The Disappearist

Chapter Nine: "An idea"

"Your session with this Arsonist guy gave you an idea?" Bree said, glancing at the 5PM news, then back at Wil.

"Yeah." Wil looked at her with hope. "Hear me out, okay?"

"All right," Bree said with skepticism. She sat down on the adjacent couch, seating herself slowly and gently, as though there was a glass of water sitting on the neighboring cushion.

"Well," Wil began, "it seems that my contract killer client has grown a conscience." He paused, grinning slightly. He went on to give her a detailed recounting of the conversation he had with Iain during their session several days prior, including how he thought Iain was only as forthright as he was because he showed up to the session intoxicated.

"Was he drunk?" Bree asked at one point during Wil's narrative.

"No."

"Was he high?"

"No, I don't think so."

"What was he on?" Bree asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion.

"Laudanum," Wil replied in a tone which indicated how ridiculous he found this notion to be.

He then continued his recounting, and specifically mentioned the one thing Iain said which sparked a train-of-thought in Wil's mind, and hadn't ceased since Iain left — wanting to warn them, make them disappear, and give them new identities (like the guy at the end of the final season of Breaking Bad).

A discussion ensued. And, after nearly three hours of brainstorming, contemplating, spit-balling, and speculating, Wil and Bree concocted a genius plan which would not only be a good thing for them (and others), but would also make them a significant amount of money.

All they needed was an in. And that's why they'd be getting dinner at Nicky's Diner on Wednesday night.

Together, they came up with an ingenious plan. Thanks to Iain's intoxicated ramblings, Wil now knew the basics of how The Network functioned, and he decided to make himself available as an "employee" of the network. From the way Iain made it sound, each employee of The Network had some sort of specialized method (and a catchy coinciding name) which set them apart from the others. And as such, Wil and Bree came up with the name of "The Disappearist." Where Iain's specialty was arson, The Hangman's specialty was faux-suicide, etc., Wil's specialty would be the ability to make people disappear without a trace. He would pitch it as "never leaving a body to discover. Wil and Bree even decided that, if needed, and Wil was asked exactly how he made people disappear, he would go back to referencing Breaking Bad, claiming to be able to dissolve bodies in acid and disposing of them as toxic waste — but this little detail would only be offered if asked.

In reality, their scheme was simple: If Wil was accepted as an employee of The Network, he would receive the name and photographs of individuals he was supposed to eliminate (or, with his stated specialty, "make them disappear"). But what they would do would be something completely different. Together, they would track down the person slated for "disappearing" and convince them they were about to be killed and prove to them a contract was out on their life. And once they were convinced, one of two things would happen: If the person was a true criminal, Bree would quietly arrest the person, fabricate evidence to make him an "enemy of the state," and he would disappear into one of the many Guantanamo-like prisons for enemy combatants, never to be heard from again. However, if the person was innocent and the contract for their life was taken out for a reason other than their own criminal conduct (such as the guy and his daughter in St. Louis), Bree would use her position in the U.S. Marshal's office again, this time relocating them in the Witness Protection Program, providing them with new lives, safe from those who wished to do them harm.

In-theory, this appeared to be a wonderful plan. In-practice, the plan's efficacy remained unknown. But first-thing's-first: Wil had to be "hired" by The Network. And the only way to do that was to find leader and organizer of The Network, The Professor. Lucky for Wil, he knew exactly where and when to find him: Nicky's Diner on Wednesday nights. The problem was, he had no idea what The Professor looked like, so he would have to know exactly what he was looking for without looking suspicious. But in case things got out of hand, he would be on a date with his wife — an armed federal agent.