Ch 944 - What To Do About Lincoln

Lincoln loomed over Mark, waiting, watching. His eyes were cold and black as the poor man squirmed beneath him.

In a panic, Mark tried to catch his breath. He had serious doubts. After years of working for Lincoln, Mark knew the old man could be cruel and unfeeling, but he never thought Lincoln would attack him. This was a new low.

Still, Mark was well aware that it was too late to run. Lincoln had eyes all over Baltimore. There was nothing he could do other than serve his boss, but he was starting to fear what that would entail.

Lincoln stepped away from Mark, giving him some time to recover. As he straightened out the lapels of his suit jacket, he continued to stare at the man with unblinking intensity. "Riley and I formulated a new plan. We're going to drain Ambrose's bank account and take the funds for ourselves."

Although Mark was unsure, he reluctantly nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Mark gathered up enough strength to bring himself to his feet. His knees wobbled, but he tried to hide his weakness from Lincoln.

However, Lincoln paid Mark's physical state little mind. He was too caught up in his scheming as he tried to figure out the next step of his master plan. "Because you can't handle Ambrose, I need to move you elsewhere. It's my fault, really. I should have known better than to give such an ignorant kid such an important mission."

Mark's voice scraped his throat. "I'm sorry, boss."

Lincoln clenched his fist. His lips pressed together, forming a mocking pout. "You're sorry? Well, you should be."

The old man watched as Mark struggled to catch his breath. Lincoln sighed. "But it doesn't look like you're sorry. It looks like you're weak."

He slapped Mark across the face. The spy gasped as his boss's hand cascaded into his cheek.

As Lincoln rose his fist again, Mark cowered in fear. "What do you want me to do? Please, I'll do anything! Just don't hurt me!"

Lincoln chuckled. "Just as I suspected. You're a coward and a fool. If I'm going to keep you around, I need to give you an assignment you won't fail. You need someone you could handle. Someone meek and mild. Wait! I got it."

The old man whisked his head to the side. "Debbie. I was able to employ Debbie Clifton at Enrichment. She may be beautiful, but she's a fool. I was able to convince her that I needed a new financial advisor. She's so gullible. She bought right into it."

Even though Mark knew virtually nothing about Debbie, he agreed with his boss. "Right, she sounds, uh, stupid. What do I do then?"

Lincoln held up his pointer finger. "First of all, you don't screw this up. Secondly, I'll send you in to keep an eye on her. I don't want her doing any actual business, and I certainly don't want her to find out anything about me. You'll keep her occupied, and if you can squeeze information out of her, even better. It shouldn't be that hard to get her talking. She's a woman after all. Just appeal to her feminine side."

The gig didn't seem too bad. Actually, Mark preferred this plan. He didn't have to climb a tree, and he'd wind up far away from Alex Ambrose. "Do you think she'll spill the dirt on Alex?"

Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but Lincoln hoped so. "On her first day, I personally escorted her to the office. Unfortunately, she was pretty tight-lipped with me. She wouldn't say a damn thing. Who knows? I'm thinking she might trust a puny little shrimp like you."

Mark tried to ignore the insulting nickname, along with the fact that his boss nearly choked him to death. He wasn't sure which he found more offensive. Lacking the gall to stand up for himself, he let out a disgruntled sigh. "Okay, what do I do next?"

Before responding, Lincoln retrieved his phone from his pocket. He quickly typed out a text, then shoved the phone away. "Go to the Enrichment skyscraper, the main headquarters on National Street. Just give the guard your name. There will be a suit waiting for you in the lobby."

A chill ran down Mark's spine as he received his orders. Something didn't feel right. "Okay, sir. The lobby, you said?"

Lincoln shoved his finger in Mark's face. "Yes, the lobby! You know how much I loathe repeating myself. Now, scam. I don't want to see your pathetic little face any longer."

A little voice in the back of Mark's mind told him to run, but he didn't listen. Instead, he did exactly as he was told. He left the bunker and headed to Enrichment.

Lincoln kept a watchful eye on his employee as he left the bunker. The old man wasn't pleased. After Mark was out of sight, he took off his jacket and threw it on the floor. "What a disappointment. I don't trust the kid, not anymore. I'll need to keep close tabs on him. I'll be damned if that little snake foils my plan again."

Lincoln coughed. He clasped his throat with his hand. "It's getting worse."

He barked a few more times, trying to clear his throat. "I get sicker by the day. I don't have time for this. I need to focus on what's important."

