Chapter 124: 4th of July.
[Hyde POV]
To spread the words about the firework show, Bob drove around the town holding a megaphone he stole from my ofice.
{"BZzzt– 8 O'clock Firework show! At Blimpton Field. Follow the signboard to get there! Bring your own mat and food"-- This is Bob Pinciotti by the way.}
'Why Blimpton Field?'
I was curious about the choice of name. The plot of land was mine. We just installed a sewage system and hooked it up to the electrical grid for the concerts.
Turning to Leslie, I asked, "Blimpton Field? Who came out with that name?"
Leslie looked at me with confusion and said, "You did?"
"Me?"
A memory resurfaced inside my mind. A half-hearted suggestion I gave Leslie when she asked me what I wanted to name the field.
I asked her to figure it out and jokingly said, 'Blimpton', but she went with it.
"Do you know the Blimpton I was referring to?" I asked her with a smirk.
She shook her head and said, "I didn't bother to check."
"It's a fictional place, from the book 'To All the Living,' a World War 2 literature."
Leslie flinched for a bit and asked, "What's the book about?"
"A satire. An everyday life of thousands of strangers living in a munition factory. A critique of bureaucracy, corruption, class, sexism, and red tapes."
Leslie narrowed her eyes at me and said, "No wonder that place came to your mind."
I laughed and said, "Nothing really changed since then. Even a low level politician in a small town can't escape it."
There were a lot of red tapes when I tried to open up a concert field on the land I bought. The town government couldn't give up on the potential revenue if I continued to rent out their field– which was a public field in the first place, and tried to stop me.
I bulldozed everything since they had no powers to stop me building the venue on my own land. Especially since it's an open concept venue.
I grabbed a burger and ate it on the porch with Forman. Popping a can of beer, I drank while I ate.
Red was grilling and he saw me drinking. He scofed and said, "At least have the decency to hide it."
Eric also held a beer can in his hand. "Yeah Hyde. My dad is turning a blind eye as it's the holiday, but you need to be more tactful."
He drank the beer and burped.
Red turned to him with an annoyed expression. Eric flinched and said, "Um. I think I heard mom calling me."
He rushed inside the house immediately. Mrs. Forman came out with a tray of appetizers in her hand– pigs in blankets.
"Red, you're not having a kegger?" I teased him.
"You know what, we might need a keg. The crowd is the biggest one yet." Mrs. Forman said giddily.
Red scofed and said, "I don't even know half of the guys here."
"When did you ever know anyone Red." Mrs. Forman said sarcastically. I chuckled and said, "Most of them come for me."
"Really?" Red put his spatula down and said, "Then you grill the burger for them."
I was taken aback, and sighed. "Can I at least finish my burger first?"
"Eat it while flipping." Red said grufly. "I need a drink."
"I have cold imported beer in the basement fridge." I whispered to him.
Red's eyes lit up and he faked a cough. "I need to take out some more ice for the punch."
"Grab me a couple of 'ice' too, will ya?" I said playfully.
He gave me a strict glare. I turned my head away to avoid his gaze.
'I forgot for one second that this man won't think twice about kicking my ass.'
That's how I took over the grilling job for the party. Several people came to have a small talk with me, but some were trying to expand their network too.
"Hi. I'm Rivera." A tall, suave Mexican man in his mid 40s approached me.
It was quite hard to see a Latino in this town, since we have only one.
"It's amazing to be able to see you face to face. You're a legend in this town." He said with a grin.
"Nice to meet you Rivera." I replied with a cautious smile. "How do you know Red?"
"I don't know him." He replied, touching his chin slightly, smiling in amusement. "I actually came to see you. I didn't know you're having a party, so I just joined in."
I chuckled flatly and said, "You just waltzed right in? You have guts."
"Thank you. It's one of my greatest strengths." He laughed loudly.
"So what can I do for you?" I asked with a serious tone.
He waved his hand dismissively and said, "I'm not here for any ulterior motive. Nicole asked me to come pick up the supplies."
My eyes lit up in realization, "Ah. You're from the cleaning company?"
"Yup." He chuckled confidently. "I'm going to handle the ofice in Chicago. So I'd like to place a huge supply order."
I nodded and said, "Let's see your list."
He reached into his pocket and gave me a couple of inventory papers.
