Chapter 15
“Just Chalky?” Righty asked Harold. They were on the peak of one of the mountains surrounding his ranch. Words could not express the love he had for the combination of beauty, solitude, serenity, and power he felt atop the voluptuous body of one of these magnificent creations.
“You said to use my discretion,” Harold replied and then explained everything he had overheard while circling high above the alleyway in pitch blackness like a mythical demonic creature listening for the slightest traces of treason with a large stone in each talon, ready to inflict the sentence of death upon whomever he deemed it fitting.
Righty felt particularly intrigued by Slim’s positive remarks, given that he had no reason to believe Righty had a spy present, but he wasn’t going to seek him out as a client just yet, not until his supply problems were alleviated. He felt relieved Harold had overheard the treasonous words because, while his gut instinct had told him that Chalky was a snake in the grass whose head needed to be crushed before it inflicted a fatal bite on Righty’s ankle, he wasn’t comfortable passing out death sentences based upon mere gut suspicion.
Righty then suddenly felt an insatiable curiosity for the wellbeing of his most trusted associate, Tats. “Let’s go check on him!” Righty said to Harold.
Such would usually be fitting talk only for a drunken fool, but Righty’s whim was made reality. Harold, with one of the full konulan families as company (the rest were divided between their various surveillance duties at the ranch, the garden, and Righty’s home), flew south of Ringsetter, and within less than half an hour they spotted the lone traveler bravely making his way southward towards Sodorf City.
Harold informed him the moment Tats sniffed some Smokeless Green, and Righty felt both guilt and worry, as he realized Tats was likely doing so to fight off fatigue, even though Righty could have landed him at his destination many hours ago. But trust, like physical strength, can only be developed and maintained by vigorous exercise, and in this sordid business even the trust of someone like Tats had to be regularly put to the test.
Nonetheless, he was concerned about Tats’ wellbeing during this dangerous journey, so he asked for ten konulan volunteers to keep a constant watch on him and to report to Righty immediately if Tats was in danger.
Righty returned home and was in bed with Janie before 11:30 p.m. and even managed to squeeze a half-hour or so of pleasant conversation out of her before they both fell headlong into sleep in each other’s arms.
The International Businessman Page 17