26.5.2009

COMPLETION' OR COMPLICATION?

    COMPLETION' OR COMPLICATION?

http://www.netsaga.is/media/files/Boogaloo.mp3
 

 

    Three or was it four weeks past and the Coffee Club became a complete state of mind, so said Gordon in a philosophical mood. There the three stood staring at the place which had already made a big dent in Sharon?s inheritance. Ben, Shaz and Gordon just looked at this big room with it?s gleaming marble pillars, floor and it?s décor. The stage had proper curtains, the spotlights were all functioning along with the aesthetic lighting, no burnouts, no fuses blowing in the night and no fire evacuations which had reaped havoc for a couple of weeks at awkward times. The bar stood proudly all decked out with many varieties of drink and polished glasses. Televisions hung from the ceiling showing the stage or anything you cared to run through the DVD if required. The state of the art sound equipment was installed and playing Sharon?s favourite artist Clannad, which Ben hated as he viewed a lot of their songs as something to commit suicide to, a point he was told to keep quiet about, as that was a sick frame of mind, or something.

    The kitchen was finished along with the patio out back for the staff to have a breather in summer time, otherwise there was a small staff room. Outside the restaurant stood the reception. Almost opposite another two doors now led you to a coffee room which was decked out in dark stained furniture with many classy pictures on the walls. Two sliding doors on the right led directly to the restaurant and opposite was another big glass window with a couple big sliding patio type doors which allowed access to the street where several patio style tables and chairs. Going back out the way you came and facing reception, to the left was the completed toilets with disabled facilities. To the far right of the reception was a bigger corridor which led you to the stairs and a little further back was an expensive addition, a lift taking you upstairs in a jiffy. The lift had a pad which if you put a special code in could take you further up, or down to the wine cellar. For now all were only going up to the first floor.

    The guest quarters which had originally about ten rooms now possessed about twenty as the original rooms had been cut down to size. Then again I was never good a maths as they had actually been cut down to a quarter of their size, Sharon had Forty rooms up here. No, actually thirty nine. What about the last room I hear you say, well my educated friend it is a storage cupboard for cleaning equipment.

    Each room was still large enough to have a bathroom, many had either two singles or a double bed, there was even a honeymoon suite. Yes I know the second floor was going to be just the staff?s quarters, but Sharon being Sharon decided to lose half of it and make into a big penthouse type room. Ben and Sharon?s place hadn?t changed much, apart from the lift at this point. Now down to the basement stood a washroom and other laundry type facilities for keeping the rooms up and in pristine condition. Behind this stood the wine cellar which was now under half it?s original size. They had enough space right at the end to put another small room, this was Ben?s private hide out, his little shed for doing things he wanted to do in private.

    After they had finished their tour, Gordon stood with them back in the great dining room, just waiting for the final verdict.

    "Well Luvvies, what do you think?" He asked feeling a little scared at the response.

    Ben looked at him as he sat down on one of the ergonomically designed chairs to aid comfort while eating your nosh. "It?s alright, I guess."

    Was that it? Is that all he could say after months of renovation, hard sweat, near heart attacks at missed deadlines, sleepless nights and terrible wind problems. All he could say was what he just said! What was said set off Gordon?s hands which became very clammy. He was about to wipe them upon his suit when he realised he was wearing a white suit and black finger marks wouldn?t go right. He decided to pace up and down as Clive walked in on the question and sat down.

    "Hey Gordo, it looks good to me, then again I ain?t no expert."

    This just served to wind the poor guy up as he started to pace more fervently at this point as Shaz was well aware. To put his mind and body at ease she spoke, "Gordon it looks fine to me. It is radiant, brilliant, explosive in colour and vibrant with a sense of ambiance and a tough of real class of the renaissance period."

    Ben looked at Clive and muttered, "she said what now?" Clive just shrugged his shoulders. Sharon stood up and gave them a frown to be quiet and at this point Ben knew she was talking way above her station and hadn?t a clue what lines she was stringing together.

    Gordon stopped pacing, "you really like it?"

    "Of course I do you goof! It?s fantastic!" She ran over and gave the small guy a hug. "I could have never dreamed of anything so good." Letting him go they both clapped their hands together and raised their ankles to knee height while letting out shouts of delight while Ben and Clive just sat their with looks out disapproval.

    Thank goodness all were distracted when big Bernard came through the door with champagne and glasses.

    "Hello folks, just brought this small bottle to celebrate the finish of a great project and the beginning of a great club."

    "Wow! Thank you Bernard."

    "Oooh champers!" Gordon shouted as he clapped his hands together in a mini applause at the man?s inner vision.

    "Thanks mate, mine?s a large one and one for my friend too," Ben shouted as he went to hand Clive one.

    Clive raised his hands in objection, "No, I must excuse myself. I must continue the battle to give up the booze."

    "One glass won?t hurt," Bernard replied as he shoved the drink in Clive?s direction.

    "No, I?"

    "Don?t be a spoil sport," Shaz added to the weight of the argument.

    Clive felt backed against the wall and once there he caved in, "okay just the one."

    The corked popped and there was more than one glass drank that afternoon. The group felt rather worse for ware as Shaz with a hangover went on a mission to the employment agencies for people, food suppliers and other things which required attention before the Coffee Club could get under way.