Nicole and Bonnie were Linda's roommates. They were using me to enact revenge on Linda before– by sleeping with me– which was a kind of revenge I could get behind at any time.
They started a cleaning service on the weekends while they were still in college to pay for rent. Now, they got a loan and decided to expand as they move to Chicago.
"How do you know the girls?" I asked Rivera.
"Um, my daughter went to college with them. I met them a couple of times." He tried hard to remember it. "They wanted to come, but Bonnie and Nicole aren't on speaking terms right now."
He truly was a loudmouth. He explained all of the girls' gossip without me even asking.
"Nicole claims that Bonnie's fiance made a move on her. But Bonnie wouldn't believe her and took the fiance's side."
He ate the burger I gave him and continued.
"They went separate ways. Nicole tried to buy Bonnie's share of the business, but Bonnie gave it all to her, saying that she doesn't need to work anymore now that she's marrying a rich man."
"Huh." I was taken aback when I heard it. "So Nicole is handling the business on her own?"
"Yeah. She's the owner now." He said confidently. "We are already booked for deep cleaning for the next two months!"
"Yeah Chicago is a giant market." I nodded slightly. "I'll give you a call once the supplies are here."
He nodded and said, "So can I stay or do I have to go?"
"You can stay. There's a fireworks show tonight if you're interested."
He nodded and said, "Yes. I'll go there with my wife."
"Your wife is here?" I asked, curious. I looked around at the party and accidentally locked eyes with someone. Then, they started walking towards me.
"No, she's at the motel. She's carsick, so I'm letting her rest before our drive home." He said with a slightly pitiful face.
I smirked and said, "Your car must've been bouncing all over."
"Yeah it's a piece of junk."
I nodded and greeted the man who approached me. The big burly man with a thick beard and carrying multiple food trays in his hand.
"Okay. I'm leaving now to go mingle." Rivera walked away as he was quite wary of the burly man.
"Hyde." The man nodded at me grufly.
"Mr. Bent." I grinned and said, "You brought the ribs?"
"Twenty-five. You asked for twenty. My wife asked me to bring twenty-five. Five is a bonus freebie."
"Great." I turned to the side and shouted, "Forman! Fez! Come here!"
Both of them ran towards me.
"What's the matter captain?" Fez asked with a salute.
Forman also asked, "What's the matter, Grill Master?" He also saluted me.
"Meat. People. Eat. Serve. Got it?" I gave them orders.
"Got it Captain!" Fez grabbed the trays from Mr. Bent.
"God. I wish I wouldn't make a fool of myself carrying this." Eric said fearfully.
His body bent forward slightly as he grabbed two of the trays.
Fez grunted and walked really carefully as they went inside the house.
The two of them could barely brought in the foods Mr. Bent was carrying alone.
"What's the status of the restaurant?" I asked Mr. Bent.
He smiled a little bit and said, "Good."
Compared to Rivera, that's all the explanation he could give me.
"Want to stay for a burger?" I asked.
"No. My wife is making a brisket. Want some?"
"Definitely. I'll stop over after the fireworks to pick it up." I agreed easily.
I talked to his wife a couple weeks ago. They were still retaining my service for their meat-packing business. Now they have opened up a small factory in town.
It was a huge upgrade for their family as they only had a failing butcher shop before.
Since they provided meat to superstores all around the states and also nearby states, they were raking in a lot of money from their business.
They made enough to be called a tycoon in this small town.
Now they are opening up a restaurant called 'ShortStack', where they'd sell ribs as the main menu.
I invested in the restaurant too. And at the same time, I planned to open up a club in the town.
Not a nightclub.
An elegant club with live performances, high end liquors and luxury foods.
'I'm torn between opening a club and a record store. The town doesn't have either of those. But if I want to open a record store here, I'll need to figure out the distribution. That's more busy work… unless…'
I looked at Bob. He was smiling and was all excited about the fireworks party, but I knew his finances.
'He has only a couple weeks left before full bankruptcy.'
It wasn't that his savings were diminishing– I didn't know much about his savings, but I know the store's finances.
'Now that I think about it, he's the only store that is failing amongst all of the businesses I had a hand on.'
But, I also could honestly say it wasn't my fault. I gave him the Wisconsin lightbulb supply, but he stopped it himself to save his marriage with Midge.
