A few had passed since the beginning with Caleb over Claire. Frankly, with all that was going on and his newfound interest in what had happened to him, Bryan had long forgotten about the stupid bet and he didn't pay any attention to the date that had been fixed. Claire was still at the office, in the headquarters of the Oscar company when her mother arrived, she was dressed in a beautiful two-piece and her hair was wrapped up fashionably in a turban. "I thought you would tell the guards to stop me from coming in again today," she said. Claire looked up at her from the skin of her laptop and snapped it shut as she sat down on the chair across from her. "How is any of this going to be of help to us? To the company in general?" Claire couldn't help but ask. Freda raised a brow at her, "And what do you mean by 'all of this?" She asked with a scowl on her face. "Mother, you know exactly what I mean. You keep calling to show up at the company or to be around or something like that, how d
Bryan had to find a way to reach Peterson and although Benjamin had given his word that he would do everything in his power to find him, Bryan believed that both efforts would be fine. He decided that he would go to the bureau and see what he could find. The bureau was one of the most protected places in the city. When he had been in the army, the best of men had been recruited to the bureau once in many months. They made sure that records and other important things about different men in the army didn't get into the wrong hands and at the same time that the men weren't just ghosts that would walk around and vanish at the slightest instant. They had to keep tabs on the men and make sure that there was a way to find them in case any of them even went rogue. As simple as it was, the bureau was meant to keep confidential information about men in the army confidential. They had to find secrets and still keep these secrets safe and make sure they didn't get into the wrong hands. Benjami
Ronnie stared at Bryan with cold eyes, he looked back at his junior officer and asked who was troubling them. "Where has the fool that touched my men?!" He snapped aggressively. All the men seemed very pleased that the superior was getting upset. They knew how explosive Ronnie was once mad and they couldn't wait for him to unleash his fury on Bryan. "Sir, he claimed to be very important and that you would certainly know him when you arrived," his subordinate said and bowed. Ronnie glared at Bryan. At first, he didn't recognize him at all and thought that he was just some common man that he could make fun of, but looking at him closely, he realized that he knew him and that he was Claire's husband. "Oh, what do we have here?" He asked with a loud laugh. He pointed That out with scorn and asked what he was doing in the bureau. "Why would you come here? Are you done getting treated at the asylum?" He asked. Bryan looked at him with a bored expression, wondering why he was still usin
Bryan watched as the man stepped out of the car. It was certainly Tom, he was wearing a plain colored T-shirt and a pair of boots. A face cap covered his receding hairline and his wrists were wrapped with bands. He was the perfect picture of a man who had just arrived from the golf course. "Hello, Tom," Bryan said with a smirk as he came closer to the scene. The men all stared in apprehension, looking at both men and then at Ronnie who in turn was staring at his father expectantly. "Father, could you imagine what this dimwit said?" Ronnie asked just as his father got close enough. "Hey, son, how are you doing?" He asked but Ronnie didn't say anything, he kept looking at his after and trying to find out why he had arrived at his workplace. Could it really be that Bryan had just ordered him and he came? "Dad, what's going on? Did you come to pay me a visit?" He asked, looking at him with raised brows. Although, for as long as he had been back in the city, his father had never had re
Freda was humming in the dining room at her place. The chef and his assistant both hurried about the place, trying to make sure everything was in order. It has been two full hours and still, the meal wasn't exactly as Freda wanted it. "Mummy, don't tell me that you're still doing that tasting contest," Claire said as she walked into the kitchen. Freda was leaning on the counter over a lot of boiling...soup. Claire couldn't help herself as she asked, "Is that some kind of soup?""Get out of here and get dressed, we are having a guest in less than a few minutes and I can't have you looking like a freaking broke widow," she said and then muttered under her breath, "Not like the widow part would be a bad idea." Claire looked at the mixture on the fire again and shuddered as she walked out to the dining. She nearly bumped into one of the chefs who was holding what looked to be an entire lamb appendage. "Mum, are we having the entire family over?" She asked. But even as she asked, she kn
Claire was about to walk out of the dining when her mother suddenly caught sight of her and called her back. "What in the name of hell are you putting on?" She asked with wide eyes. "A dress, mum," Claire replied. Freda halted and glared at her dangerously. "You have to be insane to use that sarcastic tone on me! Have you listened to your goddamn mind! Why would you wear something so...so unappealing and you want to receive such an important guest?!" She snapped. Claire folded her hands, "I'm more comfortable in this dress, Mum, I don't want to put on something else," she replied as sternly as she could. But even with her stern face, her face still showed that she was downright terrified of her mother and she couldn't stand any form of confrontation. Freda must have seen it in her eyes too that she wasn't ready for a fight - not like she had ever been - and so she took advantage of it. "I'm going to make sure that you don't ruin this day for me!" Freda said coldly. Claire looked d
