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I opened the file, surprised to be faced with a number of grainy black-and-white photos. I recognized them straight away as having been taken by a PI. There were multiple, successive shots of the same person going about their life, clearly unaware of being surveilled. Jesus. As if I didn’t think my father could get any lower on my list of people I liked or admired, he’d stooped from asshole to creeper
, and slipped even lower.
“Who, and what is this?”
“Well I’ve already said what it is—a task for you. Business.” Which was as clear as mud.
“Okay, so…?”
“This is Kristina Sanchez. She’s attempting to blackmail me. Well, not me personally, but the company.”
“Blackmail? On what basis?”
“Some trumped-up bullshit about chritonium.”
“What? I thought that was all put to bed years ago.”
“Exactly. But some people just love to stir the pot. She claims she has information that could blow the whole thing wide open again.”
“What information?”
“She hasn’t fully revealed her hand yet, but it’s best you don’t know the specifics, anyway. Suffice to say, she’s angling to destroy everything I’ve worked hard for decades to build, and there’s no way I’m going to let that happen.”
“So what she has over you, I mean, the company, is real?”
“Like I said, I haven’t seen all the specifics, but that’s not the point. The point is that trial by media and public opinion means that if we’re dragged before the kangaroo court, we’re going down, regardless of the facts. Public opinion is stronger than the law, these days. And even if it goes our way legally, the ‘no smoke without fire’ mentality will slowly strangle the business, one way or the other. I’m not about to sit on my hands and watch my blood, sweat, and tears suffer death by a thousand cuts.”
“Okay, so what does all of this have to do with me? “
“You need to silence her.”
“Excuse me?” Was he for real? Who did he think he was, some kind of fucking mafia boss? No, even worse, he sounded like a reject from a mob movie.
“You heard me. You need to make her go away.”
“Are you telling me to kill her?”
“Jesus Christ! Are you a total moron, or do you just like to give that impression? If I wanted someone killed, you’d be the last person I’d ask.”
I noted that he didn’t say that he’d never want anyone killed, just that I wouldn’t be a candidate for the job.
“Okay, so…?”
“So, I want you to do what you need to do to ‘persuade’ her to forget what she thinks she knows.”
“What exactly do you mean by that? Just so we’re clear.”
“I don’t care what you do. Just make her go the fuck away.”
“Can’t you just pay her off?”
“We tried that. Well, we tried making her an offer that someone in her position shouldn’t have been able to refuse, and she did exactly that.”
“She didn’t take the offer?”
“Isn’t that what I just said? I swear to God. You’re a fucking birdbrain, just like your oxygen-thief mother.” I took a deep breath and tried to contain the urge to TKO him.
“I don’t understand why you need me, to—”
