2 Prologue Pt.2
The edge of Mr. Kimmons's mouth raises up slightly as he recognizes that he now has the room under his palm.
"So, let me get this straight," Justice Kinsman moves her hand to her chin and says, "You called us here today to discuss an illegal million-dollar deal for the privilege of building a platinum mine on a federal reserve."
"That is exactly right," Mr. Kimmons says.
The justice lets out a dry chuckle. "I've heard stories about you, Mr. Kimmons, but you still don't fail to amaze me."
"You too, justice. I have access to information not even the white house has access to, and I've done my research. The reason I invited specifically you three is that I am under the impression that this would not be your first time doing business of such nature," Mr. Kimmons says while scanning the three with his calculated gaze.
None of them say any words of objection.
"So, what is the consensus?" Mr. Kimmons asks.
"I will take it," the senator leans forward and says.
Having been a businessman for over six decades, Mr. Kimmons knows that the deal is already as good as done when the first person tosses in their hat.
But it seems that things are not going as smoothly as he had expected. The governor and the justice are still brewing in their thoughts.
He can't afford to lose any one of them.
"What about the rumors?" The governor speaks up. "We need to know that either they are not true or the public will stay clueless for the foreseeable future."
The justice nods.
"Rumors?" Senator Harrison asks, "What rumors?"
Mr. Kimmons had hoped that this would not have come up, but it shouldn't impact the outcome either way.
"There are words floating around the upper echelon of some… underground operations Mr. Kimmons and a few other elites might be taking a part in," Governor Mullins says.
"You mean… the rings?" The senator seems to have caught on.
"Yes, yes yes," Mr. Kimmons interrupts, "Such rumors may have taken some publicity. You know how the word of mouth can be sometimes. Rumors are rumors. It's just how it is."
"So, are they true?" The governor presses on with a cocked eyebrow.
Mr. Kimmons pauses and lets out a sigh.
"Regardless of whether it is true or not, I can assure you that not a thread of this will land in the hands of the media or the public. There are… forces involved that give me the confidence to say that," Mr. Kimmons says.
The three visitors share glances among themselves.
A few seconds of silence later, the governor turns to Mr. Kimmons with a smile. "Well, if you say so, Mr. Kimmons. Your confidence has led you this far after all. I think I am able to trust it."
Governor Mullins gives Mr. Kimmons a handshake over the tea table between their couches.
Now, there is just one person left.
"And Justice Kinsman, what do you say?" Mr. Kimmons asks.
The justice spends a few more seconds thinking while twisting the ring on her finger. "I will agree on the condition that my involvement will not be known to anyone outside of this room and that it will never be acknowledged by any one of you under any circumstances," she says.
"That is, of course, already a given. Then, in that case, I think we've reached an agreement?" Mr. Kimmons asks.
The governor, the senator, and the justice nod one by one.
And just like that, a 2.5-billion-dollar-per-year platinum mine has been added to the vast sea of assets owned by Kimmons Corporation.
"Perfect," Mr. Kimmons says and reaches into his pocket to take out his phone, "I will write you each a check of five hundred thousand dollars as a way to seal the deal. You three, just start thinking of ways you will be spending your annual million dollars."
The senator snickers. "We need more people like you in the government, Mr. Kimmons."
"I wouldn't dare to shoulder such responsibility."
Mr. Kimmons opens up his bank account on his phone to make the payment, but it's proving a little difficult when he realizes that he can't seem to remember his password.
Or rather… his password has been changed. The red text above the login box tells him that he has two more tries left.
Mr. Kimmons figures there must have been a security issue, and Alice had switched up the encryption for him.
"Having some trouble with the little tablet?" The governor asks.
"Hm? Oh, no, I'm fine. Just need a little help from my secretary," Mr. Kimmons says while typing up a message for Alice.
He was about to press send when a call came from her, vibrating the phone in his hands.
Mr. Kimmons raises his finger and says, "One sec, I have to take this." He stands up from his chair and steps over to the corner of the room.
Mr. Kimmons picks up the call. "Hey, Alice, I was just about to message you. Did you change the password on my bank account without telling me?"
"What? No, I would never do that," Alice says from the other side.
Strange, Mr. Kimmons is thinking, who would have done it, then? The tech team, perhaps.
He knew that there was no chance any foul play was involved. His cybersecurity team is top-notch. No one would be able to get through without at least triggering some sort of warning that shuts the whole account down.
"So what did you call me for?" Mr. Kimmons asks.
"Um…" Alice is sounding somewhat hesitant. "There are police in the building."
Mr. Kimmons instinctively frowns. "Police? What are they doing here?"
"I'm not sure… they wouldn't tell us, but they've got a warrant, and they seem to be going up to your floor right now."
"For the love of God, have you ever done your job properly? Are they looking for me?" Mr. Kimmons asks. A shred of fear begins brewing inside his chest. While he has yet to do anything illegal with the people in this room, he has definitely done more than enough to incriminate him over his career.
"I-I don't know, sir, I'm sorry…" Alice is becoming more and more timid by the second.
Ktch-Ktchhhhh-Ktchhhhhhh…
Out of nowhere, the speaker-generated sound of ambient, flowing water is replaced by a harsh, digital screech that digs right into Mr. Kimmons's eardrums.
The violent contrast in volume startles everyone in the room.
"What the hell is that?" The senator shouts over the shredding noise that wouldn't stop.
Somehow, Mr. Kimmons is able to hear the same noise coming from Alice's side, as well.
"Ah! Something is making a weird sound. I have to go, sir, sorry about that-BEEP—" Alice is cut off from the call, seemingly to have gone to deal with the noise on her side.
Just what in the world is going on? Mr. Kimmons asks himself; there are so many things on his mind he isn't sure what to make of the situation. Could this be a police siege? But even though Mr. Kimmons is not the best model citizen, no wrongful doings of his would warrant a siege… except…
No, there is no way they found out about that, Mr. Kimmons thinks to himself.
Pzz… The screeching noise abruptly ends with a zap, and the footage of waterfalls on the screens around the room flash for a second. Then they turn black, not off, black. It is still displaying footage, just no longer of waterfalls, but a dark-gray, uppercase letter Q in the center of the screen.
