Greenslade had given up shouting and banging a quarter of an hour into the hour-long journey. He laid in the dark, contemplating his plight. Greenslade wondered if Jago was going to take him to the authorities or was Jago going to kill him? He couldn’t be sure either way. He did know, however, that if he were to be taken to the authorities, he would be finished; ruined. His reputation would be lost along with his crucial investors, and with that his life’s work in creating his shipping empire. If he was alive, this would matter; it would matter hugely. Yet, he thought, if he were to be killed, nothing would matter. There would be no reputation, no business and no need to face how he had treated Kim since his wife had died. Greenslade thought a great deal during his confinement, for there was little else to do.
Then the car slowed, travelled over rough ground, then metal, and then it abruptly stopped. It had stopped a few times before, presumably at traffic lights, but this time the engine cut and the radio had been switched off. Greenslade heard familiar noises, making him aware that he was in a port. He was nervous, sweating like never before. His breathing became more rapid as his anxiety level grew, and then the car door opened and shut. Hearing that footsteps were getting closer, he held his breath and then the boot opened. It was Jago, pistol in hand.
“Get out.”
Adjusting his eyes to the artificial lighting of the night, Greenslade swung his legs clear of the aperture and struggled to sit up. He slowly moved forward so that he was standing. Greenslade stretched his legs that had spent the last hour half bent and rolled his neck from side to side. As he did so, he could hear and smell the rain.
“What are we doing here?”
“I thought that you would appreciate this environment. Let’s walk.”
Jago indicated a steel walkway that edged the water.
“Are you going to kill me?”
“I don’t know; I haven’t decided yet. Do you have any reason why I shouldn’t?”
“Oh, I have probably had plenty, but none that you’d care to hear.”
“Try me.”
Greenslade looked downwards, searching for the words.
“Very well. I know that I haven’t been perfect, far from it in fact. But I’m a man driven to succeed. I can’t be blamed for that.”
Greenslade paused, half waiting for some kind of condoning response from Jago. There was none.
Greenslade continued, “I realise that I have not been a good father since my wife died.” Then he corrected himself. “Well, I’ve not been a good father ever. I mean, I provided for her with my wealth, but I was never there for her. You know, school concerts, sports days, all those sorts of things. I never made time for her; I guess it just wasn’t productive, it didn’t generate more wealth. I see that now. I’m not sure that if I live, how I would turn that around? I’m not even sure if I could, I mean … to leave my world that I’ve loved all of these years. I don’t know.”
Greenslade fell silent in his thoughts and, without waiting for a response or further instruction, started to walk as indicated by Jago previously.
He turned to Jago. “Can these be removed, please? I pose no threat to you.”
Jago stepped forward, cut the cuffs and removed the material before placing them in his pockets.
Jago asked, “Do you love your daughter?”
They walked a good few metres before Greenslade responded, “To be honest, I don’t know. I consider that I’ve lost all of that side of me. I don’t believe that I know what it takes to love anyone any longer. She’s better off without me.”
“But you exist, and she knows that. She needs support, and not just financially.”
“Then I can’t help her. It’s too late for me. I mean, I was quite willing to use her to get access to the organisation, to protect my wealth. I’m no use to her.”
They walked along the wet gantry with Jago indicating that they climb the stairway onto the higher level. Greenslade ascended slowly; he was older and too used to another kind of high life to have breath for an activity such as this. The upper gantry provided a walkway to the ship to shore container cranes. They arrived at the access point to one of the six cranes that was at rest. Looking down, Jago observed the movement of trucks, loading vehicles and workers on the concrete about one hundred and fifty feet below. To the right was a straight drop into the sea, save for a steel handrail.
“What now? Are you going to shoot me?”
“These ships. There’s one two, three, four, five, six … no, seven. How many are yours?”
Greenslade surveyed the port.
“I think that four of them belong to my companies. Why?”
“Does this make you feel proud, looking out over a small part of your empire?”
Greenslade was caught off guard. “Err, yes, it makes me proud.” He didn’t know where Jago was going with this.
“Take a look at just how many lives are affected by the activity here, and beyond that, and think about the responsibility that the controllers of this have. Then think about the impact of all of that plastic and toxic waste that you have dumped for profit. Think about the effect of that on the same people, on the environment, on our planet.”
“But they’re only fish. They don’t need wealth.”
Angered, Jago instinctively raised his pistol, aiming at Greenslade’s head. “No, they need a life and so do we. I mean they eat the plastic, and we eat them. That’s your greed affecting our lives. How do you feel about that?”
“It’s business, just business. There is always some collateral damage in any business; there’s always some element of risk.”
Jago didn’t answer, lowered his weapon and altered his gaze towards the sea.
Greenslade sighed a sense of relief and then out of the blue said, “Kim will be wealthy and powerful if I’m dead. She will not have my love, but she will be the sole heir to my fortune. She will have control of all of my shipping companies with fifty-five per cent ownership.”
“And?” asked Jago as he turned to see that Greenslade had climbed over the rail and was hanging precariously off the edge.
“And, it’s better this way. She will get what she deserves, and you won’t have my death on your conscience.”
As Greenslade uttered his final words, he released his grip on the rail, falling seaward. Jago peered over the railing to see the tumbling body’s rapid descent. The body struck a steel protrusion at speed and terminated with a minute splash in the swirling sea. Jago pondered for a moment, holstered his pistol and made a call.
“Abi, can you inform the coastguard that a body has been spotted in the water close to this location, please? I’ll be back shortly.”