He also sold the bulbs at an exorbitant price of almost 6 dollars. That's how the shops ran to my supply company.
I tried to get him to change his business model at the store to sell stuff PriceMart didn't have, but he ignored me there too and kept rejecting the stuff I told him to sell.
'But Midge has a job now as an actress. Maybe she'll be the one who'll be the breadwinner of the family. Even Donna has a high paying job.'
My eyes narrowed on Bob.
'I need to think a bit more before pulling him in. If I put him at the helm of the record store now, he'll never appreciate the opportunity.'
…
Blimpton Field. Thousands of people gathered there to watch the fireworks. I estimated around 5000 people were here.
The 4th of July was the most important holiday in America. That's why people were dissatisfied when the town cancelled the fireworks show.
"Whoa." I was surprised by the turn around.
The townspeople put on a picnic blanket, brought a picnic basket, and a lot of people also brought kegs to throw a kegger party.
I gave them permission to bring it as long as they didn't sell the booze. Since I'd get in trouble if they did.
"Steven." Jackie approached me happily as I stood beside the fireworks setup.
"I got the permit from my dad!"
"Now they can't fine me." I smirked.
Jackie grimaced and said, "They aren't going to fine you."
"You don't know the town government as well as I do."
"My dad is on the town council?" She was very confused.
I waved at the workers there– a carpenter in the town, but he also handled the fireworks during the parade. He was in his 30s, had curly hair and wore a bandana on his head.
He came towards me and said, "It's all set up for the show."
"How long will it last?" I asked him.
"Hmm. I'm not familiar with these fireworks. They are Chinese, right? Not sure about the quality. But I think 10 minutes or 15 minutes."
"That's enough." I said and paid him the money for his work.
"You could pay me after." He grinned slightly.
"I'm going home right after the fireworks." I said with a similar grin. "There's some tips in there. You and the boys could get some drinks after this. On me."
"You're better than those town oficials." He laughed loudly. "They usually pay me a month after. And it's not even close to what you're paying me here!"
Jackie turned to me and shifted her head to the workers. She tilted her head, her eyes confused.
I went to sit with my friends on a large picnic blanket. Laurie glared at me as I took away all of her money. Fez was running around, excited for the show.
Leslie and her family were sitting on the picnic mat next to mine. The parents were sitting behind us.
Kelso laughed and said, "Hyde. if the fireworks didn't work out, you're going to get lynched."
"I'm not going to get lynched. I'll throw the blame to you." I said casually.
Kelso flinched. "What? How?!"
Forman chuckled and added, "Simple. He'll just tell everyone you peed on them."
"What? They won't believe that– No. They would believe it." Kelso's face turned pale. "Shit!"
"So you want to lynch me because Jackie is trying to seduce me?" I asked him teasingly.
Kelso gritted his teeth in frustration. Jackie got ofended and said, "I thought I already seduced you."
"Not yet. I'm not rejecting it as much as I did, but there's still parts of me that think it's wrong."
Kelso immediately looked touched. "Hyde. I know you won't betray me."
"Shut up, you dink." Donna kicked him in the ass. "You're the only reason they aren't together. You should feel bad about it, not excited."
"Yeah Kelso." Laurie interjected, her face as cold as ice.
"Aren't you my boyfriend now? Are you still expecting to get back together with Jackie despite cheating on her with me?" Laurie turned to Jackie.
"Oh no, Jackie, did I accidentally bring up an unpleasant memory? It's very pleasant for me though."
Jackie glared at her. Laurie looked at Jackie with a mocking expression.
"You do realize you're her bitch now?" I asked Laurie with intrigue.
Her eyes widened and her face paled. "Oh. Right."
"Kneel for an hour and shut your mouth until the fireworks show is done." Jackie ordered her.
"But–"
"Uh-uh, you can't refuse. You lost the game, now pay the price." Donna said with a satisfied cackle.
"Fine." Laurie agreed with a hateful expression.
"Wait. Why are you facing that direction?" Jackie asked with a sadistic expression.
"What do you mean?" Laurie was confused.
"Turn around. You can't watch the fireworks show." Jackie said with a menacing smile.
Laurie gasped, trying to mutter something but Jackie gestured for her to zip her mouth. She gritted her teeth and turned against the fireworks show, clenching her fist as she shivered in anger.
