Collins and Bruce were locked in an interesting discussion one evening after work. George joined them later and felt a little jealous for them to have come at his favorite sitting spot before him. He made a false grin and joined them.
" It's always like that. I hate it!" Bruce defended himself.
" But you can always find girls even in the weekend where you usually have your drink." Collins suggested.
"I don't love this whole issue of girls and dating. I love concentrating on important matters!" rejoined Bruce.
" So dating and girls are not important matters Bruce?" George challenged when he had finally picked up the direction of the discussion.
"They are not!" Bruce blurted out with a tone of seriousness.!
" You never seem to have a vision of having a family Bruce. I can see it." George observed.
" Yes and he can't even get a page who is a girl. You think that's right Bruce." Collins added.
" It's very much okay for me. See we were born different. We have lover boys like you Collins who never seem to settle with any lover, we have quite serious people who fool themselves with one lover like my brother George here. " Bruce cleared his throat irritatingly and proceeded, " As for me , I don't think I can lean towards aimless hunting of women or being too serious with loving one woman. I just fall in between and thus why I see no need for a girl in my life."
George gritted in anger but did not let it out openly. He did not want the specific use of words that Bruce had described him with. Collins did not hide his furry. He clicked and clenched his fists and almost to throw a blow at Bruce.
" So you mean Angela.. akh! ..my girlfriend fools me ?" posed George in a little anger.
" Ooh! Angela! Wow! Seems she is an incredible creature. You've never told us her name?" Collins cut it with his anger slowly morphing into an amusement.
" I don't mean that George. She does fool you but it's always wise not to over concentrate on her. Only that is what will be termed as fooling." clarified Bruce.
George did not understand to whom he was supposed to answer. Collins had made him feel like he had finally let the secret out. He never wanted them to know Angela at all costs. Bruce on the other side, had literally wiped off the webs on his eye. He had said something worth pondering. He at the same time , felt that the two men had concentrated much on him. A tingling pain ran across his belly what thought of Angela. He imagined how she would be soaking herself with tears. How grieved she would be of a unexpected disappearance of her close person.
He felt even more colder when he remembered Claire. How that innocent girl like that was going to be killed. He remembered the account that Jerome made to them . How he explained with such seriousness and fear, of Hussain's whole plot of kidnapping women. A strong melancholic feeling overwhelmed him and without a word, he shook his head in regret and decided to leave this group of me silently.
Both Collins and Bruce meant to call him back but he had gone few meters away. None of the duo understood the reason behind his cold nature and why he behaved so! Bruce in particular could remember that this awkward behavior had started when they went for the 'harvest'. He felt skeptical of his reaction even after they bound the girl inside the van. "George must be experiencing something. Or does he see an impending danger?" Bruce asked Collins who seemed to pay no attention at that time.
" Probably ,who Knows! You see how he has started living a moody life." Observed Collins in a careless tone.
"We must find out." Bruce intoned with care.
" It Okay!" Collins returned and continued while changing the subject swiftly, " Bro ! I have an idea! A top notch idea! "
" Which one?"
" We must find a great business idea. The three of us and invest carefully every penny that we get when we go for missions."
Bruce digested what had been uttered carefully and agreed with a sure nod. " Never thought of that before. I see it's great. When we combine our money altogether, something big will come out."
"Exactly. A very big business!" exclaimed Collins then lowering his head down, he added in a low and soft tone. " Another Big Blue!"
" Or Big Yellow?" joked Bruce.
" No not big yellow it would be red because the capital was gained from some dangerous mission."
"Okay whatever might be!" Bruce returned and as if he had forgotten something, he made loud claps and whistles summoning George who was still in the vicinity, to come back.
Hesitantly and finally, George managed to come back hoping the subject of that talk would be different. " Why are you so cold these days. From the time we went for a mission. Is something wrong?" Bruce quizzed carefully.
" No not! Nothing is wrong! But why don't we talk of other matters? Can we have another business to talk of ?" George rejoined.
" That's is why we called you back. You've said it .Other business to talk of." interposed Collins liltingly.
George looked at each one of them one at a time trying to pick the best possible hints for a prank. He found none. They were serious and outrightly succinct in what they said.
" We have thought of an idea . How about we accumulate all the money that Hussain would be paying us for that thing, and build a corporate business. I mean we can do something great." explained Bruce tersely.
George's lips tightened and formed a thin line that graduated into a grin which grew seconds later into a consenting chuckle. "You guys are great! You're now doing what you're supposed to. This is a fabulous and ambitious thought I say." he muttered with such resonance that Bruce and Collins knew it he had already accepted it . " I'm in for it."
"Woow! Wonderful! No let's brush over the ideas quickly then after we have settled with one we can now officially start working on it." Collins contributed.
"That's great! " commended George.
" What if we buy buses and vans and make our try in the public transport?" suggested Bruce thoughtfully.
"That is feasible! Again we can easily do that." Collins praised totally thrilled.
"But we must look at the shortcomings before we get into it." warned George and continued.
" Yes! That business has ups and downs especially with regard to the nature of road, insecurity, and the difficulty to procure accountable crew to work with."
The men thought through it for a while and discredited the idea altogether. They couldn't not keep up with what to expect from that particular venture.
" What if we buy land and do some agricultural staff on large scale? It can pay ." thought Collins.
" Yes that is a little bit less risky." observed George.
" Don't tell me you're looking for a risk free business brother. We have to risk a little bit." Bruce corrected George.
"There must be risks yes but we should look at meaningful risks. Not just risks" Collins refined it .
" Perfectly put!" interjected George.
" But that won't bring meaningful returns to cater for us all, will it?" Bruce challenged.
"I have the same sentiments!" George alluded before continuing, " That idea of buying land will be great but what if we put a more meaningful use of it . Something apart from agricultural activities?"
" What could be the other use? " Collins wondered.
" We erect some rental apartments there or something?" George suggested.
"Now this is the most perfect one." Bruce approbated.
" Now what we are going to do guys, we are going to create a joint account. Put all our money together as we continue to refurbish on this. Meanwhile continue thinking of more and more ideas." George settled.
"But we're inclining towards that one of building apartments!" echoed Bruce.
"It's superb. So Who is going to create the account? I mean who we do all that on our behalf?" Collins quizzed.
"It's me!" Bruce volunteered.
All that time , Susan had sat under a twig barely two metres from the men t
and she camouflaged perfectly with it. None of the men saw her. Even that being the favorite spot of George where he usually sat, he had never paid much attention to the twig. The twig seemed almost invisible as the edge of the garden of flowers nearby outdid its conspicuousness. Susan heard all that was discussed. She was part and parcel of the meeting without the knowledge of the three. She had heard of the source of the money and the need start a business. Even as the men dispersed away , She remained in her hiding until everyone had gone out of her vicinity. She went to brief Alice. The two gossiped on their way home . They continued to visualize their danger at the Big Blue.