Story 58/1001

• lose
• reliance
• equal

Amir, Kendrick and Orson stared at each other. The air between them felt heavy, and to make it worse, no one said a word since they got here. They were sitting at a table in the middle of Orson’s garage, waiting for the last member.

Amir sat perfectly still, with his legs crossed and his back leaning on the old chair. Kendrick nervously tapped his foot on the ground, while sighing ever so often. Orson was writing something in his notebook and frowned. He clicked his tongue and looked at his watch.

Kendrick turned at the sound of garage door opening. He reached for the gun in his jacket, but stopped when he saw a familiar figure.

“Finally.” Kendrick exclaimed. “I thought you were dead or something.”

Dario closed the garage door and sat at the table. All three looked at him in anticipation.

“They want thirty percent.” Dario said.

“Thirty?” Orson frowned and showed them his notebook. It had all sorts of calculations in it, but only one number was underlined. Thirty. “This is the worst scenario for us. We might lose all the advantage we had over them.”

“We lost all the advantage the moment they took control of our warehouse.” Amir scoffed. “This is just about damage control.”

“Then, what do you suggest?” Orson asked.

Amir straightened his coat and leaned in. “I think we overestimated our reliance on that warehouse. It is valuable, yes, but it is not irreplaceable.”

“Losing it would cost us millions.” Dario interrupted.

Amir raised his hand, telling him to wait.

“And we also underestimated their reliance on this deal.” Amir continued. “It is obvious why they decided to attack now, just before we closed the deal with the South. They wanted to hinder it. But, word on the street is that the South wants to eliminate them for good.”

Orson started writing in his notebook.

“They could do it. Their influence was shaken by our appearance.” Orson concluded.

“And to think all this time, they said we could never get near them, not to mention be their equal.” Kendrick smiled. “I thought I wouldn’t like this conversation.”

“But the warehouse issue still stands.” Dario said.

“This might sound crazy, but I propose we do nothing.” Orson, Dario and Kendrick looked at Amir, confused.

“What do you mean by that? We just let them have it? We were supposed to give it to the South to seal the deal, or have you forgotten that?” Dario frowned, trying not to yell.

“The South needs us to take care of our mutual enemy. If we deal with them, the warehouse will be forgotten.” Amir smiled.

They fell silent. Orson stopped writing and looked his partners. After a while, he spoke.

“That sounds like a good plan.”

“Alright, then.” Kendrick clapped his hands. “Then, I propose something even crazier.” Kendrick waited for everyone to look at him. “I say we burn the warehouse. As a statement.”

“We burn our warehouse?” Dario asked.

“Yes.” Kendrick smiled.

“You know what?” Orson said. “I agree with Kendrick.”

“It would send a message to both sides.” Amir added.

“It would, wouldn’t it?” Kendrick looked at Dario.

“I’ll stop by the warehouse tonight.” Dario said.