Chapter 40 - The Reckoning (1/2)
When Jake Magno opens the door, his face turns white as sheet.
”Gabriel?” he mutters, disbelieving.
Gabriel Tan, who looks every inch like he'd just walked out of a board room meeting with his immaculate Armani suit and slicked back hair, says nothing. He stares at Jake, his eyes cold as metal.
Jake tries to grin, but it must have come out as a grimace. ”G-Gabriel, I'm not sure about the reason for this visit—n-not that I don't like getting visited by my boss at an ungodly hour, but a little enlightenment would make a world of difference.”
”Where is she?” Gabriel says. He steps into the threshold.
”What do you mean? Who's she?” Jake says.
”Jake,” he says, turning to the man who's still trying to put on his pants. ”Look at me. Make a long, hard, discerning look.”
”How do you mean?”
”Look at me. Tell me what you see.”
”I-I'm not sure what you're driving at…”
”When you look at me, do you see an idiot?”
”I, uhh…”
”Do you see an idiot whom you can trick into going around in circles, Jake?”
”Sir, I…”
”Answer!”
”Sir,” Jake stammers. ”Sir, I don't see an idiot, sir, with all due respect. I see a captain of industry. A man who knows what he wants and gets it. A man who deserves the utmost respect.”
Gabriel Tan stands in the middle of Jake Magno's living room, like some larger-than-life god. ”Then why in hell are you treating me like an idiot? When I ask you, 'Where is she?' The only response I expect is you pointing to me the exact direction of where I can exactly find her.”
Jake says nothing. His heart pounds madly in his ċhėst. Already his mind calculates all the possibilities, as his immediate future flashes in his mind. If Gabriel Tan, his boss, discovers what he did, his life is over—he could go to jail. Maybe not even a regular jail, but the worst kind of jail imaginable—Gabriel has incredible political connections, and he holds the puppet strings that limit to certain ends the actions of a few well-known and important people. Gabriel could easily make his life hell on earth. And that's only for starters. What about the career he has built over the years? His properties? His life of leisure? The things he enjoys? He would lose every single thing. As he stares at Gabriel Tan behave in his own house like this man owns him, owns the whole world, Jake Magno realizes that his entire life has fused into a singular, pin-point gestalt: this moment is the trigger, here lies the crossroads. To be or not to be?
To let Gabriel Tan find out, or not?
As Jake slowly backs away, his hand searches for something behind him, something he knows is there, something he'll recognize just by touch.
His metal baseball bat.
Gabriel doesn't realize it, but Jake has secretly gotten hold of the bat, holding it behind him.
”I ask you one last time,” Gabriel mutters, turning to him. ”Where. Is. She?”
”And I'm telling you, sir, again, I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm here all alone. Can't a man enjoy a few moments to enjoy by himself after a long, tiring day at work?”