In a Way, Joseph Geier is Surprisingly Caring

The cold and metropolitan Carter District was pounded by the midnight storm. The fog that was carried by the storm was thick enough to cover most of the district and the only thing that illuminated the streets was the bright lights coming out from the buildings. Not a single person was outside except for one man. The man was of Asian descent, but he was wearing a very stylish European suit. He walked along the pavement with a transparent umbrella in his right hand. The strong wind pushes almost everyone around, but the man still stands strong as he walks towards a building. It was one of the brightest buildings around and it's only open at night. It was a brothel, aptly named Astarte's Den.

He walked to the front door of the brothel to be greeted by a robust and vigorous bouncer, who's about 6 feet tall, just a bit taller than the man who's about 5 foot 9 inches.

"Name?" the bouncer asked

"Lotus," he said.

"Lotus? What kind of fucking name is that?" The bouncer laughed but the man didn't seem fazed about it, "Either way, you're not getting in," the bouncer said casually.

"Huh," he chuckled. "On whose orders?" He asked.

"It's on a need to know basis," urged the bouncer.

"Whoa, whoa calm down fella. I just wanna know who gave the order," he said calmly

"Take the fucking hint cunt, we don't serve small-eyed blokes like you here. What even are you? Chinese? Korean? Now fuck off before I make you," exclaimed the bouncer as he points his finger out to the streets.

"Wrong answer," He said as he pulled out a knife and tried to slice the bouncer's neck, but he was stopped mid-air by someone behind him.

"I apologise for my associate's actions, he does not know… proper manners," said the person behind him calmly. He turned his back around and his hand was stopped by none other than an old man in a suit who's surprisingly strong, even for him. Not wanting anymore conflict, he backs down.

"I'm sorry. I overreacted."

"Oh no, please don't apologise. It's merely my subordinate's fault for doing so. Please you're welcome inside."

"I appreciate it. And it's Japanese," He said as he walked through the door. He can hear the two bouncers arguing from outside, but the voice of them arguing is drowned out by the sound of the music inside the brothel. He walked to the side of the counter and sat down on one of the stools. While waiting for the bartender, the news was playing on his left, he can barely hear the newscaster announcing tonight's news.

After this week's parliament meeting, the chancellor has proposed the idea to reorganise the current Anglian Federation to the first Holy Anglian Empire. But due to some parliament members not agreeing with the idea, more meetings will be held. In other news, The Geier Foundation has started research on cognitive science. The representative from the Geier Foundation said the company will find new ways to tackle effectively mental health issues in about a decade. Now onto sports…

The bartender then walked in front of him and said "What a week huh? First, they said they're going to reform the government and now they're changing it altogether."

"Never knew you're into politics," he said, surprised.

"Oh no, no. Politics bore me, it's just that some patrons 'round 'ere always talks about it. I'm more interested in that new research though. So, what's your poison?" the bartender asked.

He looked at the menu and said, "Anything'll do, to be honest, surprise me mate."

"Will do, I'll be 2 minutes."

Just as he was waiting for his drink, a woman approached him and hugged him from behind. "You're a little late~," she said seductively as she kissed his left cheek.

He looked behind him and saw a woman of an average build, she has a dark bobbed hair, but he couldn't tell the exact colour of her hair thanks to the dim lighting inside the brothel. But what he can make out was her red eyes, they're glowing in the darkness of the brothel, as if her eyes were magical, trying to enchant him. Her eyes made him wonder if they were actually real or not, he thought that if those were a fake then it's a really good fake. "There was something I needed to clean up, you can wait for me in the room," He said.

"Ooh okay, I'll be in the usual spot so don't keep me waiting~," she said while walking away from the bar.

The bartender then walked up to him and gave him the bartender's pick, "Here ya go lad."

"Thanks," He said.

"Heard about you from the higher-ups, and I won't be charging your tab for tonight. Just please and try not make a fuss yeah? You want anything else?" the bartender asked.

"Nothing, this is enough."

"Okay then, just call me if ya need anything," the bartender said and left him on his own. For the next 20 minutes, he drank the shot the bartender gave him while asking for more. And just before he gets drunk, he called it quits and head to the private room the woman mentioned earlier.

#

Marie has been embracing Liam for quite some time now. Although she knows it's quite embarrassing to passionately hug someone she just met a few days ago, but the feeling of someone understanding someone else's pain made her happy, even though she didn't say anything specific to him. She can't bear hiding the pain anymore, she can't do this anymore. So she gathered her remaining courage and the last bits of hope and trust and put them in Liam. She eventually stopped crying but her arms are still holding Liam tightly.