Claire walked to the door and was right beside her mother who gave the man a wide hug and then stepped aside, as if she was urging Claire to do the same. Disgusted, Claire quickly stepped out of the way before the fat man could envelop her in his very big arms. Caleb looked at Claire with a knowing look. His eyes didn't stay on her face for more than a few minutes, his gaze wandered to her legs and although it was covered, she began to feel exposed to his lustful gaze. "Welcome, senator, please come in," Freda said respectfully and led him into the living room. Caleb didn't bother sitting on the couch in the living room at all, he peeked into the doorway like the glutton that he was. "I can smell the sweetness of that toast from all the way here, let's go have breakfast, I'm sure that you've set out something special for me, just like last time," he said and waddled into the dining room. But he stopped right in his tracks when he saw that Bryan was right there on the dining table
Bryan looked at Freda closely. She had a very satisfied smirk on her face. Like she had planned out everything and knew exactly what Caleb was going to do. She was looking at him with a daring look. Almost like she knew there was no way out for him. "Get me the divorce papers at once!" She ordered one of the servants who left and hurried back with the file in her hands. "Take it and sign it, Bryan. I know that you may be everything but you're not a coward, this is the time for you to prove yourself to Claire l, let go of her," she said sternly. But Bryan merely smirked at her cheap tricks. She was not going to get the best of him and whatever she had tried to do, he was already one step ahead of her and he was going to win. "Did you just say that the only semi detached house in the city with a pool is what you want?" He asked. Freda glared at him, "Are you hard of hearing too? Or do you think that I should just get some cheap building that your broke ass can afford?" She asked rude
When he arrived at Freda's house, he could hear raised voices from inside. He stormed in to find Claire and Freda in a heated argument."Get out of here, Bryan," Freda snapped. "This is between me and my daughter."Bryan stood his ground. "I know everything, Freda. There's no need to hide it anymore."Claire turned to him, eyes wide with shock and fear. "Bryan, please don't bring it up. If Grandfather Maxwell finds out what I've done..."Bryan took a deep breath, his resolve strengthening. "I'll confront the situation, Claire."Freda laughed derisively, her voice dripping with contempt. "You think you can convince Maxwell to forgive her? She’ll always be under my control."Bryan's eyes blazed with determination. "We'll see about that at the family gathering this weekend."Freda's expression turned from contempt to anger. "You have no idea what you're dealing with, Bryan. Claire made her choices, and now she has to live with them."Bryan stepped closer, his voice low and fierce. "She m
That night, Bryan woke up with a jerk. The cold sweat on his forehead same as the ice creeping down his spine. He had just had the weirdest dream. Or was it a dream? He couldn't tell. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, feeling the cool wooden floor beneath his feet. He needed water, something to qunwch his dry throat that felt like parchment paper. Yawning, he padded softly with bare feet to the kitchen, he moved through the darkened hallway, the silence of the night making his soft footfalls resound. The house was as dark as his thoughts. Speaking of thoughts, Bryan hadn't been able to keep his mind blank since the incident with Jenkins. Neither had he been able to wrap his head around all that the old man had told him. But somehow it made perfect sense. The odd stares, the way his aunt hated him but somehow loved his brother, it all made sense somehow. As he reached the kitchen, he flipped on the light and blinked against the sudden brightness. He headed for the cabinet
Bryan drove like the devil was on his tail, arriving at the classic bar Jenkins had picked out for their meeting. It was a beautiful garden bar just outside of town. As Bryan killed the engine, he pulled on his coat and baseball cap, trying his best at disguise before stepping into the place.**The garden bar was indeed a fitting spot for Jenkins, considering his love for flowers. Just as Bryan looked to the left, he saw the old man's hand guiding him to a corner table. Bryan walked over and shook his head in disbelief."I was hoping you only sounded different, but you look different too," Bryan said.Jenkins was dressed in a thick fur coat and a hat. He nursed a cup of coffee with his gloved hands."Sit down, boy. I have to be quick," Jenkins said.Bryan noticed that gone was Jenkins' stammering and broken words. He spoke fluently now, almost as if nothing had ever been wrong with him. Bryan sat down, looking at him curiously."You're running out of time. Your brother and uncle have
