Devious Origins

CHAPTER 5

I froze. He was looking at something in his hand, a picture perhaps. A picture of me probably. If I had my wits about me, I might have taken that opportunity to duck out of there before he looked up, but instead I was caught in a moment of indecision and panic. He looked up. He saw me, and there was an unmistakable moment of recognition. He tucked the picture into a pocket and walked over.

"Barry Buetrero?" he asked as he approached. His voice was nothing like the Brooklyn mobster stereotype I was expecting.

I nodded yes without thinking.

"You were at the courthouse yesterday, yes?" It was more a statement than a question. He continued, "You bid on a particular property, a property my employer is quite interested in."

"I... ah... didn't actually bid on that," I answered, "I was just sort of there."

"Well then, my employer would very much like to discuss this matter with your employer," the Mook continued. He reached into his jacket. My heart froze. His hand emerged holding a business card. My heart started beating again.

"Call the main switchboard any time to schedule an appointment," he instructed, "I think you will find my employer's offer very fair. This will be the best for everyone, really. I think you will find owning such a property to be very... challenging. These old buildings, they can be dangerous even. Better to take a fast profit and not risk injury, yes?"

Did he just make a veiled threat? I swallowed and took the offered card. It read Hillsburrow Capital Investments. The logo was reminiscent of a hotel game piece from the board game Monopoly. "Well, um, thanks... I should really get going now." I turned to leave, but felt his massive hand clamp down on my shoulder. I turned back.

"I think you will be wanting this, yes?" He handed me my blue binder. I took it, muttered a thanks, and hurried away without looking back.

* * *

I had barely rounded the corner in the hallway when my phone rang. I answered, and Dee was talking before I could say a word. "Barry, watch your back. I think we kicked a hornets nest yesterday."

"You don't say," I answered.

"Yeah, we should talk. Lunch at one o-clock work for you?"

"Sure, but..."

"OK, cool, pick you up in the quad. Bye." She hung up before I could tell her about my encounter with The Mook.

Sparing a quick glance behind me to make sure I was not being followed, I dashed outside and ran across campus to a little used study lounge in the Health Sciences building. I didn't have any classes in that building, so it was very unlikely anyone would think to find me there. A small group of students sat in one corner quietly bemoaning their struggle with organic chemistry, but otherwise the place was mostly empty.

My heartbeat gradually slowed. I began to feel a bit more calm. Thinking it over, I began to wonder if I was really in any danger. I mean, the guy hadn't really threatened me. Not explicitly anyway. Probably not at all. He couldn't help how he looked. OK, well, maybe he could... I doubt anyone was forcing him to spend twelve hours a day at the gym... but that was still no reason to judge the man unfairly. Well, whatever his intentions, this was really Dee's problem, wasn't it? All I could really do was give her the business card and the whole story and let her figure out what she was going to do. Maybe she would be fine with selling the building for a quick profit and be done with it.

Somehow I doubted that, but hey, a guy can dream.

I decided to set aside these worries until our lunch date and get some studying done until then. I cracked open my Theory of Computing text and dove in. My eyes kept scanning the same paragraph over and over, but it just wasn't sinking in. Too many thoughts crowding to utilize the same neurons. Nevertheless, I kept slogging away at it.