False Collateral

(11 years ago)  “Wow, Dad. Where did you get those?” I asked while looking at the medal my father’s wearing. “Ah, this?” he said while holding the medal. He smiled at me and said “I saved someone’s life, son.”  My eyes grew wider because of excitement. “Really? Are you a superhero like what I saw in comics?” I asked. He laughed. “Yes. Something like that,” dad answered. “So cool! I want to be like you too dad, someday. I'm also going to be a hero!” I said with a huge smile on my face. He pats my head. “I know you will, Dristan.” I really idolize my father, he’s the head of the police. Everyone’s looking up to him including me, even after 15 years I still admire him.  (Present day) “Welcome to Aegis Oasis, Mrs. Evangelista. I’m Jabez Wilkes, Mr. Dristan Manson’s secretary. What can we help you with?” I asked with a smile on my face. “I’m here to talk to Mr. Manson. I have an appointment,” she said while showing me her business card.  I see, she’s the CEO of that famous clothing company. “Okay, Madam. Wait for a second I will contact Mr. Manson,” I said while holding the telephone. I wonder what kind of business she’s going to talk about. Coming here personally, I wonder if it’s that kind of business?   ~ I slowly opened my eyes when I heard the phone ringing, I immediately answered it.  “Hello? Mr. Manson. I’m sorry for disturbing you, but Mrs. Evangelista is here already. The CEO of that clothing company,” Jabez said.  “Alright. I’ll be there in a minute,” I said before putting down the telephone. “I can’t believe I dreamt about that again,” I said while rubbing my head. I headed downstairs to meet my client. “Good Afternoon, Mrs. Evangelista. How can I help you?” I asked before sitting down to the chair in front of her. She slipped a photo at the table. It was a man’s photo, not in politics or anything high profiled. “Ah, do you want us to send him some bodyguards?” I asked while looking at the photo. “That man killed my daughter,” she said while looking down. My eyes widen. “I know about the other business you are running. All of this security service is just a fraud to hide the real one,” she sighed. I nodded before standing up. “I see; you know a lot. Let’s go to my office,” I said.  She looked at me with a confused look. “Why not talk here?” she asked.  I took a deep breath before answering. “We need some privacy if we are going to talk about this kind of business,” I smiled. There’s only a few people who know about the real business, some of them are regular clients and some of them are just desperate. We arrived at my office and she immediately explained to me why she’s here.   “The police can’t do anything. They said there is no enough evidence to arrest that man,” she explained. “I paid the media to shut up because I want this to be kept in private. The death of my daughter isn’t something that they need to show in the T.V,” Mrs. Evangelista said while holding the photo of the murderer.  “Okay. So you want us to do the job,” I said. “Obviously, that’s why I’m here. It’s been a week since she died, that man was crazy for her but my daughter keeps on refusing him so he killed her. According to my source, that man is planning to leave the country. If he does, then the police won’t be able to touch him. My daughter will never rest in peace,” she said with a teary eye. “I see, lots of our clients have the same reasons. The police can’t handle it so we will handle it for you,” I said while looking at her. “But there’s one problem.” “What is it? If it’s money, I have a lot. So you don't need to worry about not getting paid,” she explained.   “Money isn’t a problem, madam. We actually don’t accept requests from new clients but you have a decent reason why you came to us but we are strict on our privacy,” I explained. “What do you want me to do?” she asked.  “Nothing much, we just need to run some background checks on you and sign some contracts so we can have proof that you were the one who asked us for this. If we happen to fall, you will be coming down with us. Now that you are fully aware of our conditions are you still going to continue?” I asked.  She paused while staring at the photo. “Yes, I will continue. I’m willing to do everything to make that man pay for killing my daughter!” she exclaimed.  “Alright, then you can start reading the contract and sign at the bottom. The payment methods are also written there,” I said while pointing at the paper. After a few minutes she finally finished analyzing the whole contract and agreed to the terms and conditions, she finally signed it. “Thank you, Mr. Manson. I await good news,” she said as she walked out of my office. I looked at Jabez who’s busy double checking the contract. “Jabez, check his background and look for his current location and investigate that man before we send someone,” I said as I sigh. That man won’t escape without paying the price for what he has done. (After 5 days)  “Mr. Manson, we already found the man’s location and profile. His name is Johnny Lank, someone from an underground organization is backing him up. He does his job properly without leaving a single evidence that’s why the police have trouble dealing with him,” Jabez said while looking at his computer.   “Contact Luke and tell him to clean up some trash,” I said before leaving. It’s been 5 years since I built this company but I’m far from what I wanted to achieve. I need more evidence, more clues and leads. How am I going to bring justice if I lack some important details?