"You're going to let me go sometime now?" he asked jokingly.

"Eh?" she said, surprised. She finally realises how embarrassing it was and let go of Liam. Her face's beet red, the way she hugged him was really mortifying.

Is he going to hate me now? Oh god, what am I going to do?! The thought crosses her mind.

"I'm sorry," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Liam asked playfully.

"Geez stop teasing me will you, I said I'm sorry!" she said, clearly embarrassed.

"Hm? What are you sorry for?" he asked.

She then pouts at Liam.

"Relax, I was just joking," Liam assured Marie. He stands up and takes another glass of water from his kitchen then sits back down beside Marie. "Now then, can you tell me what's going on?"

Marie leans back on Liam's sofa, she sighs, "I don't know if you've heard this yet or not but there's a group of students that goes by 'The Ring', they're probably the ones you're looking for,"

Liam leans a little bit forward, "How well do you know these people?"

"Not that much, I've only heard rumours here and there, their existence is questionable at best," Marie said.

Liam closes his eyes and he thoughtfully touches his hand on his chin, "Y'know your information can barely be called helpful,"

"Hey, it's better than nothing!" Marie glowered at him.

"Haha okay then. I want to ask you one more thing though, how did you get to where you are now?"

"Well… After my mother died, I worked and studied really hard. Then just as I was about to give up, someone scouted me and offered me a scholarship in Chester and they even guarantee me a spot in the Student Council, but under one condition that I had to follow everything that they told me to. I was easily manipulated back then and I just accepted their offer no questions asked."

"How come you don't tell anyone about this?"

"Being completely honest, I had no one to talk to. The people I talk to are there strictly just for business or when there are assignments that we needed to do. Whenever I tried to befriend them, they just pushed me away. They saw me like the typical honour student, the president, someone that'll rat on other students. At some point I just accepted it, and I don't care about it anymore," she explained.

"I see. I'll try and end this. But I have one more thing I want to ask you," Liam said solemnly. "Do you think you deserve this position in the first place?"

"No," she said as she lets out a small smile. She then looks down in disappointment, "I'm fully aware that the elections were probably rigged, so even if you debunk this, I don't mind losing my reputation or if it breaks my image. For once I want others to see the real me," she said earnestly.

"Okay then…" Liam replied, feeling considerably relieved.

A small chime then appears out of the blue, "I apologise for interrupting your conversation but, Mr Geier needs to see you. He said that he wants to meet you by the Whiteport Pier. The appointment has been set at 1 from now," Athena said.

"That old geezer… I'm sorry. Turns out I have something to do today," Liam said

Marie shakes her head in disagreement, "It's okay! I'm glad I was able to let this all out."

Liam stands up and escorts her by the door, "At any rate, feel free to call me if you have anything you wanted to talk about again, I'll try to free up my line."

"Wait, how do you know that I already have your number?" she asked.

"I know you do," he said as he opens the door.

"Uhm, okay then…" she said. She leaves Liam's flat while waving him goodbye from the elevator. After waving her back, he goes back inside and prepares himself to meet his uncle.

Liam spends the rest of his day dedicated to research based on what Marie said. But even with the Geier database, he can't confirm Marie's background as it is locked behind a wall that requires special government access. Hours passed and he still can't crack it open, even with his skills and connections, there are still some things that he can't do.

#

It's 4 PM and he's ready to go meet Joseph. He steps outside his flat and proceeds to go to the lobby using the elevator. People on business suits are scattered around the lobby, some of them are reading the news, the others are on their phones. The rest are either janitors or the building staff. The floors are polished and the windows are clean as though they're see-through.

The building where his flat is located is called the Sky Max Building. It's one of the tallest buildings in the heart of the city, designated to house some of the most influential figures and facilitate some of the city's important events. Before taking Liam in, the Geier Foundation was one of the biggest private companies in the Anglian Federation and it continues to grow as the country transition a Holy Empire. Joseph essentially gets the flat for free and lets Liam live with him rent-free.

Liam goes out and heads towards the nearby station, but unlike his commute to the school, the Whiteport Pier is quite secluded and is located in the Cheval District, which is the eastern outskirts of the city. After stopping at 5 different stations, he takes the bus and walks for about 4 minutes.

