Flint woke up to the sound of a phone ringing in the distance. He groaned and grunted as he struggled to ignore it in bed or more like in couch.
He'd fallen asleep on the couch the night before, though how he got the blanket which he just threw off on himself last night, he had no idea. At last, the damn phone won.
When he got up, the sound became glaringly louder. He felt like his ear drums might pop any second and he had a splitting headache.
After driving home, he'd drank some more and had found himself on the couch. He ran his hands on his face and shook his head vigorously.
"Rise and shine" came the voice from the receiver the moment he picked up.
Flint grunted in response.
"you're needed at the precinct pronto...the chief wants a few words"
He looked at the time. It was 7am in the morning.
"what in the world would the chief want me for this early in the morning"
"I dunno, he didn't say... you gotta come find out for yourself.... I'm just the messenger here" the voice replied.
Flint gave another grunt and dropped the call.
He dragged himself off his couch and went to the bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face then he proceeded to carryout his daily work preparation routine.
His headache was beginning to get to his eyes so he knew he had to do something about it.
He went upstairs to his room and fished for the aspirin his wife usually kept in one of the bedside dressers. His wife was still asleep and he didn't bother to wake her up.
Lord knows that woman had gone through enough stress for his sake. Putting up with his erratic work hours, late nights, his extreme addiction to caffeine, the frustrated work situations drinking, the other crazy things he did too numerous to mention, nope, she deserved rest whenever she got it.
He knew he was going to get a sermon the second she got up, if he was still in the house by the time she got up that is, and he was in no mood for that. He wanted to bolt before she did. He felt a little guilty, but hey...it is just what it is.
He took the entire container of pills and went to the kitchen his direction, the fridge. The moment he stepped foot in the kitchen, he was greeted by an aroma that massaged his nostrils.
He followed the pull of the aroma to it's location and found his wife had already prepared him a bowl of hangover soup.
He felt a little ache and warmth in his heart. "That woman....when did she...." he muttered shaking his head as he went for a spoon.
He positioned himself on the island as he dug into his meal, completely forgetting about the bottle of Aspirin he had brought down with him earlier. He made sure he rinsed the plate and spoon after he was done, at least it was the least he could do.
He was about to leave the kitchen when he remembered his bottle of Aspirin he simply grabbed it off the counter and shoved it in his pocket.
It wasn't like he didn't trust his wife's soup, he just felt it might come in handy.
As he left the house, he locked the door and pocketed the keys. He was sure his wife had a spare somewhere in the house. Well even if she didn't, she would still be able to get the door open. Yup....she was that smart. Flint knew he didn't marry a Buffon.
He whistled a tune as he walked to his issued police car...he was in high spirits this morning and nothing could ruin his day...so he thought.
*******
He arrived at the police station and after a few exchange of pleasantries with the familiar faces he met as he came in, he went straight to the chief's office.
"shut the door behind you" the chief said as Flint came in.
Flint did as he was told and turned the key in the lock the moment he came in.
There was a man in the office with the chief. He wore a hat... one of those types you'd see in gangster movies, he wore gloves and a suit. He had bushy brows, lots of bandages and a few cuts on his face along with some scars. He looked like he had been attacked by an angry tiger who had decided to pardon his sins and permit him to escape after giving him few scratches. He spotted a mustache and a beard he had intricately carved into a diamond shape, beneath his lips. Flint found it utterly ridiculous... this wasn't the eighteen hundreds anymore and apparently the man wasn't aware of the fact. Someone needed to drop him a memo.
Flint stiffled a chuckle and cleared his throat instead as he took his seat. The man had a briefcase with him, which he set down by his side the moment Flint walked in.
The man made an attempt at exchanging pleasantries by holding out his hands with the kind of stiff smile you'd totally know isn't genuine if you saw it.
Flint stared at him and didn't take it, creating an awkward situation.
The man's hand hung for a while before he shrugged his shoulders and let his hands drop to his side.
He sat down forcefully on his seat, jamming his knees together. The chief just watched the unfolding drama then he spoke.
"this is Mr Miguel Ruiz, he's here representing a group of friends who would like have few words with you in person, but are regretfully absent due to their busy schedules and other urgent and pressing matters, so they sent a gift instead"
At the mention of the word gift, the man took the cue and brought up his briefcase which he opened gingerly. Inside, there were crisp minty bills neatly stacked on and close to each other, in 50 dollar notes. He opened it and leaned back on his seat to stare at Flint.
"what am I looking at?" Flint asked, brows raised at both the chief and the man.
The man looked to the chief for assistance. He appeared to be a man of very little words. Either that or he just didn't feel like talking, leaving the job to the chief.
"c'mon Flint don't tell me you don't have an idea" the chief said eyeing him.
Flint just stared.
After a long pause, the chief pursed his lips and continued.
"you see Flint, those men are asking you for a favour an..." Flint didn't let him finish.
"which men? What favour?" he asked brows raised.
"relax and let me finish Flint...I was coming to that" the chief continued smoothly, leaning in close, intertwining his fingers on his desk.
"you see, those friends we talked about the other day who wanted the case closed.... those friends are who come bearing gifts and there's plenty more from where that came from. In that briefcase is twenty million dollars Flint ....twenty fucking million dollars and it is just a show of goodwill.
Once they get what what they want, another 10 million will be transferred to an offshore account in your name or paid in cash... which ever way you choose to get paid would be completely up to you" the chief finished and leaned back in his seat.
Flint had folded his arms midway as the chief spoke and as the chief finished, he glanced at both of them. The man first, then the chief before taking a long hard look at the brief case in front of him.
10 million dollars. Flint mentally let out a loud whistle. That was more money than he could ever think of possessing even if he worked his back off for the system throughout his service years. It would mean early retirement for him and Shonda his wife.
He would finally be able to take her on that vacation he always had in mind....it was long over due and she totally deserved it. He'd been meaning to do it, to save up for the vacation but who was he kidding.... there was no way his chicken pay was going to just afford such a trip. It wasn't like he couldn't go right away, but he wanted it to be extra special. The five star lodging, fancy restaurants, Buffet, beaches, rented cars, the full fucking package.
Then he thought of the bills.... his daughter's tuition..
This damn money could do it all and more. Lot's of money with lots of fucking zero's. While still in thought, he glanced at the man. He was watching Flint in anticipation.
"what's it going to be Flint" the chief prompted him. The man began tapping his hands on the desk slowly... he was so relaxed as though he had nowhere else to be.
The devil sure did know how to tempt a person. An offer he could not refuse.