Mrs. Forman saw it and asked her, "What's the matter honey? Do you have a stomach ache?"
"No she's fine, mom." Eric interjected on Laurie's behalf. "She's just protesting the fireworks show since it's Hyde."
Jackie gave Eric a high-five. It's a rare occasion for them to be so friendly with each other. It's almost eerie.
"What do you think?" Jackie asked me.
"Hmm. I think that's pretty hot." I replied with a smirk. The first fireworks shot up as I was looking at Jackie. It was just a normal shell to signal the start of the show.
The lights from the fireworks illuminated our faces. Her eyes were glued on me for several seconds.
I turned to the sky and said, "It has begun."
Jackie leaned into my chest and hugged me as we watched the show.
Three silver towers climb from the ground, each split into four directions.
As the sparklers towers were turned on, five shells shot up in the sky in a synchronized manner.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
Colourful fireworks illuminated the night sky.
"Oh, it's awesome. This one is much better than the ones at the concert." Donna commented.
"Sure it does. It's quadrupled the price." I said casually.
I paid 4000 dollars for the fireworks. It was supposed to be scattered in the two days of concerts held in the next few weeks, but since it was the 4th of July, I decided to go all out.
'I would've bought more if I knew the fireworks show was going to be cancelled.'
The sky exploded. Gold. Red. Blue. Silver. Green.
Fireworks covered the entire horizon.
The noise was so loud I could feel it in my chest.
"Whoa." Kelso was amazed.
Dustin and Steve– Leslie's children were mesmerized by the show.
FWOOOOOOOSH.
A dozen shells launch at once.
Then a huge, multiple colored shell took the lone stage, scattering bigger than every single one of the fireworks that came before it.
"This is amazing!" Forman was excited.
"It's really long too." Donna muttered. "The town's firework would've been done by now."
We're already surpassing the 20 minutes mark. The fireworks were still going strong.
"Steven. It will be really romantic if you kiss me right now." Jackie leaned in close and whispered.
I grimaced and pushed her head away. "I'm not ready to make out with you in public yet."
"AH!" She gasped, ofended. Then, she grabbed my collar and pulled me into a kiss.
Chapter 125: Sinister Plot.
[Hyde POV]
The fireworks show was a huge success.
'Or rather, it's 'too much' success.'
"Hyde! You're going to hold a fireworks show again next year! Right?!" Dustin asked with glittering eyes.
Steve, the 4 years old kid also looked at me with similar eyes. Then, more and more kids began looking at me with the same expression.
"Damn it. I guess I'll sponsor it next year, if I have some extra money."
Everyone cheered at the statement.
I picked up the brisket from Mr. Bent's house and went home straight after.
A lot of people were still hanging out in the field, getting drunk and having a party. Not Mr. and Mrs. Forman though. Jackie also came back with me.
"I'm going to take a shower." I said, snifing my body slightly. "I smell like gunpowder."
I turned to Jackie who was reading a magazine in the basement couch and asked, "Want to shower together?"
She acted coy and said, "No. I'm good. Just like how you don't want to make out with me in public, I don't want to do anything with you in private."
"What? You want to do something to my private?" I acted shocked. Jackie was startled and she got embarrassed.
"I don't want to do anything to your private– No, in private! Ugh."
She rolled her eyes and gave up. "I'm going home."
"Wait. I'll send you home after I take a shower."
My actions were monitored by a certain suspicious figure hiding in the basement stairs. I went outside with Jackie and realized that my car was blocked by Red's car.
"Damn it. I guess I'll give you a ride on my bike." I said with a mischievous smirk.
Jackie giggled and said, "Fine. I've never rode a bike before. Micheal refused to give me a ride after we crashed that one time."
"Oh that one. I remember that. He said you complained so much, he drove into the pole on purpose."
Jackie's jaw dropped slightly. "Seriously? We only dated for a week by then. No wonder he asked me to borrow my dad's car every single time we were going on a date since then."
I laughed and said, "I remember he walked funny for the whole two weeks after the crash. His balls were swollen, he needed to put ice on it every day."
"He's such a moron." Jackie complained. "Why did I even date him?"
"Because he's a beautiful moron." I replied.
"That's true." She agreed with me.
Jackie followed along and we went back to the basement. However, I realized that my bedroom door was open, even though I had locked it before.
