Chapter 109: An old man with a grudge

Brent was the only one who wasn’t making it obvious that he was nervous. Maybe it was the years of media training at his grandfather’s side, but Brent walked with a calm and quiet authority towards the lawyer’s office.

Esper Parker looked ready to kill a man while Esper Gardner was collected, but her eyes hadn’t changed colour at all since she’d arrived at his apartment earlier in the day. She was ready to fight, but if you didn’t catch her eyes at the right angle you might miss it.

It helped that she was a bit shorter than him, so Brent could ignore the walking bomb next to him on occasion.

The office itself was relatively normal. A nice structure, downtown in a wealthier location. His grandfather wouldn’t have worked with anyone who wasn’t in this area. He was a good man to Brent after he realised how much his family needed him and had fucked up, but that didn’t mean he was without his flaws.

The steps were well maintained, the door thick and wooden, built in a reminiscent style of the before-times. A time when Brent’s family had prospered, and then continued to do so. Esper Parker was the one who opened the door into the building, a nice, but compact waiting room greeting the trio’s eyes and a young, perky receptionist sat at the desk.

She was a little too young for Brent’s tastes, but he assumed she was legal. Otherwise she wouldn’t be working in a law office. Or maybe, that was just something Brent assumed, and likely something that everyone else assumed.

Her expression dropped as soon as she saw Brent and the two that cloaked him on either side. Her eyes darted around, before she glanced at the door behind them.

“Please make sure the door is closed behind you so that I can lock it. I’ll call Mr. Caulder right now.” She said quietly, and Esper Gardner made sure that the door was locked. She pressed a button and Brent heard something click into place behind them.

He didn’t look behind him, the system familiar to him. It was an old system, one that his grandfather had designed.

A cloaking system that shifted the area around it to look not quite the same. It had been something the paranoid old man had designed, and now it was coming into play here. Brent felt his lips twitch slightly. It was…sentimental for him to hear the sound.

The receptionist was moving, her tiny legs shifting her around the small confined space behind the desk, tapping away quickly on her computer. It was not lost on Brent that they hadn’t even said anything and she knew exactly who they were.

Shortly after, she got to her feet, swallowing thickly as she stood, glanced at them and then nodded. She came out from behind the desk, her outfit in perfect condition. A cute little black pencil shirt with a flowy, pink and white polka dot blouse.

“This way please, Mr. James.” She said carefully, leading them to a door to the left. Esper Parker followed first, letting the smaller woman lead them down a narrow wooden hallway with several doors along the way. She led them to a door that was halfway down the hall, unlocking it with a swipe of a keycard, not the old key that Brent was half expecting from this time capsule.

Esper Parker stepped inside first, the room looking spacious and normal from the glimpse that Brent caught.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” She asked nervously and Brent gave her a warm smile. He watched as she flushed slightly.

“No, sweetheart. Thank you for the offer, but we’re okay.” Brent told her, stepping into the room when Esper Parker gave the all clear. She waited for them all to enter and then stood in the doorway. It was a small protective gesture, but one that had the Espers with him relaxing slightly.

“Understood, Mr. James. Mr. Caulder shouldn’t be much longer. He had a phone call he had to deal with today, but it’s just wrapping up now.” She told them, glancing at the other two in the room and offering them a warm smile before she left, locking the door behind them.

Brent turned his attention to the room they were in.

No windows, only two doors. Esper Parker had already quickly investigated that room and it was just a basic bathroom, with a sink and toilet. The table before them was more like a conference room, with six chairs around it, a hatch against the far wall with glasses, bottles of water and a bowl with prepackaged but expensive snacks in it. Brent was sure that if he opened the hutch he’d find liquor on the shelves.

He kind of wanted a drink, but knew better. He needed to have his wits about him.

The chairs looked comfortable enough, the table another old world design. Thick wood, dark in colour with a hint of red to it. Someone had taken the time to make a nice border all around the edge, but Brent didn’t know enough about specialty goods to tell anyone what kind of wood it was.

He had a strange feeling that Kellen would be able to give it a good guess though.

Brent pulled out a chair, sitting down comfortably so that he was able to see both doors at once. Esper Parker didn’t sit down, opting to stand behind Brent with the same vantage point. Esper Gardner shook her head, smiling as she sat down next to Brent as they waited.

~

They didn’t wait too long, like the little receptionist had suggested. Maybe about 10 minutes, but with each passing second Brent could feel Esper Parker grow more anxious. There was nothing Brent could do about that. While Brent was sure that they’d had a good relationship, some level of waiting was expected between people like this.

