Sotus Black

CH 33 - Fires

Harrow Main Office

Tew POV

"Have they lost their minds?" Wad threw the papers across the table. "Hostile takeover. How the hell did this happen?"

"The shareholders..." Oak was livid. "The bastards sold us out."

"Did you know before, P'Tum?" Wad looked at the senior in the room.

"I didn't know anything about this, not even a whisper." Tum fumed. "I landed this morning, and this was waiting for me. I came to pick a bone with you for not telling me."

When Kong took over the company, we naturally applied and got jobs working with him. P'Tum, our senior from our university, was helping with his family firm but came on board as a shareholder. He was smart and had good connections. It helped us get Harrow back on its feet.

"These people have no shame." P'Tum shook his head. "Kong's still in the damn hospital."

It was the lie we told to deal with the stream of visitors who came to see him. Kong was liked and respected, the well-wishers had been many.

"They are greedy." I kept reading. "They have been waiting for a chance like this."

They needed to read a little more, it got worse. We all worked hard to get this place to where it was, Kong most of all. This place gave his grandfather a job when he needed one, he gave the same chance to so many others.

"Kong is the reason this company is running so smoothly, he's the reason those fat-bellied bastards are fat." Wad snapped. "Kong put the company back in the top 3."

"They know and they want to cash in." I looked up.

I rubbed my eyes, I was tired. Kong's magic was becoming stable, but the initial outpour took a lot out of them to contain. He still had bruises, literally and figuratively. They needed to handle the company but Em was keeping an eye on Kong.

"They got bribed." P'Tum snapped. "Isn't it obvious?"

"The shareholder meeting will be a joke." Wad fumed. "They will vote to sell the company."

"We have to tell Kong." P'Tum looked at the others. "He won't let it happen."

"The way things stand, I don't think there is anything he can do." I go back to reading. "You haven't read the last section."

P'Tum, Wad and Oak did at the same time, curses followed their find.

"They took a vote in private and removed Kong." Oak was outraged. "' Unfit to manage?'"

"Is that even legal?" P'Tum looked up. "I'm a shareholder and I wasn't there. We need to..."

He checked his phone when it rang, his secretary couldn't rearrange his afternoon and he had a meeting he needed to attend.

"I'm taking this copy." P'Tum stood with the papers but turned to say before leaving. "I'm going to have my legal team look at this. You guys do the same. There has to be something, let's find it."

"Those bastards." Wad crumpled the paper. "How could they?"

"The media made the situation worse than it was." I answered. "They used it against him."

A hostile takeover was nothing new for companies, we had fought three already with Kong since he took over. Harrow was an old, trusted firm, its name alone was worth more than they offered. The more I read, the more something kept bothering me.

"I vote we bury them." Oak suggested when we were alone. "Em is too busy, he won't know. I'll take full credit."

"Read the papers carefully, somethings off." I tell the two. "Do those names sound, familiar?"

Wad and Oak grabbed their copies and sat again to read through the heavy report, curses and threats being thrown in every so often. It didn't take them long to realise it.

"The company that's initiated this..." Wad looks up. "Oh, crap."

"These guys are still around?" Oak took out his phone, searched the name. "I thought they vanished ages ago. Something about their leader being prisoned in molten lava."

"They always come back. Different century different name."

"Now it's Apep." Wad cracked his fingers. "I hate these guys; I'm going to beat them up so badly."

~~~~~~~~~~

Rome POV

A red glow, the only light in the otherwise dark room. Photos lined across the long string, clipped on by small pegs as they dried. Paper moved in the solution, shades slowly coming into view before it too was hung up to dry.

The old camera came to him in a package, no name of sender but he recognised it immediately. It was his grandfathers. The negatives were still intact, so he decided to see what was on them. Only three pictures were taken and all of them of the same thing. The magic box that never opened.

It was a children's story he heard growing up. The tale of a demon who lied and stole something precious from a wizard. But the wizard had a sister, she took back what was taken and hid it in a magic box.

No one was allowed to touch it but his grandfather always let him. He remembered the symbols carved into the jade inlay on the lid, but when he left with his mother, he couldn't take it with him. He hurried out of the room grabbing his keys, would it still be in the hiding place after all these years?

+++

Din watched from the back seat, Rome stopped near his car when his phone rang, but seeing his name he ignored it and drove off. He had been patient; he had been nice but Rome wasn't learning. He tried to date him but Rome refused, he tried to be friends but Rome was always standoffish.

He used family connections to arrange the marriage but still, he was no closer. Rome barely managed a few words every time they did meet and he was always the one arranging them. He wasn't concerned before but now something new entered the picture.

Din looked at the report on the seat next to him, the private detective was very thorough. It took him two years to get to this point and that Bright, just waltzed in. University romance was the past, it was the present that mattered and that was him.

"Arrange a family dinner." He told his mother when she answered. "We need to set an official date."

"His father is still trying to buy time." She answers. "And that old biddy is interfering."

"Force their hand." He told his mother. "I'm done waiting."

~~~~~~~~~~

Kong POV

The wind whistled as it rustled through the thick trees. Falling rain patting against the window panes, sometimes hitting harder against the glass as the wind changed. The distant rumble of thunder could be heard through the locked windows. A gentle click, and the smell of coffee floated through the room.

I open my eyes slowly, unable to stop the smile at the view. Waking up to see the precious face I even dreamed of, felt nice. My head resting on a soft thigh, an arm over my shoulder, P'Arthit leaned against the sofa as he slept. Why were we in the kitchen?

I listen as the soft melody of the windchimes drifted through the air, louder than anything else outside. I searched after P'Arthit said there were no chimes, there were none. But I heard it loud and clear, even when there was no breeze.

"P'Arthit..."

Beautiful crimson eyes instantly awake, no longer needing to hide. As days passed and I became more alert, questions began to wander into my thoughts.

"I am here, Beloved." His fingers moving through my hair. "Sleep."

I wanted to ask him something, but the question disappeared as quickly as it came. I closed my eyes as they became heavy again. Something deep inside sighed happily. Warm and safe. Did I long for a morning like this before? I would treasure the ones that came.