A/N Taras Lavren (the actor who plays Nate) read and liked this story. Made my day!

The Grifter

Isaiah first met Jonesy at the Sawyer's Arms in Carmody. He had been enjoying a quiet whiskey at the bar when he noticed a bearded man playing cards with a couple of greenhorns. He acted as if he had no idea what he was doing, Isaiah saw. The other players were obviously pals, playing around, joshing. Thinking they were going to pull one over on this man but though he looked as though he had no idea what he was doing, the man was carefully dropping the bait and they fell for it hook, line and sinker. At the end, he walked up to the bar as the marks scratched their heads and Isaiah offered him a drink and shook his hand, recognizing a master at work.

They became, if not exactly friends, for neither quite trusted the other, then at least business associates. For them, while a short-term hustle was worth it for some ready cash, the real business, the business where they could make some real money, was in the long term grift, one that required weeks of planning.

Isaiah's folks had been simple hardworking farming folk. He'd watched his father work himself into the ground at a young age, and his mother have too many babies. It was a tough life and it was not the one for him. As soon as Isaiah was old enough, he left home without a backwards glance, to make his fortune in the larger towns. He decided never to break a sweat in pursuit of a lousy dollar or two, a promise to which for the most part he had kept.

They'd had some fun, Jonesy and Isaiah. Jonesy still liked his cards, but he wasn't one to cross. Isaiah never forgot the punishment Jonesy exacted on some men he caught cheating, their bodies would probably be found once the spring thaw set in.

Mostly they did small stuff, but now they were planning something big. Something that would set them up for a few months, even a year or more, depending on how fast they spent it. Jonesy had come up with the idea. He'd heard tell of a massive grift up in the north of the island a few years prior, a plan so audacious, it just had to be performed again, and who better than the two of them? Some inspired men had tricked the townsfolk up there into believing there was gold on Prince Edward Island, an absolute myth. Jonesy was a bit of a prig at times, but good God the man could act the pants off a donkey, the two men holed up in a boarding house and mapped it all out.

Lounging around a laneway in town one winter's afternoon, Jonesy tapped Nate on the shoulder, some kid was selling a horse. Without a word, because each man knew what was up, they followed the kid, and without warning Jonesy punched him hard, so that he fell to the ground. Jonesy rifled through the kid's pockets and found the small wad of cash. Not much, but then the horse wasn't much either. Anyway, it would buy lunch and dinner for a few days. Isaiah kicked the kid in the guts just for good measure. There was nothing he liked better than kicking a mark, they were so stupid, they deserved it. They left the kid lying on the ground, the blood from his cut eyebrow staining the snow. He'd probably wake up in time, before he died of exposure, but they had their money, that was the main thing.

Later sitting in the café reading the newspaper, as they looked for suitable boarding houses, Isaiah got a bit of a shock to see the same kid outside. What were the odds? Still, so long as they kept their heads down, they'd be fine. Nate pointed out a nice-looking advertisement, "This one looks perfect,"

Jonesy read out loud, "Green Gables in Avonlea. Nice," Isaiah nodded. They had a few months before folks' pockets were lined with cash, so they'd hole up there for the winter, and have the landlady look after them. Isaiah joked to Jonesy, "maybe they'll have a couple of nice daughters for us to play with?" he stuck out his tongue and wiggled his fingers for effect. Jones just rolled his eyes. "Now remember I'm Mr Dunlop, are you going to change your name?"

"Yeah, how about Nate or Nathaniel, I suppose? It's a common enough name."

The men made their way to the post office to separately write back to the advertiser, M. Cuthbert. They could write a nice letter when there was a pot of gold at the end of that particular rainbow.

It was a long journey through the cold and snow to this Green Gables, "Shit, how much further?" Nate asked for the tenth time. "I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth it?"

"Shut up, a nice secluded farmhouse is just perfect for us. Anyway," Dunlop checked his map once again, "I think that's it up ahead," he pointed at a little farmhouse, surrounded by barns. Look there are the Green Gables, you can just see them under the snow."

"Finally."

