The Jericho Files #2

You have got to be kidding me"

That was the first thought on my mind while I was staring down the barrell of a shotgun pointed right at my face. The shotgun was unfortunately behind held by my employer, Mr. David Nebins.

Well....I guess we could call him an ex-employer now.

"Cathal......you've got two seconds to explain to me why 10 percent of my warehouse stock is missing, and I better like the answer, or I will turn your face into swiss cheese! "

Now this is what some folks would call a 'predicament'....others would call 'painting yourself into a corner'. Did I take his missing stock from his warehouse? Of course I did. Does he deserve to know? I guess he's inclined to think he does. But the bigger question is why is he so mad? It's not like he did anything with his 'stock' anyway, it just sat in the store collecting dust.

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's somebody who doesn't know how to do business. Better tell him when he wants to hear.

 "Wasn't me who took it" I said in a monotone voice, hoping he'd pick up on the fact that I knew more than I was letting on before he decided to  pull on that trigger.

I noticed his finger relax from the trigger. I exhaled a deep breath.

"If it wasn't you, then who was it?" He asked in a rather angry tone.

 "Robbins, sir" I said quickly and forcefully. I didn't need a full name. He knew who Tristian Robbins was.

What he didn't know about Tristian Robbins was that he was my "other" employer in this business. If he never could get me work or didn't want me to do anything for him, Tristian would always have a job for me. And as such, I had a huge sense of loyalty to Tristian. Except for my last job.

Tristan wanted me to steal as much of David's 'goods' as I could for him. Tristan had always not liked something about David....no one really knew why, but he always seemed to take great pride in making David's business suffer. That was where I came in. I was the middle man David didn't know about. In return, I would be paid a handsome 'finder's fee' for my work.

I set it all up to look like someone had broken in and removed the merchandise. I hired hitchhikers to be my manual labor. In exchange for working through the night, they got 50 bucks and a ride into the next county. Complete strangers, and as far as they know, they were hired as movers.

The plan was perfect...well almost perfect. Tristan decided he was going to short me on my 'finder's fee'...which was a big mistake to begin with. If there is one thing I cannot stand, it is someone who doesn't want to spend good money to get a good job done.

And to make things worse, I discovered quickly that Mr. Nebbins' powers of deduction are far more skilled than I give him credit for. He knew that I had something to do with the robbery, he just didn't know what. He was determined he would get the information out of me.

Hence the shotgun in my face.

"Robbins?" David said in disbelief. "That scumbag. I KNEW he was behind this! I'll make he regret the day that he ever crossed my path!" David removed the shotgun from my face and stormed off.

The fact that it was Tristan who robbed him seemed to make him forget all about the fact that I might've been in on the robbery. I watched him as he stormed off and it brought a smile to my face. No one steals from me and doesn't expect some revenge.

I decided that since Tristan was probably quickly on his way to early retirement and taking Mr. Nebbins with him, it was best for me to get out of town. I packed up my things and was out on the next train. In business, things go wrong all the time. There's just one thing to remember.....

There's always more business the next county over.