Lump In Throat

Bianca was especially skeptical, as she didn't know much about him or his intentions.

"Look, I know this is all very sudden," Sean said, his voice calm and steady. "But I really need your help. And I promise I'll do everything in my power to help you in return." He tried his best to change their confused mind.

"What makes you think we can trust you?" Bianca asked, her voice cold and suspicious.

"Because I'm not like the people who took you," Sean said. "I'm not a criminal." He continued. They both of them exchanged glances, so it wasn't Sean who really took them.

"I'm a businessman," Sean continued. "And I have resources that I can use to help you, I'm not sure I can beat the person who's involved in capturing you. But first, I need your help finding this item. It's very important to me." He said with sweat dripping from his forehead.

Bianca and Carmen looked at each other, their faces still skeptical.

"I know this is a lot to ask," Sean said. "But I'm offering you a chance to get out of this situation. Please, just think about it."

There was a long silence, and then Bianca spoke up. "What if we say no?" she asked. "What will happen then?"

Sean's face fell.

"I'm not going to lie to you," Sean said. "If you refuse to help me, I'll be forced to take other measures. I don't want to do that, but I have to find this item. It's very important." He spoke harshly.

Bianca's eyes widened, and she swallowed hard. "So, you're threatening us?" she asked.

Sean shook his head. "No, I'm not," he said. "I'm just being honest with you. I need your help, and I'm offering you something in return." He was fast with his words, Bianca knew it could be deadly and dangerous if they turned down his request.

"You have to understand, I'm not in a position to make empty promises," Sean continued. "I'm desperate to find this item, and I'm asking you for your help. Please, just consider it."

Bianca and Carmen looked at each other again, unsure of what to do. They didn't know if they could trust Sean, but they also didn't want to make things worse for themselves.

Finally, Bianca spoke up. "What do you need us to do?" she asked.

Sean let out a breath of relief. "Thank you," he said.

"First, I need you to tell me everything you know about Kyle," Sean said. "Where he's been, what he's been doing, anything you can think of. The more information I have, the better chance I have of finding what I need."

Bianca and Carmen looked at each other again, unsure of how to respond. They were hesitant to betray Kyle's trust, but they also didn't want to anger Sean.

"I understand this is difficult," Sean said, sensing their hesitation. "But please, just try to understand my position and also yours, one word and order from me, you can be eliminated from the surface of the earth." He spoke harshly once again, trying to input fear into their weak heart.

"I know you care about Kyle," Sean continued. "And I know you don't want to betray his trust. But please, just consider what I'm asking. I'm not trying to hurt him, I'm just trying to find something that's very important to me. And if you help me, I'll do everything I can to help you. Please, just think about it." He spoke with sincerity, but the 'not hurting Kyle' got both of them alerted and good to go.

There was a long silence, and then Bianca spoke up. "We'll think about it," she said. "But we're not making any promises." She said so that she won't renege after a long deep thought.

Sean nodded. "That's all I ask," he said.

•••••••••••••••••

Meanwhile, Kyle and Lincoln were sitting across from Mr. Gold in his office. The room was dark and imposing, and Mr. Gold sat behind a large desk, his face shrouded in shadow.

"You're sure about this?" Lincoln asked, his voice low and serious.

Kyle nodded. "I have to do this," he said. "I have to sort this out and save my father." He snapped.

"Even if it means putting yourself in danger?" Lincoln asked.

Kyle swallowed hard. "Yes," he said. "Even then."

"I don't like this," Lincoln said.

"We have got no choice, we have to do this at least to leave this place alive." He said now getting angry at Lincoln.

"But we need a plan," Lincoln said. "We can't just go with his plans without a strategy or a plan B. That would be reckless and dangerous."

Kyle nodded. "You're right," he said. "We need to think this through. We need to come up with a plan that will give us the best chance of success."

"What do you have in mind?" Lincoln asked.

"I'm not sure yet," Kyle said. "But we have to figure something out. We can't just wing it."

Lincoln thought for a moment. "Maybe we should talk to the police," he said. Mr.Gold banged the table which meant end of discussion.

"No police," Mr. Gold said, his voice firm. He caught a grasp of their conversation even though it was inaudible. "I will not involve the authorities in this matter. This is something that must be handled privately." He growled angrily.

Kyle and Lincoln exchanged a glance, both of them feeling uneasy. "Why is that? I thought you said it involves no murdering." Kyle asked.

"I have my reasons," Mr. Gold said. "And they are not open for discussion." The tension in the room was palpable, and neither Kyle nor Lincoln knew what to say.

"We need to think this through," Lincoln said, his voice tight but inaudibly.

"Since you're not new in this job, I heard you secretly transports drug and human and that is drug and human trafficking which goes against the law, my men has failed five consecutive attempt to transport heroine and cocaine with dilute benzene. You would help me get the job done, won't you?" He asked rhetorically as he sipped some of his already cold coffee. Kyle glared at him scornfully.

"What?" Kyle exclaimed, his eyes wide with shock. "No, absolutely not. I will not be involved in any illegal activity. That's not who I am." He protested. He was a real deep drug dealer, but he wasn't ready to risk for Mr.Gold who seemed not to be persuasive.