    Deep in the heart of the Triad layer stood Chang. Here he was just waiting to go in to see his Godfather. It was always like this, you walked in through the front door and bang! It was just another delivery service of the courier kind. It?s a fully running business with packages coming in and others sorted to go out. This place was only meant to be a red herring in order to keep the filth off the scent. But to Chang?s chagrin it turned out to be so popular with the neighbourhood it now worked well and took nearly as much money as the drug factory down below. Well maybe not as much as that but enough to retire on and live a luxury life.

    Here he sat in the main office as the camera opposite panned round to see who it was sitting in the chair. After about five minutes the door opposite clicked open by itself, this was the way down to the heart of the beast via a flight of stairs to a wall. There you faced another camera and this one watched before letting you in through the hidden entrance, that is after shouting your password to a hidden microphone. Once through you headed down again to another corridor, along past many other rooms which led to other parts of the gang?s lair. Finally you met a wall of armed heavies belonging to the man himself Chino. They were armed with allsorts and trained in many form of unarmed combat. He hated these mercenaries, though they wouldn?t touch him as he was so high up and had to respect him, though he knew they just paid lip service and false smiles. He had some loyalty stakes to cash in with this crew and today he may just have to do this. At present was a different day and Chang knew by the way he had been kept waiting that this was a test of nerves. No one ever saw Chino out of hours unless it was important. If not, you left it to the business meetings held regularly. Chang didn?t want other?s knowing of this idea, not just yet.

    Time elapsed really slowly, was this a test of his patience? Was he today going to be gunned down for something he didn?t do? He had some of his men with him and a little gun fight might see him get out of there? By why would Chino do that? No paranoid thinking was required here, this was just a test and one given because of the nature of the call.

    Chang?s thoughts were dispelled by the hissing open of the bombproof door and the stepping away of those mercenaries. He walked into a fine room all decked out in cold stainless steel. Everything from the desk, book shelves, computer station and the computer itself gave the appearance of a cold untouchable rock hard man. The only things not stainless were the chair made from leather and as it swung round it revealed a man all decked out in black leather. He looked like Alvin Stardust a singer of the nineteen seventies. Chang could imagine a spotlight coming from the roof and his boss bursting into song with ?my coo ca chew? or what ever that song was. He didn?t know really as he wasn?t born in the early part of that era. This brought a smile from Chang, only to have it wiped off.

    "Why did you let them go without any harm? I have requested a beating and yet none are given. Three weeks worth of requests, none answered." The voice was an almost low pitched whisper, though there was no mistaking the menace in it.

    "Because my father, I can see there is no need to use violence at this time."

    "Why?"

    "Because they paid up and have been showing deep respect for our organisation."

    Chino frowned even further, change the black leather to white and you?d have Elvis Presley.

    "You expect me to believe that? Wasn?t it also in your report a while back that you believed this Ben character to be extremely pushy in the local public house."

    Chang swallowed before feeding the bait, "Yes father, in fact he is the only threat, the rest are harmless."

    "How?"

    "I think he could be using that club as a place in which to launch and illegal base."

    "Go on."

    "He has the intellect to do this and the space. According to our sources he has buried enough cash in renovating the place. He has also got an underground facility which seems to be set up just like this. I think he could be setting up his own mafia movement right under our noses."

    "He wouldn?t dare, we?d be on it in moments." Chino hissed like a venomous snake which just had it?s hole invaded.

    "Like we did in Camden. We were slow, almost paid for it."

    Suddenly silence fell into this cold room, as if it needed chilling further. Chang feared for his safety, if the guy didn?t bite then he?d be fish food. Yes he had refused to duff up the Coffee Club owners and now he was laying their lives on the table to get what he wanted. They paid up regularly, were no threat, then again being regular and good model citizens could be a cover for more sinister engagements? Chang hoped this latter thought provoking question would influence his boss.

    "What do you suggest? We burn the place down?" This was asked in a very low calm voice, not with a hint of rage or anger like before.

    "No father, I think we should send someone in to his business and win over his friendship and trust. Then find out exactly what his plans are and if I am right, we burn his house down and strip him of his assets."

    Chino looked up at this young family member, "But if not?"

    "Then I am wrong and we have little to worry about and we have our money from the guy as regular as clockwork."

    "And who do you propose goes in there?"

    Crunch time. Chang swallowed hard before answering, after all if his father decided against it then?

    "Do you really think this plan of yours will work? After all he knows exactly who you are."

    Chino had answered his own question. Chang had to remember that Chino was like a hawk and possessed the eyes to see everything and suspect everything. You had to always watch your back when being the boss of an organisation like his. There was always someone lurking to take it all away from you. Chang decided to show all his hand as if deciding this to be the winning hand in a long game of verbal poker. "That?s all the better, I?ll make him trust me. I will make him think I am trying to leave the family and move on. By what I say he will believe me and when I?m taken in, I will blow him away."

    Chino snorted a little as his body inhaled and exhaled the information. He stood and faced his number one guy, "If this works all the better. If it fails I will be the one blowing down your house. Now leave me to think it all over properly."

    Chang watched his boss sit back down and turn his swivel chair away from him. This was a very clear message that no more talk was to be accomplished here. Chino was thinking it over and this gave Chang a feint smile, the big man was going with it.