The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle

by Len du Randt

  As if on cue, the music took a drastic turn from upbeat and cheerful to a slower and almost morbid pace. Jared couldn’t prevent himself from being emotionally affected by the slow rhythm of the electric guitar and the falling seeds of the bamboo rainmaker that the drummer held in front of his microphone.

  This is all just part of the scam, Jared reminded himself. Their way of getting me emotional enough to fork out my cash.

  Amy joined the others in raising her hands into the air as they sang the worship songs. Some cried. Others went down on their knees.

  ‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse,’ the Pastor read from the Bible in a soft, soothing voice. ‘That there may be food in my house.’ The Pastor paused for effect. People hummed to the tune as a few random people garbled something in an unintelligible language. ‘Test me in this, says the LORD Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’

  Jared studied the reactions of the people. This was definitely the kind of stuff that they wanted to hear. More blessings than I can handle, Jared thought. So how would that be any different from what I have now?

  ‘Now we have an opportunity to bring the whole tithe to the Lord’s house with our offerings,’ the Pastor said. ‘Allow the Lord to bless you as you seize this opportunity.’

  One of the musicians on the stage played a solo on a violin and Jared found himself instinctively reaching for his wallet. No, he thought and sat down. I will have no part of this. Shaun stood a moment longer and then took his place next to Jared. Amy remained standing, humming to the tune that the violin player strung with exceptional skill.

  The offering basket came past and Jared shot a quick glimpse into it. These people pay in the fifties and even hundreds, he thought. Never mind a mere ten dollars! Amy nudged him and he passed her the basket where she dropped a few notes of her own before passing it on.

  Once the offerings had been collected, the Pastor dismissed the band and asked the people to be seated. He began his service by reading a scripture from the Bible; pausing for a brief moment to allow the hundreds of congregation members to turn their own Bibles to the same verse. He then had them jump to three or four more places in the Bible and Jared found Amy’s flipping through the book disrupting.

  The Pastor shared a few more scriptures and explained with great passion and fervour what the scriptures meant and how one could apply it to everyday life at home or at the office in order to live a more ‘Christ-like’ life.

  Jared yawned. He wondered how he managed to have himself conned into coming in the first place. The Patterson and Lewis contract would have been a more eventful meeting. When will these people use these two hours and rather invest it into something tangible, like feeding the hungry or handing out blankets? Jared thought.

  It was then that it happened.

  ‘The Lord does not care about the tangible things that we invest our time in,’ the Pastor spoke from the pulpit. Jared looked up. ‘It is by grace that we are saved, and not by works, so that no man may boast.’

  What? Jared shook his head. Do that again! Tell me how and why I must get saved! Saved from what?

  ‘No man stands innocent before God,’ the Pastor said. ‘Not even one. No one is righteous. But God, who is forgiving and righteous, has sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us on a cross so that we may be spared from that terrible fate. Hell isn’t a mere lake of fire and brimstone,’ the Pastor said and paused. ‘Hell is the complete absence of the presence of God. And because He so desperately wanted to be with us, we don’t have to go through that. All we need to do is to believe and accept. That’s it.’

  That’s it? Jared thought. His mind was racing and his heart felt heavy as it bounced around in his chest. I can’t believe that it’s as simple as that!

  ‘It’s as simple as that,’ the Pastor said.

  Jared’s heart pounded his ribcage and he sat upright. Okay, he thought. No need to get yourself all worked up over nothing. It’s a fluke! There’s no way that an Almighty God, if He even existed, would waste time with mere humans!

  ‘Through this book,’ the Pastor said and held up the Bible for all to see, ‘we can all have a personal relationship with the One that created us. This is an instruction manual from the Creator to the created, to tell us how to live holy lives and how to have an intimate relationship with Him. He wants to spend time with you.’

  Jared was sold. His mind calculated the improbability of the Pastor knowing just one of his thoughts. Knowing two in a row was overwhelming. Knowing three was a statistical impossibility.

