The Crow-A Second Chance

Chapter Three

"The bought takes at the Mission Hills Acquisition on, Tuesday?" The woman queried her husband. Mace Reyes; owner of Reyes International and a powerful businessman. Mention the name to any fellow company in Detroit and they would tell all the same thing; Reyes was the best in the business, but a tyrant too. There was hardly anything the hindered man couldn't buy. Bound in a wheelchair after a life-threatening accident left the man's legs useless. But that didn't stop his ambitions. "We can't afford to take out the cash, you'll sign a memo to that effect this afternoon." He gave her a complacent smile. "India dear, would you mind?" Following her husband's gaze, India drew in a sharp breath; the snake tank. "Mace please...." "You deny me a simple request?" He smiled, knowing that his wife would never refuse him anything he asked of her.

Feeling belittled, India hesitantly got up from her desk and joined her husband's caretaker at picking up the large python out of its tank. India hated it. She never really knew why Mace even had the damn thing.

'I picked it up during a trip in South America. A rare beauty.' He had told her.

Often he would have coiled around him, it made her soul shiver. "Connect. What is it?" Mace asked Renaid, the receptionist through the comms. "Mr Valls is here to see you." "Oh, well send him in then." He didn't sound particularly pleased. Whenever Valls had something to say, it was usually never about anything good.

"We had a problem last night." Valls announced, closing the door behind him. "That music dive up at King Henry." Mace raised an eyebrow. "Club Trash you mean?" Valls nodded. "That was India's plaything back in her wild days." Mace hummed, while India and the caretaker placed the deadly python round the man's body. Valls sighed. "Well, it appears the manager was also doing some other little business on the side-lines, running contract murders." He informed him, causing India to gasp whereas her husband seemed unfazed by what had just been said. "Oh, that's going to be messy." "They found him skewed on a church steeple last night, something about a vigilante killer." The bodyguard said. "And the police want to talk to the owners right?" Mace concluded. "That's right." He stayed quiet for a moment, letting the snake coil around him.

No one seemed to notice a large crow landing on a chair outside on the balcony. "Well it's still in your name." Mace addressed India. "You'll go down and spin it for us. Spare the grave details, keep it simple enough." It more sounded like an order than a request or even asking, but that was Mace for you. Everything that came from him was in the form of an order. "Renaid, send for the town car brought up." He requested. "Yes sir." A tapping from outside caught the man's attention to the window. India looked up from her desk and saw a crow, tapping on the glass. She hid a smile when it pecked on the glass, like it was trying to either get in or capture their attention. "Mr Valls, I strongly recommended you take care of this, filthy bird. Now." Barely had India any time to duck out of the way as Valls fired his gun at two of the windows, causing the bird to fly away, cawing but unharmed. Mace let out a sigh of relief. "Garbage bird, usually doesn't fly this high...." Picking up files she would need, India briskly made for the door, desperate to get away from the man she called her husband. "I think I'll leave now."

"India." Mace stopped her. "See that these windows get replaced and have the glass, tinted." Leaving without a word, she walked down the stairs to the reception and found the car waiting outside for her. Tears picked her eyes and she got in and signaled the driver to move on.

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