Jean sat across the table from Mr. Machuni, or Big Mac as his mob affiliates called him. He’d been applying pressure to her client, Mr. Phillips, through a few ‘random’ accidents such as his car being smashed in a hit and run, a mugging, and threats towards his family. Mr. Phillips was ready to cave, but Jean was having none of that.
“Is your client ready to sign?” Machuni said in a smug tone that indicated he fully expected them to capitulate to his new demands.
“No, as I said before. The deal you’re suggesting doesn’t work for my client and I’ve advised him to start negotiating with other vendors. I’m told that there is a new recycling company on the south side of town that has expressed interest. When I’m done here, I’ll be having a meeting with them, unless these discussions start going in a better direction.”
Big Mac frowned and leaned over the table. He pointed his thick finger at her. “That would be a mistake.”
Jean didn’t flinch. Both she and Big Mac knew that the company in the southern part of town was run by the Chinese gangs and was his direct competition. “I don’t think so. The mistake would be thinking that we can be intimidated into signing a bad deal.”
Big Mac scoffed. “The chinks might run the south side, but my boys run the north. Your client is in my territory. You think they can protect him?”
Jean bit her lip. Derogatory racial slangs were so pathetic. It screamed whiny bigot and made her want to reach across the table and bitch slap him. But she couldn’t let her annoyance show or Big Mac would think of it as weakness. But if he kept it up she might knock him around anyways, lord knew he deserved an ass kicking for his lifetime of sins. “My client is the biggest independent supplier in the city. If he decides to partner with another vendor, others will follow. As for protection. I’ll be providing Mr. Phillips’s security from now on.”
“You? How are you going to protect anyone, lady? You going to scold the bad boys and shake your fist at them?”
Jean shook her head. “You know I’m actually surprised you didn’t do your homework better before this meeting. If you had, we wouldn’t be wasting so much time.”
Big Mac started getting angry. “Listen here, bitch.”
“No, you listen. I’ll say this once nice and clear, so you understand what I’m saying. Mr. Phillips will be receiving protection from my private firm, Sons of Titans.”
Big Mac paled and sat back in his chair, stunned. “You? You own the Sons of Titans?”
“I’m one of several owners, but that is not here nor there. Because of your associate’s actions, I’ve had to put them to work. I’m sure you’ll be seeing signs of them soon enough.” When it came to thugs like Big Mac, one of the only things they respected was power. Having a private security firm that only hired ex-military and had no problems getting their hands dirty when men like Big Mac tried to push their weight around was exactly the type of power Big Mac understood.
“You know that really isn’t necessary. I’m sure we can work something out.”
“As am I. You can save the thug tactics for someone else. My client needs a partner for recycling, that is it. If you are interested in doing business with him, then he’d be happy to let bygones be bygones. But Mr. Phillips is an honest businessman who needs to be treated with respect. If I find out that anyone doesn’t treat him with respect… Well, let’s just say that would be a bad idea.”
Big Mac glared at Jean for a minute. He then picked up his phone. “Send in Mc Glug.”
Moments later a thin, bald man in a custom suit walked into the room. Jean recognized him as one of the many high-priced lawyers that Big Mac had at his disposal.
Big Mac nodded at his lawyer and then turned his attention back to her. “I assume you brought a copy of your revised version of the contract?”
Jean pulled a copy out of her briefcase and slid it across the table. She actually had three versions of the contract in her briefcase. This was the one that would cost Big Mac the most. Calling her a bitch was going to be an expensive mistake.
Big Mac handed it to the lawyer, who scanned the document. Jean and Big Mac waited in silence while the lawyer did his job. When he was finished reading, he put it back on the desk. “It’s more expensive than the original deal.”
Big Mac grunted. “Just tell me if it is feasible.”
“We can make it work,” Mc Glug said.
Big Mac sighed. “If we sign, are you going to need the Sons of Titans?”
Jean waited a moment, giving Big Mac a cold stare. “As long as Mr. Phillips doesn’t have any more unfortunate accidents then I see no reason for additional measures.”
“It seems we have a deal. I’ll have the paperwork sent back to your office.”
Jean stood up.
Big Mac waited until she was at the door before calling out. “And one last thing. Try not to take too many clients that need recycling. I won’t be signing these types of deals often. Sons of Titans or no Sons of Titans.”
Jean nodded. “Good day Mr. Machuni.”
When Jean got to her car, she pulled out her phone and called Megan. It had been two weeks since Sarah’s original diagnosis and three days since their last conversation.
“Hey Mom,” Megan said as she answered the phone.
Megan sounded exhausted. Not that Jean was surprised. The last few weeks had been emotionally draining. Finding out your daughter was dying was terrifying, and while the new treatment option promised to take death off the table it still came at a horrendous price. “How’s she doing?”
“Physically she’s doing better. The medi-pod is slowing the damage down and it looks like it is going to work, but emotionally she’s still struggling with it. Not to mention she’s been having problems in the game world. She’s being bullied. I wish they could’ve put her into a game world that wasn’t so violent. She’s too fragile right now to deal with asshole gamers.”
From what Jean understood, part of Sarah’s treatment included her entering a virtual fantasy world. One meant for adults and not young girls. It wasn’t a great solution; however, the alternative was putting her into a coma so her body could focus on fighting the virus. “Can the doctors make them stop?”
“Unfortunately, no. Medical patients don’t get special treatment in the game aside from the bonuses they get at the beginning of the game and the virtual meeting room they set up so I could visit her.”
“How are you going to deal with the bullying then?”
“So far Sarah wants to work it out for herself. But I’m worried that she’s going to fall into a depression. The first few days she was having so much fun that she almost forgot she was there because she was sick. Now that she’s not enjoying the game, I’m worried she’ll focus on her health and all the things she’s lost.”
“Can we hire someone in the game to protect her?”
“I looked into it. There are people online offering services like that, but they are expensive and it’s hard to tell if they can do anything. The game is new, so no one knows much about it. Right now, I can’t afford it. But it might be the best option,” Megan said
“Why don’t you let me look into it. I have a few people in the gaming world that owe me favors, maybe one of them will have a solution.”
“Thanks Mom, that would be great. Listen, I got to go. I’ll call you soon.”
When Megan hung up, Jean called the office. “David, get me all the info you can on Corton Industries and a game called New Realm Online.”