In the Lions' Den

[WP] You belong to a family of four kids. Your father is a well-known crime lord, your older brother runs a black market operation, your older sister is in a motorbiker gang and your little sister is running her own mafia. You on the other hand are a detective. Meeting family is always a bit awkward.

*****

“Oh, if it isn’t our little detective. I saw you put one of my dealers in jail. Big bust, the newspapers called it. You’re lucky you’re my son or they would have seen your head make a big bust after something as gutsy as that. I would have made an example out of you, made it public, so the rest of those sneaky rats would have gotten the message. You’re not even lucky just because you’re my son. You’re lucky because your mother, bless her heart, cares for you. If it were up to me, you would be dead. Waste of my genes you are.”

“Love you too, dad.” I drawled, wanting to be anywhere but here.

Avoiding conversation was hard in a room like this. I kept my head lowered but I could still feel their blood thirsty gazes on my body. The only comfort in this situation was my mom, who gave me a warm hug.

“Ignore your father. He’s just mad that you never got interested in the family business. I’m proud of you, sweetie. I had your latest newspaper clipping on the fridge, unfortunately your father said it tainted the fridge and got his boys to throw it in lake Ravil.”

“You’re dumping bodies in lake Ravil now? Wait, is that why we went on so many family vacations there?” My detective instinct was flaring. Part of me wanted to grab my coat and perform an inspection of the lake, but this was hardly the right crowd for such an action.

“You heard nothing. Way I see it, you're someone we have here out of pity. You ain’t my son and you ain’t their siblings. What does that make you then, detective? Can you crack that case?”

“It makes me nothing?”

“He’s a bloody genius. Want me to make a newspaper clipping of that case, detective? It was your best work.” My father grinned, proud of his insult, only for my mother to rub my shoulder.

“Ignore him, dear. Dinner’s almost ready. It will be nice having the family eating together again. We only do it once or twice a year. It means so much to me.”

When mom left the room, the harsh gazes returned. I slipped my phone from my pocket, hoping to pass the time with a game of snake, only to feel two sets of muscular arms lift me up. My older sister grabbing my left arm while my brother grabbed my right. They hoisted me up, inspecting me.

“You owe me ten thousand, told you the little wimp wouldn’t wear a wire. He’s a grease bag, but he isn’t that much of a grease bag. Plus, he would get in trouble for withholding the information for so long. Even our little bro isn’t stupid enough to get himself into trouble.” My older sister, Elizabeth, released my left arm, smirking at me. Her smirk wasn’t one of happiness at seeing her darling younger brother, it was one of winning ten thousand dollars.

“Ugh. Like always, you ruin my day. Why do you even come to these things? I’ll have little Johnny send the money to you. Do you want it in guns or through gambling chips?” Jeremy grumbled as he got out his phone, reluctantly making a call.

“Didn’t little Johnny die? I thought you said he got involved in your feud with-“ Another piece of information was about to slip out, only for the pair to stare at me. “We can finish this conversation later, Jeremy. I would prefer guns too. We could use a few new toys.”

“Why do you need more guns?” I cursed myself for saying that. She would never believe my words were coming from a place of concern over police work. I worried about them. Even if they treated me poorly, they were still my family.

“Shut up, like I’ll tell you anything. I should have toughened you up more when we were kids. Maybe then you could have meant something.” Elizabeth and Jeremy returned to their seats, giving me an opportunity to give my younger sister a wave. Lisa didn’t hold the same hatred towards me as the others, still caring a little for her older brother. With the other two distracted, she gave me a small nod before returning to staring at the other two.

Even if it was just a nod, it felt like a warm hug given the usual treatment I got from my siblings. Thankfully, no more awkward conversations needed to occur as my mother brought out the delicious meals. We all knew mom didn’t cook the meals. She put together the menus, but she never did the handiwork. Why would she when dad’s hired cooks could do it for her?

We all knew her secret, but no one brought it up. Why ruin a lovely night by questioning the origins of the delicious meal? The sizzling steaks were divine, having a creamy graving oozing over it, making my mouth water at the sight. Some might say gravy ruins a fine steak and I say to those people. Who cares? After spending weeks eating microwaved meals, I was more than ready to eat my share.

Dad made sure I got the smallest piece of meat, wanting to make it known that he thought very little of me. I didn’t care, though; less meat just meant more vegetables and wine. “What wine are we drinking tonight? I brought a 2018 Shiraz If anyone would like to try some. It’s Bluetip. I hear it’s a famous French wine.”

The group looked at me and turned their faces away in disgust. Even my mother gave the bottle a look of disdain. “You bring an eighty-dollar bottle of wine to our dinner? Is that how much you care about us? We will drink a 1990-barrel aged Cabernet Sauvignon. You will drink whatever that piss in a bottle is that you brought.” Dad said, pushing their expensive bottle of wine towards his side.

“Whatever.” I lost my tolerance for his antics, unable to pretend to respect the man. I just opened my wine and poured a glass. Snobs, the lot of them. Eighty dollars was a lot for me, especially when it came to wine. They should consider themselves lucky I even brought something.

The dinner had little conversation, only listening to the clatter of metallic utensils as everyone ate. I’m sure if I wasn’t here, the conversation would have been more energetic, but no one wished to brag about their antics while I was listening.

“So, how is your detective work going? Anything interesting happen?” Mom asked, putting down her knife and fork, focusing all her attention on me.

“Actually, I heard someone found out about a murder near Henderson lookout. They think it might be related to-“ Suddenly everyone stopped eating, listening closely to my words. It made sense they wanted to hear about this. Anything I said could let them know if we were close to finding out about their activities. “Sorry mom, I think it’s best if I don’t discuss work.”

“That’s ok dear.” My mother returned to her meal and soon the others did too. Within ten minutes, my plate was empty, only a few small gravy stains being left. “Sublime as always, mom. Anyway, I should probably head off. Busy day in the office tomorrow.”

“Aww, ok sweetie. Do you want to stay for the family photo? Your father told you to bring a funny sweater, didn’t he?” I looked at my father, who had mentioned nothing of the sort. Before I responded, he made a throat slitting motion with his thumb. I knew he wouldn’t kill me, but I assumed if I told the truth, he would make the next month rather difficult for me.

“He did, but I just forgot. Sorry, I really must be going. Have a nice weekend everyone. I’ll call you all soon. Love you.” I went to leave, only for a voice to stop me.

“You forgot your wine. It’s nasty, so none of us will drink it. Get it out of our sights.” Lisa gave me a glare, only for a smile to creep onto her lips when the attention turned from her to me. I could tell there was no malice behind her words. She just wanted to remind me to take my things before I left. That was the kindest way to do it without getting on the family’s bad side.

“Right, thank you. Ok, I’m off everyone.” I took my bottle and gave them a wave, heading outside. Waiting by the door were two rather broad chested men in suits. They looked down at me, giving a small scoff before motioning me to a waiting car. Dad always kept a few of his men watching the door when I visited. No doubt a precaution in case the police showed up.

With my glass of wine in hand, I got into the car, glad I survived another visit with my family. “Home please.” I instructed my father’s driver, giving the house a wave as we left.