"You hide in the barn for an hour or so and remember, I'm Mister Dunlop and we've never met."

"Yeah yeah, I remember. Mister Dunlop! Don't forget, while you're warming yourself inside, I'll be hunkered down in this barn, freezing my arse off."

"You'll live. Remember, it'll all be worth it in the end." Nate nodded, he was sure it would be. Little communities like this were just begging to be plundered.

The house met all their requirements. It was secluded, but part of a wider community. The elderly landlady and landlord were brother and sister, not a couple. They were a bit uptight, but the men reckoned they could put up with them both for a few months. The food was simple but hearty.

Nate and Dunlop settled into life in Green Gables. Nate had been slightly upset to find there were no sweet teenagers to tickle his fancy, only an ugly, scrawny, over-talkative kid who drove him crazy with her incessant questions. Dunlop did all right with her, they had bonded over baking. Baking! Of all things. The man was cracked.

Nate watched and listened in disgust as Jonesy invented a whole backstory for himself. This was not part of the script. Mister Dunlop had fought in the Boer War, lost a sister and now his beloved rich aunt had passed away. All these extra details made Nate nervous. It was unnecessary. To his way of thinking it was better to keep things simple, that way there was less opportunity for things to go wrong.

Another shock was to find that the kid they had robbed and bashed in town worked here too. Nate froze when he was introduced for the first time, but thankfully the kid seemed stupid or something, either way, he never recognised them. Nate recognised in Jerry an opportunity for a bit more fun. If he had to behave around Anne, as the daughter of the house, he had no such compulsion around Jerry. The little frog was petrified of him, as though deep in the recesses of his brain he remembered his flogging.

They had to keep on the right side of Mr Cuthbert. The old man never quite relaxed around either of them, as though he suspected something, but the women seemed easy enough to fool. Still he was old, and unthreatening.

Time passed slowly. To keep himself interested, Nate decided to play with Miss Marilla. In his experience spinsters were gagging for a bit of fun. Usually they were too uptight for any actual action, but a bit of flirting never hurt anyone. Miss Marilla, old and unattractive as she was, (he preferred the ladies with a bit of meat on their bones) was still a woman at heart. As repressed as her desires were, Nate bet he could bring them to the fore.

He started by dropping the odd compliment. Breathing in deeply through his nose, he'd comment, "this dinner smells so delicious, Miss Marilla," and send a smile her way. God, the way she simpered in front of him, on the basis of one simple compliment was pathetic. She practically melted in his hands when he offered to say grace one evening. He took a hold of the old lady's hands, jeez they reminded him of his mother's repulsive red and calloused ones. The kid begged him to call God 'gracious heavenly father' in her maddening manner. God, how did they stand her? He'd have given her a smack if she were his, but as both Cuthberts were there, he swallowed his annoyance, smiled and did as she asked.

One morning he'd come upon the old bag washing her hair, like she was enjoying herself. She looked so flustered as he cleared his throat announcing his arrival. Again, it took only the simplest compliment to have her weak at the knees. Not that he wanted to do anything, she was old enough to be his grandmother for chrissakes. It was just fun to fool around with her emotions a little, to pass the time. Life at Green Gables was pretty damn boring. A man had to have some fun.

He tormented her by taking off the shirt on his back for her to mend. As she walked down the passage-way he stuck his head out the door to see her lean against the wall and take a deep breath. Glancing down at his bare chest he smirked, he did have that effect on women, regardless of their age. She seemed like a dried up old prune, but under that tight corset beat the heart of a woman after all.

Nate got a ride to a local dance, it was fun to see all the young women, dressed up to the nines. He enjoyed all the young flesh, especially after living with dried up Miss Marilla for so many months. Young Lizzy Wadley was keen to flirt with him and they spent a fair bit of time kissing at the back of the hall; he fumbled around under her petticoats hoping for a feel, but she batted his hands away as she giggled embarrassedly.

