Tempting Request

(18 years ago)

"Jab~" I can hear Dristan's voice; I need to hide. "Jabezzz~" he shouted.

"You can't find me~," I said while hiding at the back of this stranger's car.

"Hey! Don't hide for too long or I'll be alone!" he shouted back. I laughed while watching him trying to find me. I hid at the back of the car for 20 minutes but I didn't hear Dristan's voice anymore. I took a peek to see if he's still looking for me and to my surprise, he's already sitting at the pavement with tears in his eyes. I'm so surprised that I immediately ran towards him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked while looking at his face.

"I-I thought you-you le-left me alone," he said while sobbing. "I can't find you anywhere and I'm scared!" he cried.

I sat down beside him and said, "I was hiding in that car over there." I patted his back and said "Shhh, stop crying now. I'm here already." He looked at me while trying to wipe his tears. "You know what? If you want to be a hero someday like Mr. Manson, then you should learn how to be strong. You shouldn't cry!" I said while looking at him.

"Hero's don't cry?" he asked.

I nodded. "Heroes are strong and brave! They don't cry! They save people and fight evil without shedding any tears even if they got hurt," I said with a smile on my face, he smiled back.

"Okay! I will never cry again! I promised to my father that I will be a hero someday, like him!" he said while trying to mimic the pose of a famous hero in a comic.

"And I will be there to support you! Always, until the end."

(Present day)

Those were the dreams that we failed to achieve. Those were the past that we wanted to bring back. Everything would have been better if that tragic event didn't happen 15 years ago. That stupid bastard would have change everything if only he knows how to listen.

~

"Good evening, I'm here to see Mr. Manson. I have an appointment." A man in a suit said.

"What's your name, sir?" I asked.

"Louis Castellano," he said as he showed his I.D. Ah, son of a politician. Is he here for a security service?

"What can we do for you, sir?" I asked with a smile.

"I need to talk to Mr. Manson." he replied.

"I'm sorry, sir. Mr. Manson is not available right now. He's busy with a business meeting," I explained.

Mr. Castellano frowned while looking at me. "So what you are trying to say is that I wasted my time coming here?" he exclaimed.

"No! Sir. Calm down please. You can talk to him after the meeting," I explained as I dial Dristan's number on my phone. I have his personal number for this kind of scenario.

"I can't wait for too long. I have a fucking appointment!" he exclaimed.

I took a deep breath while looking at my phone. Please answer your phone, Dristan! "Hello? Mr. Manson," I said while holding the phone. "Mr. Castellano is here, I asked him to wait for you but he refuses to waste any more time."

"Okay. Tell him I'm coming. Don't make him angrier," Dristan said before hanging up. I'm not even doing anything and he's already angry!

"Mr. Castellano, Mr. Manson is on his way already. Would you please wait for him over there?" I asked politely.

"Tss. Stupid," he said before walking towards the sofa. I sighed while looking at Castellano's background, we need information about our clients in case something bad happen also to avoid any encounters with a police. They might be one of those secret agents sent here to spy on us.

~

"Poor Jabez, he always encounters these kinds of clients. I feel bad for him," I said while looking at the screen. I have a security camera with a mic at every corner of the building. We are strict with our privacy for we are running some illicit business. I guess I should head back there before he starts to make a scene. I arrived at the building and there I saw Castellano, sitting in a chair with a frown on his face.

"Good morning, Mr. Castellano. I'm Dristan Manson. What can I help you with?" I asked as I entered the main office. Castellano gave me an envelope; I immediately opened it.

"Who is this?" I asked.

"A presidential candidate, Chris Liam," Castellano answered.

"Chris Liam. I see; he comes from a very wealthy family. His father's great grandparents were involved in a political scandal 20 years ago. He aims to be the next president to continue their corruption," I said while looking at the screen.

"How did you know?" Castellano asked.

I smiled at him and said "We know everything about our client."

"But he's not a client?" Castellano replied.

"Ah, did I get it wrong?" I asked while looking at the paper in the envelope.

"No. You are right about the details but I didn't come here for a security service," Castellano explained. I immediately stood up for I already know what kind of business he is here for.

"In that case, we must come to my office to discuss this matter," I said while walking. We entered my office and I offered him some coffee. "So, what do you want us to do?" I asked.

"I want you to execute that man before he becomes the next president," Castellano said with a straight face.

"The reason?" I asked. There's always a reason and if he did give me some decent ones then maybe we will accept the job.

"Just like what you have said earlier, his family is involved with different kinds of political issues. Police nor government has no balls to arrest him because of his overwhelming wealth and power. He has a huge grudge against my brother. He threatened him that he'd kill all of his family if he becomes the president," Castellano explained.

"I understand. But you see, Mr. Castellano. We are the type of company who doesn't accept anyone's request without knowing the truth about the client's statement," I said as I showed him the contract.

"What are you saying! Do you think I'm lying?" he exclaimed.

"No. What I was saying is that I need to run an investigation first before I accept your request. We need to know if Chris Liam deserves to die in our hands or not," I explained. The fact that Chris Liam is involved with political scandals like his grandparents, is enough reason for us to accept the job. We don't want to have another corrupt president but there's a way of doing things. It is tempting but we can't just go around and kill a high profiled individual.

"What? No!" Castellano exclaimed as he slammed my table. "I can't afford to wait! My brother and our family's life is in the line here!"

"Excuse me. Mr. Castellano, but I asked you to stop acting rude. You're not in place to demand anything from us. We will accept the job if we need to and refuse if needed," I said as I stood up. "Killing someone isn't as easy as you think, you need to be more patient if you want to work with us," I explained. I open the door of my office while looking at Castellano. "I need you to leave for now, I will contact you if we will accept the job or not," I said while smiling at him.

"I can't believe this!" Castellano exclaimed. "I will wait for your call, I hope you accept the job because our life is in the line here," he said as he walks out of my office. I took a deep breath before closing the door.

"Chris Liam, huh?"