Hunger

Chapter 6:3: Deliberation - A Tale Of Two Bandits

"Your son is getting heinous with our plan. We must not let him out to make a hundred percent perfection of our handiwork", Colonel Stevenson told Richard, as he sipped his cup of coffee.

"He’s just a little boy Colonel. We shouldn’t mind him at all, if he wants to play with his own stupid game", Richard said, while he was reading the latest newspaper.

"So, just when have you still been a confident man?" Colonel asked him.

"I’m his father Colonel and I know everything about him. He’s still weak, so he needs my further teaching about the true essences of life, especially the things that read about excepting business intrusions", he replied.

Colonel finished up his coffee break a little moment, and then he continued to talk again.

"Does he know something about the truth that you’re not his real father at all?"

Suddenly, Richard stopped a while from reading, and then he continued to flip the pages, while he was talking.

"Colonel, this conversation really starts to annoy me. Do you still have any work to do?"

"I’m your friend, Richard. You can tell me everything, especially your secrets that you hide from him. Halford Inc. is not a secret to him anymore and the plans that you made back at Rushford. Those things really freaked him out."

"I don’t care about his ranting, Colonel. Besides, the more he knows all about Halford Inc., the clearer he understands everything in between."

"What about the truth that you’re not his real father? You better tell him the honest ones", Colonel said.

"Robert Arkline was my stepbrother. Ten years ago when I was working at Rushford Laboratory as a researcher, Robert used to be one of the most dedicated scientists here in the country. It just happened to be so unlucky for me, when I decided to create my own experiment that would be produced as the first and the only drug that would cure any of the most dreadful diseases the world is experiencing, but what happened was it turned out to be an experiment that exhibited incurable complications that a person could experience when it’s ingested. Because of my creation, I was being expelled and jailed and Robert exposed degradation, not only to me, but also to my work", Richard narrated.

"Soon, the time came that Robert was being declared as the director of the laboratory and as the holder of the key to the city, as I kept coming down by the numerous insults and violated spits of the citizens."

"When Randall was still a young boy, he found out of how famous and highly-respected his father was experiencing. Unexpectedly, Robert soon forgot his responsibilities as a father of his own son. That was the time when I took advantage of the moment. I took Randall and I cared for him, until he grew up as an intelligent man, like me", Richard continued.

"Now I know why Randall is uptight when you’re with him", Colonel realized.

"He still can’t get away from the truth that his real father’s now already dead. So, I’m his father now", Richard insisted.

"Richard, let me tell you something: don’t choke him until he suffocates himself because of your own idea."

"Colonel! I’m paying you to help me, not to confront me. Understand?!"

Colonel suddenly kept quiet and remained still on the couch.

"You know what? I like you when you shut up. Save all your breath for the President. I want you to get along with him for our plan. Just make sure that we won’t be caught of anything stupid. Do you copy?" Richard asked.

"Yes Sir", Colonel replied, with a salute.

"Alright. Have a dog day afternoon outside my office. Keep your eyes peeled for my son."

Colonel nodded and left the office. Richard remained quietly seated, as he continued to read the newspaper.

"Halford Inc. is mine. Randall is mine. What’s mine is all the power I need. As long as I’m the one who’s sitting between you and Halford, I’m still the boss who you all need to serve and to listen to", he lastly whispered.