The weather finally warmed up and the bloody snow melted. The family started to talk about the harvest. It was time to get to work. This was the only time Nate was prepared to actually work up a sweat, he fetched his shovel and started digging. The earth was still slightly frozen as he dug deeper. Shit, his muscles weren't used to this sort of work. Eventually, after a few days, he had dug the hole and shored it up, so it looked like a proper mine, though it only went down a few yards. Deep enough to fool their unsuspecting public, that was all that was required. That and a few hints dropped to the right fools. It was Dunlop who suggested employing Anne's incessant curiosity. He was good for something after all. The kid knew everyone, and soon enough the town was meeting to discuss this windfall.

What amazed Nate was just how greedy this town was; greedy and gullible. If just one family had thought to employ a second mineral expert, or send away for their own mineral test, then the gig would be up. Instead they were all prepared to lay down their hard-earned harvest money, just on the basis of a persuasive argument presented by two complete strangers. One of his favourite proverbs was 'a fool and his money are soon parted', it sounded like something out of the Bible or something. Anyway, Nate was all for that, and he knew just the men to do the parting.

The men knew this represented a big investment for all concerned and they chatted amongst themselves after dark about how easy it was in the end.

"It's all going to be worth it, you know. This long and boring winter will be over, and we'll be walking off with all the money."

"The worst thing is we don't get to see their faces afterwards. William Barry and Harmon Andrews are so arrogant, I'd love to be a fly on the wall when the truth dawns on them, that they should have done some due diligence, and that we have their money and they have nothing. That's my one and only regret," Nate explained.

"Ah, you can picture it, can't you. That's going to have to be good enough," Dunlop replied. "I reckon you'll miss teasing Miss Marilla, Nate."

Nate spat, "Nah, she's too old for me."

"Hasn't stopped you from having a little fun though."

Nate grinned. "It's just so easy, I can't resist. The kid is driving me nuts though. I wish she'd stay out of my room."

"It's not for long now."

"Now she wants to join me at my 'work'. Can't have that, can we now?"

"Yeah, you might have to break into a sweat for once in your life, showing off to the kid."

Nate grinned back.

A party was planned, William Barry was holding it to encourage the townsfolk to get involved with the gold scheme. Mr and Miss Cuthbert were unwilling participants. Nate wasn't sure, but he thought the old bag had changed her hair, it didn't suit her. He wondered if he had anything to do with it. If so, it made him hate her even more. This woman? Did she think he might be attracted to her, really? She was pathetic, it made him a bit sick. At the party she was mooning around looking like a bat in her black dress. He tried to tell her to have a bit of fun, but she wandered off to stand by her brother. The two of them were real dampeners. He wished they hadn't come.

The men were congratulating themselves when they heard the Barry family were off to town to find more funds to tip into the investment. Nate was pleased the kid was going too, she was really getting on his nerves.

The old lady told them over dinner that night that they would have to find new living arrangements, that was no bother. They were planning on leaving shortly anyway. Life at Green Gables was too dull and he was getting terribly sick of drinking nothing but water with his dinner. Dunlop feigned dismay and Miss Marilla gave them a few days grace, Dunlop announced that he'd found a plot of land nearby, what the hell was going on?

The kid returned home the next day and Dunlop burst into his room with the words "They know." Quickly, quickly the men gathered their stuff, only the money really counted and rushed downstairs to overhear the kid spilling the beans to the old lady. Damn, Nate hated touching her, but it had to be done. Dunlop tied gags around their mouths and they tied them up back to back on the ground.

Then they ran. Months of the soft life rendered them a little unfit, but the money helped.

Much to his surprise they came upon the little froggy on the path, Nate knocked him down, out of habit really, and to get him out of the way. That's when he lost Jonesy who demanded all the money and brandished a gun in his direction. To his surprise, Jonesy actually pulled the bloody trigger. Shit, that was unexpected, but the gun locked giving him an opportunity to push Jonesy down into the mineshaft.

As Nate ran off, he complimented himself. This way was even better. Jonesy would be jailed, and he'd make off with all the loot. There had to be a few thousands of dollars in the packet. He was home free and ready to live the life of Riley. Until next time...

-Fin-