As I opened the door, I saw Laurie in there, searching for something in my nightstand. She froze as she saw me.
"What are you doing here?" Jackie grimaced and asked Laurie angrily.
I crossed my arms together and said, "It's either she's searching for her paycheck, or she's trying to get some blackmail material for me to give her back her paycheck."
"Damn it!" Laurie cursed with a high pitched voice. She grabbed my shoulder and said, "Just give me back my money!"
"Hell no. I won it fair and square." I pushed her hand away, my temper flared up instantly. "If you can't bear to lose the money, you shouldn't have suggested a poker game!"
Jackie laughed evilly and said, "Just give up already. I still have 23 hours left to torture you."
Laurie turned to Jackie, her eyes full of anger. Suddenly, it turned into amusement.
'I have a bad feeling about this.'
"Jackie, if you forget about the bet, I'll tell you something interesting." Laurie tempted her.
Jackie scofed and said, "As if. You just want to escape the punishment."
"No. How about this, if you think the information isn't great, you can still punish me. But if it shakes you, we'll forget about it, and Hyde will give me back my money."
"Why am I included in this?" I asked with bewilderment. "I'm not giving you back your money."
"I accept." Jackie said suddenly. She turned to me and said, "The punishment. Not the money."
"Fine." Laurie smirked in satisfaction and said, "Do you know who told Kelso to cheat on you?"
Jackie was taken aback, "What the–"
"It's actually Hyde. The one who you're trying to date right now." Laurie pointed at me.
Jackie turned to me, her eyes full of betrayal. "Steven?"
Laurie snickered and said, "You should've just given me back my money. Now, we're even."
"Steven, is this true?" Jackie asked, her voice pleading.
I scofed and said, "Hell no. I didn't tell him to cheat on you."
Laurie was taken aback. "What– He told me you said that–"
"Steven! Is that true?!" Jackie's eyes shook.
"Yeah." I replied calmly. "I never told my friends to do anything stupid. I nudged them into it."
Eric walked into the basement and was curious as to why we were talking in front of my room, so he approached us.
"Hey, what's going on?" He asked.
"Perfect timing." I turned to Eric and asked him, "Did you witness me telling Kelso he should cheat on Jackie?"
"What–?" Eric was taken aback. Then he started remembering. "Well, no. He didn't bring up the idea. He just nudged him into it."
"That's still screwed up!" Jackie was mad. "Why would you nudge him into that?!"
"To be fair, Hyde isn't the type to talk us out of the stupid things we wanted to do." Eric snickered. "Like the time Fez thought he could tip a cow, and Hyde said he definitely could. And then Fez was chased around–"
"Eric, this isn't the time for Fez's weird stories!" Jackie snapped at him. She looked at me with an intense gaze. "Why did you nudge him?! Do you hate me that much?!"
I got annoyed at her expression. Her eyes carried loathing and disappointment.
'Why am I the target? I wasn't the one who cheated on her? Besides, they have so much more problems than just Kelso cheating on her.'
"Steven!" She urged me for an explanation.
It irked me to my core.
"Why am I responsible for your doomed relationship? Or are you trying to find someone to pin the blame so you could run back to Kelso again?"
"What?" She was taken aback. "I–"
"Whoa, Jackie." Eric was startled and said, "Are you seriously trying to blame Hyde for it? Even though the bitch who did it is standing right in front of you?"
He pointed at Laurie.
Laurie sneered and said, "He'd already been going around with other girls even before me."
"That's true–" Eric blurted out accidentally.
Jackie's chin quivered, and she said, "You know what Steven? We should break up now. If you're someone who can nudge Micheal to do that, what's stopping you from doing that yourself? I can't be with someone–"
"Don't be so overdramatic. We're fake partners anyway. You don't have to explain yourself to me." I smiled calmly and talked down to her condescendingly.
"Hyde, you're not mad?" Laurie asked, surprised.
"Why would I be mad? I just got away scots free. And I now don't have to do anything stupid like pretend I'm dating her, I can finally go after the girls I really want."
Maybe I was trying to hurt Jackie at this point.
Her eyes became teary, and she ran away crying.
"Forman, go take her home." I ordered him sternly.
"But I want to watch–"
"NOW!"
"FINE!"
