Eriksson’s advice was for me to quit the creepy spying act and go confront the CEO of Astra Corporation.“You have to talk to the man and convince him to stop making a pass at the Grangers’ property,” he tells me, “Try to outwit him, and if that isn’t possible, make him a better offer.”“Oh, gee, you make it sound so easy!” I grumble, “what kind of an offer am I supposed to make him? That I’d compensate him with twice the worth of that property to keep him away from it?”“If you’re ready for that sure, but I’m actually talking about something less drastic,” Eriksson replied, “make him realize that you know about what he’s doing with the cops and his henchmen, then he might back off.”“That’s the thing though. According to his schematics for the new building, the granger property must be acquired. Like, it’s in the middle of the plan.”“Well, that doesn’t matter to you. What you need to do is somehow bullshit your way into making him think that you got the upper hand, and if he doesn’t
It’s a colder night than ever before, I notice the moment I step out of the estate that belongs to my father. I stick my hands in my pocket and keep myself from second-guessing this plan.Catching a late-night transport, I arrive at the neighborhood that is the victim to the scheming of the company Astra Development, and take my usual place away from the cameras, walking around as if I’m someone who belongs in one of the quaint houses.The headlights appear from the end of the road, and the hooligans come to disturb the neighborhood. This time, however, they don’t just bother the Granges. They pay attention to the house next to them as well.I watch with curiosity, as this is a new development. It seems like Astra Development is having problems with the Grangers’ neighbors as well. The hooligans desecrate their yard, and I take as many pictures as I could, hiding behind a group of trees right in front of them on the other side of the road. The hooligans hoot and holler, and before the
I try to keep my gaze on the entrance, trying to see if the guy stalking me would come in. Because I don’t want to make anyone in the shop suspicious of my own behavior, I pick up some knick-knacks from the shelves, a bottle of water, a bag of chips, and a small packet of gummies into a basket just to show that I’m not a shoplifter or anything.So far so good, I think as I circle the aisles again and see no clue of someone suspicious coming in. I feel the pressure in my chest ease, and the phone shows me I’ve been in the convenience store for like fifteen minutes. So, I make my way to the cashier and pay for everything I bought.Stepping out of the convenience store, I look around to see if there were suspicious figures hiding behind trash cans spying on me or something. When the survey comes up satisfactory i.e., devoid of any stalker-like figures, I let out the breath I was holding.Well, that was close. Serves me right for forgetting one of the most dangerous threats out there righ
I blink at the sight in front of me, positively feeling nauseated from the sudden turn of events.Two men, dressed in suits and large in stature, wrestle one spitfire of a Talon to the ground. Next to him on the ground, moved a safe distance away, is his pistol. And considering how I’m still alive and uninjured, it seems like he had not fired the gun at any point. I am pretty sure all my senses were just compromised mere minutes ago and I would not trust anything I heard.“Let go of me!” Talon screams from the ground, snapping me out of the shock-induced trance I was in. “Who do you think you are?! Let me fucking go or I’ll kill you all before I kill that bastard!”“In that case,” a smooth voice comes from my left, “I think it’s in our best interest to actually keep you detained.”My head whips at that voice so hard that I nearly strain my neck. When I see the owner of the vice, I cannot believe my eyes.How on earth…?!“Mister…Mr. Collins?!”Aaron Collins stands at the entrance to th
“Look, Mr. Collins,” I tell the man, turning to him as soon as he appears from the alley. The few excruciating moments that he spent talking to my would’ve-been-murderer in the dark alley while I stood on the sidewalk had been torture as I wondered what the heck was happening and what he was saying to him. “I’m really grateful for you for being here tonight, God knows what would’ve happened if you didn’t interrupt Talon, but I don’t really want to be embroidered into yet another murder investigation. I’ve got far too many dealings with the police already, and if I have yet another case with my name roped into it, they’re going to look at me like I’m the problem rather than the other way around!”“Far too many dealings with the police?” muses Mr. Collins, looking amused at my tirade, “that’s a strange claim, one that I never did expect from one like you. Care to elaborate?”I narrow my eyes at that, “one like me?”“Of course. You don’t look like the type to get caught in things that ar
I refuse Mr. Collin’s offer to drive me home, but the thought of this man knowing where I live did not sit right with me. I already feel bad enough that I’m leaving Talon with him. And for some reason when his bodyguards are taking Talon away, he looks like he’s drunk.Peculiar, and I feel like if I think too much about it, I’m going to feel like the villain in this scenario.“Well, that concludes this interaction of ours then,” says Mr. Collins, clearly ready to leave, “I hope the next time we meet, Mr. Greyson, the circumstances wouldn’t be as dire.”“I hope so as well, Mr. Collins,” I reply amicably because no matter what my illogical reactions say, the man did save my life tonight. “I’m in your debt.”“Nonsense, so. There is no debt between us,” he waves me off as he turns to walk towards where his bodyguards took Talon, “Go home, Mr. Greyson, and have a good night. Maybe try to forget what happened tonight, I think that will serve you well in the long run.”I feel the chill in th
“And why exactly do you think I can’t handle it?” I ask him, feeling my own anger surface. “I’ve handled everything that’s thrown my way until now, why would this be different?”Gerald looks like he’s gearing up for a fight, “well, for one, you’re rushing into this with no plan in place.”“I do have a plan! It’s just flexible enough to be adapted to the way the situation demands it,” I reply, trying not to give in to the sudden urge to shout. I feel extremely volatile like I’m a time bomb one tick away from being blown up.And maybe on a subconscious level, I know the reason for this.I will be the first to admit that I didn’t get enough sleep last night, and I am still very affected by the incident last night. I had a gun shoved at my face, and if Aaron Collins had not intervened, I would’ve…well, I would’ve died.And then there would be no Coraline, no Astra Development or boys named Lemon, no Zelt Tech or no Gerald, no trying to struggle a demanding job all while going to college,
I storm out of the house after that without even letting Gerald reply, and as soon as I step out into the fresh air of the garden, I immediately feel like an utter asshole for saying what I did to Gerald.Whenever we try to bring up the subject of romance or partners around Gerald, he looks so extremely sad. None of us knows what happened to make him feel that way, and the man is yet to tell us anything about it. All we know is that Gerald is currently single, and there isn’t evidence on his ring finger that would state he ever wore a ring, like a pale line against his tan. While that’s not a realistic way to decide if a person had been married or not, it’s not like we know anything about Gerald’s mysterious past to ascertain it otherwise.It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the man had been burned by love so thoroughly that even mentioning it brings him physical discomfort.And I’d gone and shoved it on his face just to make a point. And to Gerald, who I considered to be mo