HEAR ME TOO!

PART THIRTY-NINE

Ken sat at a table in the dimly lit room, waiting for the man to show up. It was a small room in an abandoned building which looked so ominous that nobody dared come close. It allowed for private rendezvous without any prying eyes and when Ken had asked for a meeting and gotten the address, he thought the venue would be somewhere less sinister. He had a plan but he was going to need extra help for it to work. His gut told him Isabel was starting to have second thoughts about their relationship and the money and if she was planning to disappoint him, he had to implement plan B. He was desperate and hoped things would work out exactly the way he planned.

The door opened and a man walked in. He was dark and was dressed in an all black suit with matching shades. He walked to the table, sat down and removed his shades, then fixed Ken with a withering stare. Ken, who had only heard of his debtor but never met him, shifted uncomfortably in his seat and all of a sudden, the room felt extremely hot.

"Ummm...good day to you sir," Ken said and cleared his throat.

"Let's get down to what this is about. I don't like to waste time with small talk," came the calm, but eerie reply. Ken noticed the voice was very different from the one he was used to hearing on the phone and decided to be certain he was dealing with the right person.

"Errr...your voice sounds very different on the phone."

"The boss never deals directly with clients, unless they're really important. I'm his second in command."

So this was the one they called Barry, Ken thought. Second in command to the boss and the face of their shady corporation. Ken felt somewhat insulted at being told he wasn't important enough for the boss to show up for the meeting but he couldn't sulk for long because there was important business at hand. He knew these people would go to any length to get their money back with interest. He also knew for a fact that for Barry to be here in person and not send one of their many proxies to attend the meeting, his time was running out so he had to act fast.

"You do realize you have only a few days left to return what you owe. We've given you enough time and if you can't pay, you know what that means."

Ken shifted again in his seat and wiped the sweat trickling down his face with his checkered handkerchief, and then leaned in to the table.

"Listen. I have a plan that will make us both happy. You get triple of your money and I also get money."

Barry looked at him but said nothing. Ken wondered if the other man was contemplating just finishing him off there and then but he held the hope that greed would win.

"Alright, let's hear it. This plan of yours better be good."

"We can abduct my girlfriend and the other man who likes her, the one your people tried to kill but failed."

"And why would we do that?"

"Think about it. He is the only son of his parents and they're extremely rich. They would do anything to save their son and Isabel's parents would do the same for her. I think she's trying to back out of my plan A so this is the only way for me to get the money."

"Why should we even get involved in this stupid plan of yours? Last I checked you were the one owing us and not the other way round."

"Well, you all got involved by trying to kill him and you only succeeded in making them get closer. Isabel started having second thoughts about getting back with me the minute she heard he was in the hospital and you people are to blame for that."

Ken felt he had overstepped but held Barry's gaze anyway. He was bold because he had a certain feeling that he wasn't going to die today.

"Fine. We'll send you some men and you can tell them what you want them to do."