Withdrew Millions, Borrowed Thousands

Rino parked the Carter Group's vehicle, which he travels with, several blocks away in an inconspicuous alley, far from the bank's private parking lot. He thought he needed to exercise caution since he had come to withdraw a huge amount of money. Or, it was not just about caution; it was strategy.

He collected the clearance items that Josh Carter had tossed to him while they were in that room, from the holder in the car where he had kept them, and tucked them neatly into his inner suit pocket. Having done this, he began to walk with a confident aura toward the bank's main entrance.

His movements didn't say about a man who had come to seek answers from the bank, they were that of Him whom have come to take what was already his.

Stepping into the bank, the lobby hummed with quiet affluence. The marble floors, polished, reflected a golden lighting overhead, and security cameras—automated—tilted steadily in any noticeable movement direction and ever slightly to track these movements.

The cool air from the air conditioners, built into the P.O.P ceiling of the lobby he had entered, brushed against his skin. It reminded him of the kind of working situation he would find himself in sooner, as the Senior Finance Manager; his office had an air conditioner which worked 24/7 every day, as far as he was at work.

But that was not what Rino came here for. He didn't come to start taking observations of how the bank's setting was, but, of course, if a bank isn't built in this way, how about other corporations?

He shook his head in three whacks and ignored them all. Then, walked to the central desk, which was found on his right.

At the central desk, the receptionist was handling some documents, hands wobbling against the keyboard in front with speed and precision.

"How can we help you, sir?" the lady over the counter asked with a polite voice, suspending what she was doing at the moment to gaze at the young man standing before her.

Rino pulled out the security check materials he had slipped into his pocket and dragged them swiftly on the tiled pavement of this counter, over to the receptionist. "I wish to make some withdrawals," he said.

The lady spotted the platinum chip, collected it with other materials on the pavement. After a short while, she rose instinctively, tapping her earpiece.

"Escort to the Vault Protocol, ID Alpha confirmed. Chairman's seal confirmed," she whispered before nodding respectfully at Rino. "Please follow me, sir."

Rino didn't need to ask questions. He had all that was needed to confirm the authenticity of this withdrawal he was about to make. He just slipped his right hand into his trousers' pocket and began to move calculatively.

Before he knew it, two security agents emerged from a corridor by the side, joining his silent procession, leading him through other layers of high-level access: biometric checking, retinal scanning, palm reading, and encrypted keypads.

But unlikely, since he wasn't the owner of the account, he was able to pass this test with the help of the check materials the vice chairman had handed to him.

At the final checkpoint, the card on which the golden fingerprint was engraved was scanned. Immediately, a soft sound chimed, and the last reinforced door hissed open.

Inside, the vault screamed extravagant treasury. Code crates, each tagged and categorized, lined the interior. On a table, prepared in the center, was a matte-black briefcase that had been sealed and tagged with the Carter Group's gold insignia.

"$240 million," the director of the vault said, gesturing. "Every note accounted for. Do you require a digital receipt?"

"There's no need for that," Rino thought as much. He knew that was the amount left with that account, not only him, but the owner of the money also knew. As far as he delivered all the sum, there was no need for a receipt.

Plus, Josh Carter had asked for confidentiality, meaning that he needed no record to be found beyond the financial ledger of the company.

The director nodded solemnly after Rino had declined the receipt offer and stepped back for him to leave.

As Rino prepared to leave, he sighted a desk in his left direction, and he immediately thought this was his opportunity.

Earlier, and ever since, he had wanted to collect a loan from the bank in order to fund his stock trading account. It's true that Rino worked with Carter's Group, but that was not his choice. He hated that kind of work, especially as his first encounter with the company had been as a mere factory worker.

He had always dreamt of digitalization in earnings, involved in online digital businesses to make a living. The world was turning digital, and on social media, he saw that those who moved the world embraced this kind of civilization.

Unfortunately, his body existed in an environment where people believed this means of earning was yet another fraudulent method for scammers to stack their pockets full.

Most, especially tagged it laziness on the side of those who were involved, among whom was his father.

After much debating and sitting idly at home with no funds to start this kind of business, Rino had decided to find a job and save any little bucks he could in preparation for his plan. Adding to the fact that he also needed to take responsibility for his family, especially after the death of his mother.

If it were termed laziness, he would be lazy.

Even though he was promoted to a high position at the Carter's Group, he still made plans to gather a lot of funds. And among his plans was to take a loan.

But which bank would grant him a loan with the huge amount of money he needed? Most of his salaries, as little as they were, were used for the family's problem-solving. The tokens that remained were what he left in the bank.

Now, an opportunity has been placed in his hands to borrow that amount of money he wished for. He knew he was going to pay back within a short period of time, once he goes all in with this digital business of his.

Rino leaned in slightly and pulled out his ID. "I'd like to take a loan," he said calmly.

The cashier, who had observed the transactions that had happened moments ago, blinked. "A... loan, sir?"

"Yes, you heard me right," Rino confirmed with his tone of subjectivity. $100,000. 60-day repayment window."

After hesitating, the young lady cashier looked at her screen. "Sir, with all due respect... you've just withdrawn—"

Rino cut in gently. "I know what I withdrew. But I still want the loan."

The air around the lady's expression showed mild confusion, but she had no choice anyway. Since he had that amount of money with him, repaying a small sum of $100,000 wasn't going to be a feat. With efficiency, she processed the loan.

"Cash or transfer into account?" the lady asked.

"I will prefer cash," Rino answered, and the cashier instructed the director to get the sum.

Making a transfer of that much money was going to put him under more stress. How?

The margin for the maximum amount of money that could be stored in his account was still $10,000. He had yet to visit his bank to request an upgrade after he turned 18 years of age. But he planned to do that soon, especially as he was about to begin earning big both as a Senior Finance Manager and a soon-to-be investor in the Stock and Forex market.

Rino waited for a while as the director made his way to the storage room for the cash.

Unable to contain her curiosity, the cashier had to ask, "May I ask why someone with access to that kind of money would take a loan of a hundred thousand?"

Rino's lips curled slightly, his expression composed, as he raised his head.

"Because a man who drinks from the river should still carry a cup," he said.

The lady looked at him, puzzled.

Rino now leaned a bit closer. "Simply put. The river belongs to the king, but the cup belongs to the owner. And when the king is impeached, the river changes course. But the cup? It remains. Understand?"

The cashier's eyes widened; she didn't clearly understand. Before she could respond, Rino collected the briefcase kept on her desk and had already turned to leave.

With both briefcases clinking in his hand—one carrying a sum weight, and the other, carrying a silent independence—Rino stepped out into the sunlight.

***

Rino travelled the tarred roads, on his way to deliver feedback for the errand he was sent to run. Successfully, he had carried the two briefcases to where he packed his car in safety, and had become certain that he was out of any suspicion that could cause robbery of him.

The streets felt quieter than before, as the sky had become more dim with the night fast descending. He looked around as he drove and thought it was not environmental silence. Maybe it was just the silence within him, thick with thoughts and surprise at the same time.

As soon as he drifted to a turn, a pitch black vehicle crossed his path, blocking his way from further movements. He was still confused and wanted to make a backward movement when his car hit an object behind. That was when he realized that another vehicle had crossed his car from behind.

Now, he is stuck in the middle of these two vehicles.

"Just...what the hellish fuck!!!" he lamented, hitting his steering wheel angrily.