  ‘If anyone here feels the tugging of the Holy Spirit,’ the Pastor said, ‘please come forward so that we may pray for you and lead you to Christ. There is no cost involved other than the sacrifice of ego; of oneself.’

  Jared turned to move but stopped himself short. He wanted to join the twenty or so people slowly making their way to the front. He suddenly yearned to speak to the Pastor, to have all his questions answered. For some unexplained reason he wanted to have a taste of life the way Amy experienced it; to understand the excitement she found in the little things; to finally be able to see why she could be so content with so very little.

  Shaun blocked his way.

  ‘Please,’ the Pastor urged. ‘I feel that the Lord wants one more to step forward; to repent and join His Kingdom. Please do not hesitate, for doubt and confusion is from Satan. Step out and join these people at the front.’

  Jared twisted his foot. He wanted to take the step, but his legs felt as if they were encased in cement. Jared made brief eye contact with Shaun and realised that he wouldn’t be able to do it. Next time, Lord, he thought. I promise that I’ll go next time.

  ‘We do not know the hour nor the day,’ said the Pastor. ‘Any day could be our last. We could lose our lives in the blink of an eye.’ He scanned the crowd and finally locked his eyes with Jared. ‘Only one more. Please. Don’t let the devil keep you away from your eternal reward. You might never get this opportunity again.’

  Next time, Lord, Jared thought and lowered his head. Next time. He didn’t say another word for the remainder of the trip home. His mind was racing, his thoughts incoherent, as he wondered what on earth just happened.

  * - - - *

  Jared lay on the soft grass, a boy no older than nine. A gentle spring breeze ruffled the leaves in a tree nearby as the boy searched for hidden pictures in the clouds. At one time he spotted a unicorn; at another, the head of an eagle.

  Jared, someone whispered softly. It was a female voice, the gentleness of the voice interwoven with that of the light wind that ruffled his hair. The boy sat up and looked around. Jared, the woman spoke again. Come to me.

  Jared stood up. Around him trees gently swayed to and fro with the hypnotic rhythm of the breeze. The boy turned around, scanning his eyes across the field for as far as he could see.

  Nothing.

  Come, Jared.

  The grass turned to flames. The boy panicked. ‘Mommy?’

  Jared.

  The flames scorched away the earth, consuming a nearby tree. The tree transformed into a massive flaming dragon. Jared stood on the scorched earth, his legs trying to move, but unable to do so. The dragon neared Jared, opening its huge jaws and inhaling deeply to spurt out a blast of fire that would totally engulf the boy.

  Flames.

  Fire.

  Sulphur.

  ‘Jared!’ Rebecca screamed as she woke from her nightmare.

  Justin sat up and slapped his arm around in the darkness. He finally found what he was looking for and the room lit up when pressed a button. ‘What’s wrong, baby?’ he asked.

  ‘Bad dream,’ she said; her throat dry and her voice coarse. ‘Bad dream...’

  Justin lay his head back down on the pillow. ‘Don’t...worry...’ he said and managed a half-hearted ‘nggg...’ before he fell asleep again.

  Rebecca wiped the sweat from her
forehead and flung her legs over the edge of the bed. It had been years since she had a nightmare this intense. She looked at the digital alarm clock. It flashed a constant 03:00. Rebecca held her hand to her stomach. Jared! In the bathroom, she gulped down large quantities of water that made her throat feel somewhat less parched. Her stomach ached from the speed with which she consumed the water.

  Monique!

  Through the darkness, Rebecca managed to reach Monique’s room without making too much noise. She entered the room and stood next to her daughter. The gentle breathing coming from the bed relaxed Rebecca somewhat. But something still felt out of place. An old familiar fear crept down her spine and she realised that something was wrong; very, very wrong.

  Chapter 2

  Jared was on his way out when the phone rang. He checked his watch. It was still early enough to take a quick call. ‘Hello,’ he answered when he picked up the phone.

