Bribe and Millers
1693 Words
*Jake POV*
It’s mid morning and the sun shining bright. I watch the women get into the car before moving under the nearest shade. I hope they are brave enough to drive off to safety if this becomes sour.
The stout man quietly follows me and immediately starts talking.
“Mr Anderson.” His stern commanding voice does not help me shorten the list of whom I think he is. He looks too calm and sure of himself for my liking.
I curse inside for leaving my weapon behind. I am not used to being armed all the time, but it’s something I have to learn now that my life has taken such a drastic turn. I am quite an efficient martial artist, but that also has limits, especially in the open like this. This guy could be concealing a gun under that coat, giving him an upper hand over any skill I have.
“What do you want?”
“You wrongfully arrested my clients. I need you to drop the charges.”
I chuckle and walk away from him, no longer worried if he has a weapon or not. A rich boy’s lawyer is the least of my concerns.
“Mr Anderson.“ He sounds irritated and I don’t give a damn.
“Do your job and plead your case before the judge.”
This is a high profile case involving the president of the country. Unless he is really dumb, he can’t possibly believe that this is even up to me. I am however chuffed that he even came.
“One billion,” he shouts while I shake my head at how crazy life is. I was so poor not so long ago, I could not afford shelter and food, but now money is chasing me from every corner.
“Go away, Mister.”
“Two billi…”
I turn around and walk back to him because it is clear that he has some twisted impression of me.
“You know the law. You know more than anyone that what you are doing right now is illegal. I suggest you walk away before I lay charges against you.”
My voice is low to avoid eavesdroppers because a part of me sympathises with him. I don’t believe that this is his will. He must be quite good at his job to be hired by those idiots to represent them. I don’t think anyone in their right mind would risk their career like this. George and his friends must think very low of me and my morals to think I would take a bribe.
My sympathy and assessment of him completely goes out the window when he grins at me and puts his hands in his pockets. It’s a display of dominance and cockiness that brings to light every torture I tolerated from his clients. Now I have to deal with him.
“One moment of fame and you think you are a big shot? You honestly think you have it in you to take this city’s bosses?”
It’s the superiority complex in his voice that makes me nod my head. He looks like he has a lot to say and I am immediately in the mood to hear what he’s got.
“You are not ARF. Do you know how I know that, Mr Anderson?”
I don’t respond but raise my eyebrow. Some people don’t know when they are crossing a line. I see him getting very close to what I can tolerate.
“You have attachments you care a hell lot about. Vulnerable attachments,” he adds with the same cocky, demeaning attitude.
“Okay.”
“Take the Drew’s for instance…”
Now I am pissed. Tom and Len used Tanya to blackmail me to comply. He has not threatened them yet, but I can bet my life on the fact that it will be his next move and I am not going to let him get away with it.
“Accidents happen everyday, especially in packed charity or perhaps a Miss Universe event. The kind of events Tanya and old Mercy like to attend. It would be a shame for the country to lose both Miss and former Miss Asherway in one day.”
The thought of what he is painting sends chills down my spine. I am a bit shaken by the feeling brewing inside me. I quickly rebuke my brain. The thin line between protecting the ones I love and becoming my parents or godfathers is starting to terrify me. I can’t help wondering if I have some trigger happy killer instinct deeply seeded in my dna.
“I can see that you really care about them. Take the money, get rid of the footage and you live happily ever after.”
This i***t has taken my silence as some sort of success. He has no idea that I am doing my best to appeal to the conscience I thought I had that his stupidity does not warrant the death my murderous mind is suggesting.
My eye scans around and immediately lands on Tanya’s car, that is a few meters away. The creepy forth figure I see on the driver’s seat is a relief but another matter I have to soon deal with.
“Do we have an agreement, Mr Anderson?”
“This is the last warning I am giving you, Mister. Get out of my sight.”
The i***t grins at me and makes no attempt to move.
“I don’t think you get it, Mr Anderson. We own every corner of this country. A racing car driving at 350 kilometres per hour can be deadly, even for a talented racer like Mia. Your friends at the racing club are not even worth mentioning….”
This i***t continues but I have heard enough. The ‘we’ in his statement suggests that he is not just a lawyer, but part of this country’s elite, who somehow believe they own the country and everyone is to worship them.
One upper hook punch, my fist lands hard on his jaw. I can hear the sound of his jaw cracking. His blood and a few of his teeth splatter on the pavement as he falls backwards.
It takes a lot of self control for me not to follow him down and beat his stupid face into a pulp. I shake my hand instead, fix my clothes and leave him laying there.
“You will pay for this,” he mumbles, but I don’t bother looking back.
“I am looking forward to it,” I shout back before getting into the car, where I find the women sitting quietly. The forth figure I spotted earlier is nowhere in sight.
“I am sorry to keep you waiting, Ladies.”
“Your godfather was here.”
“I saw him. Are you okay?” I remember how shaken she was the first time Len popped out of the backseat.
“I am getting used to him. He is creepy, but I think he cares.”
I raise my eyebrow at her because caring and Len don’t go together. She has met him many times than I am comfortable with because he somehow creeps up when I least expect him.
“What did he say this time?”
She giggles for a good minute, piquing my curiosity.
“Mia, please tell me what my creepy godfather said?”
We are almost at the BEAT and Tanya is still giggling and Mercy is too quiet.
“I think you should ask your first love, my bet, his.”
“Wow! What?” I can’t hide my shock as we reach our destination and park the car. We all remain in the car with all eyes on Mercy, the hunger all gone.
“Yep, first kiss, dates and I suspect first time too,” Mia responds and I can’t believe my ears.
Mercy’s silence is like a confirmation to the most bizarre combinations I’ve ever heard. She and Len are the definition of fire and ice.
“He was smart, charming and quite a gentleman back then.” She finally breaks the silence.
“Back when exactly?” Tanya asks, amused.
“It’s a long story.”
“We have all the time in the world, Mom.”
I’m grateful to Mia’s boldness because I really want to know how he turned out to be like this. In the end, Mercy has no choice but relate her childhood memories.
“The Millers were very kind and loving family. Len was the smartest boy in the neighbourhood. He had scholarships to study in the best universities but…” Mercy hesitates before derailing.
“We were high school sweethearts and yes, planned to have a future together. We snuck out one night and when he returned home, his whole family was gone.”
“What do you mean gone?” Tanya asks, but I know by Mercy’s trembling voice what that means.
“Dead, murdered. The forensic report said the gas leaked and the whole house caught fire, but he believed otherwise. He was determined to find out the truth. A week after that he came to say his goodbyes and that was the last time I saw him.”
“You looked for him and discovered that he was in the ARF, didn’t you?”
It now makes a lot of sense why she was not the least concerned when the whole country thought I was ARF.
She lets out a weak laugh. “He was not in the ARF. Only twenty years old, him and Tom were the ARF.”
“You knew Tom too?”
“They were best friends and had taken it upon themselves to do whatever was necessary to protect the country.”
“Why was his family killed?”
“John Miller was a military veteran entrusted with our nuclear weapon codes. Foreign agents got to him.”
I bet that those were Kali agents. The vendetta we have with that country and Len’s personality is starting to make a lot of sense now.
- Writer
