They were barely seated when the same man that had met Taylor before walked into the room, a stark change from the long wait he had experienced the last time he was here. Taylor also couldn’t help but notice that the lawyers were notably absent this time.
“Mr. Taylor, I have to say I’m surprised to see you. I had been under the impression we cleared everything up the last time.”
“Well,” Taylor said, “now that your man Graf isn’t around anymore, things have clearly changed.”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
Taylor had to hand it to him, the guy had a hell of a poker face. He was either excellent at hiding the truth, or he was too low on the totem pole to know the truth.
“Maybe, but someone here does know what I’m talking about. I’m sure there’s a chance you’re not high enough in the family to need to know what’s actually going on, but I want to make sure you don’t blow off my warning. We have Fredrick’s journal, which lays out just about everything the family has been doing, for years. We have a bunch of supporting documents that prove at least parts of it, thanks to the records that Graf kept. That may just cover more recent stuff, but it will be enough to make anyone who looks at the journal, take it seriously.”
“Mr. Taylor, I don’t think...”
“Wait, hear me out. Like I said, I don’t care if you don’t believe me or want me to think you don’t believe me. It doesn’t matter. You just need to hear me. We’ve given all of this to someone we trust, but whose untouchable even by you. You know the kind of contacts I have because of my last visit, so believe me when I say the information is safe. If something should happen to me, to Whitaker, or to anyone we care about, we will send everything we have to every major journalist in both our country and yours, along with politicians and prosecutors. Considering the contacts we have, they’ll be taken seriously enough to be looked into.”
Taylor held up a hand when the man still looked like he wanted to protest.
“Almost done. Now, I know there will be members of your group here that think you can weather that storm, and maybe you can. Still, wouldn’t it be better not to have to try? It would, at least, be cheaper. As long as you guys leave us alone, we’ll leave you alone. The journal and the rest of the evidence we have won’t go away. Before you start to protest, telling me you don’t know what I’m talking about, I get it. That’s fine, but you need to pass this warning to the people above you before someone does something they can’t take back.”
To his credit, the man didn’t seem fazed at all.
“Well, as you said, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Normally, I’d humor you just long enough to get you out of the door, but considering your ‘connections’, I will pass your information up to our board. With that, I will have to bid you a good day. I’m sure since we won’t have any business together in the future, we will not see each other again.”
Taylor reached out a hand, and the man shook it before turning and walking out of the room. The secretary came back in as soon as he exited and escorted them back outside.
“So he was saying he accepted the deal there at the end, right?” Whitaker asked.
“I think so. Guys like this can’t ever come out and actually say anything, but I think he agreed to the deal.”
“I guess they bought your bluff?”
“About the other documents, maybe. They can’t be sure what Graf had or what we got off him since Graf screwed this up so badly. They know we have the journal, which would be enough either way.”
“So, you’re going to give the journal to Caldwell?”
“No, she has enough going on. I’ll give it to a friend. He’ll know what to do with it.”
“So, we just walk away and let them keep doing what they’re doing?”
“Yes. We can’t protect the world. Maybe someday, in the future, we can try and do something about them, but this isn’t the US. We don’t have any leverage here, and these guys operate above our paygrade, everywhere. I know the cop in you hates this, but there are some criminals out of our reach.”
“You’re right, I do hate it.”
“Like I said, who knows what will happen in the future. For now, let's just focus on the fights we can fight. Now, let's go home.”
END
About The Author
Travis Starnes is a freelance writer living in Texas. He has a love for books of all types, but preferably sci-fi, mystery and the occasional history. His passion is creating worlds and characters that live and breathe, letting them loose, and seeing what happens.
Find out more at:
amazon.com/TravisStarnes/e/B072YBDC3S/
Or visit tstarnes.com
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Other Books By Travis Starnes
John Taylor Stories
Rebirth
False Signs
The Wrong Girl
Burying the Past
Family Ties (John Taylor Book 5) Page 20