The Venus Trap - COMPLETED (The 1st Installment of The Derek Welsh Trilogy)

Chapter 18

Saturday, 7th

It was a cold, early morning. This was the simplest and yet most luxurious room he had ever seen before. In its simplicity of the design, the choices of furniture and colors, it managed to emanate good-taste and wealth without being too vulgar or tacky. Cream colored walls, soft pastel granite, couches in calm colors dominating the room. It was warm there. The smell was so good.

He had been in many expensive hotel rooms before, the five-starred ones, but they had nothing compared to this. This was the first time he had been called to the nest. You were called here for two reasons only, either you had done very well which impressed the prince or you had fucked up so badly that the prince needed to look you in the eye before the ax swayed to cut off your head.

He had been waiting for more than forty minutes now. He was tense and restless. He couldn't get any sleep last night, dreading for this call. He knew he had made a mistake. And he didn't have the slightest idea how his future was going to be. But there was no one here to greet him or to ask him to come in. He just sat there alone. He could only hear a faint but clear that melodious tune coming from the opposite room. Someone was playing the violin. A sad song. And the person who was playing was very good.

Finally, the violin stopped. He tensed up even more. Soon he heard footsteps and the door opened. A tall man in his late fifties, wearing an expensive grey suit appeared. A familiar face. He gestured him to enter.

"He's ready to see you," The grey-suited man spoke and walked ahead of him.

He quickly stood up and smoothened any creases that might appear in his suit. He was glad that he had decided to wear a formal black suit or otherwise he would appear disrespectful. He walked hurriedly behind the man in the grey suit.

"Geez Tony, where have you been!" he whispered hard. "I've been waiting here for ages!"

"Surely you have a watch. Ten minutes is hardly 'waiting for ages'."

"It's forty-five minutes!"

The man in the grey suit stopped and turned around.

"Well, this is what you called psychological torture. It is meant to make you nervous."

"Fuck you!"

"Now, now, you better behave in front of him. Or else he might ask me to shoot you. And I just had these shoes polished."

The man in the grey suit passed an arched hallway and opened another door. He had no choice but to follow quickly behind. The room behind the door was just as luxurious as the one he was before. The difference was this room had more comfy and expensive chairs and couches. A grand black piano in the middle of the room. On the two walls, there were two large windows each that faced the bustling city below.

The faint light from the sun in the sky was peaking, and it was getting stronger by the minute. Giving the room a romantic feeling. Another man sat on a chair near one of the windows. He was wearing a black tracksuit, a black t-shirt and barefooted. A violin was placed on the standard in front of him. He turned around and saw him. His dark-brown, wavy and thick hair looked slightly damped. His bright icy-blue eyes stood out from the rest of him. He spoke in a low, deep voice. His tone was calm. His words were meticulously pronounced.

"I heard the police have been sniffing. What is going on?"

He spoke soft and polite, but full of threats.

"I assure you, Sir. This is nothing that I cannot control."

"That's not what I asked. If you really do have everything in control, then the police wouldn't be asking around. There are too many police raids that I have noticed are happening this month. Somebody's not being careful."