Allure: Mike

by Sarah Monte

  Ted was the one to break the silence, saying, “We believe you Liam, although I’m sure none of us want to. I’m sorry for your pain, I wish I could have helped. But I promise you I will do whatever I can to help now.” He called in for one of his colleagues, presumably whispering to him about getting the letter that Liam had asked for. Jennifer had nodded in agreement with Ted, but whilst Mike agreed as well; he didn’t necessarily completely trust Liam. This could be a ploy by Donovan just as they had tried to plant Rat in order to find David’s location. He decided to keep his suspicions to himself for the time being however, choosing to focus on saving David’s life instead.

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  “Have you heard from Liam yet?” asked Donovan irritably. It was nearing an hour now and Donovan was itching to get this show on the road. The part of him that was still slightly human was fighting at him about what he had just done, and it was starting to annoy him as he sat there idly. Maybe being the boss had also made him lazier, he missed those early days of actually being out there. Seeing death in the eyes every single day, only to defeat it and come back victorious.

  Donovan had been the middle child of a poor family of five. His father was a cobbler and his mother a maidservant. They were fine for the most part, but there were certain things that being a middle child, Donovan constantly had to compromise on. His older brother and younger sister always got new clothes and first preference at schools and for other amenities, while Donovan got the hand me downs from his brother. This didn’t bother him much though, until one day when things changed forever.

  His father had always had a drinking problem, Donovan was aware of that much. He had made a ruckus at home a few times, but nothing his mother and brother wouldn’t be able to handle. One day, Donovan overheard his parents fighting and his mind went numb with shock at what he heard. His mother had lost her job as a maidservant and nobody was ready to employ her anymore owing to the secret that had come out. Donovan’s father used to sell his mother to men for money, and her secret life as a prostitute had ruined their reputation. Out of a job and with people refusing to go to Donovan’s father anymore as well, the family was reduced to living on the streets in rags.

  When Donovan had come back from school one day, he found a thug trying to mug his family for whatever pennies they had left. Ordinarily easy to deal with, his father was unable to gain an upper hand this time owing to the gun he was carrying. Donovan managed to sneak behind him and knock him down, taking his gun. He would have shot, but decided to show mercy when the man started pleading. Just as the little boy was lowering the gun, the man jumped and snatched the gun from his hand, shooting the entire family dead in front of Donovan’s eyes, except the mother – who was raped every night and kept as a servant in the morning.

  Donovan grew up without a trace of kindness in him, no matter how much his mother tried to convince him otherwise. A brief moment of pity had killed half his family and made the living one’s life hell. Bordering on inhumanity, he grew under the wing of the very man who was responsible for this, creating an empire for him before taking him down brutally. Donovan certainly wasn’t a force to be reckoned with in any sense of the word.

  Occasionally however, his feelings threatened to overtake and overwhelm him. His coping mechanism was worse than what he felt however, as his cruelty increased tenfold each time. Donovan also suffered from an insane desire to torture and kill, and a need to replicate every atrocity that was ever committed to him. It was after a long time that he had unleashed his monster today, and yet the image of hopeless despair and horror he had seen in Liam’s eyes reminded him of his own. It was an uneasy feeling, and one he dealt it the same old way.

  “Not yet boss, we will let you know,” replied Lyle as he quickly left the room, not wanting to be the next victim for the day.

  There was a different kind of feeling about this day, as if Donovan was going to have to battle his demons at last. Those kept at bay for so long, Donovan wouldn’t even know what they looked like now. But there were other matters to be taken care of, these things would have to wait a little longer.

  ****

  “So what’s the plan?” asked Mike curiously.

  “Off the top of my head, I think the best way to crack Donovan is to get him by greed. Assuming you have clients from the underworld Mr. Sinclair, what we can do is convince one of them to get on board with our plan. We would have to convince Donovan that this party has been trying to get in touch with him for a while, through me but I was betraying Donovan and trying to swindle the money for myself. Giving him an ultimatum, if we ask him to meet up he definitely will – because he is just that greedy. Once the transaction is happening, you can go catch him red handed,” said Liam

  The other considered it, mulling over it and trying to find any and every possible loophole. “It sounds like a good plan Liam, but aren’t we basing this plan on chance and the presumption of his reaction again?” asked Ted with some concern.

