The room had been silent for over a minute.Jason and Eric simply stared at each other, with Eric impatiently tapping his feet on the floor, waiting for Jason's response.When Jason finally responded, it was to express his confusion at Eric's words.“You need my help?, I don't understand… why would you need my help?” asked Jason, confused.“You're Eric Phillips, head of the Phillips family and one of the four heavenly kings of Reville, surely you can…”“You are mistaken, Jason, I am no longer a member of the four heavenly kings of Reville" responded Eric, cutting off Jason's words.“Are you serious, how on earth did that happen?” asked Jason.“Let's just say that, there are many current developments the public are not currently aware of” replied Eric.“Apparently, it wasn't enough for the consequences of my family's loss of the Phillips security building, to be only financial”“It seems we had to lose our status as well, even before we had a chance to build our wealth back up” lamente
Jason laughed at Eric's obvious bluff, or at least he thought it was bluff, before responding to him.“I don't think so Eric, the reputation of the Phillips security company is in shambles, I honestly do not think there is any reasonable alternative to dissolving the compan...” responded Jason.“With all due respect Jason, I think you're wrong” disagreed Eric.“Really?” asked Jason, rhetorically, as he raised an eyebrow, and folded his hands.“Yes Jason, really… The reputation of the Phillips security building was destroyed, not the reputation of the Phillips security company” rebutted Eric.“I mean, I would have actually believed that, if the Phillips security company, was not completely tied to the Phillips security building” responding Jason.“Remember how you sold that project to Investors, you said it was the next phase of the Phillips security company's evolution, you called it your company's Magnum Opus for crying out loud” added Jason, chuckling lightly.“But what if we could
“I don't… I don't understand” responded Jason, his body gripped by shock.“I believe I was quite clear Jason, I want you to help me destroy the Warrington family” said Eric, forcing a smile.But Jason wasn't having it.“HAVE YOU GONE MAD, OLD MAN!!” yelled Jason, as he slammed his fist on the table.Eric smile vanished from his face, replaced with an annoyed sneer.Christopher Newton had asked him the exact same question, what exact did the Warringtons have that made the most powerful men in Orzan, afraid to go up against them.Did Jason and Christopher know something he didn't, or was his request to destroy the Warringtons just so outrageous.“I don't understand Jason, why the overreaction?, you're supposed to be…”“OVERREACTION?!!” yelled Jason, stopping Eric's sentence midway.“You told me that the third condition was going to be an easy one, this has crossed a line beyond testing my patience Eric” complained Jason.“Come on Jason, surely a man as important as yourself is not intim
“Conditions, Eh?” asked Eric, casually stroking his chin.Eric hoped that these conditions were going to be nothing more than simple requests.He couldn't afford to do anything bombastic, that ran a risk of ruining his plans.“Alright then, let's hear it… what are these conditions?” Jason clasped his two hands together, and then gazed directly at Eric.“The first condition is simple Eric, I would like you to be honest with me during the drafting of the contract, there can be no funny business over the ownership of any of your assets, especially those of the Philips security building”Eric responded by first giving Jason a wide smile, and then saying"of course Jason, I couldn't dream of misleading you in anyway, especially not after the support you would have shown my family, by agreeing to bail out our company" “I will remember your words Eric, as most men in a situation as perilous as yours, tend to take advantage of anyone who manages to give them attention”“Believe me, I am a ma
Eric and Jason were now engaged in a stare-down of epic proportions.It appeared to him that it was now Jason's turn to engage in a daring test of his resolve, as he had previously done just a few minutes ago.The problem was that, unlike when he was the perpetrator of this tension, he had no idea how to tell whether Jason was bluffing or not.And what made the situation much worse, was that either way would still be very bad for him.Eric didn't know how long it would take before Christopher Newton, and the rest of his cronies, came after him and his family.But one thing that he was very sure of, was that he did not have weeks, or even possibly, months to stay idle while he waited for the Comet board of directors to make their decision.The longer he stayed without protection from Comet, the more danger he and his entire family would be in, and this was something he couldn't risk.However, the way he looked it at, it seemed as though he didn't really have much of a choice.As much a
The white Rhino horn was something that was very special to Eric, it had a deep sentimental value because of the history he had with the object.A very painful history, made even more painful due to recent events in Eric's life.Eric and Karl Newton had been good friends all their lives.Their parents were business partners, so they had watched each other grow up, they attended the same schools, had the same group of friends, and even shared many similar interests.In fact, they were so close that throughout the over seven long decades they had known each other, not once had there been a time when both men went over a month without seeing each other.The one time when this streak could have been broken was their honeymoons, but they both had a joint honeymoon due to the fact that they had both gotten married two weeks apart.This was because, coincidentally, their wives had also been childhood friends, leading to them having an almost perfect friendship circle.This close friendship w
Jason's stare was fixed on Eric. However, Eric refused to look back at him, believing his emotions would betray him.His defeated demeanour would have looked pathetic to any other person, but Jason was very much aware of what it felt like to lose everything, and have no idea what to do next.Because of this, he almost felt bad for demanding Eric give him such a sentimental artifact, as he was very much aware of the tragedy that befell him on his quest to acquire it.But the keyword in Jason's thought process, was the word “almost”.Ultimately, Jason wasn't concerned about Eric or his feelings.As the selfish and ambitious man that he was, all Jason cared about was furthering himself and his own ambitions, and in this case, he wouldn't mind doing so at the expense of Eric.“Unfortunately for you Eric, your sentimentalities don't really matter to me whatsoever, I want that rhino horn, and I am going to get it because believe it or not… I actually have a reason to have it as well”Eric
Carlos slowly removed the headphones from his ears, and began compiling a report of what he had heard.Next to him, Dean would eventually finish listening in on Jason's conversation with Eric, and also began compiling a report of what he had heard.The two men sat in silence as they did this, but the tension in the car was quite heavy.Once this was done, Carlos and Dean exchanged Transcript files.Dean, due to his high sense of awareness and precision, was able to go through his own report, three times before Carlos went through his once. Once both men were done, they once again sat in silence, not speaking to each other, and merely staring into space.It was as if they both knew things were strange, and were about to get even stranger.“So Carlos, what exactly did you hear from our dear Hamilton family?” asked Dean, relaxing on his chair.Carlos took at deep breath, he knew he couldn't expect his boss to actually start with his (Dean's) listening session.Carlos was determined to u