CHAPTER XXVII
"So.... tell me of this 'Luck' ..." Lucy asked, her head tilting to one side.
"Do you even know how I got involved with the charity?" Mike said bitterly though instantly he could see Lucy was losing the thread.
"No, why don't you tell me......" Lucy asked wondering what relevance that had.
"My childhood friend, Kate and her husband...Steven ...... they had a daughter, Andrea.....she was like a niece to me.... Oh she was so sweet....smart too......" Mikes eyes misted as he shook his head, refocusing himself.
Lucy sensed this man was speaking from the heart and she relaxed her posture slightly, the pistol in her hand settling onto her knee.
"....and after 19 years of watching her grow, flower .. she was taken ... killed... by that abomination..." he continued.
"Kimberly..?" Lucy asked quietly.
"Yes, though of course we didn't know it was her then.... and all the while that butcher was walking among us ..." Mike growled.
"What changed, Mike?" Lucy probed, seeking his dubious insight.
"It all changed when, one day, everything seemed to go to shit all at once. We had some deal lined up and then it all went wrong, there were problems during the disclosure meeting, key people seemed to have objections last minute, it was like it was cursed and then.... Fuck, THEN, the news had Kimberly, my boss's sister, all over their screens as a suspect." Mike said angrily as he recalled the day.
"But, they didn't have her at first, did they ?" Lucy asked struggling to recall the whole case.
"No, she was on the run for months after that ...." Mike said, shaking his head.
"So, that's it?" Asked Lucy, somewhat puzzled.
"Christ no, things went on, I mean, obviously Bobby was devastated for me and Andrea's family, he stood by us but, Kim was his sister after all. I secretly supported the victim charity and that was legit ... at first at least." Mike explained.
"At first ..." Lucy repeated.
"I could tell Bobby was going to get Kim the best legal help if she was caught so I tried to even the odds, I.... well .... I ... helped the charity by giving Victor tips from the inside...just to help them financially you know and then it happened again. One day I gave Victor a tip but we fucked up the timing. Victor scored well but we triggered something else and the corporation got burned ... our ticker was red ...and Kim was caught that same day, can you believe it?"
"So you're saying when bad things happened to the corporation...." Lucy frowned.
"I think it's more than that, it might work both ways.... when I started digging ... the days all those women vanished, they were good days at the firm...I mean great days.... but the day Kim went away...that was when the good times stopped. We've been in the mire for months..." Mike said as he lent back on the sofa.
"So, tell me about the rig...." Lucy asked again.
"Kim had an assessment of some kind, they were going to try and get her off with some time in the loony tunes wing but.... I wanted to put a stop to that .... I ....well, you saw what happened. They promised me no casualties and that's what I got ... and the corporation took a kick to the balls, sure the money helped the charity but the bad luck was meant to keep Kim in for a fast track to death row after a speedy trial."
"So what happened .... " Lucy wondered aloud.
Mike went stony faced. He pretty much knew Bobby had gotten her out though he couldn't prove it and until now Bobby had been a good decent man, he wasn't going to betray him so easily. Lucy seeing Mike clam up sensed she was at the end of the story which seemed kooky at best.
"If....if you see even a hint of success for Bobby in the future...you better pray .. pray hard because out there somewhere is some poor woman suffering " Mike grumbled.
"So if this is all true ... Why haven't you destroyed the corporation from the inside?" Lucy asked firmly.
"Do you know how many livelihoods rely on us? How many jobs could be lost, families made homeless.... hell no, I'm just trying to do what it takes to keep Kim down for the count..I did what I could but....if poor Victor is dead.....then...." Mike said forlornly, he left it to Lucy to imagine the consequences.
"If you organised the accident at the rig, prove it, who did you hire....." Lucy asked.
"Jeezus, you think I'd tell you that? You are out of your mind ... If they knew I told you they would.... well, you may as well just kill me now, either way I'm a dead man.." Mike said calmly.
"Ok well then how did you pay, give me something....." Lucy said tactfully.
"Fine... my intermediary set up an escrow account...you pay extra but you get a guarantee, results or your money back... the escrow is set up in the Cayman Islands with dummy beneficiary accounts in ...." Mike explained.
" In Geneva....." Lucy murmured.
"What ? Yes....but how did...." Mike began nervously.
"I've heard enough now Mike...." Lucy said as she started to rise to her feet. What he had told her was enough. The payment method sounded pretty much like the terms her former team, The Resolution demanded. Mr Nordic had indeed been the one who had carried out the mission, Selena had done well to spot him.
Mike flinched, what was going to be his fate, was he about to die, would the stranger tell Bobby his transgressions... his heart raced as his stomach sank.
"What are you going to do?" Mike asked.
Lucy pointed Mike's pistol at him "Walk...." she commanded.