  “We probably our, but this time there is some credibility to the presumption because of me. And if there is a deal taking place for which he has to go personally, it will keep him distracted and David alive a little longer as well. Any other plan will go beyond the two hour mark, and that is something we cannot afford right now,” said Liam and he turned to look at Mike, “Can you get someone to do this for you? He needs to be really big, important and influential – and a whole lot more so than Donovan.”

  Mike thought about it for a while, whereas Jennifer despaired over the addition of more criminals to the scenario. Picking up his spare phone, he called up his office and asked to be connected to a Mr. Spaulding. Jennifer noticed out of the corner of her eyes as Liam’s eyes widened ever so slightly at the mention of that name, and a little more so when Mike said, “Hello Bob? It’s Mike here, I need you to do me a solid.”

  “It’s best we don’t talk about this over the phone, do you want to head over to my place? I need this urgently too Bob, so you have to come over as soon as possible,” said Mike into the phone, his voice conveying his desperation, “You will? Okay great, I’ll see you in 15. Thank you!” and saying so, he hung up.

  “What was that? Who is Bob?” asked Jennifer, still looking sideways at Liam; who seemed a little impressed.

  “Mr. Spaulding is the most well-known cocaine dealer in all of the fucking tri state area. It’s almost impossible to trace any supply back to him though, he’s like a ghost but apparently there everywhere, all the time. You must either be running in too deep with wrong crowd or he owes you some pretty big favors for him to be available to you at such short notice,” observed Liam, looking at Mike with some amount of appraisal.

  Mike shrugged and said, “That’s none of your business. I know what has happened to you is horrible, but let’s not forget that you’re still a criminal, and the safe passage you’ve asked is for outside this precinct and not inside it. So remember your place and don’t antagonize me, you understand?”

  Liam merely looked at him for a second and simply said, “Okay.”

  “Jennifer, I’m going to go meet Bob and try to convince him to get on board with it,” said Mike as he looked at Jennifer. Turning to address Liam, “What do we do once he agrees?”

  “It’s fairly simple. We call up one of the goons at Donovan’s through a rerouted number to make it look authentic. Mr. Spaulding will speak to him about the deal and give him an offer he cannot possibly refuse. Once he moves to get that done at a location of our choice, we catch him red handed and book him for death,” said Liam

  “For life, you mean,” corrected Jennifer almost subconsciously. Liam looked at her as a dark shadow crossed his face, “No, there aren’t too many sand grains left in this man’s clock anymore.”

  “Ted, you stay here and keep an eye on this man. I’m going to sort this scene out with Mr. Spaulding and hopefully be back soon,” said Mike and with a quick kiss on Jenny’s head, he sped off and out of the precinct. He made it home sooner than he thought,
and was impatiently walking around as he waited for his client to come. He remembered how the board of directors had advised him against collaborations or any sort of involvement whatsoever with people of ‘such dicey characters’. But Mike had put his foot down, saying that nobody would be turned at his company – nobody.

  And it seemed to have worked out just fine for him, as now Mike had some street credit as well. He showed Mr. Spaulding in, handing him a glass of the finest Irish whiskey. “Cheers!” they cried and clinked glasses.

  “So what do you need me to do for you, Michael?” asked Bob in a rich baritone.

  “Have you heard of this man named Donovan? He’s a low level mobster, has been dealing in drugs recently,” asked Mike

  “I think I might have. Isn’t he the one who skinned his own boss and his family to take over the entire dealings?” asked Bob with a revolted expression. Mike sighed, nodding as he said, “Yep, that’s exactly the one I’m talking about. My brother got into some hot water with him accidentally, and he’s injured and tried to kill both my brother as well as my girlfriend. Soon I’m sure it’ll be me, and I want to take this rascal down.”

