Love is Always Write Anthology Bonus Volume

box had a loaded shoulder holster he wasn't even trying to hide.
    The box he pulled out for Sebastian was a large one, and Sebastian was looking over his shoulder as he opened it. The guy with the gun had stepped out, but that didn't actually make Sebastian feel that much more comfortable.
    He opened the lid on the box and found a dark leather messenger bag. It looked like it would be trendy in certain circles. He flipped it open and peered inside. There were two more small cases like the hard-drive case in his pocket, and a wad of cash. There was also what looked like a magazine. Sebastian pulled it out and found it was a battered copied of Tintin in Tibet . He flipped a few pages and found a snap shot. In it, a little boy of maybe seven or eight was holding a fish. He had almost black hair, bright blue eyes and was missing a couple of teeth. The fish was so large he was holding it with both hands and beaming with the kind raw pride and joy only a child can have. Behind the boy was a slightly rugged-looking man with dark hair who was maybe in his forties, holding up a much smaller fish but also smiling.
    He flipped the picture over. On the back, a looping feminine hand had written Daren and Richard – Partridge Lake .
    What do you pack when you're going to run? Sebastian mused. Two hard drives of insurance, a little cash, a childhood book, and a picture of the one person who cared about you the way your parents should have.
    He tucked the book and the picture back in the bag, threw the strap over his shoulder, and got out of there quick.
    "Where may I take you now, sir?" his chauffeur asked.
    "There's a small hotel, The Marguerite, a few blocks north of where you picked me up."
    "Yes, sir. I am aware of the place."
    "Good." Sebastian didn't let himself relax yet. Someone could have simply been following but waiting for him to get through all of his stops.
    The last stop had not actually been that far from the hotel, which happened to be a block away from the parking garage. So it was only a few minutes before his door was being opened by a uniformed doorman, with his chauffeur standing by.
    "That will be all for the day, thank you." Sebastian quietly handed over a few hundred dollars more.
    "Thank you, sir."
    Sebastian waited for the car to pull away before shooing the bellhop off his briefcases and entering the hotel. He was supposed to act like he was waiting for someone for five minutes before checking his phone and leaving with exasperation. He did that, and then headed to the parking lot as quickly as possible.
    Forget about vengeful families , he thought, with two briefcases, a shoulder bag and a bulging jacket he felt he was a prime target for getting mugged.
    As he approached his car, one last bit of paranoia hit. He crouched down, no longer that worried about messing up the suit, and checked under his car for anything with a blinking light or leaking fluid. He jimmied opened his hood next, looking for anything that said IED, and peeked through all the windows trying to determine if anything had been moved.
    He took out his phone.
    About to get in my car. Will take the long way home
    He hit send, then carefully unlocked his car door. The lock clicked and nothing happened. He loaded the suitcases into the back and laid the messenger bag, loaded up with the drives and gems, in the front footwell. He peeked under the driver's seat for pressure devices and looked for any loose wires under the steering column.
    He sat carefully; nothing clicked or beeped at him. He put his key into the ignition and closed his eyes.
    At least I will have been trying to do something good.
    He turned the key. The engine turned over and started to hum. He opened his eyes. He made a conscious decision not to touch the radio and drove two laps around the parking garage testing his brakes at very slow speeds.
    When he was reasonably sure that he wasn't going to get blown up, he pulled out his prepaid parking ticket from the glove box and started the drive home. It wasn't even three yet, so he decided to take the very long and slightly rural way home, just in case.
    ****
    Sebastian left the two briefcases in the car so he could carefully approach his own front door with his hands free. He had driven around the block three times before parking just to see if he was being followed.
    He inspected around the lock for any sign it may have been jimmied or tampered with. He knocked on his door. It had been pre-arranged, three quick knocks,