Heists and Vengeance

Three

Lana

Lana was late, late, late.

Her alarm clock had run out of battery in the night, and so when she sat up, bleary-eyed, the next morning, it took her exactly 3 seconds to realize that she was not going to get to work on time.

She ran up and down her apartment, trying to pull herself together, and by the time she was in her car, it was 8:30, and she had exactly half an hour to get to The Daily Bartlett, to submit her latest piece.

As she pulled onto the road, she mulled over last night's work. She'd been up late researching Ronald Carmichael, real estate developer and fine art fanatic, for her next piece.

Ronald Carmichael. Many considered him a successful man, and he was a role model to many in the United States. Like any protagonist, he had a tragic backstory, with his parents dying when he was only 11, leaving him and his younger sister with virtually nothing. But he'd worked hard, doing odd jobs and selling small trinkets, in order to get enough to get by.

One day, at the age of 16, he'd applied for a job as a salesman in a small soap company, and miraculously, he'd gotten it. On his first day, all the employees had laughed at him, but he'd ignored them and worked hard at his job. By the end of the year, he was the top salesman, and no one was laughing at him. From there, he built his reputation, eventually starting his own real estate company – Carmichael Realty - and at the age of 37, business was booming, and he was the most respected man in the country.

It was the classic story of rags to riches, the American dream. However, his 'goodness' had seemed to vanish after the scandal eight years ago, when his only son, David Carmichael, ran away from home. That had raised questions – why did he run away? Was life as a billionaire's son not as perfect as it seemed? Soon after, his wife died, leaving him alone and full of grief.

People believed that it was then that Carmichael started taking part in shady business dealings – the absence of the two people most important to him had made him reckless.

Of course, there was no definite evidence to show that he was really doing underhand business, but it was more than likely, with his company suddenly gaining money from unknown sources, and stories from people who'd been let go talking of unethical practices – but there was nothing much to be able to present in court. And anyway, it wouldn't come to that – Carmichael had the government eating out of the palm of his hand.

Carmichael had changed too. When he'd been once smiling and generous, he was now hard and bitter, with a permanent sneer. He may have lost many fans, but he still garnered respect – and to him, that seemed more important.

Lana had always had a bit of an obsession over Carmichael and the fact that his power over the Plexmontian government. It infuriated her that he could do so many things -and get away with it. She'd researched Carmichael extensively from a variety of sites, articles, and reports, and anything, anything you wanted to know about him, she could tell you. And she had made it her life's goal to work at tearing down Carmichael's reputation bit by bit, in the form of journalism.

As Lana turned into the parking lot of The Daily Bartlett, she was filled with a surge of joy. This widely read newspaper was going to be the place where she built her reputation as a writer – a reputation that was steadily growing after each controversial article about Carmichael. Someday, he'd be taken down.

As Lana exited the car and walked into the building, she was met with a wave of hostility from her coworkers. She sighed and continued walking to her floor. No one really liked her here – they were all convinced that Lana would be the ruin of the company. Everyone thought that eventually, Carmichael would hear about the articles and get the newspaper shut down, causing many to lose their jobs. It wasn't technically legal, but he was able to bend the law to his will, with the enticement of money on his side.