I decided to stay a day in Japan and calm down a bit and I was really looking forward to it, but then my phone rang, shattering my moment of peace. It was Own.
"Please don't say there is a problem."
"I'm sorry, but they refused to open an account. You need to be here."
I had reached a point where I couldn't even react anymore. I just laughed into the phone like a madman.
"I'm coming." I replied.
The bank was only a few blocks away, so I figured I would get there quickly, only to realize I was still in Japan. The guys tried to talk me out of walking because of the crowded streets, but I wasn't in the mood to get into a car.
So, we wove through the crowd slowly, but we were already close to the bank when, out of nowhere, he appeared.
"Joseph, is that really you?"
Standing in front of me was an old friend of mine, Anton, although I couldn't quite figure out why he was speaking to me in Japanese.
"Small world, huh?" We greeted each other, but of all the people I knew, he wasn't someone I was in the mood to see. "Don't tell me you're working?"
"I finished yesterday, but now I'm just enjoying Japan,the women, and the women." He smiled at me, not caring in the slightest that a gun was hanging out from under his shirt.
"You might want to be a bit more careful." I pointed out.
"Ahh, don't worry about it. I'm with Interpol now." He flashed his badge.
"You were with the CIA last time." I responded, reading the fake french name on the card.
"Depends on the day, you know how it works." He patted my shoulder. "Anyway, what are you up to?"
"I'm heading to a bank, taking care of a few things."
"You mean Titanium, do you?" He hit the nail on the head with that question.. "One of my—well, a guy I knew who banked there too, pretty solid place. I'll walk you there."
"Fine by me," I replied as we set off again, but I had a feeling that if he was with me, something was bound to happen along the way.
Anton was a trained 'cleaner,' someone who dealt with the worst of the worst around the world. The problem with him was that his work, and his past, had twisted his personality. He was still incredibly smart and talented, but now, he couldn't control his emotions the way he used to.
We were almost at the bank when it happened, the thing I'd been expecting all along. A group of protesters across the street were shouting about farm animals, and, of course, they honed in on him.
Honestly, we could have just walked right past them if Anton weren't such a hothead. First, they grabbed him, and a girl in a cow costume handed him a flyer, saying, "Animals suffer just as much as humans, if not more." I tried to pull him away, but it was already too late.
He grabbed the girl by the arm and started, "Do you know what suffering is?" He asked, staring into her eyes while she protested, trying to free herself, but he only tightened his grip, and she fell silent. "I'll ask you again, do you know what suffering is?" The girl shook her head. "Fine, then imagine this, a field by the side of the road, where a father, his wife, and their seven year old daughter sit handcuffed in the middle of a snowstorm. Standing in front of them are two high ranking officers, dressed warmly and smiling as they put the father in a position to choose. One of them has to die so the others can live." He pulled the girl even closer. "So, the father, already half frozen, decides to sacrifice himself. And you know what the officers do? They shoot the fucking kid and laugh like they've just done something hilarious. The two parents are so devastated they can't even cry.. The officers, as if they've done their job, get back in their car and leave the parents to freeze to death while staring at their dead child. That is suffering, sweetheart, so take this flyer and shove it up your ass." He finished and let her go. She was completely frozen in place
Looking at me, Anton simply said, "Let's go," and so we did.
"How hard was it for you not to pull the trigger?" I asked, knowing my question would cause him pain, but I wanted to hear his answer.
"I was already aiming, but I knew if I did it, I wouldn't be able to bring them to the court, so I didn't pull the trigger. How many years ago was that now? And still, I think about it every day, wondering what would have happened if I pulled the trigger."
Anton was the driver for those two monsters. He had a chance to save the family. What a terrifying situation, but it was one of the many.
By the time we reached the bank, Anton was unusually quiet, probably because the whole situation had killed his mood or so I thought, until I realized we were standing in front of the wrong bank. We weren't at the Titanium Bank; we were at the Titantium Bank. As I stood there, marveling at my own stupidity and wondering who the hell named a bank like that, Anton had disappeared. I had no idea where or why, and I didn't ask the bodyguards until I remembered there was a certain 'house' that provided comfort with girls. For a moment, I found myself seriously contemplating going there out of sheer frustration, but I knew I'd regret it. So, the car, which had been following us all along, picked us up, and we headed to the real Titanium Bank, where Owen was outside, smoking a clear sign he was seriously stressed.
"I showed them income statements, everything, but nothing. I've never seen anything like this." He said, puffing out the smoke.
I patted him on the shoulder without mentioning that I had almost walked into the wrong bank. When we got up to the office in question, I could already tell our chances were slim, the same look welcomed as Sora's parents.
"So, you're the one. You could've been here sooner." Said an old woman who looked like she'd had more plastic surgery and botox than a human being should.
"Yes, he is." Owen replied angrily.
"Alright, let's go over this again—"
"No need, I trust my accountant. So what's the problem?" At my response, they literally started laughing. "Is something funny?" I asked.
"There are plenty of young men like you, flashing their parents' money around, but we have rules here." From her tone, I could tell the problem was my youth and I snapped.
"I'm a fucking billionaire. I get that this bothers you, I can see that you're envious and annoyed, but you're supposed to be serving a client. And if you had bothered to read the fucking document my accountant gave you, you'd know that I sold my company, HWS, for so many billions that a one percent would set you for life and even your grandkids. So how about you stop gawking like some jealous, envious idiot and call in the founder, or whoever actually knows what they're doing, instead of sitting here and judging people like you've got a clue? Thanks." I vented every bit of frustration I had built up, which, of course, got us escorted out by security. To them, I was now an arrogant little prick, but they deserved it.
"Arrogant rich boy doesn't suit you." Owen remarked, laughing so hard he almost choked. After a few minutes, when he had finally stopped laughing he brought up the other option, Opus Luxuria.
"Not that. I don't want to meet new people or go to events I have no interest in"
"There are only five a year, you can handle that and they'll accept you right away."
"Of course, they will, Amina's family banks there, the old man, and who knows how many others."
"It's either this, or you'll have to start laundering your money—"
"Owen, you're an accountant talking about money laundering in front of a bank." I interrupted him in Spanish. "Let's get a coffee and talk this through." I continued, and so we did.
We talked for two hours, and only ten minutes of that was about Opus Luxuria. The rest of the time was Owen laughing at me.
After we finished and said our goodbyes, I finally headed back to South Korea to buy houses.