Posted at 7:37 am on Jun 26, 2015 by:
Derrick Scrivens
Lamb Chops and Liquidation
When Scrivens arrived home later that afternoon, his wife was quick to meet him in the front hall before he could even close the door. He knew what she wanted and ignored her, moving past her into the den to set down the file folder and pour himself a drink, cognac as usual. She followed, as persistent as ever when he wouldn't tell her something.
He sat down with his drink and after a couple minutes of her just standing there, staring at him while he sipped on it, she finally asked, "Well, is it true?"
"Is what true?" Scrivens asked in response. He hated when she delayed speaking when she was being so obvious about wanting to.
"Your project. It's done for, isn't it?" He could hear the worry in her voice and her nose sounded a little stuffed up too. He was guessing she'd been crying while he was gone.
"Maybe." He took another sip of his drink before deciding to open up a little more. "Maybe not, if I can arrange something. As of now though, all funding's been cut off."
Emily finally sat down next to him, laying her head against his shoulder. "I'm sorry. What happened?"
"You know I can't go into those kinds of details. Both for security reasons and your safety." Scrivens had long ago lost count of how many times he'd needed to say those exact words to her. Changing the subject, he asked, "What's for dinner?"
"Your favorite: lamb chops," she said as she sat up off of his shoulder.
"I had them for lunch." He stood back up to pour himself another drink. "I need to make a call."
Without saying another word, Emily stood up herself and left the den, shutting the double doors behind her to give him privacy. He moved over to a cabinet and removed a small book from a drawer before sitting down in a chair next to the phone, drink still in one hand. He began flipping through the book, looking for Shizuka's number.
Once he found the number, he set the book down on the same table the phone sat on and grabbed the phone instead, dialing the number. As it rang, he took a large sip of his drink.
At first, he wondered if Shizuka wasn't going to answer or if the number had been changed, but finally it sounded like someone picked up, not speaking.
"Is this Osamu Shizuka?" Scrivens asked. Still silence on the other end, causing him to wonder if the call was dropped or there was something wrong with the phone. Before hanging up and trying again or just giving up the idea entirely, he then asked, "Do you still offer your... liquidation service?"
At first, there was more silence and Scrivens really was about to hang up, but then Shizuka broke his silence with, "How many?"
"Three, maybe four." Scrivens set down his drink on top of the book.
"I'm sure you remember the pricing, Mr. Scrivens. Leave the money and information behind the abandoned gas station near the farm." Scrivens was able to understand every word Shizuka said despite his heavy Japanese accent.
"Thank you," Scrivens said. Shizuka hung up before the conversation could go any further.
