The Modern Nativity

Three Wise Guys

Maurice, Casper and Baz were known as the Three Wise Guys. It came from a playful but meaningful connection to mobsters. On film, it was term for Mafia members. These Wise Guys weren't in any crew but they dabbled in affairs concerning local gangs when required.

They were all highly educated individuals that could have been at the head of big business. That hadn't been their preferred choice. Using their combined intellect, they predicted the safest place to store money would be out of the system. To do this, they needed cooperation from the local crime lords.

The biggest of those was the self-proclaimed "King Harry." He was a paranoid man that spent more of his time sniffing up his profits than actively enforcing his rule on the streets. The Three Wise Guys couldn't stand Harry but they had to humour him, for now.

A large portion of their business was monitoring the movements of the rich and famous. Stars brought two things: money and demands. The Three Wise Guys happily took their share of the former and were happy to meet the latter. The problem was providing too much assistance on Harry's turf. The King didn't make money by allowing external product to be shifted in his yard.

Maurice, the heavyset Wise Guy but with gentle nature, had been watching the movements of rich and famous in recent weeks for any patterns that would indicate some would return to their local councils during these testing times. It's not that he expected them to need the facility of new benefits and food banks but it was good PR to be seen mixing with the masses.

Weeks of labouring over GPS charts and tabloid media revealed a likely arrival in the Northern town of Prestwich. It was sandwiched between Bury and Manchester, a mix of religions and wealth.

"Casper, get Baz," Maurice said. "We need to see Harry in the next hour and get on our way."

"Why? Why the sudden rush?" Casper asked.

"The biggest star this area has ever seen is hours away from arriving in Prestwich—" Maurice started to explain.

"Yeah, and we normally give it a while and play it cool," Casper said.

"If you let me finish," Maurice said. "We won't have the luxury of a slow introduction. Social media is trending about Prestwich."

"What? How could people know about a superstar's arrival? It took you weeks of digging."

"It's not the star they are trending about," Maurice said. "There's an overflow of people there and a pregnant woman is getting a lot of sympathy."

"People are going to be filling that place up long before our star gets there," Baz said from the corner of the room. "Let's get rolling."