  “Sounds good to me, but you still didn’t tell me how I can help you with this,” said Bob

  “I need you to call Bob and tell him that you have a huge deal for him and are looking to get into this area. Once he confirms that it’s you, we make an offer he can’t refuse. You also have to make it sound like you’ve been trying to do this for weeks, but Liam – his henchman, was trying to snag the deal and the money for himself. Donovan panics, and you also give him an ultimatum saying that he has to come do the deal in the next half an hour. He comes, we get him red – handed,” said Mike with a smile.

  “But won’t you be getting me too there? Donovan isn’t going to be doing a deal with himself right?” asked Bob skeptically, “I would do anything for you Michael, but that doesn’t include putting my own neck on the line. I’m running it thin with the law these days anyway.”

  “Nope, that won’t be happening because you’ll first make him sign over two of his warehouses, so we’ll book him under possession and sale of those illegal drugs, not any deal with you. You could merely say that you were called there to meet him for the official record and we’ll show the documents to have been retrieved later after the raids,” said Mike. He knew that the others hadn’t thought of this yet, but it seemed like too simple a plan to not implement. Yes, this plan was based on risk again – but this time there was also thought. It was a water tight plan, and Donovan was going to drown in it this time around.

  Bob thought about it for a second, called his lawyer and then gave Mike his word. They rushed to the police station, almost breathless in a sense as they told the other three of the addition to the plan. It was a race against time, with only sixty minutes more left on the clock. Sitting in the control room, everyone’s eyes were only focused on Bob’s, who sat with the phone pressed against his ear.

  “Hello?” came a rough voice, “Who is this?”

  “My name is Mr. Bob Spaulding, I wish to speak to a certain fellow by the name of Donovan,” hissed Bob. He was doing a great job at sounding intimidating, and the hissing just made it all the more sinister. If this wasn’t for show and his real mafia voice, Jennifer didn’t have any misgivings as to why his career in the underworld had thrived undisputed for as long as it had.

  “Who Mr. Spaulding? Boss is not in the mood to be speaking with anyone right now, you can call back,” said the voice

  Just as he was about to put the phone down, Bob didn’t raise his voice but spoke in a manner so icy that it compelled everyone to listen a little harder, “Listen to me you little runt. Obviously you do not know who I am or you would have dropped the phone from fear or shock a long time ago. I have an opportunity for your boss that will change his life forever, and from what I’ve heard he’s a smart enough man to take on the opportunity. If I do get through to him later, or he finds out himself that he missed this – I don’t think you want to be on the receiving end of whatever it is he will be giving you.”

  The man on the other end of the line was clearly affected by what was just said to him, and he seemed to be mentally calculating the weight of what he had heard. Finally, he said, “Okay”, which was followed by a great deal of scuffling sounds.

  “Hello, this is Donovan,” came a voice at the other end, dropping the temperature on this side of the room.

  Nobody said a word, not even daring to breathe. Jennifer and Mike looked at one another, daring to hope for the best. If Donovan agreed to this, they could finally get him and end all of this misery for once. But what would happen eventually was something that would leave both of them at a point where celebration and misery would both be in order.

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  “Hello Donovan, my name is Bob Spaulding,” said Bob. “I have called you up to find out about an offer that I had made weeks ago. If you do not wish to engage me, let me know but do remember that you aren’t big enough yet to mess around with someone twice your size.”

  “Mr. Spaulding, it is a pleasure to be talking to you,” said Donovan in a slick, eerily polite voice, “As far as your offer is concerned, I have absolutely no idea what you’re speaking about and hence cannot fully appreciate the subtle threat you have just made to me.”

  “Is this a joke? My associate has been in touch with a man named Mr. Liam, who had promised us that by today he would let us know if you wanted to deal with us. It isn’t every day that gangsters like you get calls from me, and I fail to understand why your response is different from those of the others I’ve dealt with,” said Bob rather dangerously, conveying perfectly a sense of insulted pride.