In the middle of his rant, Lincoln's phone rang. When he pulled it out, his eyes glistened, reflecting the bright light of his screen. The corners of his lips twisted into a smile as he read the caller ID. "Oh, I've been waiting for this call."

Lincoln eagerly put the phone to his ear.

***

After SCOT put Alex's house under a security lockdown, Alex gathered all of his friends in the newly renovated living room.

Yvonne, Christopher, Louis, and Alex stood in a circle.

Yvonne wasn't too pleased with Alex after he tried to make a move on her. She crossed her arms. "What's going on?"

Alex paused for a moment. How could he explain Lincoln? His grandfather was a complex man. "Louis found someone outside, spying on the house, and I think I know who sent him." He pulled Lincoln's handkerchief out of his back pocket. "I found this in the woods when we went looking for Christopher. Our family's crest is on it, and the initials of my grandfather, Lincoln Ambrose. I'm positive he's behind this. He kidnapped Christopher for a reason. I'm not sure what that reason is, but we'll find out."

Yvonne glanced at Christopher. "Do you remember anything?"

Christopher nodded grimly. "I do. Though, most of what he told me was about the world ending, which he claimed Alex started."

Louis raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Christopher tossed his head back, trying to remember. "He said that Alex created the super soldiers and tore down Baltimore."

Yvonne shook her head. "That's unreal. The super soldiers were Riley's doing."

Christopher meekly nodded. "I know. At the time, he made a convincing argument."

Alex narrowed his gaze. "What else did he say?"

Christopher grimaced as he recalled all the heinous things that Lincoln had told him. "All I can remember is that he wanted to take you down at any cost. He said you betrayed him."

With a sigh, Alex shoved the piece of cloth back into his pocket. "That may be the way he looks at it, but that's far from the truth. He was rotten to the core. He robbed his rivals, broke the law, and somehow always got away with it. I wasn't going to let that happen. He pulled the rug over everyone else, but he couldn't fool me. He's never forgiven me."

When Christopher heard Alex's side of the story, it all made sense. Lincoln was a con man. That's why Christopher had such an uneasy feeling around him. "How did he manage to fool so many people?"

Alex shrugged. A pained expression crossed his face as he thought of the past. "He's extremely charismatic. He befriended everyone he met. Those he couldn't get along with, he bribed." He sighed. "Lincoln has a way of explaining things that gets everyone on his side. He stuffs you full of false promises until you have no choice but to think he's the greatest man who's ever lived. However, he never ceases to fall short. Once things started to go awry, everyone was too scared to speak up."

Christopher swallowed a lump in his throat. "That makes sense as to why I fell into his trap so easily."

Alex put his hand on Christopher's shoulder. "Of course. Anyone in your position would have. Throw in Lincoln's persuasive tendencies, and it's a recipe for disaster."

A silence fell over the room as everyone pondered the problem that was Lincoln Ambrose.

Yvonne's eyebrows drew together. "What are we going to do, Alex?"

That was a question Alex didn't have the answer to. Dealing with his grandfather proved to be a never ending battle. "I'm not sure."

Louis scratched his head. "I can go search the woods to see what I can find. If that spy was here, maybe he's still out there."

Alex shook his head. "I don't want to split up. Look what happened last time. Christopher fell unconscious, and my grandfather scooped him up."

Christopher tapped his finger to his chin. "What if we all went to fight Lincoln? We could ambush the bunker. If we do that, we can take down Lincoln and search through what he has."

Alex paced away from his group of friends. "Lincoln is unpredictable. I don't know if he's working with anyone else. The last thing we need is someone to ambush our ambush."

Yvonne kept her gaze fixated on Alex as she tried to come up with a plan. "What if we called for backup?"

Christopher pointed at Yvonne. "That isn't such a bad idea. If you know Lincoln is conspiring with people, we should make some allies."

Yvonne nodded. "Do you have any friends in the Baltimore Police Department? Maybe they could get a search warrant for Lincoln's bunker."

Alex walked in short spurts around the living room. "I'm not exactly on good terms with the BPD after they tried to arrest me for the super soldier attacks. I don't think Chief Zebell ever got over being wrong."

Yvonne groaned. "There has to be someone."

Then, Alex's eyes lit up. A light bulb went off in his head. "Wait, I think I have an idea."

Christopher turned toward Alex. "What is it?"

Alex paused. "There are two people I think could help me get through to my grandfather. It's been a while, but I think they would be more than eager to help me.

Yvonne jumped up, hopeful at the prospect. "Who?"

Alex glanced up at Yvonne. "Well, I'm considering calling my parents."