Friday, the 6th of May
10:12 pm.
The meeting room was dim with the only source of light coming from a lone yellow bulb handing low from the middle of the ceiling and illuminating the round table. Grand Father Hunt was present and so was Michael and seven other members, all of them being men much older than he was. The agenda for the meeting always changed but what they discussed afterward was always the same. It had been the same for two years now and Michael was already tired of hearing them bringing up the same thing over and over again.
“You had promised to bring Chester this time around but I do not see him, grandfather.” One man at the far end of the table said.
Michael frowned deeply and looked to grandfather who sat down calmly and comfortably at the head of the table. All Michael ever wanted was to be the one on that seat with everyone looking on at him and giving him just as much respect and fear as they gave grandfather. Getting that seat was what he had been working towards since the time he learned of this business part of Skyline, the CEO seat he had at Skyline club was nothing compared to this one. This one wielded more power and more money and more control, this was where most of Skyline’s fortune flowed from. This was what he wanted and this was what grand father wanted to bring Chester into. Michael frowned even deeper.
Grandfather leaned on the soft-leathered chair and looked on. “I promised to bring Chester and I have done so. I have brought him into the company.” He answered calmly.
“But this is where we want him, not just in the company. We want him here and involved.” Another said.
“We did not have Chester Hunt as at the last time we had this meeting,” Grandfather said leaning on the table so that his face was visible to the others. His facial expression was strict and serious and fearful. “And now, we have him in the company. These sort of things do not just happen like magic overnight gentlemen, it takes time and process...”
“But grand father…” Someone started to say but grand father shot a stare in his direction, shutting him up instantly.
He continued. “If I say I will get Chester in here with us, then I mean that I will get Chester in here with us.”
He looked round the table at the darkened faces of the men seated around and he could see clearly the disturbed expression on their faces and he knew that not all of them was so bold as to voice out their thoughts when ever he was like this. He liked this, the control he knew he had over them, the fear they had of him in their eyes and why would they not fear him? The last time someone had disrespected him by calling him by his actual name, he had gotten rid of that person and that was in the last meeting they had so it was still very fresh in their memories. He released a breath of satisfaction and reclined back on the chair with a smug look on his face. His words were law.
“If I may…” Michael spoke, turning everybody’s attention to him and standing up. He glanced over at grand father, not for permission to speak but to know that grand father was also watching him. He was. He continued. “…the idea for wanting Chester in here is to get a Hunt still in this circle, right?”
There was some mumbling in the background as each man turned to the man beside him with some of them nodding their heads, grand father adjusted in his seat so that he faced Michael, his fingers clasped in one another and on his thigh.
“To be frank with all of you, I really do not think that Chester you all desperately want in here, I do not think that he shares the same drive as you all do.” He smirked as he said that, his eyes darting over to grandfather and although his face was in the dark, Michael could tell that his facial expression had changed. He would be getting angry now but grand father did always like a bit of challenge if the other person could bring it and back it up and Michael was sure that he could.
Without waiting for the mumbling to die down, Michael continued, raising his voice above all the background noises. “But what you want is a Hunt, a member of the Hunt family, perhaps someone like grandfather?” He knew that what grand father wanted was someone like himself who would take over but what the other men wanted was someone tough and someone they could also influence, not exactly someone they could control but someone less brutal than grand father. Nobody liked living in fear.
“So what are you proposing?” It was grand father who had asked, his eyes fixed squarely on Michael with his eyebrows furrowed. Michael turned to him, one hand placed flat on the table and the other shoved into his trouser pockets. “Are you by any chance volunteering yourself for that position?”
“Am I?” Michael threw the question back at him. “I mean I never did mention that but if you are insisting then who am I to say no to you grandfather?” He smirked and so did grandfather, then he chuckled and turned back to face the other men in the room. Michael narrowed his eyes at grand father, he was quiet and grand father being quiet was not always a good thing, he had just smirked and ignored him. Michael also looked back at the men who seemed like they were deliberating with each other.
“So, what do you all think?” Grandfather had asked, a soft smile on his face. “We pick him, Michael Hunt over Chester Hunt?”
Michael began to feel really hot, grand father was agreeing to this? And so easily too? His fingers visibly shook on the table and he shoved that hand too into his pocket, standing tall and with his head held up high, this might just be it. He laughed inwardly.
“Well, Michael does come for the meetings and he has shown great interest and potential, unlike Chester…” One man started. Michael beamed.
“We do not know if Chester would want to get involved in what we do.” Another finished.
