You Got Scammed, Bro!
A young flamboyant scammer gloats about his recent triumph only to find out it has led to dire and unexpected results.
Ever been hoodwinked? Duped? Double-crossed? I can tell you: it’s gut-wrenching. At least, if you’re at the business end. On the other side? Well, a life of crime has some rewards.
Writer Paul Rowe’s tale opens to the outside back alley of a restaurant. Out dashes Trent - a twenty-something dapper waiter sporting a couture wristwatch – who quickly retrieves a credit card skimmer from a paint can, and swipes a credit card.
No wonder this Zoomer’s got bling from head to toe!
But when older waiter Benny sidles out for a smoke break, Trent loses his cool and jumps!
Immediately, the two bicker about whether Trent’s overextended his “activities”. No novice to the fine art of criminal side gigs, Benny doesn’t object to his younger cohort’s actions, but insists Trent’s too obvious for his own good.
As Benny and Trent calculate how much their take adds up to for the week, Trent boasts of his bigger haul. Is this a case of the student surpassing the teacher? Trent rattling off the list of lucrative places his skimming machine is strategically placed, annoys old timer Benny to no end.
As Trent awaits his scheduled buyer, a substitute appears instead. A female stranger who claims the Boss ordered her to do a pick-up. Despite Benny’s warnings, Trent’s instantly flattered when she strokes his ego by admiring his special edition watch.
Before you can mutter Ocean’s Eleven, our garcon with Gucci gabardines brags so recklessly that he incriminates himself in a fraud case, which quickly morphs into involuntary manslaughter or felony murder (depending on the jurisdiction)...
Which is when our mystery lady – an undercover cop – slaps on the cuffs.
Could it get worse from here? Depending on the players involved, who knows?
Reminiscent of Dick Wolf’s Law & Order, Rowe’s You Got Scammed, Bro! is a delicious vignette of what happens when criminal masterminds clash. Ironically, you gotta read this script to see if Trent gets the “book” thrown at him… or something else.
“Wisdom too often never comes, and so one ought not reject it merely because it comes late.”
- Felix Frankfurter