He ran after Jackie immediately. "Hey, wait up!"
Laurie stood there with a satisfied expression. "You shouldn't have gone against me. I always win in a dogfight."
"Yeah, cause you're a Bitch." I cursed her with an angry expression. "Get the fuck out of my room."
"You should get the fuck out of my house!" Laurie snapped at me. She stared into my eyes for a few seconds before walking away and slamming the door behind her.
I stood there for a few minutes in silence.
"I guess I should leave now." I muttered to myself. My hands were balled into a fist, and I kept clenching till I hurt my palm.
My house was done, so I didn't really have a need to stay here anymore. I'd just be a burden and I wanted to avoid that.
I began packing my stuff the same night, moved my bed into the system storage. I took my closet, my desk, and boxes of VCR tapes.
I cleaned up the room with just 20 slots.
No one noticed that I had moved out.
…
I slept in my new house that night. Same bed, diferent room.
"Hmm. It's much better to sleep here compared to the basement. But it still feels strange."
The birds were chirping. The sunlight lit up the entire room. I could see the view of the backyard as soon as I woke up.
It made me frown instead of relaxing me.
"Stupid birds."
I went out on the deck next to the master bedroom extension and sat on the porch chair there to drink my cofee.
"Damn, I'm late for work." I muttered as I checked the time on the wall clock.
Suddenly, the system chimed in.
[Warning. A big change without prompting could initiate Rewind. Use storyline tickets to prevent the rewind.]
"How? I don't know how to use the ticket."
I couldn't help but let out a tired sigh.
The system actually answered my question.
[Explain the episode synopsis and punchlines before using it. The episode would be created automatically based on the suggestions.]
I relaxed a bit.
"Oh. Great."
I thought about it and said, "I'm going to still hang around the Forman's. Helping Mrs Forman with groceries and all that. But, she didn't know I had left. It'll be two weeks later when she realises that none of my stuff is in the room."
After setting up the punchline for two weeks later, I went to Kenosha again for the movie production.
"Hey Steven." Sarah, the girl I met at the beach, approached me. "So I have a question. Today's my final scene, right?"
"Yeah." I nodded.
"So, do I have what it takes to be an actress?" she asked giddily.
"Looks-wise? Definitely."
She brightened for a second.
"Acting-wise?" I sucked air through my teeth.
"Ouch." She winced.
"But I've seen much worse acting in big films. Much worse than yours. They made it, so you don't have to worry about it."
"Oh." She relaxed a bit.
She twirled her hair around her finger before asking, "So, what are you doing after the shoot?"
"Nothing much. How about you?"
"I have nothing to do too." She shot me an expectant gaze.
"I guess the logical conclusion is for us to hang out and do nothing together."
She giggled with satisfaction.
"Maybe we should."
Ophelia narrowed her eyes at me from across the set.
Our eyes met accidentally, and she shot me a glare with an additional gesture of, 'I'm watching you'.
I threw my hands up in disbelief, thinking what did I do wrong here.
...
The movie production was wrapping up three days after the 4th of July, on a Thursday.
"Hyde, are you coming to the wrap party?" Donna asked while handing me a draft for the next movie.
"No, I'm going to work on this straight away." I said casually. "I have to spend the night modding the cars."
Eric intervened.
"It's just for an hour. You can get it done after that."
I rolled my eyes, "Then I'll have to drive back and forth. I also need to edit the footage. So I'm not going."
"Fine. I feel like I haven't seen you around much." Eric grumbled. I turned to him in confusion, wondering if he still didn't notice that I had moved out.
"Are you coming to see Jackie and Fez's competition tomorrow?" Donna asked casually.
I looked at her weirdly. "Why would I? It's a stupid roller disco thing."
No one brought up the fight I had with Jackie. I didn't think they were skirting around the subject. It was more like they simply didn't care.
Which was a good thing. It meant I didn't have to sit through an awkward conversation.
"Heads up. Sarah is coming." Donna grinned.
I looked up to the door. Sarah wore a flannel shirt tied above her waist and a pair of denim shorts. My eyes were glued on her swaying hips.
"Hey Steven." She greeted me with a sultry voice.
"Are you going to the wrap party? The restaurant is really close to my place. We can head there after the party."
I immediately turned toward Eric and Donna.
"You know what? I'm going to the party after all."
