OPPORTUNITY SYSTEM: THE RISE TO FAME

Chapter 7, Thirty million dollars

James gulped down the rest of the whisky. He could feel the drink burning back some warmth into him, ridding him of some of the cold and numbness he felt inside.

He wanted to talk with someone. He looked at Scott who was scrolling on his phone. He had an urge to tell this stranger about his woes, the challenges he had in spending all the money judiciously and on time. Was that wise? He didn't know. He decided to throw all caution to the wind. 

"I've got 250 thousand dollars," James said with a little of a hiccup.

"Huh?" Scott said, looking up from his phone.

"I said I've got 250 thousand dollars in my bank account, Scott.."

"Oh." Scott said, looking amused and a little confused. "Well, I've got 700 thousand dollars in my bank account Mr….."

"James, just call me James," James said, finishing his sentence for him.

"Mr James." Scott finished.

"Well, I need to spe…..sorry, to invest all that money very quickly. If I don't, things could get bad for me." James said in a hurry.

He wasn't surprised to see Scott looking absolutely amused now, it was as though he was holding back the urge to laugh. James could not blame him, he knew he sounded crazy. How was a random man he met merely some minutes ago going to help him invest money before the hour ran out?

"Forget about it," James said. "I'm sorry for disturbing……"

"You need to invest 250 thousand dollars and quickly?" Scott asked.

"Um……yes," James said.

"Wow……..wow this is wonderful……" Scott's face broke into a grin. James was a little confused. What was going on? Scott suddenly reached for a briefcase beside him and brought some filed documents.

"You said you want to invest, didn't you?" Scott asked.

"Yes," James said, looking at the brown file in Scott's hand.

"Well, very lucky, lucky for us I mean," Scott said.  "See Mr James, I work at a bottling company, a new bottling company. This company has a lot of shares to sell and I had the responsibility of getting people to buy shares in this company. The man who wanted the very last of the shares pulled out from the deal last second. My boss gave me a week to get someone to buy the last share or I would get fired. The very last shares are worth about 250 thousand dollars. I think you can see how we can be of help to each other Mr James."

James face was frowned. He was trying to get everything Scott was saying because Scott had said all that very fast and excitedly. He finally understood and nodded silently.

"Great," Scott said happily. "You can just sign these papers….and the shares are all yours."

Scott handed him the documents. James read through it, thoroughly. He finally decided it was legitimate. The company's government registration number was in the documents, and so was the number of the company's lawyer. The name of the bottling company was Castor Bottling Company which James searched about and found was true and legitimate.

James put down his details with Scott and signed the documents. He transferred all the money to him. Beaming, Scott handed him a business card and promised to call him as soon as he got back to the office to finalize the deal and negotiate dividends.

"It was nice doing business with you, Mr James." They shook hands and walked out of the restaurant together, both of them leaving much happier than they had been when entering the restaurant.

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James drove home, elated. What a miracle of a day! He had spent all day thinking and deliberating how to spend the money and the solution to his problem, walking to him in a pub in the middle of town. 

He parked in front of his house, grinning to himself. It was as though a heavy burden had been lifted off him.

He unlocked the door to his house, walked in, and switched on the light.

"Nice job done James." A voice said suddenly.

James spun around in alarm, lost balance, and fell to the ground in a loud crash. He scrambled to his feet in fear and looked around wildly to see who had spoken.

"Over here." The voice said and James turned again. In the corner of the room was the strange hooded man he had seen just that morning. How had he gotten into the house?

James seized a mop stick from the floor and swung at the man but it passed right through him as though he was made of smoke, as though he wasn't solid.

James dropped the mop stick slowly. The man moved closer to him but James plundered back in fear.

"What do you want from me?" James asked, his voice shaking.

"Calm down James." The hooded man said.

"Who are you?!"

"I've told you before James. I am the opportunity system."

Opportunity system? James thought. Did that mean that this was the man from his dreams? The man in the desert who had ridden a horse?

"Take it easy James." The hooded man said.

"What do you want? I've spent all the money, I've done as you asked." James said.

"I know and you did admirably and wisely well if I may say." The hooded man said.

"What do you want from me then?"

The hooded man took a few steps towards James before speaking.

"I want you to do something for me. A mission. If you can do it then you will get thirty million dollars as a reward."

James' mind went suddenly blank. This strange man wanted him to do a job. A job worth thirty million dollars……