Under the present circumstances, Stephen’s head could not process the information he got at the same time. From the stranger’s speech, he grasped that he was aware of the issue at hand.
Then, he looked at the two elders and inquired, “Oscar’s wife?”
Stephen, whose purpose of visiting his Patriarch was to find a solution to the river of problems that was drowning him, had just discovered another problem.
All the same, he had to straighten things out, “I don’t have anything to do with Oscar’s wife. I ….”
However, the Patriarch and the Family Head thought that his explanations were lies and aggravated his already bad case.
The Patriarch rose from his couch with his military demeanor and the might of the Patriarch of the Bailey’s family and thundered. “I will not hesitate to throw you out of the barracks after the soldiers have court-marshaled you if you think you can dance on our intelligence.”
Now, Stephen was aware that he had screwed up and that making excuses would cause him more trouble. So, he sealed up his lips and allowed them to have their ways.
The Patriarch sat down and after a few minutes of silence, he asked him, “Are you ready to tell us why you are here?”
Now, Stephen, who was still standing and sweating excessively, looked at them like a rat that was drenched with water. He opened his mouth to speak, but no word came out.
Then, Brown ignored his look and declared, “I am writing back to the lawyer. I will inform him that we will have a dialogue with him tomorrow by 8 AM. The Patriarch will send messages to the other Family Heads too. We need to secure the home front before we talk of the indigents’ and the beggars’ fund that you embezzled.”
The defenseless Stephen was motionless out of dejection. He nodded in agreement. Brown and the Patriarch became busy immediately. The Patriarch began to send messages to the Family Heads, who were mainly retirees. While Brown informed Barr. Guidance of the family conclusion, the date, time, and venue of the meeting.
After a few minutes, he got a confirmation from the barrister that he would be available for the meeting.
“Our Patriarch, the barrister, had agreed to be here tomorrow for the meeting,” he informed the Patriarch as though he was the only person in the house who should know about the meeting.
“It is good. I have sent messages to the Family Heads and attached the petition from the lawyer to it,” he responded.
“That is fine. I will be on my way,” he announced and got up.
The Patriarch responded with a nod. Brown gave the black sheep a reprimanding look before he declared, “This will be the last time that I will stick out my neck for you as your Family Head. If you are not here tomorrow by 8 AM, you have yourself to be blamed.”
He walked out of the door without waiting for Stephen, who just realized that he was his Family Head, to respond. He was ashamed of himself because he had kept his distance from the family, especially the elders, whom he found too clumsy and outdated.
Unknown to him, the Elders’ Forum was sometimes better than the conventional court in resolving conflicts, especially among family members. In some cases, the government recognized them as a Peace and Conflict Management Alternative. Though they may not be as learned as lawyers, they could resolve matters better than the court without charging a dime from the fighting parties.
As for the Patriarch and the Family Head, Stephen can remain standing for the rest of the day.
At the Bailey International Conglomerate
Denise reported to the office earlier than usual due to his father’s absence. He moved his office to the President’s office to avoid shuttling between the two offices.
“Good morning, Mrs. Felix.”
“Good morning, Young Master,” she responded.
“I will be working at the President’s office today,” he explained and walked in.
“It is okay.”
He walked to the President’s office and settled down on the swivel chair after he checked the CCTV, the intercom, Wi-Fi, and other things that would make his work easier. Combining his work with the President’s was a backbreaking task. He held Zoom meetings with the countries that ordered explosives. Some clients requested that he find out the explosive used at the bombed resort the previous Friday and supply the brand.
“We do not have an idea of the explosive used at the resort but we will supply something better than that,” he informed the clients.
“No, Mr. Bailey. We need that brand,” they insisted.
Then, Denise chuckled and asked them, “Why do you need that brand?”
“It was very effective. We have studied how the buildings collapsed and the brand suits us.”
“You don’t have to worry. I will visit the explosive area and find out what you are talking about.”
“It is all right,” they accepted happily.
The testimony from the clients gave him the boost he needed. After all, part of the essence of attacking Stephen’s resort was to test-run the explosive. Now, he had gotten commendations from the clients, and he was delighted.
‘The attack also gave me a free publicity,’ he muttered.
However, after Gen. Armand Bailey’s retirement, he applied for the license to be a dealer in weapons and ammunition, and he got it. The license lay unused until Arthur took over as the President of The Bailey International Conglomerate. He ensured that Denise picked an interest in Engineering, and it had worked.
At 12:30 PM, he rested his back on the swivel chair and yawned. Then, the CCTV monitor captured his attention and he looked keenly and wondered what could be responsible for the uproar at the gate.
At The Government Hospital
Lorene and Evelyn worked with enthusiasm and eagerly waited for lunch. To be able to be punctual, they were too busy that their paths never crossed after they spoke in the morning.
Meanwhile, Zoey had resumed and was standing in for Nichole. With the assistance of the janitor, the work at Nichole’s office was not tedious for her.
At noon, Lorene left for her surprise appointment with the President of the Bailey International Conglomerate without informing her friend.