"Of course you are." Donna said sarcastically.
While I was talking with Sarah, two men in a leather jacket walked into the studio uninvited.
I knew they were trouble immediately.
They wore gold chains and thumb rings. One of them suddenly grabbed the folding chair and threw it at the lighting rig.
Everyone was frozen and turned to them.
"Hey! We're looking for Ophelia!" One of them shouted. "She forgot to pay her interest this month!"
The man has dirty teeth, and a rash on his neck. Like a cocaine addict.
Ophelia was pale as she saw the people.
"Why the hell did you screen our calls? Now, we have to visit you at work!"
"Who's the director here?! Who's in charge of this production!?"
They kept shouting and trying to humiliate Ophelia.
My attention wasn't on them, but on the lighting right.
My forehead vein throbbed as I saw the damage on the lighting rig. It was dented, and the light was off by 1 degree.
I walked towards them.
"Hyde! Don't! They aren't people you can mess with!" Ophelia shouted at me.
"There she is." The loan enforcers saw her. "Come here! We need to talk."
"No. You're talking to me now." I confronted them. "You destroyed my rig."
"So? You want me to pay up or something?" The dirty teeth man snickered mockingly.
"Yeah. I'm going to make you pay for it." I snapped my finger.
The production crew all approached the two men. They were startled and said, "Wait. We're just here for the girl."
I knew they were here for Ophelia. She told me they had been harassing her with phone calls since the 4th of July.
"I told you. You have a problem with me now." I said with gritted teeth. "Get them."
My team tackled them and pinned them to the ground.
"You son of a bitch! Do you know who I am?!" The man shouted, raising his head to look at me.
"I don't fucking care. That's a 25 grand rig you just destroyed." I took out a cigarette and lit it up.
"Huh?" The man was startled as he heard it. "Twenty-five?"
"Yeah. You could've just talked to us properly. Instead, you had to throw a chair on the expensive equipment."
"Now, you have two choices. It's either… I call the cops, or you can pay for the equipment. You're in the financial business. You know what I mean."
"Go fuck yourself." The man tried to spit at me.
My eyes turned cold. "I guess you need some more convincing. Bring them to my ofice."
To convince them, I called the Kenosha Chief of Police, who was someone close to Bruce, a few lawyers and prosecutors, and even the insurance company to assess the damage to the production studio.
They were sweating like a pig when they realized how fucked they were by destroying my property.
I made them sign a contract and stamped it with their fingerprint. Then, I let them go.
"25 grand for damages. 10 grand a day for stalled production. I have to buy the rig again, which will delay the production for about 10 days. So you owe me around 125 grand."
"We're telling the boss about this." The dirty teeth man said with gritted teeth.
"Sure. Tell your boss to pay up. Or else, I'm going to come and visit you later." I said with a mischievous smirk.
I placed an Airtag on their car so I could track their whereabouts while they were talking with the police Chief.
I had to pay 3 Rating Points to turn on the GPS system, but it was honestly fine since I had a lot of points.
"Hyde. Why are you doing this? You're creating an enemy for yourself." Ophelia was crying when I came out from the ofice.
I patted her head and said, "Honestly? I'm doing this because… It's fun."
"What?" Ophelia was stunned. Donna heard it and mumbled, "You crazy son of a bitch."
I laughed and said, "I have been wanting to overthrow something for a while now. Those idiots just gave me the justification to do that."
"But–"
I stopped Ophelia and said, "You need to lay low for now. How about you and your sibling moving in with me for a while?"
Ophelia blinked slowly and said, "You're really doing this for yourself?"
"Yeah." I replied casually. "I'm going to ruin those motherfuckers."
"So, what about the party? Are you not coming now?" Eric asked.
"Of course I'm still going. I'm going to need some alibi, won't I?"
…That night, I put on a bulletproof vest, wore a dark helmet and rode my Kawasaki bike to Chicago for 2 hours.
I snuck out of the party and followed the Airtag direction until I reached a building in Chicago. I managed to confirm two locations here. One was an ofice building, another one was a mansion.
"Happy Days Fast Loan? Is the boss a fan of the TV series?"
There were a couple of guards in front of the building. Both of them carried a gun in their holster.
"There are no CCTVs. Well, CCTVs are rare in this era." I parked my bike in the alley and climbed up the fire escape.
