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2024-10-29 19:42:56James 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.
*******************************************************
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……
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“Thir…. thirty million?” James stuttered. “Thirty million dollars?”“Yes. Thirty million dollars.” The opportunity system replied.“And I don't need to ……. spend it all in three days or anything?” James asked.“No. It is yours to spend as you wish.”James stared at the opportunity system and then looked at the floor. Thirty million dollars! That was probably more than all the money he had ever received in his lifetime combined. If he got that amount of money he would never be poor again. He could move his mother from the old slum of a house she was living in. He could give his brother all the help he needed in his business. He would have all the cars and houses he had ever wanted but never had. He would be rich. “What job do you need me to do?” James asked. His voice was surprisingly calm and clear. His fear had evaporated, replaced by a grim determination.The opportunity system brought out something from within his cloak and threw it to the ground.“Pick it up,” he said. James sto
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“Excuse me please.” A voice said, jolting him out of his reverie. He looked up and saw that he was causing a little hold-up at the entrance.“Sorry.” He said and stepped aside for them to pass.He perused the picture again. He had to be sure it was truly R.J. Black and not some random person. He looked at the man again and back at the picture. He was convinced. It was him. Excitedly, all thought of working out now nonexistent in his head, James ran towards his car just as R.J. Black entered the jeep and drove out of the parking lot. James started his car and followed the jeep.James followed the jeep through town for several minutes. He made sure to keep a discreet distance so as not to cause suspicion.The jeep finally stopped in front of a bungalow at the very edge of town. James parked his car in a distance. He didn't know whether to get out of the car and try to sneak towards the house. Before he could decide, R.J black was walking back outside again, this time, he was flanked by
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James stood up quietly, “please don't kill me” James fearfully voiced out, it was more of a whisper, he shrieked in fear and obeyed them. He was not ready to lose his life, at least not yet.Who are these people, and what do they want from him? He thought and looked for a way to engage them. That should be the wisest thing for now.“Follow us like a little puppy nigga” one of the men said and pushed him aggressively from behind. “Please I… I will give you anything you want, just spare me” James shakenly. James started hoping to get a reply from them so he could engage them further.They ignored him, James was sweating profusely. His life has not known peace since he met the opportunity system. Now he is left alone to face this mess. “Please I can…” “Enough!!” One of the men shouted at James. James shrieked. “Do you know what we want from you?” The man continued. They led him into a black SUV car and zoomed off. “We don't want much from you, Just Thirty million Dollars” another man
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“Excuse me please.” A voice said, jolting him out of his reverie. He looked up and saw that he was causing a little hold-up at the entrance.“Sorry.” He said and stepped aside for them to pass.He perused the picture again. He had to be sure it was truly R.J. Black and not some random person. He looked at the man again and back at the picture. He was convinced. It was him. Excitedly, all thought of working out now nonexistent in his head, James ran towards his car just as R.J. Black entered the jeep and drove out of the parking lot. James started his car and followed the jeep.James followed the jeep through town for several minutes. He made sure to keep a discreet distance so as not to cause suspicion.The jeep finally stopped in front of a bungalow at the very edge of town. James parked his car in a distance. He didn't know whether to get out of the car and try to sneak towards the house. Before he could decide, R.J black was walking back outside again, this time, he was flanked by
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“Thir…. thirty million?” James stuttered. “Thirty million dollars?”“Yes. Thirty million dollars.” The opportunity system replied.“And I don't need to ……. spend it all in three days or anything?” James asked.“No. It is yours to spend as you wish.”James stared at the opportunity system and then looked at the floor. Thirty million dollars! That was probably more than all the money he had ever received in his lifetime combined. If he got that amount of money he would never be poor again. He could move his mother from the old slum of a house she was living in. He could give his brother all the help he needed in his business. He would have all the cars and houses he had ever wanted but never had. He would be rich. “What job do you need me to do?” James asked. His voice was surprisingly calm and clear. His fear had evaporated, replaced by a grim determination.The opportunity system brought out something from within his cloak and threw it to the ground.“Pick it up,” he said. James sto
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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 sur
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Thirty-six hours…….. thirty-six hours to go. James knew what that meant. In all the excitement of his overnight wealth, he had forgotten a crucial detail in the dream he had had that night a few days ago. The opportunity system in the dream had told him he had three days to spend the money or he would face dire consequences. Half of those three days were gone and he wasn't even halfway spending all the money."Well?" A voice snapped at him and he looked up. Selena was still standing, her hands folded and her face frowned. He had almost forgotten she was there. He had gotten so carried away with his thoughts. "Aren't you going to say something?" She asked angrily. "Are you just going to sit there, gaping at me like a moron?" James mumbled something inaudible and cleared his throat."What was that? Why did you stop suddenly?" Selena persisted.James opened his mouth to reply but couldn't get any words out of it. The words were stuck in his throat. He closed his mouth again and divert
