The Second Plead

"Continuance"

     I lay on my bed, the sound of the ringing telephone resonating throughout my mind. My thoughts are racing as usual, trying to come up with a logical explanation as to why, or how that could have happened. Could it have been a trip in the wire? Perhaps a signal was intercepted? I tried to convince myself it was just a glitch, but I just.. couldn't. I sigh, standing up and looking at the clock. "Great. 2 a.m. and I'm still not tired..." I mutter to myself. I lay back down, staring at the ceiling for what seemed like an eternity...

     I must have eventually drifted off, because I awoke to the sound of knocking at my door. I rub my eyes, and stand up, more annoyed that someone was at my house than at the fact they woke me up. "I'm coming.." I say in a tired voice. At this point, I didn't even care that I was wearing only a wrinkled t-shirt and some shorts, I just wanted them to leave. I look out of the peephole quickly, and cautiously open the door. I poke my head out and look at my visitor, a bit confused. "Uh.. hi..? Do I.. know you?" I ask, visibly confused. They respond, chuckling a bit at my confusion. S - "No, I suppose you don't know me. Here, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sunny, and I was sent here by Farawaytown Bank. I.. I have a few things I need to discuss with you, would you mind if I came in? I know it's a bit sudden, heh.."
   
      I look at them for a minute, thinking their request over. My usual skepticism is screaming at me to close the door, just go rest. But I don't want to be rude now, do I..? I mean, they don't look threatening.. I could probably take them on if they didn't have a gun... Great. My mind going crazy again. I clear my head, and speak in a more composed tone. "Oh.. uh, yeah.. that's fine.. just, uh.. don't mind the mess. Sorry.. I.. I just woke up.." I trail off, horribly embarrassed. I look around my house before opening the door to let them in, just to make sure I didn't have any suspicious items laying about. I'll clarify, my house isn't messy.. but it's empty, like, sadly empty. So empty it looks messy without anything actually cluttering it, if that makes sense. It doesn't, but oh well.

      I open the door and step back, waiting for them to come in. They look around, an expression on their face that wasn't quite disgust, but it might have even been pity.. they regain their composure, speaking once more. S - "It's quite alright, I'm not judging.. is there anywhere we can sit and talk?" They ask. Surprisingly, they sounded quite genuine when they said they weren't judging. This made me feel a bit better, and made me like them a bit. I speak again. "Yeah, sorry.. I know it's not the best place. Yeah.. you can sit over there by that table, or you can sit on the bed, whichever you'd prefer.. I can get you a drink, if you'd like.." I say, trying to be kind. S - "Oh, that would be great.. anything is fine with me.." I look at them, nodding. They sit down at my small coffee table, next to the window.

      I look back at them. "I've got coffee, water, milk.. any of those sound good to you?" I say, a bit awkwardly. S - " Oh.. if you don't mind, coffee sounds great.." I nod my head, getting out a glass cup and putting the coffee pod in my tiny brewer. I wait for a minute, then pour the hot coffee in the cup, grabbing a few little creamer and sugar packets I stole from McDonald's. I walk over, setting them on the table, handing them their coffee. I speak, trying to break the silence.

     "Alright.. I got some creamer and sugar, if you'd like those.. is there anything else you'd like?" I say, sitting down next to them. S - "No, I'm fine, thank you. You don't want any coffee..?" They ask, a bit of... suspicion in their voice. They open two creamer packets and pour them in the coffee, and grab a sugar packet, adding it as well. They stir it around, waiting for my response. "Oh, no.. I'm not a big coffee drinker.." I say, watching them as they prepare their coffee.

     "What.. what did you need to discuss with me..?" I ask, a bit nervously. They look up from their coffee, an expression I couldn't quite identify on their face. Sighing, they continue to speak. S - "Well... I'm here to talk to you about your financial situation..." They trail off a bit, waiting for my response. "Financial.. situation?" I ask hesitantly. S - "Yes, your.. financial situation has intrigued some overseers at our company... If you want me to be straightforward, they suspect you of money laundering... Are you aware of what that means, and the consequences it could bring..?"

      I look at them, a bit surprised. "Me? Money laundering...? Why is that?" They sigh a bit, and continue speaking. S - "Kris, you have over $10 million in your account. Seeing that you don't even have a job, that is highly suspicious. When I ask this, I expect you to be truthful with me. Where did you get this money?" I start to get a bit nervous, looking around the room anxiously. "I.. When my friend died.. the entirety of his will was given to me. He has a fortune saved up before he died.. and he gave it all to me.." I say, a bit pained to do so. They look at me suspiciously.

      S - "Do you mind telling me what this friend of yours did for a living? How they earned their fortune?" I look back at him, realising they didn't believe me. "Well, he was a lawyer... I don't know if his fortune was inherited, or if he earned it all himself.. I honestly didn't even know he had that much until I was told he willed it to me..." They are still looking at me suspiciously. S - "I see.. if anything you told me today was untruthful, Kris, I promise you.. it will not end well." They grab a little piece of paper and a pen out of their pocket, and scribble a few numbers on it. S - "Our number. We will be calling back." They turned around and walked out of the door. They obviously didn't believe a word I said.

      "Good greif.. what did I ever do to you?" I mutter under my breath, obviously a bit annoyed at their sudden change in attitude. I lock my door behind them and walk away. I walk to my fridge, close it, and open it again, hoping maybe a mirage of food would appear in it, but no. Not even any mustard.