outside, he announced "Nobody double-crosses a double-crosser. Luckily I took the liberty of pickpocketing him while he was signing paperwork, a little insurance policy that usually pays off."

Zane pulled out the wallet he had lifted off of Ethan and started rummaging through it. It was filled with play money but did include Ethan's license. It included his name and home address. "I think maybe I should pay my new clients a little visit" he said as he flagged down a taxi.

A taxi pulled up and he jumped in. He asked the driver "Can you take me to this address and step on it?"

The driver turned around. "I know where this is. Though how am I supposed to step on the address?"

Zane frowned. "I meant hurry up please."

"Why, are you in a rush?" asked the driver.

Zane shrugged. "Well no, not really. I've just always wanted to say that. It just seems like the sort of thing you say when you get in a taxi."

"Oh, off we go then." the driver said as he slammed his foot down on the gas and sped off towards the address listed on the license.

After a quick trip, the taxi screeched to a halt in front of Ethan's house. Zane handed the driver a stack of play money from the wallet and got out. The driver asked "Would you like change?"

Zane responded "No keep the change my good sir" then headed for the house. The driveway was empty with no sight of Ethan's vehicle. "He's probably hidden it."

The very first thing he noticed was that the lock on the door appeared to have been picked. He thought to myself "Well that's one less thing I have to do, this day is turning around already."

Zane heard a single woman talking inside but he could not hear anyone else, so she was probably on the phone.
"The door was a lot harder to pick then I remember...
There's something strange going on with these three cats...
Their behavior seems coordinated...
Alright I'll have a look around, why do I always get stuck doing this...
But I'm not the evil one...."

Zane decided he'd heard enough and knocked on the door.

"Someone's at the door. I'll call you back.."

A curly haired woman answered the door. "Yes? Can I help you sir?"

Zane cleared his voice. "Yes good afternoon ma'am, I'm with the Publisher's Cleanout House sweepstakes, is Mr. Ethan home. He's our big winner."

The woman shook her head. "No one with that name lives here, it's just little old me and my cats."

"You live here by yourself?" Zane sounded skeptical. "The man I'm looking for lives at this address"

"Nope I'm the only one that lives here for sure. That must mean the prize is for me. Make it out to Anna. Hey where is the oversized check anyway?"

Zane looked around nervously. "Ah yes see the thing is we ran out of giant oversized checks, so you'll just have to accept this." He handed her the check he had recieved earlier for a negative bajillion.

She took it from him and looked it over. "I can't accept this, it's an out of state check." She handed him the check back.

Zane frowned. "OK I'm not really here with the prize patrol, I really do need to find Ethan though, he drives a green car. Does that ring a bell?"

"You mean that one?" she said as she pushed past him outside and pointed at a car that wasn't there. Realizing it was missing, she looked back sheepishly and said "Sometimes it disappears mysteriously and returns later. It should be back soon, would you like to come in and wait. I have some tea and scones."

Zane was about to decline when he caught a glimpse of one of the cats staring at him through the open door. "Wait did that cat just flip me off?"