I broke into the ofice using Build Mode to open the window and also to unlock the doors.
"Let's see. Do they have a safe in this place?"
There was a safe behind a painting in the owner's ofice. Using Build Mode, I managed to open the safe in just a few seconds.
"They sure do have a lot of cash."
I put everything inside a large plastic container and put that into my system storage. I made sure to lock the safe again to hide my tracks.
Then, I came back out using the same way I got in, and locked the door again using Build Mode.
It was impossible to tell someone had broken into the ofice without opening the safe.
'One out of two targets is done.'
The next raid was at the mansion. I broke into the house, and chloroform the guard.
But then, someone saw me. He immediately shot his gun. It hit my neck and blood splurted on the wall.
[Rewind.]
Suddenly I found myself in front of the mansion again.
"Ah. I died once. This is much more dificult than the ofice."
I decided to do it in a smarter way this time. Using a drone, I surveyed the mansion first before breaking inside.
I made my way into the loan shark CEO's bedroom, and used Appraisal to figure out where the safe was.
Unfortunately, it was floor safe, underneath the bed.
'Damn. I couldn't get it without moving the bed. But if I could get my hands on it, I can just transfer the safe into my storage.'
Crawling underneath the bed slowly, I took out the floorboard using Build Mode, and grabbed the safe before sliding out again.
Then, I snuck out of the room after fixing up the floorboards again.
"Let's see when they will figure out the safes are gone."
In both the ofice and the mansion, I placed several hidden cameras and microphones. The devices were connected to my internet, so I could check their response in real time.
"Let the game begin."
Chapter 126: Sharks.
[Hyde POV]
After the party, I went back to Point Place with Ophelia. I had to postpone my plans with Sarah and moved all of Ophelia's family to my house.
She has two little sisters and a brother. The brother was 13, the sisters were 10 and 8 years old.
I slept on the couch and let them take the bed. Luckily, I had bought a sofa bed and a guest bed for the other room.
Ophelia told me, "You can just sleep in your room. I can sleep on the couch."
"There's no need for that." I said as I laid down lazily on the long couch.
"Make yourself comfortable. I have no fridge yet, but it's going to arrive tomorrow. I do have some jam and bread if you're hungry."
I turned on the rear-projection, 2000s style, 60 inch TV and watched the late night show on a HD screen.
I had installed a strong antenna on the roof so I had no issues with the signals. I could even get signals from the nearby towns.
Ophelia sat next to me and said, "Thank you for doing this."
"It's fine. They messed with me too." I waved her gratitude off and said, "Want to watch a movie?"
"It's 3 am. I'm going to sleep. Or else I won't be able to shoot my scene tomorrow." She said with a bashful expression, brushing her hair behind her ears.
"I'm going to close down the studio for a couple of days." I said abruptly.
"What?" She was stunned.
I turned to her and said, "Why are you shocked? I told those guys I can't film because they ruined my equipment. I need to at least close it down for a couple of days to support the act."
"Oh." She exclaimed flatly.
I yawned and said, "You know what? I am going to sleep now."
After turning off the TV, I got comfy on the couch after Ophelia stood up.
"Good night."
"Alright. Goodnight Steven."
The second she left, I checked my surroundings and sat back up.
Then, I took out the safe I got from the mansion.
'I couldn't open it there since the place is heavily guarded. But now, I can do it.'
As soon as I unlocked the safe, stacks of cash spilled forward. I caught one of the bundles before it hit the floor.
Every stack was wrapped with a bank strap. Ten thousand dollars. There were dozens of them.
Underneath the cash sat several gold bars.
'Um, is the tycoon poor?' I thought with a weird expression.
'I have tenfold the amount of gold in my storage. And same with cash. This guy is really a small fish. Or maybe he has a lot of money in the bank.'
I continue to check inside the safe.
A smaller lockbox contained jewelry. Diamond necklaces. Gold watches. Emerald rings.
The kind of valuables that could disappear across a border overnight in case they needed an escape.
But it didn't interest me. What caught my eye were the documents.
I pulled out a stack of property deeds. Then I found the passports. Seven of them. Diferent names, same face.
"I guess I can make use of this."
I tossed them aside. Then, I finally picked up a thick red ledger. Unlike everything else, this seems to be the most ordinary thing in the safe.