The 4-minute walk was quite tedious for Liam, the trail he takes is all but fixed. Whiteport Pier's located in the outskirts of the city, right near the ocean, so it doesn't receive that much government funding, even though it has one of the most beautiful beaches in Chester City. The Whiteport Pier's beach is so beautiful, it makes Liam's 4-minute tedious walk worth it.

From afar, he spots a hut. It's one of the few bars that's right around Whiteport Pier. He goes inside the establishment to find Joseph Geier, his uncle, sitting on one of the bar counters. Joseph turns his back around, he faces Liam and said, "You're late."

" 'Kept you waiting huh?" Liam replied as he sits down beside Joseph. Joseph's wearing his usual attire, a polo shirt with a pair of black trousers.

"You don't want to keep me waiting, Liam. One of these days I'm gonna die of old age," he jokingly said.

"I wouldn't worry about that, so what is it that you want to talk me about?" he asked directly.

"Let's not get to that yet! Boss, get him a drink will ya?" Joseph said excitedly.

"Milk's fine for me."

"Milk it is then," the bartender replied, although he looks a bit disappointed.

"Milk? Come on Liam! When are ya gonna grow up?"

"Unlike some people, I don't like to poison myself with those kinds of drinks. If you can call it that," Liam said. The bartender gives him the milk. "Besides, I legally can't drink," Liam said as he gulps down the entire glass of milk.

"You're no fun y' know that? So, how d'ya fair with school, Liam? Is it any different?" he asked.

"Can't tell for sure yet, I haven't been there long. One thing I can say for sure is that the facilities are way better than the other ones,"

"I know you'd like it, I've been wanting to send you there but I thought that you needed a more normal school," Joseph explained.

"What's that supposed to mean? Just get down to business already."

"One more thing before we do that," he said as he raises his finger.

"What is it old man?" he asked, pissed off.

"Stop calling me an old man will ya? I'm only 69 y' know?" he said. "Anyway, I didn't know you're bringing a friend," Joseph said, while his head gestures to the left side, trying his best to be subtle. Liam adjusts his empty glass accordingly, to see the person he's talking about from the reflection of the glass. From that angle, he sees a familiar-looking girl with bobbed hair wearing a trenchcoat. But upon closer inspection, the girl is wearing the Chester High uniform underneath her trench coat. There can only be one person that he can think of, but he can take care of her later.

"Never seen her before though. We can just leave her be," Liam said, calmly. "Now can you please get to the point already?"

"Fine, two days from now, Catherine and I are gonna go to the Mediterranean for a trip. There's another site we're going to look into. It should take about one or two weeks, knowing me, I think it could take less time than that though."

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"It's going to take about three to four months, and I want you to take over the company until I get back," Joseph explained.

"You do know I'm 17 right?" Liam said, doubtful of what he just said. He's beginning to think that the heat has gotten into Joseph.

"It's okay, I have faith in you," Joseph said as he pats Liam on the back. "Besides, when are you going to start training to be a LEADER?" he said excitedly.

"Uncle, I don't think training to be a leader starts with managing your multi-billion dollar company. Besides, can't you just manage it during the trip?" Liam asked as he put Joseph's hands away from his back.

"Listen, it'll all be fine. I'll leave my emergency number open, and only YOU can contact it. But remember; I don't want anything, and I mean anything to interfere with our special trip, so you best behave yourself," Joseph said as he finishes another pint of beer. He then points at the bartender, "Monsieur, the night is still young… So why the fuck is my glass empty? Fill it the fuck up!" screamed Joseph. Joseph started slurring his speech since he has been drinking an obnoxious amount of pints before Liam came.

"Fine then, I'll take the job. One more thing though, I had something that I delved into and I need your thoughts on it."

"Oh yes yes yes, go ahead! Anything for my favourite nephew," Joseph said eagerly.

"Your ONLY nephew," Liam corrects him. He then digs around his bag to take a see-through glass tablet. He taps it a few times and the tablet shows some government files and other pieces of data that Liam uncovered a few days ago. "Have a look at this," Liam said as hands over the tablet to Joseph.

"Alright, let's see…" Joseph then drops the tablet down on the floor.

"Jesus Christ, What am I going to do with you, old man? We shouldn't meet in a bar in the first place," Liam chastised Joseph. "Come on, let's get you home. We can talk about this later…" Liam said, he tries to grab one of Joseph's arms, trying to carry his uncle by the arm.