“So you all are saying that we pick an illegitimate Hunt over the legitimate Hunt? We forgo the real deal for…” Grandfather looked Michael dead in the eye as he finished his sentence. “…him, Michael Hunt.”
They began to mumble again and Michael burned his gaze into grand father, shaking with anger. He fisted his hands in his pockets, his chest heaved up and down visibly and grand father just sat there, in that comfortably soft high chair, smirking at Michael, his fingers intertwined and placed under his chin.
“We…” A man began but Michael hushed him with a wave of the hand. He knew what the outcome would be now.
“Illegitimate…” He said, looking at no other place than at grandfather like he wanted to march over and punch the living daylight out of him. He looked to the side and focused his attention on his hand placed on the table. “Illegitimate. This illegitimate son of the Hunt family has been the one running things around here, this illegitimate son of the Hunt family has been the one attending all the meetings and organizing your shady underground business. This illegitimate son of the Hunt family has been the one who stuck around while your legitimate precious gem gallivants around the country and globe, totally irresponsible of all his legitimate duties to the Hunt family!” Michael fumed in absolute rage. He lifted his head and looked at grand father who still had that annoying smirk plastered on his wrinkled face.
“And this illegitimate son of the Hunt family knows every secret there is to know about this business, this company, and this god-forsaken family! This…!” He pointed at his chest. “…illegitimate son knows all!”
“You should have known Michael…” Grandfather began but was rudely interrupted by Michael who raised a hand in his direction.
“I am not done talking Colin!”
There were sudden gasps from the other men around and some mumbling but Michael was to angry to think so damn all the consequences. Grandfather did not flinch but the smirk on his face vanished and his eye twitched and his right had man Daniel took a step forward but grand father raised a hand up to stop him.
“Let him be.” He said. “There may be some few things he has to get off his chest.”
“A few things?” Michael chuckled and rubbed a thumb across his chin. “Not just a few things but a lot of things Mr. Colin Hunt. For one, this.” He said circling his hand around the room.
“You know that once in you can not get out, you know that right?” Daniel asked him.
“Well your boss should have thought about that before saying things.” he replied and turned away from them.
“Michael…” He called.
“To hell with this!” Michael said and stormed away, heading towards the door.
“Michael.” grand father called him and he paused. “If you step out of this room right now then consider yourself stripped from the CEO position of Skyline Hotel and Clubs.” He threatened.
Michael paused just as he twisted the door knob and he chuckled, turned to face grand father and smirked. “I dare you.” he said and walked out of the room.
* * * * *
11:24 pm.
May was a slow month but the events that happened flew by really fast but some things seemed like they were happening slowly, for one; the case. The murder cases and the bodies turning up almost every two weeks now and yet despite the clues and hints, it was taking the police and the detectives almost forever to crack it or at least get something out of it.
It was getting frustrating. He was getting frustrated.
The clues were there, visibly there and the links were tight, he wanted this case cracked because he wanted this game to come to an end faster. He had been having fun earlier but now he just wanted this to be wrapped up fast.
He did enjoy the killings which were somehow strange because one of the reasons he had chosen his primary weapon being strychnine poisoning was because he wanted his hands clean of blood but Clarissa had started his bloody killings. The girl had just refused to die on time, maybe it was because he had not given her enough dosage and he did not want to leave before making sure that she was dead. He had stabbed her three times, once in each lung and one in her stomach before rolling her into the Hudson River.
That had not been his first kill but if the police were not able to link him to the other killings or link the victims to each other then it was his luck. He would not be walking up into the police station to declare his crime. He was not that stupid and he was not done with this game he was playing, he could actually keep the clues minimal and have this game stretched and give the detectives a little bit of a workout but now he wanted this to end. He wanted to end this because of one particular Hunt.
He sat in the car, parked on the street across from Skyline club, and watched as a car pulled up to the entrance and a pissed-off Michael stumbled out of the back seat, slamming the door to the car so hard that he could hear it from across the street. That could have shattered the window.
He felt pity for the one they called illegitimate but if anyone deserved to take over the Skyline group based on loyalty and hard work then it would be him but then not everything would come easy to him, he had to learn that, even though this was a hard way of learning. One reason why he was doing what he was doing, maybe in the end he would come to understand and accept but as for now, it was time for some fun.
Who was going to be his next victim? He scanned the entrance, looking at the ladies that trooped in and out of the place, none seemed to catch his eye until he saw one, he recognized her instantly as someone he had seen with Michael before and he smirked. Another body would be turning up soon.
https://m.goodnovel.com/book_info/31000096787/Mystery-Thriller/Undercover