"It's not what you think," Mr. Gold said, his tone soothing. "The drug is for medicinal purposes. It's not for recreational use. And it could help your father. Dilute benzene tetraoxosulphate (V) could change your father's story." He barked trying to convince Kyle, but it wasn't working on him. Kyle was careful not to fall into his scary and creepy trap.

Kyle shook his head. "I can't do it," he said. "It's against my morals, and it's against the law. I won't be a part of it."

Mr. Gold leaned forward, his eyes intense.

"Then forget about your dad's life, or about Bianca's and Carmen's life," He spoke with a thick voice trying to coerce Kyle.

Kyle sat back in his chair, his heart racing. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Mr. Gold was actually threatening him, and trying to force him to participate in something illegal. It was a terrible position to be in, he released a smirk which spread across his face

.

"You wouldn't really hurt them, would you?" Kyle asked, his voice shaking.

Mr. Gold's face was stony, his expression unreadable.

"I will do whatever it takes to get what I want," he said. "You should know that by now." He emptied the coffee in his cup with a smile.

Kyle felt sick to his stomach.

Lincoln cleared his throat, breaking the tense silence. "Kyle, maybe we should talk about this outside," he suggested. "I think we all need to take a step back and calm down." Lincoln advised, in his own thought and point of view, he wanted them to wage war against Mr.Gold.

Kyle nodded, grateful for the opportunity to get away from Mr. Gold's intense stare. "I think that's a good idea," he said. "Let's go for a walk."

"Of course," Mr. Gold said. "Just remember, I'm giving you two days to think it over." He summed up and stood up with his big belly hitting the table.

Kyle and Lincoln quickly made their exit, leaving Mr. Gold behind in his dark, imposing office. They walked in silence for a few minutes, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

Finally, Kyle spoke. "I don't know what to do," he said, his voice hoarse. "I can't help my dad at the expense of breaking the law. I just can't." He said.

Lincoln put a hand on Kyle's shoulder. "I understand," he said. "And I'm not sure I can help you either. This is a terrible situation, but this is a work we have been doing."

"I know, but this is international, it requires taking drugs into the plane, ships overseas." Kyle said worriedly.

"But we have to find a way to help your dad," Lincoln said. "I can't imagine what he's going through. And I know how important he is to you even though you guys just reconciled." He said feeling pains all over him.

"I know," Kyle said, his eyes filling with tears. "I just don't know what to do. I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place." He bolted and got into his car weakly.

"I know," Lincoln said. "But we'll figure it out. We have to."

"Thank you," Kyle said, his voice filled with gratitude.

"I think I'll have to wage war against him," Kyle finally made up his mind after a long timid thought.

"We have to be careful, though," Lincoln said. "We don't want to do anything rash. We need to come up with a plan, something that will give us the best chance of success. We can't just go in there guns blazing." He suggested and Kyle found it reasonably.

Kyle nodded. "You're right," he said. "We need to be smart about this. We need to outsmart him, not outmuscle him, even if he is stronger, we can defeat him with our smartness." Kyle spoke now regaining his load strength and hope.

"Do you have any ideas?" Lincoln asked.

"I'm not sure," Kyle said. "But I know we can do this alone."

"I think we need to gather some information first about him," Lincoln said. "We need to know more about Mr. Gold, about his operation. We need to find his weaknesses, find out what he's afraid of. We need to gather intelligence so that we can plan our next move."

"That's a good idea," Kyle said.

"You're right," Kyle said. "We're a team, and we're going to beat him together. But how do we start gathering intelligence?" He asked, his brain felt empty.

"We need to figure out who Mr. Gold's associates are," Lincoln said. "We need to know who's working for him, and what their role is. Then, we can start to piece together what his operation looks like." Lincoln talked as if he google it already.

"That makes sense," Kyle said. "But how do we find out who his associates are? We don't exactly have access to his Rolodex." Lincoln smiled.

"But we do have access to his email," he said. "Remember when you told me that you saw him using his laptop in the coffee shop?"

"Of course," Kyle said. "But I'm not sure what good that will do us. We don't have his password."

"That's true," Lincoln said. "But I think I know someone who might be able to help us and hack his email for us."

"Who?" Kyle asked.

"His name is Kahn," Lincoln said. "He's a computer whiz. If anyone can hack into Mr. Gold's email, it's him." He spoke with confidence in his longtime friend.

"I'll talk to him," Lincoln said. "I'll see if he can help us. And in the meantime, we'll keep our eyes and ears open, see if we can find out anything else that might be useful." Lincoln concluded.

Kyle nodded. "We're going to need all the help we can get," he said. "Because we're up against a formidable opponent, but still we don't know if what he calls himself is true." He said still doubting that Mr.Gold is more stronger than him.

"We'll win," Lincoln said with conviction. "We have to. Too much is at stake." Lincoln believed.

As the sun began to set, the two friends stood together, united in their determination to defeat Mr. Gold.

With the light fading, the shadows began to creep in, but Kyle and Lincoln's resolve was unshaken. They knew that the road ahead would be long and difficult, but they were prepared to face whatever challenges lay ahead.

After all, they had each other, and together they were a force to be reckoned with. As they went their separate ways, each one took a deep breath and resolved to do everything in their power to defeat Mr. Gold. And they knew that in the end, justice would prevail. Lincoln didn't waste time in visiting his friend, Kahn.

As the sun set on a new day, hope remained in their hearts. And with hope, anything was possible.