The September Outcome

Chapter 8: Infiltration

It was ten minutes to two, on Wednesday. Dwight watched from his office window as the cool breeze wandered through the tall trees. It was a sweltering day; the drive to work had been an unbearably humid one as usual in the warm weather. Dwight had rearranged his office to make it presentable as though it had never been particularly messy or cluttered. Dwight polished the floor, stacked the book shelf and wiped the windows. He'd spent the entire morning unnecessarily cleaning. He had to give the best impression to Sloan in order to gain his acceptance and friendship.

 Sloan was due to appear in Dwight's office in precisely ten minutes to discuss getting a raise for Dwight though the answer to that would be inevitably no, which left Dwight a valuable opportunity. He could talk small talk with Sloan; flatter him in some way and converse. Depending on if the conversation went well Dwight would invite Sloan to golfing with him and if he said yes then, success! They would do their activity build a short term friendship resulting in Dwight's ultimate betrayal and infiltration of Sloan. Easier said then done and anyway it all balanced on whether the chat went well. If it would help for the sake of the case Dwight would do his most.

 He thought back to what happened the following day. He wondered if he truly did have a panic attack, it certainly wasn't due to dehydration. And then the dream he had was....weird but not frightening in an oddball kind of way. Unfortunately nothing seemed to put her off so Audrey was still investigating. He wished that she would just give in and stop endangering herself but she was reckless and unaware of the dangers. If he could inform her he would but Dwight and Donny's plan was too undeveloped in action and in was confidential. He also didn't like the idea of Audrey judging him because he was working with a private eye. He encouraged Audrey to take part in mental activities but he meant crossword puzzles not Agatha Christie. Though that moment on their living room sofa was special, he felt the spark they hadn't had in years.

 Dwight continuously stared out of the window, at a tender little puppy that hurriedly scampered along the street along with his master, out of breath racing after him. Dwight breathed, he felt calm. He had to if he was going to face Sloan without freaking out. After last night's incident he had managed to keep his nerves under control and was suppressing his stress. He liked to think that things might not work out with Sloan, he was a heartless monster wrapped in a fabrication of a nice guy. And if they didn't work Dwight could relax and leave the direct detective to work to Donny. 

 Dwight suddenly heard a knock on the shut door and turned around in his seat. This was it, the deal breaker. He arose from his seat and rushed to the front door, breathing deeply. He straightened his tie put on a plain face. He gingerly placed his hand on the door handle, twisted it and swung the door open. There in the doorway stood a tall, slender man in a plain white suit. He had furry eyebrows and a small, scraggly beard. His eyes were vicious green, and his face a placid tanned colour. ''Mayor Sloan.’’ He looked distinctly inauspicious.

 ''Hello, Mr. Mathers,’’ he said. His voice was full of sarcasm but drawl. Dwight noticed this almost immediately. 

 ''Mr. Mayor would you like to take a seat here? We can discuss things, then,’’ Dwight gleamed enthusiastically.

 ''Okay. You got anything to drink, Mathers?'' Sloan groaned slipping into his chair as Dwight did the same in his. 

 ''I’m afraid not, sir. I'd like to tell you that you are looking very well in that suit. It suits you!'' Dwight attempted, as a joke. Sloan groaned.

 ''Refrain from bullshit please, Mathers. Get to the point what exactly do you want. My time is very valuable.’’ Dwight cursed himself, neither conversation nor flattery had remotely worked. He was a little off track but would have to make do with what he had. An old and butt stubborn tyrant.