Chapter 14 - For my Friend...

Mike and Charmaine had their car parked at a distance from Marcy's restaurant. Mike continued to sit in the driver's seat, while Charmaine got in the back seat. It was a convenient place for them to watch the Marcy's entrance. At around 7 p.m a man wearing a leather coat with his hands in the coat pocket came to the entrance of the mall.
Mike and Charmaine waited for another 20 minutes and the person was still standing at the entrance.
"It should be him" Mike drove the car towards the entrance while Charmaine lowered her head. Mike signalled him to get in the front seat. As he sat inside and closed the door, Charmaine got up from the back seat and struck a syringe on his neck and injected..
"Ahh..what's that..." the man fell fainted on the dashboard. Charmaine adjusted the front seat and dragged the person to the back. Mike continued driving. The car was speeding in the highway. Charmaine checked the person's coat pocket and pulled out a pistol and gave it to Mike.



"Where am I?" Mr. Clark woke up in a dark room tied to a pillar.
"You don't have to know." Mike walked around the pillar "Just answer our questions". Charmaine stood by a corner with her hands folded and looking at the person tied.
Mike turned on the light that was hanging on the roof straight above the person.
"What do you want to know?" Mr. Clark looked straight at Charmaine.
Charmaine for a moment was stunned "My God.." and she put a step back "What a resemblance"
"What is wrong Charmaine?" Mike looked at her.

Charmaine still looking at the person and looking stunned "Are you B...Bill? Are you Bill Clark?"

"Bill would have been happy that you still remembered him, had he been alive. I am his brother Milan Clark."

"Why does your AIB account have my name as the password" Charmaine asked.

"It was never my AIB account. I have been using the operating my brother's account since his death. My brother created this in high school for some assignment. And how did you hack this password?"






It was early morning next day.
"Mr. Miller, you can visit your son. He gained consciousness few hours back, but asleep now. Please don't take more than 10 minutes and don't wake him up" the doctor said as he crossed past James Miller who was standing outside the ICU.
James brushed aside Robert's long hair that was partly covering his face.
He sat there looking at his son for a few minutes and then he came out of the ICU.
Mike and Charmaine were standing out "How's he?" Charmaine asked.
"Doctor said he has gained consciousness"
"Great" Charmaine's face brightened. "Did you speak?"
"No, he is sleeping" James looked up at Mike. "How did it go yesterday? Did the person turn up?"
"James, we need to talk" Mike and Charmaine walked him to the waiting room. He made James sit on a chair, pulled a chair for himself opposite to him and sat. Charmaine stood looking at them both.
"Do you remember a guy in our final grade named Bill" Mike started.
"Yes, Bill Clark, I do remember"

"And what happened to Bill?"
"We all know he was run over by a truck"
"James, I know everything. I just want to hear from you"

James looked at Mike for a moment, tears filled his eyes
"Alright, Mike. I want you to listen patiently. We had known each other since childhood. Ours is a friendship that is unmatched and that has stood good and bad times.
"I know all that. Get to the point, James" Mike interrupted.

"During our high school, school rumors had it say that Charmaine was in love with Bill. When I told you that she may be interested in Bill, you were so much upset that you didn't speak to anyone for days nor attended your school. It hurt me a lot when my best friend didn't speak to me. You will never know how much effort I had put in convincing you that I was just joking. It is not an exaggeration if I say I spent so many days thinking about how to make Charmaine love you.” James paused for a while and took a quick look at both Mike and Charmaine to see their reactions. They both kept looking at him without any change in reactions.
James continued “I wanted to hire a contractor who can hurt Bill so that he can't attend school for a few months. I thought, if Bill doesn't come to school, her interest might shift towards you. I first contacted a contractor called Bob, but his charges were very high that I couldn't afford him. Then I contacted some one named Tim. I promise I never wanted him to kill Bill. I only wanted him to temporarily demobilize Bill. Not so experienced, I guess, Tim followed Bill on his way home and had hit him with a baseball bat. Scared, Bill ran across a road when a fast moving truck ran over him."

"So you did this for me.."Mike whispered. Though Mike and Charmaine had already heard a slightly different version from Milan Clark last night, he still was shocked to hear the story from his friend again.

"How did you know about all this?" James was curious.
"Milan Clark told all this"
"Milan Clark?"
"Brother of Bill Clark"
"How did his brother know about this?" James looked surprised.

Mike continued "Last year, your first contractor - Bob had a chance to meet Milan Clark in a flight to Mexico. Bob immediately recognized his last name and just checked him if he had a brother Bill and if he studied in Newton High School. With a business opportunity in mind, Bob explained how you first contacted him and later went for some other contractor to kill his brother. Bob had given Milan his phone number in case Milan wanted his services. Milan went home and the next week, he called Bob and told his interest in making you feel the pain of a loss. He paid Bob $65,000 to kill your wife Pam. Pam’s death is no accident”

"So, he got even with me....??" tears ran down James' cheek "Again why my child now?"
"He had to sell his small farm house and borrow so much money for the payments he made to Bob for killing Pam. To settle his debt, he kidnapped your son for a ransom this time”

James put his palms on his eyes and sobbed "I am not the same person I was 12 years back. Everyday I regret what I have done to Bill. Guys, don't you ever hate me, it was not my intention to kill him" James looked at Mike and Charmaine.
Charmaine gave a deep sigh and put his arms around James "Come on James. Forget about it. I completely understand"

Mike stood up and hugged James "Milan is not going to be anymore trouble for you and your son"
"What you killed him?" James was shocked.
"No, we left him free. But the contractors are going to kill him in few hours because he wouldn't be able to pay them. Milan pleaded last night to give him $50,000so that his contractors would spare him. We thought, the person who planned your wife's murder should die"
"You didn't give him his $50,000?" James asked.
"Of course not! Let the ****** who killed your wife, die" Charmaine said.

"No, Charmaine, that is not fair. After all, I started it. For what I have done to Bill, I would feel much better if I could help his brother in some way. This is a chance for me to stand up to my conscience. Do you have his address?”

"He is staying in some deserted place in Pilot Mountain" Charmaine searched her bag and pulled out a paper that had Milan’s address. "It is an hour long drive. What are you going to do?"
"Whatever I think is right". He looked at the address and slid the paper in his pocket "I am going to hand over $50,000 to its rightful owner. Is the money in our AIB account?" James asked as he ran to his car.
“Yes” Charmaine shouted back.
James started his car and steered it through the highway towards Pilot Mountain.

Mike and Charmaine looked at each other a bit confused "Do you remember the address?" Mike asked Charmaine.
"Yes, I think so"
"We will follow" Mike and Charmaine got in their car and merged with the busy Hillsville traffic.