  ‘Hi sweetie.’

  Mother.

  ‘Is this a bad time?’

  ‘Not at all,’ Jared said and smiled. ‘How are you? Is everything okay?’

  ‘I’m fine,’ she said and paused. ‘The question is, are you?’

  Jared frowned at the question. ‘I’m all right? Why?’

  ‘I had a bad dream last night,’ Rebecca said. ‘I…I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay.’

  ‘I’m fine, mom,’ Jared assured his mother. ‘In fact, things couldn’t be much better.’

  ‘You sure?’ his mother insisted. ‘If something’s wrong, you know you can always talk to me, right?’

  ‘Will do,’ Jared said. ‘I’m actually seeing a potential client today and, if he signs, it will launch Whyte & Greene onto a whole new platform. We’re talking hundreds of millions.’

  ‘That’s nice,’ Rebecca said and sighed. ‘I was just worried that something bad might have happened...’

  ‘It was just a dream,’ he said. ‘Is it money? I could transfer some if you need.’

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘Thank you for the gesture, but it’s not that. Your father and I are coping just fine; it’s you I’m worried about.’

  ‘Well, rest assured that I’m okay,’ Jared said and checked his watch. If he didn’t leave now, he would be late for the meeting. ‘Listen, I have to go, but I’ll call you. Send my love to dad.’

  They finished their conversation promptly and Jared still stood there for a few seconds after hanging up the phone, wondering what it was that had his mother so rattled. He shrugged it off and shot his cuffs before picking up his briefcase and briskly walking out the door.

  * - - - *

  ‘Six hundred and seventy million,’ Jared said and whistled through his teeth. ‘That’s a lot of money, gentlemen.’

  The four men opposite Jared merely smiled. He could see that smiling wasn’t a gesture they were used to. ‘At Patterson and Lewis,’ one of the older men said, ‘we go big or we go home. Simple as that.’

  ‘I believe in that very same principle,’ Jared said and swivelled his seat. It was so easy to forget the little things in business. The art of war. One could be so easily enticed by numbers that he wouldn’t see the attack from the side until it was way too late. The little things that meant a lot, like the fact that this wasn’t his office, nor his chair. Jared stopped in mid-swivel and sat up straight, suddenly very aware of himself and his every movement. ‘One cannot expect to reap huge rewards if he is not prepared to take huge risks, right?’

  The men nodded. Samuel Berkley, the eldest of the group, was in his mid-sixties. His dark suit and silver hair made him appear more sophisticated than the rest and his experience reflected in his cobalt eyes. He had seen well-established companies sink because of misjudgement, and as Patterson’s right-hand man, didn’t want to see those same mistakes repeated. ‘Huge risks indeed,’ Samuel said after a moment of thought. ‘Have you ever worked on a contract of this magnitude before, Mister Greene?’

  Jared hesitated. He briefly scanned his eyes across the men at the other end of the table. ‘No,’ he finally said. ‘This will be a first for Whyte & Greene.’

  Samuel nodded without saying anything. Shaun shifted his weight in his chair and shot a side-line glance at Jared. Silence lingered in the room as the old man’s eyes seemed to penetrate Jared’s very soul. When Samuel spoke again, a slight echo trailed his voice. ‘You do understand the Service Level Agreement standards stipulated by Patterson and Lewis, is that right, Mister Greene?’

  ‘I do,’ Jared said and nodded. ‘And I have to be honest; it will be extremely challenging to live up to those standards, Mister Berkley. But I’m confident that we will be able to execute all orders seamlessly within the agreed-upon service timeframe.’

  ‘And if you don’t?’

  ‘As per the agreement, Whyte & Greene International will bear the cost…plus penalties.’

  ‘Correct, Mister Greene,’ Samuel said with a nod. The old man was pleased that Jared knew and understood what he was getting himself into. ‘Our sources,’ he said, ‘informed us that you use more than one supplier to get the job done. Is this information accurate?’

