Administrator
1342 Words
“You said something about the executives last time too. Who are they?”
Leon and the middle-aged Asian, whose name Mikhail learned was He Tian, looked each other in the eye. He Tian walked to the door of the store and switched the open sign to closed. They lowered the shutters and pulled Mikhail into the back room.
The inside was like any employee restroom with extra boxes for stocking the shelves. There was a nondescript closet which was actually a door to Leon’s lab. They walked in, Leon’s numerous monitors and gadgets coming into view. It was a dark room illuminated by LEDs which always triggered Mikhail’s claustrophobia. Leon switched the light on, clearing the old couch for them to sit.
“We can talk safely in here” He Tian said.
Mikhail nodded, hoping his car would still be there when he came out.
“Don’t worry about your car, it’ll be fine” Leon said as if reading his mind.
“I’ll trust you”
“Okay. So, the Executives are the rulers of the underworld. They are a group of people who control various corners. There is just one thing above them, ‘S’. It is even more of a secret than the executives”
Mikhail recalled hearing about ‘S’ before when he was with Louis. The very mention of it rattled or frustrated her.
“The person you asked me to investigate, Louis Marshal, is an executive. It is a rule that information about the Executives, especially him, cannot be shared. It is punishable with a death sentence”
Even Leon didn’t know Louis was a woman. That was how obscure information about her was.
“He is known as the King of Information and the only thing you can see about him is that he’s the CEO of The Negotiators. He holds virtually all information about the underworld. He is said to have an impeccable memory and he’s very hard to approach because of how scary he was”
Well, they were right about that one.
“With Louis Marshal’s title, you can see that each Executive controls a part of the underworld. There’s one that controls the drug trade, there’s one that controls the prostitution rings, the one who controls the weapon trade, the one who handles the trafficking rings, the one who controls the corruption and the one who controls the underworld”
“That’s very misleading”
“Nothing makes sense about the underworld. You try not to think about it too hard. The time you came asking about Louis Marshal, you scared me. You should really stop if you value your life”
“It’s not like I can stop now. I’ve been involved in something much bigger than myself. Do you guys know about Person B?”
“M-M-Mikhail! Are you nuts?!”
“So that too is dangerous, huh? And here I was thinking it would be fine”
“Anyone associated with Person B would die. That’s the rule” He Tian answered.
“This is why I hate the Underworld. Always so unreasonable”
“Well, it’s not like the normal world is reasonable. Believe it or not, the leaders of the underworld are better than the ones of the normal world. At least, the ones of this generation. All of them are civil if the rules are not broken”
“I see. So, what about this Motoki guy?”
“Hold on” Leon said, turning to one of the desktops. His hands moved on the keyboard like he was a machine, his eyes focused on the screen. Mikhail didn’t bother to look as watching Leon made him dizzy.
“I’ve got it!”
Mikhail looked at the screen. There was a picture of a young East Asian man with western features. With his name, it would make sense he was mixed. He was wearing a black suit with cufflinks with a strange insignia. Mikhail only saw this because Leon zoomed in.
“This is Motoki Frances. She’s an administrator under an executive”
“She?!”
No matter how Mikhail looked at the picture, it looked like a dude!
“They say she’s transgender. That’s not our point now. She used to work as a director before her transition. She was taken under the wing of an executive because of her recognizable talent”
“She seemed to have directed a couple of films that Erin Walsh starred in. she could be a suspect but with such a high position, there is no way I can arrest her, right?”
“Correct. It is also a good idea to stay away from her. I said the Executives are all civil but the truth remains that they are dangerous people”
“Thank you for your help. I’ll transfer the fee”
“Don’t bother, I know you’re broke. Besides, if I collect money from you, it’ll be a sign that I broke a rule. Drive safely”
“Okay”
When Mikhail came out, it was already dark. His car was safe like Leon said but he wasn’t taking any chances. He got in immediately and drove out of G District as fast as he could.
Mikhail worked in E District but he lived in F District. Because of its proximity to G District, it was influenced by the underworld but compared to G District, it was much safer. At least in his neighborhood, the crime rate wasn’t high.
He lived in a duplex, renting the lower floor. The landlord and their family lived in the top floor, interacting with him when they saw him. When he pulled into the garage, he was greeted by the Landlady.
“Welcome back Mikhail”
“Ah, Good evening Mrs. Leke”
The woman of African descent smiled warmly at him. They migrated from Nigeria a long time ago and were now citizens. She always made him meals like Jellof rice and Garri, inviting him to their house when it was a holiday.
“This one that you’re always coming back late, is there any problem?”
“Overtime at work. It’s probably fine”
“Fine ke? Nooo. I heard that a….eh…..prisoner escaped on the news”
“The department is handling it. But you should probably stay inside and lock all the doors. Why are you even down here?”
“I’m waiting for my son, Niyi. I wanted to see if he’ll be back tonight”
Hearing that name, Mikhail became sullen. Niyi, the family’s first son was a bright young man with good prospects. He was an honor roll student that gained admission with a scholarship into an Ivy League school. When he went out to celebrate, unfortunately at the edge of the border between Districts F and G, he was caught in a gang fight and killed.
The police couldn’t investigate the case and had to leave it be. Mikhail didn’t have the heart to tell her, only telling her husband. He still remembered the ache he felt in his heart when the old man broke down in tears. Telling the old woman was out of the question and from the looks of it, her husband thought so too.
It wasn’t frequent but he’d see her waiting outside like this for her son. It was heartbreaking. A good life wasted just because of the scuffles of the underworld. It was an inconsequential and stupid reason for him to die.
“It’s getting colder. Perhaps you should go inside”
“......You’re right”
It has been more than three years now. The old woman was already suspecting something and it looked like she was giving up. It was simply…..sad.
He escorted her into the house before going into his. Opening the door, he saw his aged father sleeping on the dining table. He smiled tiredly.
“Dad, I’m back”
“Huh? Is that you Angela?”
“No, it’s Mikhail. I’m home”
- Writer
