LAWFUL HEARTS IN LAWLESS TIMES

CHAPTER 4 : THE CLASH OF WILLS

The office was a storm of activity, papers strewn about like leaves in a tempest. Jimmy stood at the center, his hands clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His friends, Earth, Off, Tay, and Joong, were equally immersed in their search for clues, their eyes scanning over documents, their fingers flying over keyboards.

"Nothing! There's absolutely nothing!" Jimmy exploded, his voice a mix of rage and despair. He swept his arm across the desk, sending a cascade of papers fluttering to the floor like wounded birds. "How can there be no trace? No evidence?"

Earth, always the calm one, tried to soothe him. "We'll find something, Jimmy. We just need more time."

But time was a luxury they didn't have. Off, the strategist, watched Jimmy's outburst with a furrowed brow. An idea sparked in his mind. "Jimmy, what if we're looking in the wrong places? What if we need someone on the inside... like a lawyer?"

Jimmy's stormy gaze fixed on Off. "A lawyer?" he echoed, the gears in his mind beginning to turn.

"We need a new angle, something we haven't tried," Off suggested, breaking the heavy silence. "What about bringing in a lawyer? Someone who can—"

"No!" Jimmy cut him off, his voice sharp as a blade. "Lawyers are snakes, all of them. They twist words and truths. How can we trust any of them?"

Earth tried to calm the waters. "Not all lawyers are the same, Jimmy. Some fight for justice, for truth."

But Jimmy was beyond reason, his grief and rage boiling over. "Justice? My father is dead because of 'justice'! What do they know of our world, our rules?"

Off stood his ground, his strategic mind working overtime. "Think about it, Jimmy. A lawyer could have access to information we don't. They could be our eyes and ears in places we can't reach."

Tay and Joong exchanged uneasy glances, the idea of involving an outsider unsettling. "It's too risky," Tay said. "We've managed on our own this far."

Jimmy slammed his fist on the desk, silencing the room. "Enough!" he roared. "This is my fight, my revenge. We do this my way. We don't need some courtroom puppet to avenge my father's death."

Off's voice was steady, his argument logical. "Jimmy, we need to think outside the box. Lawyers have resources we don't—"

But Jimmy wasn't having it. His face twisted into a snarl, his words laced with venom. "You think I don't know that? You think I haven't considered every possibility?" His voice rose to a shout, "I will not have my father's memory sullied by the likes of them!"

The air in Jimmy's office was thick with tension, a tangible pressure that seemed to squeeze the very breath from their lungs. Off stood firm, his eyes locked with Jimmy's, neither man willing to back down.

"Think about it, Jimmy," Off implored, his voice steady despite the rising storm. "A lawyer could get us the information we need without drawing attention. It's the smart play."

Jimmy's laugh was bitter, a harsh sound that echoed off the walls. "Smart? You think I've kept us alive all these years by playing it 'smart'?" He spat the word as if it were poison. "We do things our way, the way my father taught us."

Off's frustration was palpable. "Your father isn't here, Jimmy. We need to adapt, to evolve. Or do you want to end up like him?"

The room gasped. It was a line that should never have been crossed. Jimmy's face turned a shade of red that spoke of fury and pain in equal measure.

"You dare?" Jimmy seethed, stepping into Off's space, their noses almost touching. "My father was a great man, and I will not have his memory tarnished by your cowardice!"

Off didn't flinch, his resolve as unyielding as the steel in his gaze. "It's not cowardice to seek justice, Jimmy. It's not weakness to use every tool at our disposal."

The others shifted uncomfortably, their eyes darting between the two men like spectators at a tennis match.

"Justice?" Jimmy roared, his voice rising to a crescendo. "I'll give you justice!" He grabbed a paperweight from his desk and hurled it against the wall, where it shattered with a sound like a gunshot.

Earth stepped forward, trying to be the voice of reason. "Jimmy, please. This isn't helping. We're supposed to be a team."

The air crackled with tension, each word between Jimmy and Off like a spark threatening to ignite an inferno. Off's suggestion had struck a nerve, and Jimmy's fury was a force unto itself.

"You think you're smarter than me, Off?" Jimmy's voice was low, dangerous. "You think you can just waltz in here with your 'brilliant' ideas and save the day?"

Off met Jimmy's glare without flinching. "This isn't about who's smarter. It's about finding justice for your father. And if involving a lawyer is what it takes, then I'm all for it."

Jimmy's laugh was scornful. "Justice? You talk about justice as if it's some noble quest. We're talking about revenge, pure and simple."

The others watched, trapped between loyalty and reason. Earth, Tay, and Joong knew better than to intervene when Jimmy was like this. But Off was undeterred.

"Revenge blinds you, Jimmy. It's clouding your judgment," Off shot back, his voice rising. "We need to be strategic, not reckless."

Jimmy's response was a growl. "I've been strategic for years, waiting, planning. I don't need a lecture on strategy from you."

Off's patience was wearing thin. "And where has that gotten us? We're no closer to finding him than we were before!"

That was the last straw. Jimmy lunged across the room, his hands balled into fists. "Say that again. I dare you."

Off didn't back down, standing his ground. "We need help, Jimmy. Your pride isn't worth more than our mission."

The confrontation was on the brink of turning physical when Earth stepped in, placing a firm hand on Jimmy's chest. "Enough!" he commanded. "This isn't who we are. We don't turn on each other."

Jimmy's chest heaved, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. He looked around at his friends, his brothers in arms, and the fire in his eyes dimmed. "Get out," he said quietly, the storm passing as quickly as it had come. "All of you, get out now."

They left without a word, the silence heavy with unspoken fears and doubts. Off lingered at the doorway, his eyes meeting Jimmy's one last time. "I'll find a way," he repeated, a silent vow hanging between them.

The door closed with a soft click, and Jimmy was alone. The room was still, the only sound the ticking of the clock on the wall, counting down the seconds to an unknown end.

Jimmy picked up a photo of his father, the glass shattered, the frame broken. "I'll do it for you," he whispered, his voice choked with emotion. "No matter what it takes."

He turned to the chaos around him, the destruction a mirror of his inner turmoil. With a roar of anguish, he swept the remaining items from his desk, the sound of breaking glass a bitter symphony to his rage.

"I will find him," he vowed, his voice echoing in the empty room. "And when I do, the world will remember the name of the man who avenged his father."