"Wait! Wait! Right pocket. The pill. Give it to me…" Joseph said, logily. Liam then sits Joseph back down on his stool, reaches towards Joseph's right trouser pocket and pulls out a small white case. The case is small enough to fit on Liam's palm and its shape looks like a pod with the curved edges being perfectly modelled, making it have a flawlessly spherical shape while also having a modern and futuristic feel to it. It looks and feels expertly-made, it's sturdy like a piece of steel, yet it looks like something so fragile that you want to keep it safe on your hands, akin to an egg. Rubbing the top side of the case, he can feel a gap in the middle of it, a tiny opening that even his nails can't even fit in but he can still feel just by rubbing it. He then opens the case using the tiny gap and there it lies two identical pills. "Took you long enough!" Joseph said as he snatches one of the pills from the case and instantly drinks it. "Oh fuck, here it comes," Joseph said before he screamed and grimaced from what looks like an unbearable pain coming from Joseph's head.

"Oi, you okay?" Liam asked.

About thirty seconds right after he took the pill, the pain gradually stops and he says, "The pain's still there but your old man is okay," ready to drop.

"What the fuck was that?"

"It's a pill to cure intoxication, the pill is concentrated alcohol and drugs and if consumed, it accelerates the effects of intoxication. Not only that but the extreme pain of hangover you get the morning after is also concentrated in thirty seconds. It works effectively but can't be taken if you're not drunk. Ain't that great?" Joseph explained.

"Quite impressive," Liam said sarcastically as he takes the tablet off the floor and hands it to Joseph. "Now will you please take a look at this?"

Joseph takes the tablet and started scrolling through, "Hmm… this is rather interesting, and you gathered all of this within, what? A week?"

"Two days."

"Remarkable, as expected of my nephew." He stopped scrolling down and puts the tablet back on the bar. "So V, she killed herself. So what exactly do you wanna ask me? The data looks complete and there seems to be no inconsistency with the story,"

"It doesn't feel right though, I don't think she'll kill herself outright. From what I've gathered, she was always cheerful and she has someone to back her up."

"You mean Mr C over here?"

"Yeah, he's a decorated psychologist, has two different PhDs and is well-known within the community. He's not one that can fail someone whenever they ask him for help."

"Well, maybe this is the first time he failed someone… Nobody's perfect, you know that Liam."

"That could be possible, but the case with her is the same as any other cases he handled. Not once in his life did his patients killed themselves, he's always there to save them."

"What was behind her suicide again?"

"Academic stress. Which is very unlikely since that's a textbook case for counsellor and psychiatrist."

"That does sound suspicious, what did she leave behind?" Joseph asked.

"A suicide note and a video of her suicide, but I can't check the validity of it since I don't have the proper tools for it," Liam explained.

"Do you have the actual suicide note for it?"

"I can try and get it."

"Then there should be no problem then," he said, looking at his watch. "Look, Liam, since you'll be managing the company for a few weeks, I'll give you clearance to my lab."

"Wait? Really?" he asked, eagerly but tries to keep himself composed.

"HO HO. Really. I'll tell the guys back there to expect you. Use it to your heart's desires," Joseph said. He stands up and walks away from the bar, "I just remembered that I have to do something really important, so I'll leave the rest to you."

Liam is internally blaring with excitement, he has only been in Joseph's private lab three times throughout his life, so he can't wait for him to try out the new pieces of equipment that the lab offers. "Thank you," he said calmly.

"Don't mention it, sonny. I'll be taking my leave now." Joseph said as he walks through the exit.

"That makes things easier, but it was a bit sudden though," Liam said to himself. "I think I'll be able to do it tomorrow after school then." He stands up and walks over to the table the familiar lady that Joseph pointed out earlier. It was as he thought earlier, the girl is Marie, she followed Liam to the bar and poorly disguises herself with only a trenchcoat. He approached Marie and sighs, "Marie?" but she doesn't respond. "MARIE?" he called her again, this time a bit louder.

"EEK!" she said, surprised. "Oh, uhm… Are you talking to me, sir?" Marie said in the worst foreign accent possible.

Liam then puts his face uncomfortably right in front of Marie's and her face immediately goes red. She's trying her best not to blow her already-blown cover. "So it was you, I thought as much. Not even gonna ask how you followed me here or why, but I'm going home. See ya." Liam said as he walks towards the door.

"Wait! Wait! Okay! It was me! Just don't leave me here," she said, begging him to come back but Liam continues to ignore her. "Liam!" she said as she runs towards the exit.

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