Moonlit Scars

Demir

"There's a problem at the edge of the tunnel", Zehab said, dropping a heavy folder on my desk. He looked ruffled for a change,his normally neat appearance marred by a ketchup stain on his lapel and the crinkled elbows of his jacket.

"Good morning to you too", I said pointedly.

Zehab sank into the couch in my office, loosening his tie. Morning light filtered in through the lengthy windows, illuminating the sparsely furnished office. Apart from my table and the leather chair, there was a couch for the occasional guest like Zehab and a bookcase which opened up to a passage leading towards the fire escape. Otherwise the place was mostly empty.

"Whatever", he said, grumpily. I raised a brow. "I bid for the new government tender like your brother advised and now several rats are on our tail. I got an anonymous warning this morning to drop our bidding"

"Anonymous warning?" I asked. "Didn't we send out the message that we no longer deal with this bullshit of gangs? We work above the surface now. Who didn't get the memo?"

"I mean you did demolish a container storage lot belonging to Yildirims, just last week", Zehab pointed out. "That sends out mixed signals"

"They torched two of our warehouses. What do you want me to do, send them a gift card?" I shot back. "You should send out a message saying that if someone has a problem with our money, they should come say it to our face- not send out anonymous threats like some coward"

"That definitely doesn't sound hostile", Zehab said, sarcastically. "I'll send it out through Karan. There are some cargo reports you need to approve. And by the way..." He leaned forward. "...I spoke to the lawyers. They're looking for a legal bug for the custody of your niece. But they told not to be too hopeful. Ayleen knew what she was doing. The documents were pretty straightforward"

"Tell them to look from every angle", I said. "There was nothing wrong with Seray's past, right?"

"She's clean. Perhaps too clean", Zehab said. "Apart from some therapy during her teens, even her medical record is nil. Anyway, I thought the issue was resolved by Altan. Both the girl and your niece are in the mansion now, right?"

"That's the problem!" Why couldn't anyone see it? "She's free to leave according to the law. My threatening isn't going to be effective for long. And she has a cousin who's apparently a private detective. Her hand in this matter is too strong"

"What else do you want me to do?" He asked.

I thought for a moment. "Find out more about those therapy sessions. Maybe we can use it against her. The authorities will probably retract the custodianship if it's proved that she has mental problems"

Zehab gave me a long look. "I'll see what I can do"

After he left, I went through the documents one by one, carefully putting away the papers requiring Altan's signature. The monthly evaluation with the external board was postponed until tomorrow and all the loose ends had to be tied before that. Seventy five percent of the company was run under the Kartal name and the other twenty five percent was divided among five directors, which always struck me as ineffective. At least for them.

What was the point of entering a game, if you didn't have the upper hand?

There was a knock on the door and Levent poked his head in.

"Heading home for lunch. I can drop you off too. There's no need to waste fuel in your Wrangler", he said.

I checked my watch. It was a little after two o'clock. I'd been working nonstop for almost six hours. Normally, I never left the office until evening but this time I decided to change my schedule.