26 The Locke Family
1534 Words
The silence went on in the room for a little longer after Jasper had entered the room. The men at the end of the table who were shrouded in darkness exuded a threatening aura that engulfed the entire room. Emily Banner of Banner&Bunny and Jasper Locke the merciless killer were locked within the terrifyingly dangerous glare of the people at the end of the table; mostly from the mysterious man named Mr. Locke. Finally, Mr. Locke let out a sigh, as if he had lost his patience with all this silence.
“Jasper… Would you like to tell me exactly what happened to Emily’s men?” Mr. Locke said from across the room.
Jasper kept quiet for a minute but quickly confessed after an audible impatience grunt that came from the side of the room where the aura came from.
“Sir… I killed them,” he said as he gritted his teeth, trying to hide his humiliation.
“I knew it! I knew your word could not be trusted!” Emily said, in an emotional outburst.
Mr. Locke raised his hand quickly, immediately silencing Emily.
“Why did you do that, knowing that these men were not your men, Jasper?”
“Sir, they failed the task in capturing Julia Thompson,” Jasper said in his defense.
A moment of silence again filled the room, as they sensed the rise in impatience and anger coming from the man at the end of the table, who’s aura seemed to grow in intensity.
“Do not try to make a fool out of me, boy!!”
Jasper was frozen in fear, as he stared in the direction of where Mr. Locke came from. The latter quickly regained his composure and returned his tone back to the regal and intimidating one that he had been using for most of this meeting.
“Clearly, Jasper, the fault is yours is it not? The reason that we hired the Wolfpack not only out of necessity but because they have been our allies since Emily took over. Was this not clear to you, you imbecile?!” Mr. Locke said.
Suddenly the tone in his voice raised again, and he spoke with clear hate and disgust for Jasper.
“Did it not occur to you… that we had to return them, you stupid boy?! Your impatience is childish and raking on my last nerve! Do you not have your own men that you could take your frustrations out on?! They could have remained useful!”
“But sir! How could they have been useful if they were stopped by two kids?!”
This piqued the curiosity of Mr. Locke, who had no idea that this was what had happened during the kidnapping attempt.
“Kids, you say?” he asked, with confusion clear within his voice.
“Julia was rescued by two boys sir… We did our research, and found it to be the young men Trae Owen and Maximilian Burner,” Jasper said, hoping that Mr. Locke’s anger would disappear after he was given useful information.
“Is this true, Emily?”
Emily jumped at the sudden call for her name.
“Yes… sir. But we only knew about the one who was accompanying Julia. The other one came out of nowhere!”
“You mean to tell me that three grown men were beaten by two boys? And not only did you not plan accordingly because you were cocky, but you didn’t have the foresight to send more men, just in case?”
Emily started to shrink back in her chair.
“Do you know how idiotic that sounds coming out of my mouth, Emily?” Mr. Locke said as he spat on his floor.
Quickly, a butler bent over and wiped it with a rag, before standing back to attention.
“Are you giving me a reason to doubt the powers of the Wolfpack, Ms. Banner?” Mr. Lock said as he leaned forward a little bit, slightly revealing his bearded chin from the shadows.
“Absolutely not sir! This was a fluke at best! Sheer luck on the part of the children,” she replied defensively. “My men will never fail again.”
“I certainly hope so, Ms. Banner.”
Jasper couldn’t help but smile as if he had successfully tattled on a sibling.
“Don’t think you are getting out of this scot-free, boy,” Mr. Locke said, directing his attention back to Jasper.
The latter immediately shut himself up and returned his expression to one that was more serious.
“No matter the inadequacies of Emily’s men, we did accept them with the expectation to return them. So you will find men that will make suitable replacements to Emily’s Wolfpack… Am I clear?”
“Crystal, sir.”
“Good… We and the Banners have always had a good relationship and I will not have you tarnish that.” He turned back to Emily quickly after finishing his sentence. “As for you Emily, you will have to make it up to us for failing at a task which we have stressed that was crucial to the betterment of the Locke family,” Mr. Locke said unflinchingly.
Emily gulped as a lump had formed in her throat due to the nerves.
“Yes, Mr. Locke… How will we do that?”
“How, you say? By succeeding. You will try again, with more men. And you will succeed. Otherwise… Banner&Bunny find themselves lacking a CEO.”
The sweat started to form on her back as the threat to her life was now more imminent than ever.
“The Lockes have always been the most powerful family in America… Even from the turn of the century, the Lockes always maintained a grip on the movement of money and even brought the government to its knees at some point in time. It is my wish that this does not change. And that will not remain so as long as the Thompsons continue to expand and grow. The Thompsons hold millions when it comes to net worth, and are knocking on the doors of becoming the first billion-dollar company in the states. Do you understand what that means? It means they would have a better grip on the companies under our group, and potentially buy them out. Even more money flows their way if this happens, and I refuse for us to sit idly by, while our enemies become fat with our wealth.”
Emily shook her head as the man looked at her with a fierce intensity.
“So, it is my personal mission that this kidnapping goes successfully. With that… Jasper will be joining your operation for the time being.”
Jasper and Emily looked at each other with disgust as they both immediately stood up to contest this.
“Sir, I refuse to work with this b***h!” yelled Jasper in protest.
“Seconded! Sir, he killed my men! I cannot let this slip by,” added Emily.
Mr. Locke huffed in disapproval. Suddenly, all of the rifles were pointed at them again, gleaming in the dim light of the room. On impulse, they put their hands up and looked back at the man who held their lives in his hands.
“I did not ask… Jasper. Emily. I am telling you, that you WILL work together. Or I promise I will do the same thing to you both that Jasper had done to those members of the Wolfpack. Are we clear?”
The two looked at each other disapprovingly but replied in unison.
“Crystal, sir.”
“Good… Now leave me. I have much to discuss with my associates. The next time you come back in here, you better have a plan. Otherwise, you will both be relieved of your services,” he said, as the two ran away from the room with their tails between their legs. The doors slammed shut, as the two walked down the hallway, looking to get out of the mansion as quickly as possible.
“You’d better not try anything, Locke! If you put another finger on my men, then I will end you myself,” Emily said, nearly hissing at him with disgust.
“I should say the same for you, Banner. If your men could be relied on, then you wouldn’t need me.”
“We don’t need you!”
“That’s not what my uncle seems to think,” said Jasper in a snarky reply.
“You watch your mouth. You might be a Locke, but you’re less than the dirt beneath my heels,” said Emily in a more hostile tone.
Jasper was more serious at the moment now, as he had his mind completely transfixed on the new course of action they would take.
“What is the latest news about Thompsons?” Jasper asked, completely ignoring her previous statement.
Emily looked at him angrily, but then sighed and conceded to his question.
“It seems Carlisle had made a public appearance with his daughter at the International Brilliant Minds Convention in New York International University. It seemed he supported some kind of new tech which completely blew the minds of everyone who saw it,” she said, as her anger started to fade.
“Why would he go to a school for that?” Jasper asked.
“How should I know? For all we know, it could have been because he was a science geek the entire time.”
Jasper stopped walking and dove into his own thoughts for a moment. He then shook his head and continued to walk behind Emily.
“No… There has to be more to it than just visiting a school… All I know is that I will get that girl if it is the last thing I do. For the Locke Family.”
The two walked out of the main door, and drove off together, to plan their next attempt in capturing the heiress of Thompson Motors Inc. Jules.
- Writer