Brent had no doubt that his brother had also been forced to wait like this, probably in the same room that he was sitting in now.

The soft knock came before the door was unlocked and an older man entered. He looked…vaguely familiar, like Brent had seen him before but it had been ages. He wore a classic suit, his tie a deep, blood red and his eyes were sharp as he scanned the room. He was alone, without the receptionist behind him, and he locked the door from the inside.

When he met Brent’s gaze, his hard, brown eyes softened slightly.

“Brenton. It’s good to see you in person and not just hear your voice over the phone.” He spoke warmly, his voice a little aged and weathered, but still clear. He had his wits about him, and Brent appreciated it.

Brent got to his feet, meeting the man on the floor and offering his hand, even as Esper Parker sucked in sharply behind him. It was clear that they didn’t approve of his actions, but Brent wasn’t about to be rude to a man his grandfather had respected enough to continue to work with and leave his will with.

Mr. Caulder took his hand with a smile, his grip firm as he nodded.

“I prefer Brent, if that’s alright.” Brent told him warmly and the older man didn’t even flinch.

“Of course. It was you foolish father who gave you that name, so I can understand why you like to distance yourself from it. Now, we don’t have a lot of time, now do we? We can spend more time catching up after, when your brother has been dealt with, hmm?” There was a wicked gleam to his eyes and Brent chuckled.

“You seem more excited about this than I am.” Brent teased and Mr. Caulder let out a dry laugh as he ushered Brent over to the table.

“Brent, I’ve lived a long time. In that time I’ve had the pleasure and displeasure to work with and for your grandfather. I’ve seen a lot of things that I am sure you are familiar with, and lots of them I had no idea why your grandfather was doing them. I often argued with him, pushed back against what he was doing, but in the end, I always found out that there was a reason he was doing what he was doing. Your brother? His reason is cruelty and greed. I do not like working for people who have that in mind, and by your own disposition, cruelty isn’t exactly something you are capable of.” Mr. Caulder said.

Well, Brent wanted to argue against that, but didn’t think now was the time. Mr. Caulder didn’t miss the slight change on his face and he smirked, giving Brent a knowing look.

“Brent, you may disagree, but you and I both know that you would never commit the acts that your brother may or may not have done. I don’t have to worry that you are going to make me disappear after this, but I do have to worry that your brother will.” It was a valid point, and something that Brent could only begrudgingly agree to.

That was when Brent realised he hadn’t brought in any papers. Nothing of the sort. Mr. Caulder smiled again before he bent over the wooden table and pressed his thumb into a small indent that Brent missed. When he did, something shifted in the table and before Brent’s eyes, it opened.

The middle section of the table pulled back, allowing for another section to raise up. From there Brent could see several piles of papers, several computers and a machine that Brent had no idea what it was. It kind of looked like a printer of a sort, but he wasn’t certain.

“Now, I am sure that for the most part you are aware that your grandfather left everything to you, yes?” Mr. Caulder spoke urgently, professionally, as he sat down in front of one of the computers, picking up a pair of reading glasses placed on the keyboard.

“Yes.” Brent agreed, and Mr. Caulder nodded.

“Good. I’m sure that is something that your brother would tell you, partially to brag that he was going to take everything from you, partially to vent his frustrations. I have been fighting against his appeals to the courts to have access to the will since I know he will attempt to change it. He thinks that he works hard. Well, I’ve been working in this field since before he was born. He can’t pull the wool over my eyes, and while he has connections through his own actions, so do I.” The man sounded determined, while Brent watched the man begin to pull documents forward.

He slid a pile towards Brent, a thick thing that made Brent’s head spin before he grabbed an envelope and placed it on top of the papers. Brent’s throat worked as he recognised the thin, scrawling script on top.

“He left that for you, knowing that you would be angry at him for what he’d done. I tried to warn him, and that was the outcome.” Mr. Caulder said, his eyes softening as he stared at Brent’s shocked expression. Then, something hard and angry filled his gaze. “Brent, I am telling you this so that you are warned, but your grandfather…he didn’t die of natural causes.” Brent’s stomach dropped hearing that. “They wouldn’t let us get an independent autopsy and rushed to have him cremated so that we can’t even examine the body anymore. The funeral happened so quickly because your brother is an asshole.” Mr. Caulder wasn’t holding back, and while he was sure that he was saying this because of anger, Brent didn’t doubt him.

Because Brent had that feeling in the back of his mind that his grandfather hadn’t died from natural causes either.

Fuck. This was going to be a bigger bomb than Brent thought it was going to be.

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