Flint sat in his seat, head bowed, eyes to the ground, contemplating his decision.
"nope" he finally said, raising his eyes to the chief first, before turning to the man.
"I ain't doing nothing" he said slowly, putting emphasis on each word, letting his hands drop to his sides, leaning back and slacking his upper body on the chair.
The man stared at him like he had gone crazy.
Miguel had mentally kicked himself when he found out about the huge sum he would be transporting to this Flint of a man and to think he would reject it. Unbelievable! He was speechless.
The amount of money in the damn case was more than the shit he got as pay every month and he was a hired gun.... risking his life every time he was on an errand, putting his life on the line every single second in his line of work and this fucker just had 20 mil dumped on his lap just like that, for some stupid case and missing files along with misplaced paper work and the idiot was rejecting it?
He felt the veins on his forehead popping. Though it was not his place, he felt utterly pissed on behalf of his bosses.
Who exactly was this guy? he thought as he stared at Flint.
"come on Flint... this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The chief said, stunned at his rejection.
He'd expected Flint to jump at the offer knowing the little financial trouble he had.
This was a free gold mine.
Yup, fucking el dorado and the fool was turning it down.
"nope, I'm not doing it" Flint repeated.
"Mr Kennedy I think you should reconsider your decision" Miguel made an attempt at convincing him.
"Mr Flint" Miguel continued, this time using his surname, gesturing with his right hand as he spoke.
"My bosses are willing to negotiate a deal or re negotiate the sum if you want"
Flint just stared daggers at him and got to his feet.
"I think we're done here" Flint said, standing up.
"Flint trust me you do not want to offend this people" the chief said, standing up, hands on his desk, cocking his head as Flint walked towards the door.
Flint gave him no reply as he stood by the door unlocking it.
As Flint left the office, he saw the man arrange the stack of bills and lock the briefcase before pulling it off the table.
If an ordinary observer were to walk in this instant, it would seem like the chief was the one being offered the money.
His body language was totally off, he was agitated and utterly uncomfortable.
When Flint left the office, the man let out a breath and fished his pocket for his phone.
He punched in a number and dialed. The person picked on the third ring.
"he refused the offer boss" Miguel said into the receiver.
"even with the prompting of the chief?"
"yes boss"
"I see....proceed to phase two then"
"yes boss" Miguel replied then the call went dead.
"what do you plan on doing" the chief asked, eyeing Miguel suspiciously.
He'd listened in in the conversation and he knew the kind of people these men were.
"it should be none of your concern chief. Your role in this business is done" Miguel said, pocketing his phone.
He walked towards the door and when he had his hand on the door knob, he turned abruptly to the chief.
"I'll let the bosses know about your contribution to today's business" and with that, he was out of the office.
The chief let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding in.
Flint was a fool. How hard could it be to take the money and walk away .. he could even go into early retirement if he wished.
How hard could it be? the chief reasoned.
He shook his head. The guy was about to sign his own death warrant. This much he knew.
**********
Flint walked out of the precinct, shaking his head. Even if he sounded confident as he rejected the offer, he wasn't deep down.
Even as he walked, he fought the urge to run back to the chief and ask for forgiveness then claim the suitcase. Claim the money.
Shonda his wife would totally be in support of his decision.
She already felt pity for the children as it was and if she had her way and could find them, she would definitely be prepared to take them in as their kids were all grown and in college.
He clenched his fists as he walked.
"ignore the temptation Flint" he mentally repeated to himself.
He walked to the parking lot.
He didn't contemplate, didn't think as he went straight to his private car.
All of a sudden, he didn't feel like identifying himself with the police force.
He just wanted to go home to his wife.
He was glad he'd had the sense to come out in plain clothes as he was in no mood for stares.
On his way home, he stopped at the grocery store to get supplies for the house.
He parked his car and pocketed the keys, ignoring the children who were kicking a ball between themselves.
He walked in, and walked slowly between the shelves. Just as he was putting a little sack of potatoes in his trolley, he noticed the children had already turned his car into a goal post.
They were repeatedly kicking the ball towards the car and it kept hitting the front tire.
Just then, it began bouncing off the bonnet each time they kicked, it got closer to his windscreen.
He abandoned the cart and was heading outside to caution them, walking in long strides towards the door.
He was halfway to his car when it happened.
Boom!!!! came the sound.
The child had kicked the ball repeatedly on the car door and then it went.
The explosion shattered when windows of nearby shops, vibration rocked the very ground on which he stood.
Flint found himself flung backwards to the shop's entrance.
He felt a loud ringing in his ears as he tried to stand on his feet, the side of his forehead was bleeding, there were shards of glass stuck on his skin, the blood dripping out his forehead was getting into his eyes, his vision grew hazy.
Customers from the store and the workers, the management ran towards the scene.
Flint felt his head spinning as the ringing sound in his ears got to his brain.
After trying to stand and failing woefully, he managed to sit on the ground, shaking his head at intervals to clear his vision.
Just then, his phone rang.
He couldn't stand the ringing, adding to the one in his ears.
He picked the call. The moment he did, he heard a chuckle from the reciever.
"surprise surprise... you're still alive" a dry raspy voice sounded through the reciever.
"who's this" Flint said through his dry parched throat. He felt like there were tiny little fingers clawing and scratching at his trachea.
"who i am does not matter. You should be more concerned about what I want" the voice replied.
"what do you want" replied Flint struggling to form the words. He didn't recognize his own voice.
"you were made an offer today...why didn't you take it" the voice said.
It took Flint a while for his brain to process the information then it clicked.
It was about the money. The bloody fucking money. He'd known they'd do something else to get his attention but he never expected this.
He never expected them to go this far.
He was in shock. They didn't even mind involving innocent bystanders. People who had absolutely nothing to do with the damn business. Innocent children.
The sound of the voice jolted him from his reverie.
"do I still have your attention detective Flint?" the voice said.
"you bastards....the children....you didn't wait"
"oh it could not be avoided" the voice said chuckling.
"this is just a little demonstration of our abilities detective Flint. Do well to remember we can get to you anywhere, anytime and anyway we choose. We will be in contact soon and send my regards to your wife, son and daughter. Your daughter specifically." the voice said and the line went dead.
The moment Flint heard that, he felt his heart leap to his throat.
An ambulance had arrived and there were people being carried away on stretchers.
Obviously, someone had called the explosion in.
More buses pulled in. Flint could hear voices but he couldn't focus. Each voice grew more distant as he heard them.
He swayed where he sat then his eyes rolled into his head and he fell.
He drifted away into a dreamless dreamland.
**********
In a black sedan parked not far from the grocery store, a man dropped his phone call and chuckled then he reversed the sedan and zoomed off, leaving commotion behind.