Bryan staggered back a little, struggling to process the jarring change in Jenkins’ voice. The old man he had known was frail, his voice barely rising above a whisper. Yet, the voice on the phone now was strong and assertive, unrecognizable as Jenkins'. He glanced around, half-expecting to see the old man materialize in front of him, but there was nothing—just the lingering sound of his own breathing and the hum of the city around him."Jenkins?" Bryan asked again, his voice edged with uncertainty. He wanted to be sure he wasn’t speaking to someone else, someone who had somehow gotten hold of Jenkins’ phone. His skepticism was palpable, though he hoped it wasn’t the case.“It’s me, Bryan. You said I should call you right? You did give me your card,” the voice on the line said. Bryan could almost hear the confidence emanating from the speaker. It was a tone of authority that starkly contrasted with the frailty he had grown accustomed to.“You sound different,” Bryan said, his laugh com
After a few minutes of driving through the busy streets of the city, he went easy on the brakes as he turned to the quiet suburban area. Peterson was always one for his space and privacy and perhaps one could say that he was the most secretive member of the team. When he arrived at Peterson's place, he met with his son, Chad just as he rang the doorbell and the maid allowed him in. “Hey, boy." Bryan said as he stepped into the house. Chad looked at him oddly and then for a second, recognition flashed in his eyes and he stepped aside. “Mr Bryan," he said with a thin voice. Bryan gave him a slight nod and moved into the living room, taking the plush seat that he was offered. “We weren't expecting such an important guest," Chad said with a smile that was obviously as fake as the Picasso painting on the wall. “I never planned to pay the visit either,” Bryan replied. Chad was eager to show him around and also asked to serve him breakfast and a cup of coffee. But Bryan was already gett
Bryan quickly tried to regain composure from the information that had just shaken him. If someone else was the supreme warlord, then it meant that the council had convened to terminate his own title and somehow found someone else worthy of such ordination. "Last time I checked, there was no one who could even compete with me. No one was worth being the supreme master, talk more of the supreme warlord. Had they suddenly dropped their standard?" He asked out loud but to no one in particular.He couldn't believe it. He was the best, the greatest, the supreme. No one could match his skills, his strategy, his leadership. He was the one who had been chosen, who had been destined for greatness.Who could even replace him? Who was worthy of such a title, the supreme warlord? Bryan snickered, wondering who could even stand behind him, he was second to none. There was no one he could think of that was even half the man he was. All his generals needed a lesson on night and courage. They couldn't
Bryan was already seething with hot wrath. How could his general even think that he'd want to hear about any territory and political bullshit when all he was trying to do was aimed at giving his life meaning? For a second, he felt stupid for even picking the call in the first place. It didn't make any sense to talk about the territory when his mind kept playing back to Uncle William's words and that of Josiah. “Hello, are you there?" Ben's voice came through the speaker, dragging him from his intense thoughts. “Stop!" He snapped suddenly, without any warning. “I've had enough of this bullshit!" He said with a fierce look. "Come up, what are you talking about!” Ben asked as his voice rose. Bryan told him that he had no interest in talking politics. He was sick and tired or running in circles. “What I need right now is a fucking compass! I need someone, something, anything, to take me to where my past is. I want to know what I am, who I am, what went wrong,” he bit out, "Not some pol
The next day, Benjamin called Bryan as early as daybreak. Bryan was still sleepy when he heard his phone ring and he rolled out of bed to grab it. "Hey, Ben, you're waking me up rather early, what's up?" He asked, his voice groggy with sleep.Benjamin first apologized for calling him up so early and asked how his previous day had gone. Bryan sighed, wondering how he could possibly recount his day to his friend. It was one hell of a year and it left him sour. "That's a long story, Ben. I don't think I want to talk about it," he replied, rubbing his eyes.Ben laughed and told him that he knew he'd gone home and he could guess that it wasn't such an easy day since his brother wasn't the most friendly person. Bryan scoffed, calling his brother unfriendly and was just trying to coat it up. Josiah was outrightly harsh, he was everything that someone would never want his own brother to do. "That's falling far from the mark," Bryan said, his voice laced with sarcasm.Ben sighed, telling him he
Jenkins laughed again, the sound a little too shrill and mechanical. "You can't choose your family, Bryan. They're stuck with you, no matter what."Bryan's eyes narrowed, his patience wearing thin. "I don't want to talk about my family, Jenkins. Can you let it go?!” He asked with a harsh tone. But for a second, he couldn't help feeling pity for him. Once again, he was clearly not mentally well and it showed. "Have you been taking your medications?" He asked with a low tone, his worry evident.Jenkins scratched his head, his eyes clouding over. "Yeah, they said life can't be the same again. I guess this is what they mean. Everyone thinks I'm insane," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.Bryan's eyes bulged, he couldn't believe that he'd just made the man feel bad. "I didn't mean that at all, I was just trying to make sure that you're fine," he said, his voice softening.The old man smiled and waved him off. "Yeah, you don't have to say it, I can see it in your eyes," he replied,