  Jared nodded. ‘If the situation calls for it, yes,’ he said. ‘Any means possible to get the job done on time; within legal limits, of course.’

  One of the men at Samuel’s side scribbled a note and Jared couldn’t help but wonder what he had said that triggered the note. Was admitting to more than one supplier a mistake? Had it been a trick question?

  ‘To your knowledge, Mister Greene,’ Samuel said and paused. He studied Jared for a moment before wording the question. ‘Has Whyte & Greene ever breached service level with one of its clients in the last six months?’

  Jared pondered the answer. Just how much did this man know about his company? Who were the sources Samuel made use of? For a moment the thought of lying and saving face seemed the better option, but if he was caught out, he would lose the contract, and the reputation of Whyte & Greene would forever be tarnished. Jared shot a glance at Shaun and dismissed the thought. He took a deep breath before answering with a firm, ‘Yes.’

  The men looked at Jared without saying anything. They were waiting for him to continue.

  ‘There were three instances where we didn’t reach SLA,’ he said. Might as well go all the way. ‘One was a cargo plane that crashed somewhere in the Atlantic,’ Jared said. ‘The second was a client that burdened the company to the extent that we had to cancel the contract, lest we lose all our other clients.’

  ‘And the third?’

  Shaun shifted uncomfortably in his chair, relieved that it wasn’t he that had to answer that question. For a moment he wondered if Jared would answer truthfully.

  Jared looked down at the table and took a deep breath. ‘I had...an affair with the client’s wife,’ he said. The silence in the room was tangible. No one said a word. ‘Needless to say, the client found out about it and retaliated in anger by loading the company down with impossible demands. Instead of admitting to my mistake, pride made me believe that I could manage the orders.’

  ‘And you failed?’

  Jared nodded. ‘You could say that, yes,’ he said. ‘Then again, the lesson did not go unlearned. Sometimes we pay dearly for the experience that would save us at a later stage in life.’

  Shaun studied Samuel. The old man sat expressionlessly for what felt like forever; saying nothing; giving away no thoughts. He merely studied the young man sitting opposite him. Finally he stood up and the three others followed suit. ‘Thank you for your time,’ he said and extended his hand toward Jared.

  Jared’s mind raced. His heart bounced around in his chest and his throat felt constricted. He stood up on legs that felt like rubber and had to force himself to shake Samuel’s hand. Was this it? Was the meeting over already? Did he blow his only chance by telling the truth?

  ‘My secretary will be in touch with you later today to update you on our final decision, Mister Greene,’ Samuel Berkley said. ‘Please note that if we decide not to g
o with Whyte & Greene International, it won’t be on the basis of a personal issue. It’s purely business, as I’m sure you’ll certainly understand.’

  ‘I understand,’ Jared said and followed Shaun to the door. He shook hands with everyone before leaving the four men in the boardroom and closing the door behind him. ‘We’re dead,’ Jared said as they left the building.

  ‘You think it’s that bad?’ Shaun asked. ‘I honestly couldn’t tell from their body language.’

  Jared stopped before opening the car door. ‘Should I have lied, Shaun?’ Jared asked. His stomach churned and his legs felt weak. It had been a while since anyone had been able to intimidate him like this. ‘Do you think I blew our only shot at this?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Shaun said. ‘But I’m glad that you didn’t lie. You handled the situation quite well and if they knew about Elsa, we wouldn’t just be losing their contract. You know Patterson’s reputation for ruthlessness. We would never manage to land another contract anywhere again.’

  ‘I guess you’re right,’ Jared said as he got into the Bentley. ‘Come, let’s go lick our wounds over a few beers.’

  * - - - *

  Both Tanya and Amy let out a gasp of surprise when Jared popped the cork of the champagne. He entered the dining room with three glasses and filled them before handing each to the ladies.

  ‘Oh my,’ Tanya said. ‘What’s the occasion?’