Fathers and Law: Lom and Fah Book One

Chapter 33

*Trigger warning: Attempt at self-harm

Ton waved Lom into his office. Pichai and Gun stood off to the side. Lom sat down waiting for Ton to finish with his phone call. Whoever he was speaking with pissed Ton off. He slammed down the phone and stared at Lom.

"Okay, tell me what the hell happened yesterday. How did I lose three men?"

Ton leaned back in his chair, head cocked to the side, arms folded across his chest, and eyes narrowed. He considered the possibility his son might be too much of a fuck-up to take over when he stepped down.

Lom explained everything that transpired. He didn't mention Fah's name, it would only anger his father further.

"Why didn't you reschedule when you discovered an outsider was visiting? Why did you permit Tao to be careless with his gun? Why didn't he pick it up right away?" Lom tried to answer each question but Ton cut him off each time.

"Have you seen the news this morning?" Ton asked.

"No," said Lom, fearing the worst.

Ton picked up a remote and clicked on the news. "Here, take a look at what we're dealing with." A news anchor came on TV discussing the attack on the judge's family.

"What is known so far is that a group of unidentified men kidnapped and threatened Judge Adisorn Chen's family. Earlier that day the judge located his long-lost son from a previous relationship. The happy reunion, which included all members of the Chen family, proved to be short-lived as later that evening the men drugged and abducted the entire family. After a harrowing thirteen hours the family was freed, but only after the judge, forced at gunpoint, signed documents he previously opposed. The kidnappers left in two vehicles. The last kidnapper to leave took the judge's newfound son with him at gunpoint. No one has seen the young man since. A police search is ongoing."

"What the fuck did you do with his kid?" screamed Ton.

"I have him somewhere safe. He was shot, he isn't a threat," said Lom. The news report scared him but he refused to show it.

"You can't let that bastard die or it goes from kidnapping to murder," said Ton, now standing and pointing a finger in his son's face.

"I called a doctor on the payroll. The kid is on IV and is getting antibiotics as well. He's fine now, just a bit drugged."

"Don't tell me you were stupid enough to bring him to your condo?" Ton prayed his son hadn't made such a foolish choice.

"Yes, he's there now," Lom said. He caught Pichai and Gun glance at each other and roll their eyes. Lom was sure they shared his father's opinion that he was a failure. They never tried to hide it although neither said it aloud.

"You idiot! Now he can identify you. Are you aware of how much trouble you have put all of us in?"

"He can identify us anyway," said Lom. He continued to speak calmly and appear unconcerned much to Ton's chagrin.

"How is that possible?" Ton asked, incredulous.

"The judge's long-lost son is Fah," said Lom.

"Fuck! What the fuck? Why didn't that bitch tell us when we threatened her! She said nothing." Ton stood up and paced the room, something he seldom did. "Fah? Are you sure it's Fah?"

"Yes, it's Fah. It's only been a year. I saw the tattoo on the judge's arm. It matched the arm in the photo his mom gave him. Fah used to stare at it all the time. The judge's family loves him. I'm not sure when he met them but the whole family, even the wife, begged me to spare his life and yelled they loved him."

"He's a kid they barely know, how much can they possibly love him?" snorted Ton derisively. "So, what's your plan now? What are you going to do with him? You can't release him."

"I don't have a clue," Lom answered honestly.

"You know you have to kill him, right? I'll have one of my guys to take care of the body, he'll never be found."

"I know in the end I have to do that but I thought after he gets better we can pump him for information about the judge and the judge's friends."

"Hmmm, he could prove to be useful. Maybe he can make up for the money I wasted on him. Okay, get him well enough to answer questions and then call me. I shouldn't have to say this, but make sure no one lays eyes on him. No delivery people, no maintenance people. Even though everyone at that building is on our payroll, the reward money offered by the judge might still be enticing."

Ton returned to his chair and sat down. He picked up the phone to make a call, effectively dismissing Lom.

Driving back to his condo, Lom tried to figure out why he allowed Fah to live. He didn't have any feelings for him. The happiness he felt at seeing Fah vanished the moment he shot Bank. That reminded him he should check on Lada. Bank and Lada always took good care of him and were close friends.

Police cars surrounded Bank's apartment building. From his vantage point across the street, Lom sat in his car waiting. While he waited, he called another one of his father's workers and ordered them to pick up the stolen car from his garage and dump it. Lada walked to the window and looked out; a police officer stood near her. Lom started the engine and left.

On the way home he passed a restaurant he knew Fah liked. He bought lunch for the two of them. Still exhausted he needed to take another nap.

Opening the door he yelled hello so Fah wouldn't be alarmed. He went to the kitchen, put the food down, and then went to the bathroom. Walking over to the bed he checked on Fah.

As he got closer it was apparent something was very wrong. Fah appeared extremely pale, covered in sweat, his lips and fingernails were blue, and it appeared he wasn't breathing. His foot hit a syringe lying on the floor.

Fuck, Fah! Why do you keep making problems for me? Fuck!

Lom began freaking out, which was not like him. He stopped, took a deep breath, and called the doctor. Within minutes, the doctor arrived, this time with a nurse.

"He's still alive. We need to administer some Naloxone, change his IV fluids, and get him on oxygen. I'll call for that right now."

"I can trust everyone to keep quiet about this? They will be killed if they speak, remember that." Lom noticed the nurse's eyes widen, but she said nothing. The doctor assured him everyone involved would remain silent.

"Why did you give him so much morphine? Just because he says he's in pain, you still have to wait several hours between each injection."

"I didn't do it, he did. I came back from my father's house to find him like this." The irritation in Lom's voice was apparent; his lack of compassion shocked the nurse.

Fah was on oxygen an hour later, had new IV fluids going, and his color had returned almost to normal. His breathing had improved within minutes of the Naloxone and the oxygen kept his breathing regular.

Lom moved all the morphine into the bathroom, knowing Fah couldn't walk there. Leaving him asleep on the bed, Lom retreated to the living room to watch TV. No longer hungry but still exhausted he grabbed his pillow and duvet and tried to fit his tall frame onto the sofa. From where he lay Fah was still visible.