  Donovan thought carefully before wording his next few sentences, his blood boiling internally, “Liam no longer works with me anymore, the traitorous little leech is dead Sir. I suppose he was trying to get you to deal with him as an individual rather than with me, for I have no information on this at all.”

  “That is none of my concern, Donovan, although I’m sorry if the betrayer in question was dear to you. If you really do not know of the offer, then I will state it again. I wish to expand my um, ‘empire’ to your area, and from what I’ve heard you’re the most reliable one there. I want to take over the student market first and establish base, and I’m willing to split profits with you 60-40,” said Bob

  “What’s in it for me though?” asked Donovan after some deliberation, “With all due respect Mr. Spaulding, why would I give up full profits for a lower share in a partnership with you? Seeing as I’m already well-established here.”

  “You won’t be dealing in the menial quantities that you do now, and you will also be handling the international aspect of dealings from that area. The profits made are in numbers that you can only possibly dream of, and even with the portion I’m giving you, you’ll be making almost 5 times more than what you make now. Additionally, my name is well known enough that when we’re established there, your run-ins with the law will also significantly reduced. And with your recent record, I think you would like that,” added Bob with a bit of a chuckle.

  Donovan gnashed his teeth together. He had refrained from working with the bigger people of the drug industry because he refused to be treated as inferior. But this was an offer that was bigger than anything he could achieve by himself anytime soon, and he was a little hesitant about taking it up just as much as he was against rejecting it outright.

  “I don’t mean no disrespect at all Mr. Spaulding, but could you give me just a day to get back to you? Matters like these need to be pondered upon, as I’m sure you would know,” requested Donovan, his sweet voice multiplied and back on.

  “I completely agree with you Donovan. But there’s a reason that I have called today, and not my associate. We have been in talks with you for weeks now, and sensing a bit of reluctance and laziness on your part, we got in touch with other peddlers in the area. While it may be harder to deal with them, I’m sure w
ith time we’ll manage to be healthy competition. If you still want the offer though, it’s up for grabs in the next 30 minutes,” said Bob.

  “The location of our meeting spot will be texted to you once this call is disconnected provided you say yes. We will meet and sign some papers to get some work underway, and hopefully be established soon enough. But you have only the next thirty minutes to get to me and ensure that this is done. Can you do it?” asked Mr. Spaulding.

  Donovan, while seething with rage at Liam knew that this was a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity. He could make it very big from here, and he wasn’t about to let it go. Almost every other thought slipped out of his mind as he eagerly said “Yes,” to which Mr. Spaulding replied, “Brilliant, I’ll see you soon then,” and disconnected the call.

  Donovan turned urgently towards Lyle and asked, “Cross check and verify if the number called from is authentic.” “Already done that boss,” replied Lyle, seemingly proud of himself, “It has been routed through 3 different countries but traces back to a nursery here in New York itself.”

  “Seems like a legit thing to do,” thought Donovan to himself. He knew that he would never forgive Liam no matter what he did now, and was disgusted at the roots to which his treachery ran. Pulling out his gun, he shot Liam’s wife in the corner without even looking at her.

  “Take as many men as possible,” said Donovan as he dropped the gun and turned towards Lyle, “I’m about to get rich.”

  ****

  A little bit of a cheer left everyone’s mouth as Bob disconnected the phone and leaned back in his seat with a bit of a swagger. “Thank you for that Bob, it really means a lot,” said Mike. He felt a rising sense of elation with each passing minute, knowing that time for sure – Donovan had fallen for the bait hook, line and sinker.

  “Good job Liam,” said Ted with a nod towards Liam who replied, “It’s really no big deal; that is the greediest and most calculative bastard you’ll ever come across. You have to hurry and leave now however, if you want establish any sort of safe perimeters at all before he gets there. And trust me, he’s going to be bringing a force with him.”